Why do animals travel thousands of miles each year? On this episode of The Children’s Hour, we explore the fascinating world of migration with author and researcher Scott Weidensaul. You’ll even hear the secret sounds of birds migrating in the dark, captured by Bird Note.

Why do animals travel long distances every year? On this episode of The Children’s Hour, we learn all about migration—how it works, why it happens, and which creatures migrate the farthest. From the skies to the seas, we’ll explore the incredible journeys that animals take in search of food, warmth, and safety.

Our guest is migration expert, author, and researcher Scott Weidensaul. His lifelong fascination with migratory birds has made him one of the foremost researchers about bird migration in the world. Scott explains how birds and other animals know when it’s time to migrate, and how they manage to find their way without getting lost.

Scott also shares how animals like whales, butterflies, and even sea turtles make epic seasonal journeys. We learn why migration is risky, and how we can help protect animals along their way.

We also discover the amazing science behind how birds navigate using the stars and even Earth’s magnetic field. Scott tells us about bar-tailed godwits, which fly more than 8,000 miles nonstop across the ocean, and Arctic terns, which travel over 60,000 miles in a single year!

What is Quantum Entanglement?

Scott Weidensaul explains that scientists are just now beginning to understand how birds can navigate at night when they migrate. Migrating birds use quantum entanglement. How that works is that there is pigment in the eye of birds called cryptochrome. Cryptocrhome is a light-sensitive protein that plays a crucial role in allowing birds to actually see the Earth’s magnetic field.

Our guest Scott Weidensaul wishes he could see what this looks like from a bird’s point of view. What do you think it looks like to see the Earth’s magnetosphere?

An artists' rendition of what the manetosphere might look like from a bird's point of view.

Learn more about migration, how climate change is affecting animal travel, and how planting native shrubs and trees in your backyard can help migrating birds along their way. You’ll also hear the Kids Crew in conversation with Scott, asking great questions about nature and navigation.

Follow Bird Migrations With MOTUS

Community scientists just like you help researchers track bird migrations. The Canadian team at MOTUS.org welcome participation from a diverse community of researchers, practitioners, companies, organizations and people working cooperatively towards shared science and conservation objectives. Everyone is welcome to support and participate.

A screenshot of the world map of MOTUS data points

Some birds travel at night to avoid predators and fly through calm air. We hear a special feature from Bird Note called The Music of Birds Migrating at Night. It’s filled with the tiny peeps, squeaks, and whistles birds make as they pass overhead. These special nighttime sounds help scientists learn more about the birds’ migration paths.

A line of birds flying across a full moon, with black sky beyind.<br />

The Children’s Hour is produced by The Children’s Hour Inc., a New Mexico-based nonprofit. This episode was written and produced by Katie Stone, with production help from Sarah Gabrielli and our intern Thaniel. Our show was recorded at Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA by Chad Scheer. Our theme music was composed by C.K. Barlow.

The Children’s Hour is distributed by Native Voice One, The Native American Radio Network.

Please note: not all songs we play can be found in Spotify.

Playlist: Migration

title	artist	album
Birds Fly Away	Theresa Andersson	Hummingbird, Go!
Little Bird	Jessie Baylin	Strawberry Wind (Deluxe Edition)
Magical Migration	Magical Tunes: Ultimate Children's Songs Playlist	Galloping Through the Glow
Migration of Birds	Wally Wolodarsky	For the Birds: The Birdsong Project, Vol. I
Migration	Dana	A Place to Call Home
Bird Migration	MMMKids with Dave Burba	Songs for Teaching
Migration Song	Heather Feather	Songs for Growing
Birds of America Don't Care-Oh	The Deedle Deedle Dees	Strange Dees, Indeed
Beautiful Bird	Randall Paskemin	Goodnight, Sweet Dreams, I Love You
The Monarch Butterfly Song	Marsha and the Positrons	Positronic
Migration	Birdsong and the Eco-wonders	If I Were a Fish (And Other Ocean Songs for Kids)
Fly Away (Free Bird)	Yaniza	Fly Away (Free Bird) - Single