Attenborough’s sin summary

Simon Marsh  |  Features  |  earth watch
Date posted:  1 Apr 2021
Share Add       
Attenborough’s sin summary

One swallow doesn’t make a summer, so the saying goes. But it does mean that spring is here, and when you read this you might even have seen the first swallows arriving in Britain on the end of a long journey from their wintering grounds in southern Africa.

Swallows do not appear to be very strong or direct fliers (see Proverbs 26:2 for a Biblical observation on this), so their long-distance migration is a remarkable feat of endurance.

Another extraordinary migration was only discovered a few years ago. It was thought that the red-necked phalarope, a small wading bird which nests in Shetland, spent its winters in the Arabian Sea. Impressive enough, you may think. However, thanks to tiny geolocators attached to some birds, scientists discovered it went in completely the opposite direction and made an epic 16,000-mile return trip to the Pacific off the coast of Peru. The phalarope’s story even inspired a musical ballad performed by children from London and Peru at the Royal Albert Hall.

Share
< Previous article| Features| Next article >
Read more articles on:   environment
Read more articles by Simon Marsh >>
Features
Special places?

Special places?

Recently my church has been studying the opening chapters of Genesis, and although the focus was on male and female …

Features
Are we doomed?

Are we doomed?

‘We’re doomed’, a catchphrase familiar to viewers of Dad’s Army, might have been Private Frazer’s reaction to the recent …

Give a subscription

🎁 Get 20% off a subscription for a friend this Christmas!

Tell me more

Subscribe

Enjoy our monthly paper and full online access

Find out more