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Bird Migration - A Natural Miracle Part One: Explorers and Pioneers by William Bowell

The journeys undertaken by birds on their migration from their summer breeding homes to their wintering grounds are incredible. As the nights get longer in October, migration is well underway for birds and our small island is a brilliant place to witness this natural miracle.

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Why do birds migrate?

The urge to migrate to warmer climes isn’t because birds are thrill-seeking sun lovers. Migration is a dangerous undertaking. Goldcrests weigh the same as a 20 pence piece yet fearlessly set out across the North Sea to our shores this month. These are the smallest birds to be recorded in Britain and are a common breeder here, but in October numbers swell as Continental birds arrive, with some remaining and some leaving for southern mainland Europe.

On their journey over the sea they will encounter bad weather, predators and almost certain exhaustion. They can only land if they are lucky enough to find a boat or oil rig. The risk is high but the will is stronger.

The two main factors that compel birds to migrate are food and weather. Usually the two are connected. A breeding location in the far north can be inhospitable in the winter which will make finding food hard if not impossible. Birds also migrate to find new food sources as a way to preserve their feeding grounds for the next year.

A ‘Fall’ of birds

Imagine you are standing on the east coast in October. The wind is a stiff north-easterly and there is a threat of rain in the air. Hundreds of miles away in Scandinavia, though, the Norwegian coastline is set fine and clear after a week of westerly winds and rain. This is exactly the set of conditions that, as a birder, I crave.

Great White & Little Egret. Little Egret first bred in Britain in 1996 and now is a common sight around the Deepings. Great White Egret first bred in Britain this decade and is now annual in the Deepings. This was taken on Deeping Highbank. Pied Flycatcher. These small passerines are regularly associated with ‘falls’ on the east coast as they fly down to Africa from their northern breeding grounds.

Why? Because these are also the conditions which will bring millions of ‘common’ birds over to our shores. I have witnessed amazing ‘falls’ on the east coast before, from tens of thousands of goldcrests in Yorkshire to thousands of blackbirds and other thrushes on the north Norfolk coast.

Many of these birds are just so exhausted that they show no fear of humans as all they want to do is feed. Many will perish but those who don’t, once they are strong enough once again, will continue to thrive.

Other birds that have spent the summer here will also be the move. Swifts, birds which only land to breed (even sleeping on the wing) have long gone, having spent just four or so months in Britain. Swallows and martins, if they haven’t already, will be gathering on wires, having raised several broods of the next generation, getting ready to show them the way to Africa– a migration which could see them cross the barren landscape of the Sahara Desert.

The Pioneers and Lost Souls

Not all birds that reach our shores mean to get here. These could be blown off course, deranged or lost. These vagrants can also be at the very sharp end of colonising and the changing of a species range. As our climate in Britain gets warmer some birds are moving in from the south, whilst others are finding it too hot to handle and retreating north. continued >

Both started out as lost migrants but were trail blazers and now Collared Doves are common everywhere and Little Egrets are breeding as far north as Yorkshire. Great White and Cattle Egrets look to be next with numbers increasing year on year since they first bred ten years ago.

Our position on the planet and being an island has meant that we have seen vagrants from around the world. Each year lost birds are found from America, Africa and Asia. Sadly most of these will never find their true migration route. Indeed, it is thought that many of these birds will have something mentally wrong with them, making them fly in the wrong direction.

Once again the weather is also an important factor; birds start out to their intended landfall only to hit strong wind currents and are blown

Oriental Pratincole. Birds can get very lost on migration and this bird was at Frampton Marsh near Boston a few years ago when it should have flying around the wetlands of China!

completely off course. Locally, a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper was blown off course by some serious hurricanes in America in September. Being its first ever migration and being completely inexperienced it ended up on Deeping Lakes. Thankfully, this story probably has a happy ending as waders have been recorded flying non-stop from North America to Argentina, so a trip back across the Atlantic isn’t too much of a stretch.

Arctic Tern.These amazing migrants breed on islands off northern England and Scotland as well as further north and fly all the way down to the Antarctic for the winter.

Next month BIRD MIGRATION- A NATURAL MIRACLE Part Two: Winter visitors from the North.

Will Bowell works at Grasmere Farm Butchers in Market Deeping but in his spare time enjoys wildlife watching locally and across the country. He is also a keen photographer. Many of his images can be found at http://justwildimages.blogspot.co.uk/

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