The Wadden Sea is known for its millions of birds. Some stay all year, others are just passing through the intertidal zone off northwestern continental Europe. Here are a few of our favorites.
Image: picture alliance/chromorange/G. Fischer
Advertisement
Have you ever heard of a bar-tailed godwit? Or an avocet? They are among the millions of birds that flock to the Wadden Sea as they migrate around the world to such far flung places as southern and west Africa. With its mudflats and salt marshes, this UNESCO heritage site in Europe's North Sea is not only rich in food, but also provides a place for visiting birds to breed. The area is also home to birds that stay all year around. Between them, they give bird lovers plenty to enjoy.
Image: Schutzstation-Wattenmeer.de
Read more: The science of migratory birdsThe dunlin
Wading on short legs, the dunlin picks at the mud in search of food. The most common bird in the Wadden Sea, it's not uncommon to find it tiptoeing behind people out for a walk at low tide. The Wadden Sea is a resting place for the dunlin during its long migratory routes. The mudflats offer it a rich array of food, and by the time the bird resumes its journey, it has gained around 70% of its body weight.
Image: Schutzstation-Wattenmeer.de
Its Latin name Calidris alpina draws on another habitat in which the bird can be found — the mountains of Norway, which is one of the places it is known to breed after it's spent winters in Africa and Southeast Asia.The red knot
There are some similarities between the dunlin and the red knot, which is not surprising given they both belong to the sandpiper family. The red knot breeds in northern Siberia and has one of the longest migrations of any bird. But the long-distance flier has a problem, and that problem is climate change.
Although spring in the Arctic now begins two weeks earlier than it did a few decades ago, the red knots haven't changed their arrival schedule. That means by the time the young hatch, the number of mosquitoes and other insects is already beginning to wane because of seasonal conditions, and they don't get enough to eat. As a result, the birds are smaller than they should be and their beaks are also shorter, which is a problem back on the mudflats of northern Europe, where competition for food is tough.The oystercatcher
When a high-pitched birdsong pierces the air above the Wadden Sea, it's likely from an oystercatcher. These birds provide the soundtrack for much of the sprawling national park. With their characteristic black and white plumage coupled with red beaks, legs and eyes, even non-birdwatchers can easily pick out the oystercatcher.
The Wadden Sea serves as a vast breeding ground for the species, with birds often nesting on beds of mussels. The young hatch after around 26 days and are then fed by their largely monogamous parents for six weeks. But not necessarily with oysters, as the name suggests. Their favorite foods include cockles and mussels.The barnacle goose
With its confident stature and monosyllabic honk that almost sounds like a dog's bark, the barnacle goose is a sight and sound to be enjoyed by nature lovers. But the birds are not universally adored. Some farmers would like wring their necks when they descend in flocks on freshly sown crops. Protected under a treaty to conserve birds migrating between Africa and Europe, its numbers are healthy.
Image: Schutzstation-Wattenmeer.de
When the birds are not pecking at agricultural land, barnacle geese, which ancient folklore erroneously claimed developed underwater, are often found on saltmarshes. And usually in great flocks, for these are sociable animals.The herring gull
Widely dispersed in Europe and the US, the herring gull is synonymous with the coast, and can be found in abundance along the Wadden Sea's lengthy coast. Their large numbers could have something to do with their eating habits. The herring gull is no gourmet eater, but will sink its beak into anything from worms and fish to carrion and other gulls' eggs.
Bird lovers admire their agility in the sky. The herring gull flies slowly and doesn't tire easily, which lends it an air of grandeur. But they don't tend to cover long distances. Many of them stay in the Wadden Sea all year round.
Migratory birds: The real long-distance champions
For any human flier, 14,000 kilometers in one stretch would be a challenge. But as birds cross oceans and continents, many species — including endangered ones — pull off this feat without the aid of jet engines.
Image: AP Photo/David Guttenfelder on assignment for National Geographic Magazine
The long-distance champion
Meet the bar-tailed godwit: Breeding primarily on Arctic coasts, and the Scandinavian and Siberian tundra, this wading species spends the winter in Australia and New Zealand. In 2007, a tagged bird was recorded as having flown 11,600 kilometers (7200 miles), from Western Alaska to New Zealand, in a single nine-day stretch. That probably makes it the record-holder for non-stop flight.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/McPHOTO
The little guy
Named for the bright red plumage under its beak, the ruby-throated hummingbird can grow up to 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) and weigh as little as 3 grams. But don't let the bird's small stature fool you, it still gets around. During migration, some specimens fly 900 miles non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico to their breeding grounds in the Eastern United States.
Image: Imago/D. Delimont
The officer
Belonging to the stork species, the greater adjutant owes its name to its gait — which is said to resemble that of a military officer. But the adjutant doesn't command much land anymore. It's listed as endangered, and is only found in two breeding colonies in India and Cambodia. Outside of the breeding season, it visits neighboring countries across Southeast Asia.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
'The Bird'
An invasion of sooty shearwater birds in California in 1961 was the inspiration for Hitchcock's famous thriller "The Birds," which came out two years later. In real life, the birds are more awe-inspiring than scary. Crossing the Pacific and Atlantic, up coasts in spring and down in autumn, they clock up to 14,000-kilometer journeys. Oh, and they can also dive down to more than 60 meters.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Wothe
The sewing machine
Dunlins are small waders, and breed in Arctic regions. While those from Northern Europe and Asia fly as far as Africa for the winter break, their Alaskan and Canadian counterparts prefer the much closer North American coasts. Their characteristic mechanical way of picking at food has earned them their nickname.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Woike
The snowbird
Arctic terns have developed the ultimate strategy to evade winter: They breed in the Arctic during the northern summer, then travel to the shores of Antarctica, racking up 80,000 kilometers of travel or more per year in the process. That means they see two summers. But winters? Zero. Every year.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Bäsemann
The holy bird
Critically endangered, the northern bald ibis is now only found in southern Morocco. It used to migrate across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Revered by the ancient Egyptians and said to have been the first bird to be released from Noah's Ark, Turkish pilgrims also looked to them for guidance on their way to Mecca. Spiritual appreciation hasn't helped stem its decline.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M.Unsöld
The all-rounder
The northern wheatear has nothing to do with wheat or ears but it does make one of the longest migrations of any small bird. It passes over oceans, snow and desert during its spring journey from Sub-Saharan Africa to the Northern Hemisphere. There, the birds occupy an area stretching from Central Asia to Europe and Alaska. Trackers have shown they can travel 290 kilometers a day on average.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/M. Woike
The commoner
The common crane is a common appearance in the north of Europe and Asia, where it breeds typically in moors and wetlands. For its winter vacation, it commonly migrates to North and East Africa, as well as to Israel and parts of Iran.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Büttner
The harlequin
Anything but boring, the ruddy turnstone's plumage features a harlequin-like pattern during summer when it breeds in the Arctic Tundra of Europe, Asia and North America. As temperatures drop, the small wader changes into its brown winter coat and migrates south on coastlines around the world.
Image: picture alliance/blickwinkel/M. Woike
End of a journey
These ducks had made it across the Mediterranean from North Africa only to be shot on arrival at this beach in Albania. Every year, hunters kill many millions of migratory birds across the Mediterranean — for food or money, or, most controversially, sport.
Image: AP Photo/David Guttenfelder on assignment for National Geographic Magazine
