Over Billion Birds on Transit

The Palaearctic-African migration is on. This is a rare occasion in bird migratory phenomena in the world. It comprises enormous numbers of birds travelling between Europe and Africa. Approximately 2.1 billion songbirds and near-passerine birds migrate from Europe to Africa from August to December.

Blacksmith plover

These long-distant migration patterns are complex. They have evolved over thousands of years and are controlled at least partially by the genetic makeup of the birds. The migrating birds get compass information from the sun, the stars, and by sensing the earth’s magnetic field. They also get information from the position of the setting sun and from landmarks seen during the day. There’s even evidence that sense of smell plays a role, at least for homing pigeons.

For the last 51 years, bird ringers from Europe and Kenya meet in Tsavo West National Park at Ngulia Safari Lodge to participate in the ringing of these Palaearctic migratory songbirds. These birds breed in Europe and Asia and migrate to spend the winter in Africa. 

Most of these birds fly south at night, passing over Tsavo West National Park in November and December. On dark, misty nights, the migrating songbirds become disoriented and land in the bush around the lights of the lodge.

The birds are gently caught, carried in cloth bags, identified, measured, and fitted with a light metal ring on one leg. Then they are released to continue their journey. Since 1969, a total of 597,694 Palearctic migratory birds of 72 species and 15,570 individuals of Afrotropical birds of 234 species have been ringed at the Ngulia Ringing Site.

In 2020, a total of 11,254 birds, comprising of 10,666 Palaearctic migrants of 32 species and 588 Afrotropical birds of 75 species, were captured and ringed.

This year this two-week ringing session starts on 30th November to 10th December 2021 at Ngulia Lodge.

.    European stork

Bird ringing of the migratory birds is most birdwatchers desire.  It helps in getting crucial information for conservation. By knowing where birds are and when, important conservation decisions can be made, such as placement of wind turbines and reducing building lights on specific high-migration nights, to prevent the deaths of millions of birds.

Migrating birds cover thousands of kilometers in their annual travels, often traveling the same course year after year with little deviation. First-year birds often make their very first migration on their own

Some species, particularly waterfowl and cranes, follow preferred pathways on their annual migrations. These pathways are often related to important stopover locations that provide food supplies critical to the birds’ survival. Smaller birds tend to migrate in broad fronts across the landscape. Studies using eBird data have revealed that many small birds take different routes in spring and fall, to take advantage of seasonal patterns in weather and food.

                           Black-headed heron

The white stork avoids crossing over Mediterranean sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends for soaring do not form over water. 

Palearctic migrants arrive in the northern tropics south of the Sahara between August and October, as the local rainy season ends. Some species remain in the Sahel and Sudan zones throughout the overwintering period. Others seem unable to tolerate the increasing aridity as the dry season progresses. These remain in the Sahel and Sudan zones for 1–2 months and then fatten before performing a second migration further south, either to dry Guinea savannas in West Africa, or to rainy conditions in equatorial East Africa or southern Africa, where there are short rains.

Between March and May, as southern Africa enters its dry season and the rains begin in the northern tropics, these movements are reversed, but the northward migration is much more rapid than southward migration. Birds that overwinter too far south to reach the Palearctic in a single journey, put on enough fat to reach the southern edge of the Sahara, where they refatten finally for the Saharan or Arabian desert crossing.

                               Little grebe

Taking a journey that can stretch to a round-trip distance of several thousand miles is a dangerous and grueling undertaking. It is an effort that tests both the birds’ physical and mental capabilities. The physical stress of the trip, lack of adequate food supplies along the way, bad weather, and increased exposure to predators all add to the hazards of the journey. In recent decades long-distant migrants have been facing a growing threat from communication towers and tall buildings. Many species are attracted to the lights of tall buildings and millions are killed each year in collisions with the structures.