Migration: Exploring the Remarkable Journeys of Birds

Flight has fascinated humans since we first looked into the sky and saw birds on the wing, and no flights are more fascinating than the extraordinary migrations birds make every day, week, month, and season of the year. Birds of all sizes, shapes, and species travel hundreds, even thousands of miles between breeding grounds and wintering grounds in search of the best resources for their survival. They navigate brutal obstacles and changing landscapes to make these journeys, often with remarkable precision to arrive in the same locations at the same times year after year.  Migration explores how birds make their incredible travels. From first preparing to migrate, to the different types of migration going on all around us, to the compelling reasons why migration is a must, the background discussion of migration will provide a foundation for readers to better appreciate this traveling feat. From the high-flying journeys of bar-headed geese that fly above the Himalayan Mountains and the long-distance endurance of Arctic terns that travel from pole-to-pole. Birds of all families, from hummingbirds and ducks to songbirds, raptors, swifts, parrots, and even penguins and flamingos will be explored, as will all types of migrations, from vast seasonal movements to more casual nomads.   As readers migrate through the book's pages, they will also discover avian navigation, curious routes, the hazards of the journey, and why, occasionally, birds end up far from their original destination. Beautifully illustrated this book will debunk the most outrageous myths about migration as it thoroughly travels the globe exploring the epic journeys these incredible birds make.

As a birder, Melissa Mayntz has seen hundreds of species, witnessed astonishing seasonal migrations, and attracted dozens of bird species to her yard. She began enjoying birds as a child, and brings more than 35 years of birding experience to her readers. She currently lives in Florida and is transforming her suburban yard into a wildlife-friendly habitat with native plants, plentiful water, and natural food sources, while also pursuing study to become a certified Florida Master Naturalist and Land Steward.   Melissa has been published in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, websites, and blogs. Her work has appeared in National Wildlife magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest Online, Watching Backyard Birds, TheSpruce.com, and WildBird, among other publications. In addition to writing about birds, she works as the managing editor of Cruise Hive (cruisehive.com) and writes on a variety of other topics.