In Europe, the end of summer, and the swallows in the villages gather in flocks. In the evenings, you can watch an amazing sight - endless rows of graceful birds chirping on the wires. Here are young birds born this year, and their parents, who nested in the summer under the roofs of houses. In a few days, all the swallows will disappear until next spring.

On wings across seas and deserts

The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) nests in northern Asia, Europe and North America. All barn swallows are migratory birds, but the farthest journeys are made by those that nest in Europe.

Swallows from Germany first cross France, then fly over the Pyrenees to Spain, and then fly through Gibraltar or the Mediterranean Sea to North Africa. During the flight across the sea, weakened birds often drown in the waves. And the survivors fly even further, across the Sahara, where it is difficult to get food. Here the flocks thin out even more: especially young, less experienced birds... If swallows are caught in a hurricane or sandstorm in the desert, they land on the ground and wait out bad weather. Although swallows fatten up a lot of fat before the flight, those of them who cannot find enough food on the way are doomed to die.

Having flown over the Sahara, the swallows head further south. Some remain to winter a little south of the desert, others fly to central Africa and even beyond the equator. In Africa, birds rest for several months - they bask in the warm sun and feed on infested insects.

When winter ends in Europe, the birds are ready to return to their homeland again. They fly the same route and face the same dangers along the way. In February, the first "scouts" to appear in southern Europe, but the majority will arrive here only in late March - early April. Swallows, nesting in the northernmost regions, still fly over Central Europe in mid-May. A round-trip flight is given to pilgrims at a high price: of the birds that set off on their way in the fall, only half will return to their homeland.

Long distance flyers

The long annual voyages of gray petrels are a continual search for food-rich waters. These large seabirds with long, narrow wings nest in the Southern Hemisphere, from Cape Horn to islands in the South Atlantic. Gray petrels hatch chicks when summer is in the Southern Hemisphere and then migrate northward. Some birds fly over the Pacific Ocean, others over the Atlantic.

"Atlantic" gray petrels fly along the American coast to Greenland, where they turn east and find themselves off the coast of Europe. They then set off again south along the eastern shores of the Atlantic and reach their nesting sites in November or December, at the beginning of the southern summer.

Travel around the world by air

When albatross chicks grow up, adult birds set off on a journey around Antarctica, covering tens of thousands of kilometers in a few months and only briefly sinking into the water to grab prey from its surface. Young birds travel even longer - 9-10 years, until they become completely adults (albatrosses live for several decades): their relatives, who are going to hatch their chicks, drive them from their nesting sites, and the young are forced to wander willy-nilly. During their wanderings, exiles sometimes find new ones. suitable places for nesting on islands off the coast of Antarctica and hatch chicks there when they reach sexual maturity.

Arctic terns, relatives of gulls, fly to the other end of the world to winter. In summer, they nest in the polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In the fall, some populations of terns fly south to winter across the Pacific Ocean, others across the Atlantic to the polar regions of the Southern Hemisphere. After waiting out there for the northern winter (at this time it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere), the birds return to the Arctic to hatch their chicks. The total length of their flight over the ocean in both directions is about 40,000 km - a real trip around the world!

Nature abhors a vacuum

Why do migratory birds, overcoming incredible difficulties and risking their lives, fly so far? Insectivorous birds are forced to leave temperate latitudes in order to reach places where they will find food for themselves in winter. In winter, granivores fly away from the northern regions to the middle lane, because there is less snow, warmer and more food. Whitethroats, flycatchers, nightingales and other small birds fly to the tropics for 3000-4000 km. When storks, pelicans and some birds of prey fly south from Central Europe and Eastern Siberia to winter, geese, ducks, cranes, blackbirds, finches and buntings arrive in their place from Scandinavia and the northern regions of Siberia.

Do the robins fly to the south, which can often be found in the gardens and parks of Western Europe? all year round? Partly. In some parts of Europe, the robins leave their "summer apartments" for the winter and migrate to the south, but their place is immediately taken by the robins from the north.

