As the Global Community celebrates World Migratory Bird Day, the global community is focusing the 2024 campaign on the importance of insects for migratory birds, and highlight concerns related to decreasing populations of insects.
Insects are essential sources of energy for many migratory bird species, not only during the breeding seasons but also during their extensive journeys and greatly affect the timing, duration, and overall success of bird migrations.
Due to intensive agriculture and urban development and its effects such as light pollution, the loss and disturbance of insect populations at breeding sites and along avian migration routes threaten bird survival and well-being.
Pesticides and herbicides designed to protect crops harm insects that birds rely on for food. A scarcity of energy- and protein-rich insects can hinder bird migration and breeding, leading to weakened immune systems, reduced reproductive success, and increased mortality rates for both adult birds and their offspring.
Birds play crucial roles in pollination and pest control, and a lack of insects disrupts these ecosystem functions.
Overpopulation of certain insects, without natural predators from birds, can also cause outbreaks that damage plant health and agriculture.
The World Migratory Bird Day campaign in 2024 will stress the need for proactive conservation measures.
This includes reducing the use of pesticides and fertilisers, and where possible, switching to organic farming.
Birdlife International said that despite their importance, birds were declining at a shocking rate. It said that one in eight birds species is now threatened with extinction.
It added that one way of tackling the environmental crises of birds was to learn more about birds.
