BIRD MIGRATION ROUTES
As the days get shorter, millions of migrant birds leave the British Isles before winter sets in. Most flock to warmer climes and here are a few of the most startling examples:
BLACK CAP
This common warbler is a shortrange migrant that winters in southern Spain and Morocco. But in recent years, breeders from Germany and Austria have been flying west to spend the winter with us in Britain, and these birds often visit garden feeders.
CUCKOO
Adult cuckoos don’t have to rear their young so leave Britain as early as June, with the juveniles following in autumn. They head to the forests of central Africa via three routes, crossing the Mediterranean at Gibraltar, the Balearic Islands or Italy.
OSPREY
Now thriving in Britain, these fish-eating raptors make a leisurely migration to the coasts of West Africa. Tourists visiting Gambia or Senegal for some winter sun might well see Scottish ospreys fishing along the beach.
SWIFT
Young swifts that fledge in Britain will be entirely airborne for the next two or three years – feeding, drinking and sleeping on the wing. They head to tropical skies over central and south-west Africa, before finally returning to breed.
PUFFIN
What puffins did in winter was a mystery until recently. By tagging these tough little members of the auk family with geolocators, scientists have shown that they head far out to sea, braving several months in the stormy North Atlantic.
SWALLOW
Until the 19th century, many people still thought swallows hibernated in mud at the bottom of ponds. We now know they migrate to South Africa, a trip of up to 9,500km. Most cross the fearsome Sahara Desert, while others skirt around it.
WHITETHROAT
In the weeks before it migrates, this hedgerow warbler switches from insects to sugary berries to rapidly put on weight as fuel. It spends the winter in the arid, scrubby region known as the Sahel, to the south of the Sahara.
ARTIC TERN
Nicknamed ‘sea swallows’, these graceful, long-winged seabirds are true globetrotters. They swap our northern winter for the permanent daylight of the Antarctic summer, looping around the Atlantic Ocean to get there in an epic journey up to 35,000km long.