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Migration Quiz Answers

You were asked to pair birds up from the following list in the most sensible way.

The correct answers are:

Arctic Tern - Australia This is the really long-distance migrant. Arctic Terns which breed in Britain spend our winters in the southern seas. Three birds ringed in Britain and Ireland have been found in Australia. To learn more about ringing click here.

Blackbird - Finland Local Blackbirds are joined by winter migrants from Scandinavian countries, including Blackbird. If you are interested in knowing more about garden birds click here.

Lesser Whitethroat - Israel Most warblers breeding in Britain migrate south for the winter but the Lesser Whitethroat migrates south-east through northern Italy and into north-east Africa. Spring passage takes many of these birds through Israel.

Manx Shearwater - Brazil Manx Shearwaters, breeding on western coasts, spend the rest of the year travelling the Atlantic Ocean. Much of their time is spent off the east coast of South America.

Pink-footed Goose - Iceland All of the 210,000 Pink-footed Geese from Greenland and Iceland winter in these islands, with massive concentrations in central Scotland and, in the winter time, in north-west England and East Anglia.

Starling - Poland In the 1970s, huge numbers of Starlings arrived in Britain each winter from countries such as Poland.Fewer arrive each year now, probably reflecting lower European populations and less severe winters.

Swallow – South Africa Swallows start the long journey north from South Africa as early as January. To see the pattern of their international movements and to get a taster of the newly-published Migration Atlas click here. We are keen to find out when Swallows arrive back in 2003. If you might like to help with Migration Watch click here.

Swift - Malawi Swifts from Britain and Ireland do not usually travel as far south as South Africa but there have been several reports of ringed birds as far south as the Congo Basin and Malawi. Can you help us to look out for them in the spring? To see patterns of arrival in the UK in 2002 click here.

Turnstone – Canada Britain and Ireland plays host to two different populations of Turnstones. Most of the birds which winter here are from Greenland and Northern Canada. Birds from Finland and Sweden call in on the way to and from Africa. For a map of these long-distance movements click here.

Wigeon - Siberia Many of the ducks which we see in the winter are from far east in Russia. By flying west, Wigeon avoid temperatures as low as –30 degrees Celsius. Some of the Wigeon which we see in winter time are also from Iceland and Poland but this is the only one of the ten species which one might expect to be linked to Siberia.

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