As I sit here trying to think of something to write about on a hot day in July, I am tempted to go with a cooler topic. Migration will be starting soon, for some of the small birds, such as the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Some of the northern nesting shorebirds have already started, such as the Greater Yellowlegs that are being seen back in my part of the world now. The second hatch of robins in my yard is busy learning how to make a living, and the fledglings are bumbling about the lower branches of the trees, managing to look kind of scruffy and very perplexed by all of the activity around them. They manage to get out of the way by some energetic scrambling and fluttering, only to land a few feet ahead of where I am going. Then, they seem surprised that I have followed them, and they have to do it again! As you can probably tell, I am fascinated by the young of our local wildlife, and love watching them learn how to survive. It gives me a good reason to stop what I am doing for a few minutes, to rest and recuperate from the heat.

The birds of the Arctic will soon be heading south, especially the Arctic Terns, which must fly nearly all the way to the Antarctic for the coming summer there. These little birds will fly almost the equivalent of a trip around the world each year just in migration, which is mind-boggling! The migration pattern of the tern is well known, because of the banding history of the birds, and they live for many years. The record longevity for the Arctic Tern is 34 years! Some birds have been seen at the same nesting sites in the north for over 15 years in a row. These individuals have been positively identified from the bands and have been photographed many times on the nest. Imagine, traveling half-way around the world under your own muscle power, and finding the same tiny spot to nest each year! (All without maps or a GPS receiver!) That trip is, to me, one of the wonders of our world.

There are some other long-lived birds, which are faithful to each other and the nesting area while flying thousands of miles. One that comes to mind is the Black-browed Albatross, which can live for 30 to 40 years or more. When the female albatross has produced her eggs and has started incubating them, the male will fly off into the middle of the Indian Ocean, and may dip down into the Roaring Forties, looking for food. After several weeks of soaring and eating, he will return to the nest to take his turn with the incubation, and the female will be off for her trip. The albatross will cover up to 10,000 miles on these flights, and several have been tracked by satellite, having been fitted with transmitters on their backs. These are huge birds, with wingspans of nearly 10 feet, so it doesn't seem quite so odd to me that they can cover all this distance. The Arctic Tern, on the other hand, has only a span of 30 inches, and those wings have to beat millions of times to get the tern to the other end of the semi-annual journey. Contrast these birds with the hummingbirds, whose tiny wings beat 60 to 80 times per second, and must take the bird all the way to Central America for the winter. Makes me tired, just thinking about it!

Carl Grosfield
5105-51 Ave.
Vegreville, AB
T9C 1M1
wildscape@telusplanet.net