Drought seems to accentuate the effects of climate change, retired U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist Joe Neal of Fayetteville, said. Neal co-authored of Birds of Arkansas and said there are already impacts to birds being seen from climate change in Northwest Arkansas.
“Just since May, several interesting bird records have been made that are clearly associated with climate change,” Neal said. “There are species of birds that are moving their ranges north, which was the prediction Audubon made more than a decade ago. As everything is heating up and drying out, we are seeing some water birds moving north in reaction to that. In May, before the current drought situation, a bird called limpkin was seen at Lake Sequoyah in Fayetteville. Eventually two were seen out there. Before now, they were almost always only seen in Florida and extreme southern Louisiana.”
Limpkin is a large wading bird related to rails and cranes. And in mid-July there were nine white ibis seen at Lake Sequoia. These beautiful, 22- to 30-in. tall birds are a delight for bird lovers to see. They forage in swamp-like habitats.
“What is happening as temperatures are rising, and with everything drying out, these birds are being pushed out of their normal territory, so we are finding them in what is left in the aquatic habitat. In our area, we have created these lakes that provide habitats that didn’t exist historically. When they need water, birds find these habitats.”
Because of the drought, a lot of the fruit eating birds such as robins and catbirds are being forced into areas shady with moisture where there is still some fruit left. Neal said they are increasingly being found in river bottoms, and near springs, creeks, and lakes.
“The fruits are just all drying out in other places,” Neal said. “This area of Arkansas used to be covered in large, open prairies. Those have largely disappeared due to development and lack of natural fire that used to burn off cedars and other vegetation, leaving room for prairie plants.
“We definitely have lost most of our prairies. Prairies grasses in Northwest Arkansas probably developed 5,000 to 6,000 years ago during a very dry period, the hypsithermal. Our current average rainfall is 50 inches a year. During the hypsithermal period, it was more like 10 inches a year. Conditions here were much like farther west where it is hot and dry. Now we seem to be trending towards the hypsithermal period again. These places that were dry and hot back then are just fine.”
Neal said prairies can take the climate change quite a bit because prairie plants have extremely deep roots. For example, big bluestem grass has roots that go six to eight feet deep. At a recent Audubon field trip to a prairie, people were amazed at all kinds of flowers blooming in the intense radiation.
“Prairies can take that,” Neal said. “They are set up for that. The grey-headed coneflowers, it is amazing how well they do. Drought is their thing. And the prairies attract all kinds of birds and pollinating insects, bees and beetles, wasps, you name it. Butterflies and moths do quite well in that environment that is adapted to the dryness.
“Another habitat that does well is glades like those at Lake Leatherwood where they have been doing a restoration. All the plants and animals native to glades do quite well with the hot and dry because that is what they are about. Glades have very little soil, and complete exposure to intense thermal radiation. One of the glades at Lake Leatherwood is a quarry used to make the dam. That quarry is home to the Eastern Collared Lizard, which is rare in Arkansas. In the glades, these animals are adapted to this kind of weather.”
Historically, when it got dry like this, there would be fires caused by lightning.
“We have lost glades all over the Ozarks because we are very good about controlling fires,” Neal said. “If you control all fires, cedars crowd and cover everything.”
Other species of birds are fleeing the heat and drought by moving to areas like the White River Valley and the Buffalo River area. And people who want to help can make sure they have some water out along with their backyard bird feeders.
“Birds react to the suburbs we have created,” Neal said. “I have shade and lots of bushes around my house and the birds love it. They like the things we do with our gardens and move into our habitat. Fayetteville has a very aggressive non-native plant called bush honeysuckle that provides a huge amount of fruit for catbirds.
“As climate change intensifies, the general movement of birds to the north will continue. But some birds have no place to move.
“Baird’s sparrow is at the northernmost limits of where it can make it,” Neal said. “If you have enough climate change to create global temperature in the higher range of what is possible, Audubon believes Baird’s sparrow will become extinct. Other species will have huge reductions in range. Audubon says that birds can’t fight climate change, but we can. There are 389 bird species at risk of extinction in a warming world. Many can still be protected if we act now.”
Other wildlife is also stressed from the current hot, dry summer. Keith Stephens, chief of communications, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, said most wildlife can live for extended periods without food, but they do need water. During periods of extreme heat and drought, having access to water can make a huge difference to the survival of wildlife. “Luckily in Arkansas, they should have plenty of places to find water for the foreseeable future,” Stephens said.
Warmer water is a concern for aquatic species because warm water contains less oxygen than cold water. “As temperatures rise and dissolved oxygen decreases, fish begin to experience stress,” Stephens said. “A sudden thunderstorm could decrease the temperature too quickly causing a small pond to turn over and remove most of the oxygen, resulting in a fish kill.”