The graylag goose flies miles...
... from south-western Europe
to Scandinavia.
The story of migrating birds
is the story of a promise:
The promise to return.
They fly, often thousands
of miles, beset with danger...
... for a single reason:
To survive.
Their migration is a fight for life.
When spring comes,
they take wing for the Arctic.
Some fly relentlessly, night and day.
Others make the trip in stages...
... labouring to reach
their distant destination.
The Eurasian crane flies miles
from Spain to the boreal forest.
The white stork flies miles
from central Africa to Western Europe.
To navigate across the latitudes...
... they use the natural beacons
of the universe:
The sun, the stars.
They can track
the earth's magnetic field...
... as sensitively
as a compass needle.
The barnacle goose flies miles
from western Europe to Greenland.
All over the Northern Hemisphere...
The whooper swan flies miles
from the Far East to the Siberian tundra.
... on every continent
the spring migration has begun.
No barriers stop them.
The birds make straight
for the far north.
The bar-headed goose flies miles
from India to the central Asia steppes.
The red-crowned crane flies miles
from the Far East to the Siberian taiga.
The bald eagle flies miles
from the American West to Alaska.
The Canada goose flies miles...
... from the Gulf of Mexico
to the Arctic Circle.
All across America...
... from coast to coast...
... the migrants wing their way
towards the Arctic Circle.
The snow goose flies miles from
the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic lands.
The Clark's grebe in Oregon.
The sandhill crane flies miles...
... from the Central American plains
to the arctic lands.
The greater sage grouse in Idaho.
Coming from every continent...
... the migrant birds converge
upon the Arctic and disperse.
Their life as a community is over.
Now, it's family time.
There is a world apart:
The realm of sea birds.
Every spring,
they quit the ocean waves...
... and flock to nest
on the same cliffs and rocks.
The common murre
are scattered over the North Atlantic.
The northern gannet
in the North Atlantic.
The Arctic summer is short-lived.
Soon the northern lands will be
locked in the cold of the polar night.
lt is time for the fall migration.
No more food. Time to leave.
Flying south is now a matter
of life or death.
The Arctic tern flies , miles
from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
Out in the ocean...
... any floating refuge can save
the life of an exhausted bird.
For the others, there's no rest
until the coast.
In the fall, there is
one prime necessity:
Stay clear of bad weather.
Travelling south
through North America.
The red-breasted goose travelling
south through eastern Europe.
The fall migration thins the ranks.
Among the survivors,
by flying with their elders...
... the youngsters memorize the route
and recognize the landmarks...
... they will fly over twice a year,
throughout their lives.
Travelling into Africa.
For millions of birds from Europe...
... the journey's end is Africa...
... but many will fall by the wayside.
The waders fly miles from the
Arctic Circle to the west coast of Africa.
At the end of their odyssey...
... birds from all over
reach the heavenly tropics.
The African white pelican
crossing Africa.
Heaven is ephemeral.
lt will only last a season.
Once again...
... they must take to the skies
in their endless search for food.
The Amazon.
The albatross around Antarctica.
No landmass slows the swell
of the southern oceans.
Sea birds nest
on wind-lashed islands.
The young albatross
only comes to land...
... after circling the Antarctic
for several years.
The rock-hopper penguin
travels miles...
... following South Atlantic currents.
The king penguin travels...
... from the southern continents
to the Antarctic islands.
A year has passed.
Millions of birds have flown
thousands of miles.
In the sky, the same journeys
start over again.
In the Northern Hemisphere...
... migrating birds herald
a new spring.
The promise to return
has been fulfilled.
Winged Migration (2001)
Moderator: Maskath3