The New PBS Nature Special Highlights Epic Shorebird Migrations

Each spring and fall, hundreds of thousands of individuals pause to observe beloved species of birds arrive and depart throughout their seasonal migrations. For hundreds of thousands of People, American Robins mark the arrival of spring, Frequent Loons of their dazzling black-and-white summer time plumage dive and name throughout Northern lakes, and noisy Snow Geese fly south, signaling the onset of fall. These of us who love birds enjoyment of these annual migrations – however what occurs to those seasonal guests after they journey previous our properties and communities?

A brand new particular from the PBS series Nature will spotlight among the extra spectacular migrations of chook species around the globe. Nature: Flyways, which airs February 7 (check local listings for airtimes), spotlights the migrations of Hudsonian Godwits within the Americas, Far Japanese Curlews in Asia, and Crimson Knots in Europe. These birds, like so a lot of our acquainted migratory species highlighted in Audubon’s Bird Migration Explorer, journey a whole lot and even hundreds of miles yearly.

However the PBS particular doesn’t solely spotlight the epic scope of those avian voyages. Migratory birds are encountering unprecedented challenges as a result of habitat loss and local weather change. Species that when have been dependable seasonal residents are shifting their ranges because the local weather warms and habitats are tougher to come back by, and never all of their new properties have what they should thrive.

It’s an unsettling phenomenon Audubon scientists and companions have documented over  many years. If we’re to assist these species – and defend the bigger ecosystems that all of us rely upon – we have to spend money on extra than simply our personal nation’s conservation efforts. As Nature: Flyways exhibits, the entire migration path must be taken under consideration. If one chain within the hyperlink breaks, all of it falls aside.

Fortuitously, there’s one thing we are able to do to assist right here in america. The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) is a massively vital, long-running success story that funds tasks all through the Western Hemisphere that preserve flyway habitat for migratory birds. For instance, NMBCA grant funding has helped to preserve Hudsonian Godwits on their wintering grounds in Chile  and advance bird-friendly sugarcane manufacturing within the Cauca Valley of Colombia to guard the wintering grounds of Lesser Yellowlegs. This system is now up for renewal, and Congress is currently considering a bill that may assist develop obtainable funding for the NMBCA and make updates to this system to boost its affect. It’s a common sense invoice with bipartisan support – but it surely wants our assist to maneuver ahead.

Greater than half of the chook species within the U.S. migrate to Latin America and the Caribbean. Over 90 million People take pleasure in and interact in chook watching in some kind, and our elected leaders want to listen to that we help investing in hemispheric efforts that present assets for the species that we love, and the communities that share the identical habitat. As Nature: Flyways exhibits, these migration paths are world ecological networks of individuals, wildlife, and pure areas that rely upon all of us to make sure their survival. Watch the particular, and urge your elected leaders to take motion for migratory birds by renewing and enhancing the NMBCA.