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Weatherwatch: UK’s migrant waders feel the effects of a changing Arctic

Warmer winters and springs are drying out wetlands and the birds are missing out on an abundance of insects to eat When we think of spring migrant birds, it is easy to focus on songbirds such as warblers, flycatchers and swallows. Yet during late spring, many are waders – passing through Britain on their way north to breed in the high Arctic from their winter quarters in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the British Trust for Ornithology’s regular migration blog, it has been a good year for waders: including more common species such as ringed and grey plovers, bar-tailed godwit, sanderling and

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How birds are coping in the heatwave

Birds are unable to sweat but they keep cool by seeking shade and bathing As we humans sweltered in the record-breaking late June heatwave, we might not have spared much thought on how birds were coping. Unlike us, birds are unable to sweat, so instead they have evolved other ways to avoid overheating. These include seeking shade beneath trees, bushes and hedgerows, spreading their wings to allow cooler air to circulate around their body, and opening their bills to cool down, the same as dogs do when they pant. Birds are also able to pump blood into their bare parts – bills, legs and feet – wh

Weather

Weatherwatch: Climate crisis fuelling steep fall in migratory bird numbers

Many species under threat use the African-Eurasian flyway, one of the planet’s largest mass-migration systems It may still feel like summer, but in the world of birds, autumn migration is already well under way. Cuckoos and swifts have already left us, and while swallows and many species of warbler will not depart our shores until September, many species of Arctic-breeding waders have begun to stop off at our coastal marshes to refuel for their long journey south. This year, however, there could be fewer than usual. A review by the British Trust for Ornithology, working with other internationa

Topic: wildlife | RocksNews