Your migration questions and observations
Autumn bird migration's reaching a climax right now, so if there's anything you'd like to know about it please comment below and Chris, Michaela and Martin will try to answer live on the show tonight.
Also have you seen anything amazing or unusual about migrating birds this autumn? Again, the team would love to hear so post a comment below too.
Comment number 1.
At 4th Nov 2011, tedbun wrote:I'm still curious to know whether woodcock are common in urban areas (plse see my previous posts re our sighting of one right in front of us in Wapping in London a couple or so weeks ago) - especially as I see elsewhere in these blogs that a dead one was recently found nearby (slightly further east in the Royal Docks area). Thanks again, TB.
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Comment number 2.
At 4th Nov 2011, Harris Hawk wrote:Here in Essex, most of our Short-eared Owls arrive at this time of year, but where do they come from? do they arrive from over seas or just move from other parts of the country? They must be stronger flyers than I thought if they come from over seas!
Thanks, Tom
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Comment number 3.
At 4th Nov 2011, Reem wrote:just wondered if snipes can bob like jack snipes do?
Thanks Reem
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Comment number 4.
At 4th Nov 2011, PikerArran wrote:Arran Murray
12
Perth, Scotland
Can you tell me why my garden sparrows are trying to get into my neighbours empty swallows nests + it was interesting and amusing to watch it went on for 15 mins and i feed them every day
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Comment number 5.
At 4th Nov 2011, PikerArran wrote:Arran Murray
12
Perth, Scotland
Can you tell me why my garden sparrows are trying to get into my neighbours empty swallows nests + it was interesting and amusing to watch it went on for 15 mins and i feed them every day.
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Comment number 6.
At 4th Nov 2011, norfolkpete wrote:Queston for the team
I recently observed two corvids picking acorns from the very top of a tree, fying up a few metres on the breeze, dropping the acorn and immediately swooping down to try to catch it again.
Could they have just been playing or was it behaviour to show off their aerobatic skills to a potential mate?
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Comment number 7.
At 4th Nov 2011, Lauraine wrote:Do Kingfishers migrate?
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Comment number 8.
At 4th Nov 2011, Graeme Davey wrote:Noise noise noise
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Comment number 9.
At 4th Nov 2011, jemma fowler wrote:hello there i follow your facebook page quite alot and recently read about one of the trackers attached to the osprey that it was not moving. have you got any updates? i hope its good news
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Comment number 10.
At 4th Nov 2011, Pebbles wrote:how many barnacle geese are there in the UK?
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Comment number 11.
At 4th Nov 2011, 3to5eggs wrote:Hi why do geese fly in v shape
many thanks
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Comment number 12.
At 4th Nov 2011, James Voyce wrote:Hi autumnwatch :) i have sparrows in my garden which is rural and they feed on seed and not nuts but if i go to my nans urban garden just 10 miles away, she also has sparrows which feed on nuts and won't touch seed, is this a regional thing or something?
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Comment number 13.
At 4th Nov 2011, becktrain wrote:Can Chris tell us if all birds can see colour
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Comment number 14.
At 4th Nov 2011, jason b wrote:about what percentage of our british birds migrate in one way or another
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Comment number 15.
At 4th Nov 2011, 3to5eggs wrote:Hi why do geese fly in v formation
many thanks
3to5eggs
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Comment number 16.
At 4th Nov 2011, hepcatty wrote:Hi,
When there is a large group of geese is there anything to determine which skein they fly in; do they fly in family groups or is it just random? Thanks
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Comment number 17.
At 4th Nov 2011, Maxine wrote:just to say that I have a Sparrowhawk in my garden nearly every day. I have a good population of feeding Sparrows so the bird knows it has easy pickings. I've seen it go in one end of my beech hedge and weave through, come out the other end with a Sparrow in it's mouth.
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Comment number 18.
At 4th Nov 2011, Julie wrote:Having just seen the beautiful geese, I'm curious to know where the team have seen their most spectacular sights/flocks of birds in the UK, please?
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Comment number 19.
At 4th Nov 2011, Hettybel wrote:How can I identify geese in flight as it's dawn or dusk and poor light when I see them flying over? I'd love to know what they are.
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Comment number 20.
At 4th Nov 2011, chewitts23 wrote:hi there! We have a house in the Limousin region of France, in a small hamlet called Boissieux. Every year we are treated to the migration of the cranes who fly right over our house and for some reason always pause (we assume) searching for a roosting spot. How on earth do they navigate with such accuracy and where are they going? It's always around the same date (18th October) and the same time of day (late afternoon) we see them. we also have photo and video footage of this amazing sight.
