Added distance for migrations is a threat to birds

Science Daily: Bird migrations are likely to get longer according to the first ever study of the potential impacts of climate change on the breeding and winter ranges of migrant birds. The length of some migrations could increase by as much as 400 km. “The predicted future temperature changes and the associated changes in habitat could have serious consequences for many species”, said lead-author Nathalie Doswald of Durham University (UK).

A team of researchers - led by Durham University and with funding from the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) and Natural Environment Research Council – looked at the migration patterns of European Sylvia warblers, a group of birds that are common residents and visitors to Europe, like Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis and Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla.

“Our findings show that marathon migrations for some birds are set to become even longer journeys”, said Dr Stephen Willis – team leader from Durham University. “This is bad news for birds like the Common Whitethroat”.

Some 500 million birds are estimated to migrate to Europe and Asia from Africa. Birds weighing as little as nine grams undertake the annual migration of thousands of miles between the two continents to find food and suitable climate.

Common whitethroat, shot by Bogbumper, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.