Community Life Magazine March13

WILDLIFE
Some of the early migrants will
already have reached our shores.
Wheatears and Sand Martins are
generally the first to arrive, as
early as February.
A bigger movement of most of our
visiting birds, including warblers,
swallows, house martins, sea
birds and cuckoos then follows in
March and April, and most of the
regular migrants are on territory
by mid to end of April.
A few species arrive later, Swifts,
Turtle doves, Nightjars and
spotted Flycatchers can arrive as
late as May.
While these birds are arriving,
other species that have spent the
winter here, such as Fieldfares,
Redwings, Waxwings, Waders,
Ducks and Winter Swans are
heading further north to return
to their arctic breeding grounds.
Spring Bird Migration
As this latest edition of the Community Life Magazine
arrives on your doorstep, many of our spring migrant
birds will be making their long and arduous journeys back
to the UK from their wintering grounds across Africa and
southern Europe.
Cuckoo
It’s all about survival
The question everyone asks is why
do these birds fly such massive
distances and undertake perilous
flights to get here every year?
Basically, it’s all about survival.
Birds migrate to reach better
food supplies, good habitat
and breeding sites and to have
a better chance of successfully
raising their young.
Not all birds travel 1000’s of miles
however. Some birds are partial
migrants and an example of this
would be birds such as Meadow
Pipits. In the UK during the
winter, these birds move from
high moorland down to estuaries
and the coast and return again to
the moors in early spring. There
are many other species that make
these relatively short journeys,
again to find food and survive
at hard times. Over many years,
birds have been recorded on
migration and the first and last
dates of every species logged at
coastal bird observatories. Bird
ringing records have shown us
where birds go on migration.
Nowadays, with advances in
technology, individual birds can
be tracked and the whole of their
journey can be mapped. Amazing
data has been collected about
bird journeys.
Swallow
Last year, a three month old
Juvenile Osprey flew from its nest
in Scotland and reached Senegal
in West Africa in just two weeks.
This is thought to be a record
time for an Osprey to migrate,
but we only knew about it as the
bird had been satellite tagged
while at its nest.
While you are out over the next
few weeks, look out for these
newly arrived birds.
Heart-warming sight
The first sight of a swallow and
the first cuckoo calling are heartwarming
moments when we
know that spring is truly with
us and we can be privileged to
share this moment with these
incredible creatures.
RSPB LODGE
Sandy, Bedford SG19 2DL
Phone: 01767 680541
www.rspb.org.uk
32 Please mention Community Life when responding to adverts
Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)