Editorial

Migration – mystery or miracle?

I spent almost thirty years as a navigator in the RAF, a trade now made redundant by satellite navigation systems and computers.

I would quietly congratulate myself on having arrived at the right place and having done so in a huge machine with the ability to stay airborne for, perhaps, 12 hours and, in that time, burn almost 20,000 gallons of fuel.

Then I think of the tiny Goldcrest crossing the North Sea, choosing its own route by instinct, steering by some means I can’t imagine and doing this on the energy provided by half a gram of body fat.

I haven’t the words to describe the comparison, so I commend Danilo’s piece in this issue which looks at both the mystery and the miracle of migration.

The Spring edition of Ali carries our Annual Appeal and there is more on that in later pages. We ask our members and friends to support us just once each year and in past years your generous response has been superb. Please help this appeal to be as successful as in the past, give what you can – the need is still there.

Thank you.

Contents

• The Season of Love  – by Danilo Selvaggi
• “The Killing” – by BirdLife International
• Birds Directive – Fit for Purpose
• From the World of LIPU
• Annual Appeal 2017

« Back to archives