If you think about it, many of the animals of Georgia's coast don't live there year round. They spend only a portion of their lives there, or pass through once or twice a year. Right whales, manatees, sea turtles, fish, birds, butterflies-they all migrate along our coast.
Modern humans navigate with the help of nautical charts and a global positioning system.
Scientists are just beginning to learn how migratory animals navigate, but they're discovering that many may be born with these tools imbedded in their brains. Birds, the most studied migratory animals, navigate not just by stars or landmarks as once thought. They have cells in their heads containing iron oxide crystals that align with magnetic north like the needle of a compass. These crystals allow them to sense the angle of magnetic field lines and determine the direction to the equator or the poles. Vision, through light-sensitive pigments that act as magnetic sensors, may serve as a backup navigational system.