Time to Fly: Exploring Bird Migration by Jim Flegg

There are millions of birds on the move to, from and through Britain and Ireland in every month of the year. In August, for instance, Swifts are leaving for southeast Africa, the first Lapwings are arriving from Russia and Arctic Terns can be seen flying south, on their way from Scottish islands to Australia and the Antarctic Ocean.  By September, the first Redwings and Fieldfares will have arrived, Swallows will be drifting south and Twite will be leaving Yorkshire moorland to spend the winter on east coast estuaries.

In Time to Fly, the author Dr Jim Flegg OBE, former Director of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and a ringer of over 30,000 birds, captures the magic of migration among the birds in seven familiar habitats.  He investigates when, why and how this frenetic activity takes place and the hazards that migrants may encounter on their often prodigious travels. Nearly one hundred maps illustrate the migratory journeys of birds as diverse as Manx Shearwaters and Chaffinches, House Martins and Cuckoos. Time to Fly is a fascinating read for birdwatchers, whether beginner or more expert, or indeed for anyone with an interest in one of the most striking marvels of nature.

Time to Fly is an easy-to-read distillation of the key information from The Migration Atlas – Movements of the Birds of Britain & Ireland, published by T & A D Poyser on behalf of the BTO in 2002.  Trying to capture the wonder of migration in 184 pages instead of 884 pages has been an enormous challenge.

Copies of Time to Fly can be obtained for £12.50 + £2.95 p&p from
BTO Books, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU. 
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