Animals
The first migratory birds have already set off south again
Swifts only come to Hesse for a few months each year – they overwinter south of the Sahara. (Archive image) Photo
© -/ukrin/dpa
There are increasing signs that summer is soon coming to an end. One species of bird is in a particular hurry to leave Germany.
According to the calendar, summer does not end until September 22nd, but the first migratory birds have arrived Germany has already started heading south again. This includes mainly the swifts: “You probably won’t see any more,” says Thomas Norgall from the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) in Hesse.
The migratory birds only come to Germany for a few months each year to breed before heading back to their winter quarters south of the Sahara. Due to climate change, however, they now appear in Germany a week or two earlier and fly back to Africa a little later.
“Swifts are absolute birds of the air,” says BUND conservation officer Norgall. “They sleep, eat and even mate in the air. The only food these black and brown feathered flying artists eat is flying insects.”
Fast like a sports car
Even though the agile swifts, which can fly at speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour, resemble swallows in terms of their flight silhouette and hunting behavior, they are not related to each other. Swallows are songbirds, while swifts belong to the order of swiftlets. “The first swallows are also already making their way south,” adds Norgall.
Storks are also gathering together to set off for their southern winter quarters. “You see more of them now because the young are also there,” explains the BUND expert. However, some storks remain in Germany during the winter as a result of climate change. They often build their nests on chimneys, roofs, masts and church towers and feed mainly on mice, earthworms and insects.