Czechia: a crossroads for Europe's migrating birds
Czechia's mountain passes are important corridors for birds migrating across Europe each autumn. In the Krkonoše and Jeseníky Mountains, ornithologists observe and ring birds travelling from northern Europe to wintering grounds as far away as India. But as winters become milder, some species are shortening their journeys or remaining farther north.
Two such corridors can be found in the Krkonoše, or Giant Mountains, along the Czech-Polish border, and the Jeseníky Mountains in northern Moravia. Both attract large numbers of migrating birds and provide ornithologists with valuable opportunities to study their extraordinary journeys.
Finding a way across the mountains
For birds crossing the Krkonoše, geography plays an important role. Rather than flying over the highest peaks, many species follow routes through lower mountain passes, where conditions are generally more favourable. Jakub Šimorda from the Krkonoše National Park Administration explains:
"When birds want to cross the Krkonoše Mountains, they have to find places where they can do so most easily. Mountain passes, such as those near Špindlerova bouda or Vosecká bouda, offer precisely that opportunity, and larger numbers of birds tend to cross there. These places have traditionally been used to catch and ring birds and monitor their migration. We want to know where they fly, where they spend the winter, and many other things about their biology, including whether they return to the places where they hatched."
The autumn migration is also visible to ordinary visitors. Flocks of fieldfares, thrushes and finches can be spotted feeding on rowan berries or gathering in fields around the mountain town of Vrchlabí. While the landscape gradually falls quiet as winter approaches, the movement of migrating birds provides a striking reminder of the seasonal changes taking place.
From the Czech mountains to the Indian subcontinent
The distances covered by migrating birds vary enormously. Many species spend the winter around the Mediterranean, while others travel thousands of kilometres farther east or south.
Among the remarkable long-distance travellers breeding in the Krkonoše are the red-breasted flycatcher and the common rosefinch. The latter migrates to wintering grounds on the Indian subcontinent. Scientists believe that the migration routes of some species may reflect their evolutionary history, including the geographical areas from which their ancestors gradually expanded northwards.
Such journeys are not simply random movements in search of warmer weather. Migration behaviour is shaped by inherited instincts, environmental conditions and the availability of food along the route.
A busy migration corridor in the Jeseníky Mountains
Some 130 kilometres to the east, another important migration route passes through Červenohorské sedlo in the Jeseníky Mountains. For more than twenty years, ornithologists have operated a bird-ringing station at the mountain pass, catching, examining and releasing migrating birds. During the autumn migration, hundreds of birds can pass through their hands in a single day, while thousands more fly overhead. Ornithologist Vojtěch Procházka describes the activity:
"Since this morning, perhaps thousands of birds have already flown over us. You can see small flocks of ten or twenty birds passing at short intervals. Chaffinches are the dominant species, but we can also see siskins, linnets and hawfinches. We have even spotted a few late swallows and a hobby, a bird of prey, which also passed through this morning."
The captured birds are fitted with small identification rings before being released. When a ringed bird is subsequently encountered elsewhere, researchers can learn more about its movements, longevity and migration routes. Zoologist Marcel Minář explains why Červenohorské sedlo is particularly suitable for observing migration:
"Červenohorské sedlo is generally a very important migration route for many animals, not only birds. But for birds in particular, it is a major migration corridor of European significance. Birds arriving from the north look for ways to cross our Jeseníky Mountains, and this mountain pass provides them with a natural route." The station's long history of observations also makes it a valuable place for studying changes in bird migration over time.
How climate change is altering migration
Although bird migration follows patterns established over many generations, those patterns are not necessarily fixed. As European winters become milder, some species are increasingly able to find suitable conditions without travelling as far south as they once did.
Back in the Krkonoše, Jakub Šimorda says these changes are already influencing the behaviour of certain birds: "With the continuing warming of the climate, or simply because winter conditions in Europe are getting better and better, some species are no longer in such a hurry to reach warmer regions. They may stay longer at one of their stopovers, or they may even remain somewhere in central or southern Europe for the winter."
For some birds, shorter migrations may mean spending less energy travelling and avoiding dangers along the way. However, changing migration patterns can also create new challenges, particularly when food availability and seasonal weather conditions become less predictable.
Climate change is not the only threat facing migratory birds. Habitat loss, collisions with buildings and other structures, and changes to the landscapes where birds feed and rest can also make their journeys more difficult.
For the ornithologists observing birds in the Krkonoše and Jeseníky Mountains, autumn is therefore more than an opportunity to witness one of nature's great spectacles. Their observations help reveal how birds navigate the European continent, how different populations are connected across thousands of kilometres, and how their behaviour is adapting to a changing environment.
Czechia and its norther mountain passes offer a valuable window into the changing patterns of bird migration across Europe.
