MIGRATION

While we always watch the return of our many species of water fowl, we have never participated in an off island migration bird count.  And why this one now?

 Avian migration is a natural miracle. Migratory birds fly hundreds and thousands of miles to find the best ecological conditions and habitats for feeding, breeding and raising their young. When conditions at breeding sites become unfavorable, it is time to fly to regions where conditions are better.

 There are many different migration patterns. The majority of birds migrate from northern breeding areas to southern wintering grounds. However, some birds breed in southern parts of Africa and migrate to northern wintering grounds, or horizontally, to enjoy the milder coastal climates in winter. Other birds reside on lowlands during the winter months and move up a mountain for the summer.

Migratory birds have the perfect morphology and physiology to fly fast and across long distances. Often, their journey is an exhausting one, during which they go to their limits. It is  amazing how migratory birds can navigate with pin-point accuracy. Exactly how migrating birds find their flyways is not fully understood. It has been shown that they are able to orientate by the sun during the day, by the stars at night, and by the geomagnetic field at any time. Some species can even detect polarized light, which many migrating birds may use for navigation at night.

Migration is a perilous journey and involves a wide range of threats, often caused by human activities. And as diverse as people and their habits in different countries are, so are threats the birds face. As migratory birds depend on a range of sites along their distribution area, the loss of wintering and stopover sites could have a dramatic impact on the birds’ chances of survival.

Of the 650+ species of North American breeding birds, more than half are migratory, and some 350 species travel long distances each year.  Migration should be a cause for celebration, but those astounding journeys make this one of the most dangerous times of year for birds in America and around the world.  Among those embarking on their fall migration will be many young birds. These fledglings are only a few months old and must quickly learn how to survive across a perilous journey of thousands of miles.

Flying long distances involves crossing many borders between countries with differing environmental politics, legislation and conservation measures. It is evident that international cooperation among governments, NGOs and other stakeholders is required along the entire flyway of a species in order to share knowledge and to coordinate conservation efforts.

World Migratory Bird Day has a global outreach and is an effective tool to help raise global awareness of the threats faced by migratory birds, their ecological importance, and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.

So once again I get my very small crew of birders out on October 9 for a fun day of bird watching on our small island.