Why Do Birds Migrate? Unveiling the Remarkable Facts-2024

Why do Birds migrate? All the birds do not live in the same place throughout their lives. They migrate to get the seasonal resources, and food to breed successfully. Some birds take a short migration while many make legendary travels, crossing continents, oceans, and deserts.

In the United States, most migration occurs in May and September, when most birds start their migratory journey. These include warblers, buntings, hummingbirds, waterfowl, shorebirds, swallows, raptors, and many more migrates. But the question here arises: why do they prefer to migrate? Start the journey to unveil the answer. 

Why Do Birds Migrate?

Birds migrate due to some critical issues like food resources, safety, and reproduction. They use multiple techniques to navigate their flyways and use physical landmarks such as coastlines, mountains, and rivers. Birds can also navigate using stars, the sun, the Earth’s magnetic field, the sense of smell, or may just continue their path by following other birds. 

Birds Migrates For Food

Food resources are the crucial reason for bird migration but many species align their migratory journey according to the day length to notice the seasonal changes. For instance; orioles, swallows, warblers, tanagers, and other insect-consuming birds schedule their travel north so they can reach when the population of inset increases in spring. They start to travel again in autumn, the season when days start to become shorter, despite abundant food resources.

Hummingbirds are adapted in migration to take advantage of food supplies. The ruby-throated hummingbirds spend their winter in Central America, Mexico, and southern Floride, migrate north at the start of spring when flowers start to bloom, and finally reach their northernmost breeding areas in late May or early June. They start to migrate south in late August or early September when northern flowers fade and southern flowers brilliantly bloom. Nomadic birds like cedar waxing don’t move every year but will migrate to places where the food is in plenty.

Birds Migrate For Reproduction

Birds need abundant food to reproduce successfully, which is also the main factor for the migration of birds. They migrate to the region that has abundant food so that they can give abundant food supply to their hungry nestlings and a good opportunity for their healthy survival. Their breeding range of birds may have appropriate nesting sites, where they prefer to live in a tree cavity, in open places, or on a cliff ledge.

During migration, many birds distribute themselves across nesting areas which provides them with more space and area for foraging. For instance, The white-throated sparrow passes its winter season in the southeastern United States and spreads out in spring to reach throughout the northeastern U.S. and a broad swath of Canada’s boreal forest that is larger range as compared to their winter habitat. When the nesting season ends,  they gather in flocks and return to their small winter habitat.

Read More: Do birds fall in love? A look at courtship display.

Birds Migrate For Resources

Birds prefer to migrate to those areas where the resources are abundant and easily available. When they feel competitive for their food, and nesting sites, they expand their territories to reduce the competition. Birds migrate to distant places like shorebirds breed in Arctic areas and escape from more predator-dense tropical areas to give their young ones a better opportunity to survive in those critical first weeks of their life.

When the breeding season is over,  birds can migrate to areas that have more resources. For example, the common loon famous for its eerie sounds, breeds in the northern United States and throughout Canada. They move to coastal regions in the fall and live there much of the winter, where they find fish in abundance in open seawater. Many species of ducks, puffins, penguins, and grebes show the same migration pattern.

Which Birds Migrates

In the United Kingdom, the well-known migratory birds are the ones that can travel long distances like Swallows. Most Swallows that breed in the UK spend their winter in southern Africa. The facts about how many other birds migrate will surprise you.

Globally, almost 2,000 bird species are regular migrants, about 20% of the world’s total. Some regions of the world show a higher ratio of migrants as compared to others. In northern areas like Scandinavia and Canada and temperate regions like the United States, almost 50%of species migrate, particularly insect eaters. These species migrate in spring to get a large amount of insects but wouldn’t have adequate food if they lived there throughout the winter.

In tropical areas like the Amazon rainforest, a limited number of species migrate over long distances because the food resources and climate there are more sufficient throughout the year.

How Do Birds Know Where to Go?

Migration patterns of the birds have evolved over a long time. Navigation is typically influenced by environmental factors such as changes in day length and temperature. If the individual bird covers its first annual migration cycle successfully, then they will repeat this migration pattern throughout their lives.

Here the question arises in your mind what indicators do the birds use to navigate their migratory route in the first place? 

The answer is that many use physical landmarks such as river valleys, mountain ranges, or coastlines as a guideline. Others move more directly even if their routes involve risky stretches of sea and desserts. Routes sometimes meet at particular junctions, such as narrow sea crossings or mountain passes. Many migratory birds return using the route they follow while going. While others follow a different path so they may take advantage of the weather system and abundant food, that is available only at a particular location at multiple times of the year.

Why Migratory birds need our help

Spring and summer would feel incomplete without these vibrant birds that fill up the air with their sounds. Likewise winter and autumn would be less cheerful without charming wanders, wildfowl, and other species that stay with us throughout the cold months.

Fewer of these birds return each year, with Turtle Doves, Cuckoos, and Spotted Flycatchers all in real decline. Swifts and House Martins, which prefer to live alongside us, also have been added to the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concerns in the United Kingdom. Certain reasons result in declines in these species. Take a look at them.

Dangers of Migration

Migration has evolved over a period that enables species to survive but still birds have to face some dangers that include.

Bad Weather, particularly severe events 

Many factors like sandstorms, wildfires, and severe storms at sea are all challenging and put them in danger. 

Birds can get lost

Youngest on their first annual migration journey can easily astray, particularly if they have to face the bad weather.

Loss of resting spots:

Birds need a safe spot to take a rest while migrating. Wetlands in the UK are best for migrants. If people destroy these places or tease the birds when they are feeding. It can be risky.

Predators

Predators target migratory birds and add them to their menu. Resting in their way can be dangerous for them.

Hunting

Migratory birds face the threat of both legal hunting and illegal killing.

Collision course

Tall, man-made things can be risky for migratory birds. If wind turbines and power lines are placed in their routines, it causes collision problems.

FAQS

Conclusion

Why do birds migrate? They migrate to take advantage of plentiful food, a good site for reproduction, and to avail of other resources. Body hormones and environmental cues like changes in temperature and day length are the factors that tell them it’s time to migrate.

The young ones learn their migratory path from their parents. Some birds follow the same route while going and returning but others may not. Certain migratory risky factors like hunting, predators, and loss of resting spots cause a decline in the number of migratory birds.