Are migratory birds affected by solar flares?

[Chefguy]

I'm looking out my office window at a flock of 50-100 Canada geese that are wheeling in a large circle, seemingly confused as to which direction to take (but then I'm not a...um...birdyologist).

Does high solar activity such as we are now experiencing, and the resultant effect on magnetic fields, throw a wrench into the on-board navigation systems that migratory birds use? Or are they guided primarily by landmarks?

[HeyHomie]

Originally posted by Chefguy
(but then I'm not a...um...birdyologist)

Orinthologist.

I don't know the answer to your question, though.

[Speaker for the Dead]

Well, some whales end up beached because the magnetic fields runs into islands, so at least their movement patters might be disrupted. (Cite: Eyewitness Guide to Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises)

[Planet of the Shapes]

I believe its actually spelt Ornithologist.

I remember seeing a program once that said that many migratory birds use the earth's magnetic field to navigate. I don't know though whether solar flare activity would disrupt the magnetic field this far down. I would guess no, but i'm afraid i don't know.

[Chefguy]

[Little Bill] "Birdyologist", I sez. [/Little Bill]

[dantheman]

Planet of the Shapes, would that program have been The Core? :p

[Colibri]

Originally posted by Chefguy
I'm looking out my office window at a flock of 50-100 Canada geese that are wheeling in a large circle, seemingly confused as to which direction to take (but then I'm not a...um...birdyologist).

Does high solar activity such as we are now experiencing, and the resultant effect on magnetic fields, throw a wrench into the on-board navigation systems that migratory birds use? Or are they guided primarily by landmarks?

Ornithologist here.

Birds use a lot of multiply redundant systems to navigate, so this is not an either/or question.

Birds are known to use landmarks, celestial cues (position of sun and stars), polarized light, and wind patterns, among other things, to navigate. If one system is unavailable, (say, they can't see the sky because it's overcast) they will use another as a fallback.

Some birds have been shown to be able to use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate. (Homing pigeons were unable to home if their vision was obscured [i]and]/i] small magnets were attached to their heads.) However, I am not aware of any specific research that shows disruption of migration by solar flares. I would say it's theoretically possible, though.

This said, it's unlikely the geese you saw were disoriented by the solar flares, unless it also happened to be a overcast and/or foggy day. Magnetism is probably used mainly when other systems are not working.

[Squink]

The geomagnetic storm has caused compasses to swing wildly.
The compass variation at the Lerwick geomagnetic observatory in Scotland changed by 5.1 degrees in only 25 minutes at about 0630 GMT. last week's flare (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3223739.stm)