Before embarking on a long journey, many migratory birds fatten up - its reserves will provide them with energy during an extended flight. That is why, after the chicks leave, the birds leave their nesting sites, where the reserves of food are depleted, and begin to wander around the surroundings. Sometimes their diet changes: warblers, blackbirds and many other insectivorous birds in late summer and autumn often feast on berries and fruits in the gardens. Especially a lot of fat should be accumulated by birds forced to make long non-stop flights over the sea. For example, the variegated forest songbird living in the eastern United States goes to winter in South America in the fall. Most of the way, the bird flies over the Atlantic Ocean, overcoming more than 3000 km without landing. The singer will have enough strength to cover such a huge distance only if the mass of fat that he manages to accumulate before departure is equal to his body weight.

Most birds are not capable of such feats. During the flight, many of them stop at special places in order to rest and partially restore the used up fat reserves. Usually, places where there is a lot of food and few predators serve as such "staging points" for birds. For about 300 species of European birds, the Camargue Nature Reserve in France has become such a recreation area. The Mediterranean islands, the Volga delta and other large rivers are also popular. Many birds prefer to stay here for the winter.

Abnormal bird behavior worried European bird watchers. The migration of birds to the south fell sharply. For the first time more than 80 years of observations! At the same time, some species, on the contrary, flew away earlier. Experts are racking their brains over the reasons for this unusual behavior.

Every day the already poor catch of bird watchers is getting smaller. Here, at one of the largest stations in Europe, birds are caught using nets. They are marked by putting on special rings on their paws, and they are released to fly further into warmer climes... Earlier, says the head of the station Vytautas Jusis, there were so many birds migrating for wintering that they did not have time to ring everyone during the migratory season. And now the networks are practically empty.

"From September 1, the largest trap in the world usually starts working, and we are waiting for the largest migration to begin, when the flocks fly. Usually the numbers are 10-15th. These dates have passed - and no," says the head of the ornithological station Vitautas Yusis - For the whole September, 8 thousand were caught. Usually 20-30 thousand, but not this year. "

According to the ornithologist, there are so few birds during the migration period here for the first time in the entire history of observation. Tourists and local schoolchildren who regularly come here on excursions are a little upset.

The ornithological station at the Lithuanian Cape Venta is located on the migration route of more than 100 bird species. Usually at this time here you can observe how the flocks one after another heading south, even with such a strong wind. However, now there are practically no birds in the sky.

According to ornithologists, birds delay their flight to warmer regions almost throughout the Baltic States. In Estonia, ministry representatives environment even asked the residents through the media asking them not to feed the birds. Otherwise, if they go to warm lands too late, they may simply die along the way.

But perhaps main question, over which scientists are now racking their brains: why have thousands of birds changed the established tradition for centuries? One of the main versions is climate change.

“After all, our climate is gradually getting warmer and warmer. That is, they can stay longer, some can survive here all winter, find food,” says Ullar Rammul, chief specialist of the Estonian Ministry of the Environment.

According to the observations of meteorologists, the climate in many European countries in Lately sort of moved a month ahead. Spring comes in April and winter in January. This knocks down the biological clock of the birds.

Weather changes are taking place in Russia as well. True, they are expressed not in the shifts of the seasons, but in the so-called anomalies. Such as the summer heat in 2010 or the record-breaking rainy September in the metropolitan area this year. However, it is too early to draw a conclusion about how exactly the climate will change in the near future, according to weather experts.

"Weather anomalies always happen. They happen with different signs... They are not directly related, each individual anomaly is not associated with climate change, because the climate is an average over 30 years, over several decades, this is a certain stable regime, "says Mikhail Lokoshchenko, a leading researcher at the Department of Meteorology and Climatology at the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University.

The trend, which scientists call stable: in general, the average annual air temperatures have been rising recently both in Asia and in Europe. This changes the habits of some birds on the territory of Russia.

“Some of our Russian birds also stay for the winter. For example, we all know well the ducks on the Moscow reservoirs, which were once real migratory birds, but now they more and more often stay within the city for the winter. Because there is food, there is non-freezing water - quite favorable conditions for wintering, "says Evgeny Koblik, senior researcher at the zoological museum of Moscow State University.

