The migration of birds is fascinating! No other group of animals is as mobile as birds are. Each year billions of birds migrate globally and this is one of the most spectacular phenomena in nature. Their ability to fly gives them the opportunity to move around the world in large home ranges.
Migration distances range from a few hundred kilometres to tens of thousands of kilometres, depending on the species. As winter approaches and the availability of food drops, birds migrate, moving from areas of low resources to areas of higher resources. The two primary resources needed are food and nesting locations to shelter from cold.
Isn’t it amazing that they don’t need any documents to move around the world? There is no border, languages, rules or culture to keep them apart. They are free to fly wherever and whenever they please!
On the other hand, human beings are suffering the circumstances we created for ourselves. We reached the Moon, we created nuclear weapons and electro-magnetic radiation and kept increasing the number of cell phone towers in cities – apparently bringing down bird population, the innocent creatures are suffering for our needs! But still, no one can expect peace. We need documents to travel. We humans divided the world in pieces, created borders and labelled ourselves. Just one word itself makes a person a foreigner, a refugee, an immigrant.
Anyway, this article is dedicated to World Migratory Bird Day. There is still a lot to learn from where these birds really go and how they navigate, to the methods they use to prepare for such epic journeys.
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