I’m not sure that I believe in bird migration. It’s impossible, isn’t it? What sort of fool thinks that a 12g Sedge Warbler can fly over 2,000 miles each autumn to sub-Saharan Africa and then fly over 2,000 miles back again each spring to Rye? It’s preposterous!
Yet we know it’s true, because of good science. Many hundreds of volunteer ringers catch birds in nets and place upon each one a lightweight, uniquely numbered, internationally recognised marker. A small percentage of these unharmed and unhindered birds will turn up in other ringers nets later in their lives, maybe many, many miles away, and another vital piece of information is added to our knowledge of complex international avian movements.
Most species of birds migrate to some extent. Even if just short distances. The populations of common garden birds will ebb and flow throughout the year, with numbers being topped up considerably with birds from the continent in winter, for example.
But the fact that a Swallow skimming over Castle Water just now will end up in South Africa after a flight of six weeks or more seems so far-fetched.
The obstacles are just too challenging to contemplate. They have always faced natural
dangers such as predation, hunger and exhaustion but now they must weave their way
through human-induced hurdles such as radically reduced and denuded habitats, crashing insect populations, extreme weather…the list goes on. As do the birds, purposefully pushing towards their destination, the biological and geographical imperative seared into their DNA after millions of years of training.
Bird species migrating through Rye will change week by week, as the late summer and
autumn progresses. Some wading birds from the far north and our own adult Cuckoos have long-since departed. Right now you might look out for passing warblers, Yellow Wagtails, Wheatears and Whinchats. And you must remember to look to the skies! An Osprey has already been seen here this month, heading from the Scottish Highlands to west Africa, perhaps. Later in the year there’ll be flocks of Woodpigeons, finches, pipits and much more. They will fly over Rye in significant numbers. But will you spot them?
Someone probably will. A dedicated flock of local birders is out there all through the year monitoring the bird populations. Ticking boxes, making lists, adding to the science.
From now until November birders will keep binoculars close to hand at all times, as anything could fly over or could be lurking in any old bush, in any old garden, in any old town. That’s the beauty of autumn migration, the best period of the birding year.
Of course, each year the numbers diminish and increasingly birders shake their heads in disbelief at how pitiful the counts of once common migrants have become. The shrinking populations of House Martins, Redstarts, Spotted Flycatchers…. how long have you got?…shouldn’t be just of concern to birdwatchers. These are the “canaries in the mine”, the simple, easily recorded pieces of ecological data that tell us, unequivocally, that things are going wrong, that tell us that the biodiversity crisis is real and at least as dangerous and immediate as the climate crisis.
But we must carry on immersing ourselves in nature, recording it and loving it and autumn migration is a wonderful time to do that. We must hope that the penny will soon drop for those that have the power to act and protect our wildlife on a global scale. Meanwhile, the dedicated ringers will continue their hard work and each bird they carefully handle will add a little to our collective understanding.
Image Credits: Barry Yates .
Really interesting article. How do they do it? We humans get lost without our sat nav but these amazing creatures travel thousands of miles, often for the first time as a matter of course. Nature is amazing!