There are exceptions to all the rules. Unlike most birds, swans in Europe left for the winter unusually early this year, almost a month ahead of schedule. What this is connected with is still a mystery for ornithologists.

Migratory birds are like Mother Nature itself: they are the embodiment of her cyclical nature. In the spring they return to our land along with the blessed warmth, and in the fall they fly away to the south, carrying it away on their wings. No matter what happens around, no matter how complex and changeable life is, no matter what happens to people, this law of nature works flawlessly every year: birds fly away, swim in the fifth ocean, and we look at them from the windows of our houses.

During their life, many migratory birds cover a distance comparable to the distance from the Earth to the Moon during their migrations. The officially registered bird flight record for wintering was almost 22 thousand kilometers. This is more than half the diameter of the Earth's equator. Before such a long journey, migratory birds diligently eat off, gaining fat reserves: during a flight for food, they will rarely be distracted.

Cranes, swans and some other birds fly in V-shaped wedges for a reason: this shape of the flock reduces air resistance and makes it easier to fly, saving up to 20 percent of energy.

In cognitive classes, we tell children about the reasons for the departure of birds. The fact that birds that live in the field, in swamps and reservoirs fly away for the winter, because the water begins to freeze and they cannot get saturated. The birds that live in the forest cannot find insects in winter. That there are several leaders in the bird flock. They take turns flying first, cheering the others on and keeping them off course. Continuation educational activities often becomes creativity.

10 crafts on the topic "Migratory birds"

The master class "The cranes are flying, kurlychut" can be found at MAAM.

Here's a great example of a simple and beautiful one. It was made using accordion-folded paper.

And these feathered friends are made, wound on a cardboard base.

A swift swallow was portrayed using a creative one.

But time does not stand: cold autumn comes into its own, so we must again.

... and also the swans. None of waterfowl cannot match them in natural grace. In these crafts, swans are depicted using the technique of volumetric applique.

In such classes, children systematize their knowledge about birds, about their varieties and about the place of each species in wildlife. In addition to the educational value, these events are also ecological in nature. After expanding knowledge about birds, we at the same time instill in children a respect for our native nature.

Why are so many birds dying in our country?

In November, the bird migration season practically ends on the territory of Russia. This is a dangerous period for both birds and ... people. An ornithologist, a leading researcher at the Center for Bird Ringing at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution named after V.I. A.N. Severtsova Sergey Kharitonov.

Interviewed by Elena Kudryavtseva

Sergey Pavlovich, how true is the opinion that, due to human activity and climate change, birds change their migration routes, causing a lot of problems - from collisions with planes to the transfer of infections to new areas. Did birds really fly differently?

Birds do change their migration routes quite often. And in last years we record this more and more often. Because they know a lot more thanks to new ways of observing. One of them is special GPS transmitters, which are essentially small cell phones like a "backpack". This load weighs 5–20 grams. When the transmitter enters the area cellular, then he drops to a specific SMS number with information about where and when the bird was. That is, now we can follow the movement of birds in more detail, which opens up new opportunities for us. For example, in 2006, more than 550 transmitters for 23 bird species were installed in 12 countries to study the pathways of the spread of avian influenza in Africa and Eurasia.

The Internet was actively discussing the history of the eagle Ming, who flew to Iran with such a "backpack" instead of Kazakhstan and "sent" expensive text messages from there, ruining the scientists. So in general, this is probably an expensive pleasure?

Yes, it is expensive, as one transmitter costs almost a hundred thousand rubles. But it is still cheaper than satellite transmitters and their maintenance. So far, bird watchers are working with the most popular American satellite system "Argos". Although it should have started work long ago Russian system ICARUS (International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space). The antenna on board the ISS was installed last year, but since then Roskosmos has been delaying the launch of the system.

Our Ringing Center, like everything before single centers ringing in the world is mainly engaged in traditional ringing - since 1924 more than 10 million birds have been ringed by ornithologists throughout the former USSR. This old proven method allows tracking and changing migration routes and, very importantly, estimating population parameters, for example, annual mortality of birds of different ages, survival, immigration and emigration, and so on.

