Bird Migration Patterns: Birds and Where They Go Throughout The World

Bird Migration

For over a thousand years birds have migrated seasonally, all year round. The migration patterns of each bird type varies. When migrating birds can travel vast distances, going as far as almost 50,000 miles round trip. An example of such a bird is the Arctic Tern which has the longest migration of any bird in the world. The Arctic Tern can fly more than 49,700 miles in a year! But not all birds travel such far distances, some birds travel just between continents and others only on foot. With migration comes risk and danger. With human activity increasing over the past millennium and city lights getting brighter, birds have been known to fly into the sides of buildings and radio towers, killing them in the process. The lives of birds have also been lost due to hunting and habitat loss. Thousands of birds can die at a time when exposed to dangerous storms. These birds come into contact with these storms because they take direct and dangerous routes to save energy. Migration is long and hard. Birds migrate vast distances usually for food. Spring brings fresh green leaves, in a wave from low to high altitude in the northern hemisphere, insects and with it birds. Most birds in the northern hemisphere migrate depending on this "green wave" or the changing of the seasons. Scientists have been able to follow the migration patterns of birds using bird banding, radar, and tracking devices. A radar pinpoints the height, speed, and wing beat rate of individual birds. Bird banding is when a bird is caught and marked with a band around their legs then released. In many countries, bird banding is regulated by the federal government. In the U.S., the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL), part of the United States Geological Survey, gives scientists aluminum bands and keeps records on all banded birds. Although colored bands are used as well to easily identify individual birds without having to recapture the bird and read the number on the aluminum band. With tracking devices the birds are fitted and attached to a radio transmitter and can be tracked for miles; GPS tags and geolocators can be used as well. One of the goals is to track the birds to find their stopover and wintering locations then preserve them.