Statement by Ms. Beccy Speight on World Migratory Bird Day 2022

It’s time once again to mark one of the most remarkable phenomena of our natural world, the spring migration, which sees birds in their millions journey for hundreds, often thousands of miles to return to their summer breeding grounds in the Northern Hemisphere.

The wonder of this never ceases to amaze me, and I find it all the more incredible given the tiny size of some of these birds, not to mention the many hazards they face along the routes of their arduous flights.  

 

The theme of this year’s World Migratory Bird Day is light pollution, and it’s an important issue to address. It often doesn’t receive the same prominence as other pollutants, because we can’t see it ourselves affecting the air we breathe or the water we drink. But it is most definitely having an effect on our natural world, and all too often, birds bear the brunt.

 

There’s still much research to be done, but there’s evidence that artificial light from towns and cities can alter birds’ behaviour, from how they communicate to their feeding and migration, affecting their energy and activity levels. It’s especially concerning as so many migratory birds travel at night.

 

It adds to the long list of dangers birds must overcome in their mission to find the best places to breed.  In addition to crossing natural barriers such as deserts and seas, birds and other animals are now having to negotiate landscapes that are increasingly modified by human activities.  Agricultural intensification, built development and infrastructure for transport and energy all contribute to loss and fragmentation of natural habitats and increases in light, noise and air pollution.

 

Some of the most iconic summer visitors to the UK, such as common swifts and northern house martins, are now amongst the UK’s most rapidly declining species, so we need to act wherever we can to offer help. Sadly, we can’t fix all the factors bearing down on these birds at once, but we can and must start to make changes. All of us, together, can take action to help nature and as part of that, we need to be calling on our political leaders to make some big, impactful changes too, which reverberate globally. 

 

The RSPB is proud to be supporting World Migratory Bird Day, when - on May 14th - the message is simple – Dim the Lights for Birds at Night.  Given the current energy crisis, not to mention the ongoing nature and climate emergency, dimming and turning off lights and saving resources will not only benefit our birds and our natural world as a whole, but ourselves too. It sounds like a win-win. 

 

Going forwards, we need decision-makers to agree and adopt more measures to reduce light pollution across the planet.  

 

Spring migration is amazing!  Let’s celebrate the day and look to the skies, welcoming back and enjoying the returning travellers.  And wherever we can, we must continue to highlight the difficulties they face and take action.  It’s never as easy as just flicking a switch, but sometimes, even doing that can be a huge help.