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Comment number 21.
At 4th Nov 2011, Frank Shelley wrote:Loved the film of the sparrow hawks, we have had a family of sparrow hawks in the woods less than 50 metres from house, all summer. Do they migrate, as we have had very few birds on our feeders in the garden for months. Today they have started visiting again.
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Comment number 22.
At 4th Nov 2011, lizholmes wrote:A few days ago we rescued a frog from the road & put it into our pond. The frog looked really large & fat as if it was full of eggs - is this possible at this time of year? Thanks!
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Comment number 23.
At 4th Nov 2011, Dominic wrote:I love watching geese flying overhead in their classic 'v' formation. I think they fly in a 'v' because of air currents; I could be wrong, hopefully one of the presenters will tell us.
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Comment number 24.
At 4th Nov 2011, Nick wrote:why do pigeons panic at the sight of a kite? can they not recognise there's no danger?
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Comment number 25.
At 4th Nov 2011, a-doyg wrote:Why don't birds bump into each other when changing direction - a group of humans would !!
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Comment number 26.
At 4th Nov 2011, wolfie clan wrote:We would like to know how you know how many birds migrate? For example the Barnacle Geese. Does some one count the birds and make a guess or is there a certain method used?
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Comment number 27.
At 4th Nov 2011, Cath Stonard wrote:Every week so far, my husband has asked me, 'how do all these birds know where to go when they migrate?' Each week I say the same, 'they either have some sort of built in sat nav, or it's down to instinct'. Please tell us the correct answer, as my husband is driving me nuts!! Love the programme by the way!
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Comment number 28.
At 4th Nov 2011, Vicki Galt wrote:Hi. We moved to Lancaster 4 years ago and every year we have two whole fields of pink feet geese arrive in our back yard! the noise is tremendous and i would like to know more about where they come from and where they are going to.
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Comment number 29.
At 4th Nov 2011, Gillian TS wrote:Hi, I have just returned tonight from the West Coast of Scotland (25 miles south of Oban) and whilst there I noted a complete White pink-footed goose with a flock of pink footed geese, I have never seen this before, will this bird survive with the rest of the flock? I have managed to get pictures of the goose within the flock if anyone wishes to see it.
Best regards Gillian
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Comment number 30.
At 4th Nov 2011, Joe nicholson wrote:How far do the geese migrate each year?
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Comment number 31.
At 4th Nov 2011, Sabrina wrote:Hi, My husband and I live in Godstone, Surrey and every evening around 18:00hrs we see large flocks of Canadian (canada) Geese fly over the pub which we live above, there are around 60 (roughly counted) when will these migrate and where are they going each evening? as we have two ponds either side of the pub and they do not sleep here. Oh they come back over around 06:00hrs the following mornings :o) x x
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Comment number 32.
At 4th Nov 2011, ChrisAWard wrote:If you took the eggs from a Swallow, House Martin or Swift's nest in London and put them under the relevent bird in Manchester, where would the young return to nest the following year? Regards, Chris Ward, Nuneaton.
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Comment number 33.
At 4th Nov 2011, becktrain wrote:Since seals are part of tonight's program i thought i would share my painting of a Grey seal
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Comment number 34.
At 4th Nov 2011, David Thurston wrote:What is known about how geese communic ate
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Comment number 35.
At 4th Nov 2011, tedbun wrote:Do swans mourn when they lose their mates? Is this why Dario (?) has been solitary for the past two years? Also, why are mute swans the most commonly seen swans in urban-type areas (at least in our experience)? Do the other types of swan have a greater propensity to form flocks and thus need far greater expanses of water and grazing etc than can generally be found in built-up areas? Thanks and best regards, TB.
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Comment number 36.
At 4th Nov 2011, julie michelle wrote:When birds migrate, how high do they fly? Does it vary on the weather? Do they get a better view/orientation for which direction they need to go, assuming that oversea there are no landmarks?
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Comment number 37.
At 4th Nov 2011, gillian wrote:Hardly seeing any birds in my garden,lots of bird feeders
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Comment number 38.
At 4th Nov 2011, springysheep wrote:Has Crinkley Neck the ?Swan? arrived at Slimbridge yet??? I always watch out for it's arrival. Is he / she OK??
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Comment number 39.
