MarkyMark's Nature Blog: MarkyMark's Nature Blog:- Migration #8

Swallow - Photo by Mark Appleton

I love this time of year, the weather improves, there is new bird song and new birds to see.
The birds are migrating. Living under lockdown makes daily allocated exercise even more important to enjoy. Not everyone can get to green spaces or has a garden so I will try and bring a little bit of nature to you.

Migration is already well under away and so I feel this post is a little late as our early migrants have already arrived. A walk in the local woods and I have heard Chiffchaff and Blackcaps singing as well as reports already of the Cuckoo and Swallow being heard and spotted.

When we talk about Migration a lot of people usually think about our Summer birds eg. those arriving in March/April but we also get a lot of waders and ducks arriving in Winter. This blog will talk about our summer visitors only and some that you may find or hear in your local woods or open spaces. More can be found out about our overwintering birds from Bird Aware Solent and in their blogs:- Bird Aware Solent Blogs

Blackcap singing - Picture by Simon Brown

For Blackcap song click here:- Blackcap Song

Chiff Chaff - Photo by Mark Appleton

For me, I know spring is here when I hear the sound of a Chiffchaff in the local woods. The second half of March sees the first wave of male Chiffchaffs proclaiming their new found territories and singing their hearts out for a potential mate. They are easier to hear than see. Once located by sound they can usually be spotted high up on a tree perch. They are also one of the birds known as LBJ (Little Brown Job). For their song, click on this link Chiff Chaff Song. They are very Similar to the Willow Warbler but they migrate shorter distances due to their shorter wings. If you do get to see one up close, their stripe above the eye is less prominent and they have a more notable broken eye-ring than the Willow Warbler. Also tail is almost continuously held downwards.

Willow Warbler - Photo by Mark Appleton

Willow warblers are longer winged and have a more prominent pale stripe above their eye. They are pale-legged and less inclined to frequently dip their tail. In late summer and autumn the juveniles have quite bright yellow underparts. They are separated by the very similar Chiffchaff by their song. Click on the following link to hear:- Willow Warbler's song

What is Bird Migration:- It is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Birds that nest in the Northern Hemisphere tend to migrate northward in the spring to take advantage of the abundance of food, flourishing insect populations, budding plants and plenty of nesting locations. The abundance of food allows plentiful supplies for raising young. As winter approaches and the availability of insects and other food drops, the birds move south again.

When do they migrate:- In the UK, typically the peak migration periods are mid-March to the end of May and mid-August to the end of October but this can vary due to climate change, weather and other factors.

Where do they migrate:-In general our summer visitors spend the warmer months here and the colder part of the year in southern Europe or Africa, many of them South of the Sahara. Some species such as Swallows, spend our winter months as far south as South Africa. The Swallow can be distinguished by its dark red throat, dark blue, shiny upper parts and long tail streamers.

Swallow - Photo by Mark Appleton

For Swallow song click here:- Swallow song

Some of our birds are passage migrants and may just be stopping for a rest or a feed on their way to somewhere else. I have been lucky to photograph the beautiful Wheatear in the past. It is renowned for its distinctive rump and black-and-white tail pattern, easier seen when flying. Scan areas for very short grass and fence lines. They love well-cropped fields as well as ploughed fields. Males are pale blue grey above with a black mask and white below:-

Male Wheatear - Photo by Mark Appleton

For Wheatear song click here:- Wheatear song

Another passage migrant I have been very lucky to photograph is the beautiful little Pied Flycatcher. Males are strikingly black-and-white and not much bigger than one of the small tits. This one was spotted by a walk along a river. They stop off in a variety of habitats on their passage migration, including trees, bushes etc and often near water.-

Pied Flycatcher - Photo by Mark Appleton

For Pied Flycatcher song click here:- Pied Flycatcher song

Pied Flycatcher - Photo by Mark Appleton

How do they navigate:- It seems to be inbred or instinct, for examples cuckoos make the journey even though some of them have been brought up by a non-migratory species such as Dunnock or Meadow Pipit. Scientists suggest birds get their navigational information from the position of the sun, the stars and the earths magnetic field. They also use visual landmarks on approaching their destination that include prominent landmarks such as hills and rivers and manmade features such as roads and motorways.We should be in awe of our summer visitors as they encounter many dangers trying to find their way here, including hunting, storms, predators, collisions and starvation due to loss of habitat.

What is the farthest migratory bird:- The bird that flies the farthest is the tiny Artic Tern, an elegant white sea bird (not to be confused with the Common Tern). This bird also sees more daylight than any other. Scientists, using miniature transmitters have found they travel between Greenland and Antartica each year , totalling about 44,000 miles.