The Wonderful of Birds Migration

Canadian geese on its flight to migrate to safer breeding places - photo: M. Horath

Some birds flying thousands of miles a year migrating between two places across the continent to find suitable places to breed, feed and rising their chicks. Migration happens in so many ways from short distance, medium distance, long distance or some of the birds will stay at the same place throughout the year.

Studies of birds’ migration had been improved with the advancement of technologies available today. Even though today the studies can be conducted properly with satellites tracking devices, the birds’ populations are getting decreases as their natural stopover areas had been used for development by human. Other threats also caused by plastics pollution that killed many birds and also their main sources of foods.

With the proper studies, action can be taken in order to identify the important areas for migratory birds can be protected in order to help them to complete their journey. Most of these areas are wetlands and coastal areas that become their main feeding grounds during their journey across the globe.

Migrating waders in Roebuck Bay, Western Australia - photo: Mdk572

Birds migrate in order to make sure the availability of the food resources. While during the mating seasons they also need to make sure that the areas they select is safe to raise their young. Many migratory birds migrate in large groups, while the short range migratory birds might migrate in smaller numbers. Since these patterns of migration had been going on for long period of times, the ecosystem in both migratory areas are suitable to support their needs.

Among the long-distance migration, Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) known to be the longest migrator by flying from Arctic breeding grounds and the Antarctic each year. Other long-distance migrators include short-tailed shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris), ruff (Philomachus puganx), northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), Amur falcon (Falco amurensis) and many other birds that migrates in order to find better places with plenty of foods.

Migration pattern few species of birds - by: L.Shyamal

Arctic tern migrate the longest distance - photo: Toivo Toivanen & Tiina Toppila

Some birds might migrating in smaller distance - photo: Ken Thomas

Even though harnessing plenty of food resources in the areas where they stays, migratory birds also will enrich it with their faeces to increase the blooming of algae and fertilized the areas to make it suitable for other life to grows by the time they return the following year. This is why the migrating process keep on continuing for long period of times – until we change the environment.

The same thing with medium-distance and short-distance migrators. They also balancing the amount of their food resources. Spreading the seeds, improve the soils, increase the drainage (when they scratching the ground to find food), controlling pest and many other things that birds do.

Mass flocking of bird will enrich the areas - photo: Times of India

Equipped with wings, birds are the animals that can travels further in order to shapes the world compared with fish that can only travel to areas covered with water (and either they are salt-water fish or fresh-water fish). For millions of years birds the only travellers that can go from end to end of the world in order to balance their ecosystem.

Birds’ migrations are one of the best things to observe in nature. From there, there are many things interconnected together with other lives wherever they stop. As the time goes by, everything will keep on flourishing until they come again the following year.