At 4th Nov 2011, janine wrote:hi, could you tell me if there is any thing I can do to attract owls to my garden, or if I can do anything to help to feed them in tne cold weather.
Thanks
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Comment number 40.
At 4th Nov 2011, Robert wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 41.
At 4th Nov 2011, Carol Monger wrote:Would Hawfinches also eat grit, or are they able to crunch up most seeds with their beak?
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Comment number 42.
At 4th Nov 2011, Maureend wrote:I live on the edge of the Peak District. Every year we see huge numbers of what I think are geese flying north, very high in the sky. This happened this year about a week ago. Are they likely to be geese and if so, where are they going, considering that other geese and swans are flying south from Greenland to Scotland and England at this time?
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Comment number 43.
At 4th Nov 2011, Cathy in Edinburgh wrote:Having been brought up in Northern Ireland, we always call Loch Neagh 'NAY' and not 'NEE' as pronounced by Chris!
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Comment number 44.
At 4th Nov 2011, julie m wrote:is it correct that swans pair up for life or have i been told wrong
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Comment number 45.
At 4th Nov 2011, nightjar wrote:what is the muscle called that uses grit to grind food and do they use acids.
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Comment number 46.
At 4th Nov 2011, Paulnsue wrote:Why do birds eat birds and fish eat fish isnt this cannibalism?
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Comment number 47.
At 4th Nov 2011, jennie wrote:Hi. On saturday just past, driving north from Elgin to Inverness I saw 2 swans flying east. Is it possible they were Buick Swans? They did not appear to have such long necks as the Hoopers.
Also - The Cromarty Firth is a really good place to see Geese (possibly Barnacles) and seals - common seals I believe.
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Comment number 48.
At 4th Nov 2011, phatbird wrote:Thanks Chris youv'e just answered my blog question.
6:30am this morning North to South across my garden in Runcorn Cheshire were a flock of Twite.
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Comment number 49.
At 4th Nov 2011, Susan Deacon wrote:Last weekend my husband was standing on the cliffs above Rossnowlagh beach (Co. Donegal) watching the surfers below. He said seals were 'racing' the surfers into the shallows. The seals raced ahead then waited for the surfers to catch up, then they swam back out to meet the next batch coming in. They did this several times. Were they playing?
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Comment number 50.
At 4th Nov 2011, miss_wildlife wrote:Can someone please tell Martin he's made another mistake. It's the Isles of Scilly not the Scilly Isles!!!
Thanks :)
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Comment number 51.
At 4th Nov 2011, Robert wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 52.
At 4th Nov 2011, ColinA wrote:Chris - Lough Neagh rhymes with 'nay' not 'knee'!!
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Comment number 53.
At 4th Nov 2011, Sue from Hull wrote:I heard a skylark singing at Donna Nook, Lincolnshire last Friday. Was it migrating?
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Comment number 54.
At 4th Nov 2011, hawk501 wrote:hi i live in essex and can any geese or swans migreate over here because every year on one morning i geese or swans i cant tell because im walking my dog and they are flying?
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Comment number 55.
At 4th Nov 2011, Caitlin wrote:Hi whats the rarest animal or bird to migrate
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Comment number 56.
At 4th Nov 2011, Jeremy wrote:Please could Chris Packham remind us how many song birds domestic cats kill each year? As he did on a sketch a few years ago?
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Comment number 57.
At 4th Nov 2011, the_pipster wrote:a) Canada Goose
b) Wigeon
c) Shelduck
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Comment number 58.
At 4th Nov 2011, annedimmock wrote:unfortunately we found a dead blackbird in our garden this week as it had flown into a window. Interestingly it had a black beak. we are in mid bedfordshire.
Great show Thanks anne dimmock
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Comment number 59.
At 4th Nov 2011, Amber wrote:Please could could I ask why migrating geese fly in the shape of the letter "V"
Amber Graham Scottish Borders
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Comment number 60.
At 4th Nov 2011, Doofus wrote:hi
how long does it typically take a bewick swan to migrate from russia to england?
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Comment number 61.
At 4th Nov 2011, ecolaura21 wrote:why do migrations occur - is it simply too difficult to survive a UK winter for the ospreys? surely not as treacherous as the route across the sahara...?
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Comment number 62.
At 4th Nov 2011, Rural Essex Girl wrote:A Canada Goose
B Wigeon
C Shelduck
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Comment number 63.
