Often we are asked when is the best time to travel? There are so many reasons to travel during the Southern Africa summer but one of our favourite reasons is to travel for the summer migrants. It is birders heaven from September/October when the migrants start arriving through March/April when they start heading home.

 

Regardless of whether you are a bona fide twicher or travelling more for the larger game, it is a wonderful experience to look a little closer and admire these birds, large and small, and the incredible journey they have been on to reach us here in Southern Africa.

 

It is estimated that 4.5 billion birds migrate to Southern Africa and back again and this makes Southern Africa a hotspot for birding and birders! “More than 100 migratory bird species have been recorded in southern Africa, with 44 Palearctic migrant species (Europe, Asia, northern Africa and the northern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula) and 35 Intra-African migrant species having been recorded in South Africa.” ¹.

 

All of these migrants that take these amazing journeys will stock up the fat levels (sometimes twice their normal weight) before departing so as to have the energy required for the long flight. They utilize a well-connected network of important habitats en-route to refuel, so it is not only the wintering or summer sites that are important but rather the whole route travelled. Their journeys are impressive feats and they have a variety of navigational skills, some use the sun and others the moon and even the detection of magnetic fields or their “compass sense”. A species to take note of is the Arctic tern that travels in excess of 35000km a year.

 

With the knowledge of the importance of these migrations and migratory routes, conservation and the necessity for conserving the habits these birds use to refuel en-route, their breeding grounds and their wintering grounds becomes critical. So often we look at the larger mammals and their conservation and forget about our feathered friends who are equally important.

“Two thousand species of bird (Worldwide), 20% of all known species, make regular seasonal movements. Many travel thousands of miles between their breeding places and their wintering grounds. More than 40% of these migratory species are declining, and nearly 200 are now classified as globally threatened. They face many dangers: destruction and degradation of habitats, loss of critical stopover sites such as coastal wetlands, illegal hunting, poisoning and pollution, and collisions with badly-sited infrastructure like power lines and wind turbines.”²

 

The below map shows the generally accepted 9 main migration routes referred to as flyaways.

 

Main Flyways of Migratory Birds - based on commons.wikimedia.org main international flyways of bird migration,
Wikigraphists of the Graphic Lab (fr)

 

The 9 major accepted flyways are: ⁴

• Pacific Americas Flyway
• Mississippi Americas Flyway
• Atlantic Americas Flyway
• East Atlantic Flyway
• Black Sea/Mediterranean Flyway
• West Asian-East African Flyway
• Central Asian Flyway
• East Asian-Australasian Flyway
• West Pacific Flyway 

How can you get involved?

 

Every year there is World Migratory Bird Day which is held on the second weekend in May.

“World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) was initiated in 2006 and is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. Each year, on the second weekend in May, people around the world take action and organize public events such as bird festivals, education programmes, exhibitions and bird-watching excursions to celebrate WMBD. However, countries or regions observing the peak of migrations at other times of the year are encouraged to celebrate WMBD when it is most appropriate for them.”³

 

Our follow on blog next week is about where the birding hotspots are in Southern Africa and which tours visit those areas.

 

References:

1: Bird Life South Africa - http://www.birdlife.org.za/conservation/migratory-birds
2. Bird Life - http://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/programmes/migratory-birds-and-flyways
3: World Migratory Bird Day http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/about

4: WysInfo Docuwebs & images http://www.wysinfo.com/Migratory_Birds/Migratory_Birds_Without_Boundaries.htm