- What do we know about Russian bird populations?

In fact, the conclusions are rather sad: in recent years in Russia, the number of 11 species of ducks, geese and waders has fallen catastrophically, several times.

The time of migration for birds on the territory of Russia is the most dangerous, since they can be shot down along the entire route.

In the United States, a similar picture was in the 1900-1920s, when hunters shot everything they saw. After the introduction of a rational management system based precisely on counting birds and predicting their numbers, they were able to restore and increase populations huge amount birds. For example: the United States is home to 30 million geese, of which they harvest 5–6 million annually. And in all of Eurasia, only 5–6 million are left.

Non-warm warming

- How much does climate warming affect the migration routes of birds?

It is believed that the first significant changes in climate began in the 70s and 80s of the last century. Then ornithologists began to record for the first time the lengthening of the migration routes, that is, the birds began to move farther and farther north. Today, in many countries, experts note that birds arrive on average 2-3 weeks earlier. But on the whole, the warming pattern is not simple: for example, in the Russian north, June really became warmer, but July - one degree colder and more rainy.

- Can you give examples of which birds have recently changed their migration routes due to the climate?

A good example is the red-breasted goose, which nests in our Taimyr Peninsula. It is indicative of the fact that sometimes it triggers an ancient genetic memory associated with migration sites. For example, until 1969, geese in significant numbers overwintered in the south of the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan. In 1968, there was a very cold summer in Taimyr with snow, the chicks did not hatch at all, and suddenly something switched in the head of the birds and the bulk flew not to the Caspian Sea, but to the Black Sea in Bulgaria and to the lakes of southern Romania. Since then, the main wintering has been there. Interestingly, in those places, scientists found fossil red-breasted geese, that is, they once hibernated there and in a stressful situation their historical memory worked. By the way, there are red-breasted geese on the ancient Egyptian frescoes, they were known in Ancient Greece, so, apparently, they have changed their migration routes more than once. Just a few years ago, the geese changed their wintering place again - due to a change in climate, winters have become warmer, and now they often no longer reach Bulgaria, but settle on the territory of Russia and partly in the south of Ukraine. But counting how many birds there are now is not always possible due to geopolitical difficulties.

- Do you know during what period, in principle, migratory habits developed in birds?

According to the generally accepted theory, this happened during the last glaciation, that is, only 10 thousand years ago. But, of course, we cannot say one hundred percent that they had not migrated before. Today, birds are believed to have nested along the edge of a retreating glacier where food was abundant. After all, a glacier is not ice in the direct sense. A layer of ice was covered with a layer of soil about half a meter. In summer on the territory of Eurasia, the temperature rose to 40-50 degrees, the glacier thawed, providing moisture, so there was a very thick, succulent grass. This is what made it possible for huge herds of saigas, woolly rhinos and mammoths to exist. When the glacier began to recede, territories were freed up for nesting birds. The birds moved after the glacier, because the farther north, the fewer predators. By the way, genetically birds still remember those times. It is known that the glacier melted more on the plain than in the mountains, even as low as the Urals. As a result, ducks and geese still go around the Urals on their way from Western Europe to Western Siberia, although it is not difficult for them to fly over such mountains.

Looking at the migration path of birds, one is surprised how ineffectively they move, winding the extra hundreds of kilometers. Why do such habits persist, although it is completely unreasonable from the point of view of energy conservation?

In fact, there is no answer to this question. For example, the sandpiper moves to the west from South America and at the same time first flies along two continents, then turns to the west and overcomes another 5 thousand kilometers.