At 4th Nov 2011, linmac1 wrote:Please can you tell me how to tell the difference between a whooper swan and a bewick? I saw 6 last week on a fresh water loch in Lochalsh, having just flown in.
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Comment number 64.
At 4th Nov 2011, toothless_heron wrote:I was just wondering, how long roughly does it take for a
Ospray to migrate?
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Comment number 65.
At 4th Nov 2011, cornishbee wrote:I will stand corrected but this is a bit of a bee in our bonnets .... if Sahara is desert or grand desert, surely the Ospreys are to migrate over the Sahara, not the Sahara desert?
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Comment number 66.
At 4th Nov 2011, doddy mac wrote:quiz, 1 canada goose, 2, widgeon, 3, shellduck.
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Comment number 67.
At 4th Nov 2011, miss_wildlife wrote:A. Canada Goose
B. Mallard Duck
C. Shelduck
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Comment number 68.
At 4th Nov 2011, Doofus wrote:a :canada goose
b : mandarin
c: shellduck
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Comment number 69.
At 4th Nov 2011, Mick Todd wrote:canada goose
teal
shelduck
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Comment number 70.
At 4th Nov 2011, Steph seddon wrote:Canada goose,
teal
Shelduck
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Comment number 71.
At 4th Nov 2011, e4electro wrote:A) Canadian Goose
B) Widgeon
C) Shelduck
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Comment number 72.
At 4th Nov 2011, Lizzgrray wrote:A Canada goose, b mandarin, c shelduck
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Comment number 73.
At 4th Nov 2011, AlaineNiLaoi wrote:Hi Autumnwatch,
This ones for Chris. What impact is desertification having on ospreys in the Sahara and Sahel, is it making migration tougher and longer?
Alana,13
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Comment number 74.
At 4th Nov 2011, Jennifer McNeill wrote:Woodcock was spotted today, friday, in Kintyre, Scotland.
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Comment number 75.
At 4th Nov 2011, Frances MacLean wrote:Woodcock seen in Moidart today
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Comment number 76.
At 4th Nov 2011, gavinbosher wrote:I've recently returned from an attachment with the Royal Navy. During our time in the Med and North Africa I observed a Kingfisher on and around the Ship. Until that point I'd only ever seen Kingfishers in fresh water areas. Is this unusual to see Kingfishers so far out at sea?
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Comment number 77.
At 4th Nov 2011, kath wrote:a) canada goose
b) mallard
c) Shoveller
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Comment number 78.
At 5th Nov 2011, RyeHarbourUK wrote:Jeremy - I am more than happy if you want to use any of our wildlife videos at
latest ones are of a Curlew roost...
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Comment number 79.
At 6th Nov 2011, kingfisher wrote:Why have so many short eared owls arrived just recently this year ? there was a count of 46 seen coming in off the sea in just a few hrs at Titchwell a few weeks ago . I watched 6 coming into roost at Burwell fen ( cambs ) this evening , stunning birds , well worth some Chris style thigh rubbing !
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Comment number 80.
At 7th Nov 2011, skyesue wrote:I live on the west coast of the Isle of Skye and have a small (4 acre) mixed wood,planted in 2000. Woodcock take up residence here every winter now,and I had my first sighting today,flushing one from cover as I walked through the wood. Are there other sightings to show a general movement now?
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Comment number 81.
At 7th Nov 2011, AndyG wrote:My wife and I have recently seen a Humming Bird Hawk Moth in our back garden.
We live in Nuneaton Warwickshire. How unusual is that for the area, time of year or locality?
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Comment number 82.
At 11th Nov 2011, PikerArran wrote:Arran Murray
12
Perth, Scotland
can you please try and answer this question on the show
i saw our garden sparrows trying to get in the vacant swallows nest is there a reason for this i watched it for 15-20 mins and it was amazing to watch
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Comment number 83.
At 11th Nov 2011, PikerArran wrote:your glorios ooooooooh baby i want u to stay in my life never say goodbye even if you cry im still by your side .i really do.
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Comment number 84.
At 11th Nov 2011, Anne Middleton wrote:Why are there so many ladybirds around in my garden this time of year, is it the mild weather
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Comment number 85.
At 11th Nov 2011, Graham_Wiggles wrote:We allways talk about birds flying south for winter, seemingly from that all birds nest further north and spend the cold months further south even Artic Turns fly from the south pole to breed at the norh pole, do any birds world wide nest in the south and spend the off season furthrt north
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