Small birds are born knowing where to migrate

Small birds have an inbuilt sense of where to spend the winter, while larger birds learn migration routes from their parents, bird specialist Jaak Tammekänd told ERR’s Terevisioon programme.

Most barn swallows have already left, and finches and tits are now migrating in large numbers, said Tammekänd, a bird specialist at the Environment Agency. Smaller birds use the stars and other landmarks to navigate.

Thousands of goldcrests passed through Kabli yesterday, Tammekänd said. The goldcrest is Estonia’s smallest bird, weighing just five grams. Some stay through the winter, but most move to warmer regions.

Blue tits are partial migrants: some stay in Estonia for winter while others head south. Some birds from Finland have already arrived. Great tits also migrate only in part. Ringing data shows that the farthest recorded destinations for Estonia’s great tits are northern Italy and France.

Bird movements can also offer clues about the weather, Tammekänd said. The folk saying that cranes leaving means bad weather is coming, and swans leaving means snow is on the way, has some basis, he said. Cranes migrate on northerly winds, which bring cold air from the north. Swans leave in large numbers when the first night frosts arrive, so snow is not expected soon.