What happens if you displace an adult cuckoo away from its normal migration route to an area where it has not been before? Most people with knowledge of literature would probably say that of course they will compensate for the displacement and fly back to the correct location. But what is the correct location for a bird that has been displaced not only >1000 km west of its normal route, but also advanced >2000 km south, just before it was supposed to fly south anyway?
Do you have those decisions that you look back on and think, ‘I am so glad I did that’? Well, for me, attending the Centre for Animal Movement Research (CAnMove ) Ecology of Animal Migration course is now one of such.
This meeting is the essence of what the MSLG is trying to do. We are aiming to connect research and conservation across the flyway – to facilitate the research and to inform the people who can then make changes to conserve migrant birds. A detailed schedule of the day can be seen here.