Another example is Dubrovnik Bunting. Its migration route repeats the ancient evolutionary path of dispersal of this species across continents. Until recently, this oatmeal bred in our country up to the western borders of our country, and it winters in Southeast Asia. First, it flew north, then turned west along the path of expanding its range in the last millennium. Although, it would seem, it is more pragmatic to straighten the way and save a couple of thousand kilometers. Why am I talking about this nesting area of ​​Dubrovnik in the past tense? Because now the number of this bird has sharply decreased due to mass catches in China and due to the fact that its range has sharply decreased precisely in the western regions of our country. The Chinese not only eat Dubrovnik oatmeal (here it is called the "rice bird"), but also believe that it brings happiness, so every family should have a stuffed animal of it at home. At the same time, catching oatmeal is very convenient: over the territory of China, it gathers in flocks of thousands and flies at low altitude along mountain gorges, where it is caught with an ordinary spider net. Now, however, the Chinese government is taking very strict measures against such trapping and consumption of rare species of animals, let's hope that these measures will help restore the population of Dubrovnik oatmeal.

- Can you say what percentage of birds living on our territory migrate?

Most of them migrate. Interestingly, sometimes the reasons for migration can be associated with physiological features.

For example, such strong, far-flying birds as geese feed on grass - these are the feathered cows of the tundra. At the same time, they do not have an enzyme that breaks down cellulose, food is poorly absorbed, and therefore geese need to eat a lot.

But birds from the chicken family, that is, partridges, wood grouses and black grouses, have such an enzyme. A more efficient digestive system gives them the opportunity to feed on dry grass and even needles, so they do not migrate, but fly from one place to another, the same equivalent.

In addition, there are non-migratory birds, but nomadic ones, such as waxwings or bullfinches, who simply choose more convenient feeding places. There are also sedentary birds. If these are urban populations, then the dynamics of their number in cities is not always positive. For example, for unknown reasons, city sparrows disappear. There are fewer crows, although there are no mysteries here: in the cities there is less and less garbage in the public domain.

Sixth Sense

- How do birds manage to overcome such enormous distances, at the expense of what?

This is a whole range of adaptation measures, which we do not know everything about. For example, quite recently a special migration mechanism was discovered in small bodews from Alaska. Thanks to the transmitters, we learned that in the fall they fly from Alaska to New Zealand without landing directly across the Pacific Ocean. Before that, as it turned out, part of their stomach was exfoliated, the liver, spleen and other internal organs were reduced by 40 percent, so that the body became very light. And then, when the flight is over, everything returns to normal.

For decades, scientists have been trying to understand exactly how birds find their direction of flight. Can you say something definite today?

Not as much as we would like. It has been proven that birds can navigate by magnetic field but sometimes they suddenly lose this ability. Why is difficult to say. Thanks to their internal compass, in addition to the direction to the north, the birds also feel the tilt and intensity of the magnetic field, which allow them to orient themselves much better. These are a kind of coordinates that simultaneously indicate the position and set the direction of movement.

Scientists are trying to invent a device that could determine location based on these parameters. Just imagine a navigator that doesn't need satellites! The state that is the first to create something similar will have a colossal technological advantage. The difficulty is that extremely sensitive sensors are needed to create it, because the Earth's magnetic field is very weak - on the order of 50-60 nanotesla.

Where are these bird navigators? Was the hypothesis confirmed that the special cells containing iron crystals in the beaks of birds are a kind of small magnets that determine the magnetic field?

In fact, this is another question that cannot yet be answered with 100% certainty. Back in the 50s of the last century, scientists conducted experiments on robins. They noticed that the birds living in the cages tried to fly south in the fall, getting out from the south side of the cage. However, the birds were unable to navigate by the magnetic field if their eyes were closed. Therefore, at first, scientists thought that the navigation system was in the eyes of birds, then they found some glandular inclusions in the beak, but they have not yet received unequivocal evidence. Today it is believed that some receptors or cells located in general in the periocular part of the head help birds to navigate.

In general, there are still a lot of unexplored questions. When observing birds, scientists are faced with amazing things. For example, in the 1980s, before there was a GPS system, we often worked on an island in the Pacific Ocean, which was constantly shrouded in dense fog. To prevent the schooners from passing by, we had to make huge fires, and even so the ships still missed. But the birds that flew from this islet to feed 70 kilometers away returned beautifully. So sometimes you start to believe in completely unscientific theories that speak about the existence of a channel of information transmission unknown to us in nature.

