Wild Bird Travel Advice

5 Lessons to Learn and Some Fun Facts

Did you know that penguins migrate? Well, they do, some of them up to 17,000 km (around 10,000 miles) all on foot and by sea.

Tiny little hummingbirds migrate from the United States to Mexico and Central America on their tiny little wings.

Birds, quite possibly are the most well traveled animals on Earth, so the next time you are thinking about joining them in the sky and are getting your suitcase out, take heed, they have a lot to teach us about getting out there.

There is safety (and rest) in numbers

If you have ever looked up in the fall and seen a V of individual geese flying together, you have seen teamwork in action. They do this because the lead goose reduces the wind resistance for the rest of the flock. They take turns being the lead goose so they can cover more distance without getting exhausted. If one goose gets injured, a few of them will stay behind with them and join a different flock later on.

While I do love a good solo travel adventure, it is true that it is safer to travel in a flock. Several years ago, I broke my tibia just before moving across the world. The doctor said I couldn’t fly so soon after surgery but gave me no suggestions on how I should make it from Japan to Turkey without an airplane.

I decided to take the Trans-Siberian Railway all the way across Russia with 2 suitcases, a big backpack and a broken ankle all by myself. The rest of my flock (my husband and daughter) had decided that this was too hard so they took a plane to Istanbul. I made it to the other end safe and sound so I could write this now, but there were many times in that month-long migration when I really could have used my flock. Being the lone woman in a sleeping compartment on a train with drunk men taking liberties with their hands was nerve-wracking to say the least.

Following the birds example of staying with your injured parties and fending off the predators is good practice.

If you do find yourself migrating alone, keep your wits about you and find temporary flocks you can share your journey with even if only for a day.

It is OK to go to the same place over and over again

In today’s world of ticking off boxes and “doing” countries, it may see hopelessly passe to go to the same place year after year but the birds would tell us differently.

Birds make journies of tens of thousands of miles every year, often stoping at the exact same places every single time. Why would they do that when they could be seeing all kinds of new and exciting things along the way? Well, because experience has told them, the places they stop are good. They have enough food, they are safe and can provide them with what they need to continue their journey.

You too can find great restaurants, fabulous destinations and comfortable hideaways that you visit year after year. I have been to the Kayakoy Art Camp in southern Turkey 4 times because I love it. It is affordable, fun, relaxing and beautiful. I have been to Bali 3 times because after battling way way through several “adventures” with my fussy travel family, I decided to take them to a place I had already been before. This enabled me to plan a vacation they would love. It worked, so we did it again and again, we had fun.

Follow the Food and the Weather

Why do birds travel? Well, I suppose it must feel amazing to lift off on strong wings, look down over a rapidly shrinking landscape and just fly for the fun of it, but no bird will travel 35,000 km (22,000 miles) like the Arctic Turn does, just for the fun of it. No, they bounce from the Arctic to Europe or North America, down to Africa or South America, ending up at Antarctica looking for food and sunshine. In fact, they may be the animal that experiences the most amount of sun in it’s lifetime.

So, to travel like a bird, pack up that sunscreen and swimsuit and look for great food. I know I have taken whole trips to Mexico just for the love of a fish taco and a sandy beach.

Sometimes it gets crowded and you have to behave

When a bunch of birds find a great tree to rest in, they all pile on. They don’t spread out and look for more private trees, no, they jostle each other for prime branches. Negotiate in loud voices and eventually all settle in for a good night’s sleep.

Last year, I needed to go to Madrid for an interview and decided to stay in a hostel. I am not a spring chicken but I decided to stay there in spite of the warning that 50 year olds like myself might prefer some other kind of accommodation. The location and price were perfect so I decided to risk it.

I was prepared for a certain amount of high spiritedness as I was among the young and highly excitable so it didn’t bother me in the least when the pair of drunk girls showed up at 2 am looking for their bunks. They were doing their best to be quiet as they bumped into things and loud whispered to each other attempting to negotiate pijamas in the dark. It made me smile that they were at least trying not to disturb us.

What didn’t make me smile was the girl on the next bunk over from mine who, upon benig woken by the drunk girls, proceeded to call her mother and start to have a protracted conversation with her mom about the quality or lack there of of her professors. I did find the conversation a bit interesting as I am a professor myself, but there were at least 5 of us trying to sleep and she was talking at top volume. I decided to reprimand her as she was a fellow American and it wasn’t possible that it was just culturally appropriate to do such a thing. To her credit, she did move out to the hallway to have her conversation when I told her that she needed to do that.

So, when in a tree, or communal sleeping area, settle down, go to sleep and do your best to be a good member of the flock.

Even when you are in a Cage, the Instinct is Still there

If a migratory bird is kept in a cage, it still knows when migration starts. It will flutter it’s wings and I am sure that its whole being aches to be in the sky again.

Just like those birds, when I have been held down too long by a job, family responsibilities, or a lack of funds, I find myself fluttering my wings and longing for movement. When this feeling hit, I used to read Excape Magazine, watch the Travel Chanel and dream of boarding a plane to anywhere.

I am a migratory bird who loves a good nest and a great flock.

Thank you for the amazing team at Globetrotters for yet another great prompt. You always get me thinking in different directions and make me take out my creative cap.

Lindsey Otto wrote a great article about how travel and flying makes her feel free. Check it out here and read all about how the bird in Harry Potter inspired her.

Victoria Hydes shared a special breakfast with a bird in Berlin and remembered to stop and enjoy to slower quieter moments while she was traveling. Check out her article here.