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Each spring and autumn hundreds of millions of birds - wildfowl, shorebirds, raptors, and passerines - migrate between higher and lower latitudes, or in some cases between high latitudes in the northern hemisphere and high latitudes in the southern hemisphere. In a handful of places around the world, a combination of geography, topography and climate combine to funnel migrant birds into narrow fronts, leading to migration hotspots, places where, for a few days each year, birds seem to be everywhere. The sight of thousands upon thousands of birds is one of nature's greatest wildlife spectacles. takes a look at 30 of the locations where the planet's most dramatic bird migration can be witnessed, from raptor bottlenecks such as Veracruz (Mexico) and the Strait of Messina (Italy) to places like Point Pelee (Canada) and Beidaihe (China) where spectacular falls of songbirds can take place. And from wetlands where huge numbers of waders stop over each spring and autumn to the great rarity islands of Scilly and Heligoland.The book covers each of the world's major avian flyways and features stunning photography throughout. The geographical reasons for the importance of each hotspot are explained, with a summary of the different birds that pass through and the best times of year to see them, and an introductory chapter summarises birds' migration strategies.
List of contents
FOREWORD 5
INTRODUCTION 7
Point Reyes, United States 20
Point Pelee, Canada 26
Cape May, United States 36
Upper Texas Coast, United States 44
South Padre Island, United States 50
Veracruz, Mexico 56
Panama City, Panama 60
Falsterbo, Sweden 64
Matsalu Bay, Estonia 70
Heligoland, Germany 76
Yorkshire Coast, United Kingdom 84
Portland, United Kingdom 88
Scilly, United Kingdom 94
Cape Clear, Ireland 100
Tarifa, Spain 106
Messina, Italy 112
Hortobagy, Hungary 116
Via Pontica, Bulgaria 122
Lesvos, Greece 128
Batumi, Georgia 134
Eilat, Israel 142
Ras Mohammed & Hurghada, Egypt 152
East African Rift Valley Lakes, Kenya 158
Chokpak & Korgalzhyn, Kazakhstan 168
Rann of Kutch, India 174
Beidaihe, China 180
Mai Po, Hong Kong 190
Chumphon, Thailand 196
Fraser's Hill, Malaysia 200
Moreton Bay, Australia 206
REFERENCES 214
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 218
INDEX 220
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a beautifully illustrated coffee-table book for twitchers The Spectator