- If the bird has lagged behind the flock and is left alone, will it fly to the wintering place or get lost?

It depends on what kind of bird. Some predators often fly one at a time. At the same time, young birds often begin to migrate earlier than adults, that is, they have an innate idea of ​​where they need to fly. How this is hardwired into the genome - no one knows. At the same time, there are birds that do not have a genetically based migration path; they must fly it with their parents for the first time. These birds include various cranes and geese.

- Was this the way our president showed the Siberian Cranes in 2012?

Then they tried to send the disappearing population of the Ob Siberian Cranes to wintering instead of traditional Iran to Lake Poyang in China. Most of the Islamic countries are considered an unfavorable place for birds, as hunting is poorly regulated there.

- But in China, this is also a big problem..

Yes, in general, China is also considered a bad country for birds, since they are caught, poisoned and actively eaten there, but the Chinese are very well guarded by the Siberian Cranes. In addition, as I have already mentioned, in recent years, very serious measures have been taken in China to protect rare species. With young Siberian Cranes, the role of parents in the experiment was played by the president's hang-glider flying at low speed. But the experiment failed - the birds did not want to fly, presumably because the attempt was made late, when the chicks outgrew the training stage. In general, today we know several of these successful examples directed migration to Canada and the United States. This was our first large-scale experience, which, however, is problematic to repeat, because it involves crossing the borders of other states.

Directed migration

Can we artificially control the migration of birds if we need to take them to a safe place or, conversely, take them away from the city, if we are talking about a flock of birds infected with the dangerous flu?

We were asked this question in a peculiar form back in Soviet time... An employee of our Ringing Center, Margarita Ivanovna Lebedeva, recalled how one day they came to her from the KGB and asked if there was such a way that “... not to let our birds go abroad”. This is more of a joke (although there is no certainty that the employee of that organization was really joking). However, seriously, there is indeed a migration management issue. Managing migrations, within some limits, of course, would be very useful. So far, we cannot solve this problem.

This year, Russia has recorded a record number of aircraft collisions with birds. According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, 873 cases have been registered since the beginning of 2019. During the same period last year, there were almost 200 fewer collisions ...

It is clear that such egregious cases as the collision of a plane with seagulls near the airfield in Zhukovsky, where a landfill was set up nearby, should be resolved radically. Each aerodrome service develops its own bird scaring system. We have installations at a number of airfields that generate artificially synthesized signals that cause alarm in birds. The development of such sounds is also being done at our Institute. Severtsov in the laboratory of ecology and bird behavior management. Soaring silhouettes help a lot birds of prey etc. There are works that show that birds are very afraid of the red laser, but it is not very clear if it can be used in airports.

But there are also more radical proposals for managing bird migration: in 2006, at the height of the avian flu epidemic, the Emergencies Ministry proposed to shoot birds flying towards us from Southeast Asia.

In fact, it was the initiative of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who proposed to put hunters along the entire border of our country. Personally, we are grateful to him for drawing attention to the problem, because after that we were allocated quite good money for research. No one listened to the voices of scientists that were heard before this extravagant statement. In general, the problem of the transmission of infection by birds must be solved in a complex way. It is known that often the foci of occurrence are located in Southeast Asia: there is traditionally a very large overcrowding of poultry, so they easily pick up the infection from each other. At the same time, the bird can carry the virus in itself for many years and not pose a danger. But at some point, for some unknown reason, the virus turns into a highly pathogenic one, and that's when the birds become the source of the disease. An interesting incident happened in 2014. A new strain of influenza H5N8 has been discovered in Korea. The birds successfully flew over the territory of Russia without causing infection, apparently because in cold conditions bird flu feels bad. But in Europe, in particular in Holland, Germany, Italy, England and Hungary, the mass death of birds on farms began. It was seen that those poultry were infected, whose paths crossed with the places where the birds infected with the flu spent the night. While the real way to protect yourself from the spread of infection is considered to be the creation of conditions under which farm birds will not meet with wild ones. That is, during epidemics, poultry, roughly speaking, should sit under lock and key.