"The story of migrating birds is the story of a promise:" "The promise to return." "They fly, often thousands of kilometres, beset with danger for a single reason:" "To survive." "Their migration is a fight for life." "When spring comes, they take wing for the Arctic." "Some fly relentlessly, night and day." "Others make the trip in stages laboring to reach their distant destination." "The Graylag Goose flies 3,000 kms from south-western Europe to Scandinavia." "The Eurasian Crane flies 4,000 kms from Spain to the boreal forest." "To navigate across the latitudes they use the natural beacons of the universe:" "The sun, the stars." "They can track the earth's magnetic field as sensitively as a compass needle." "The Barnacle Goose flies 2,500 kms from western Europe to Greenland." "The Whooper Swan flies 3,000 kms from the Far East to the Siberian Tundra." "The Bar-headed Goose flies 2,500 kms from the Gangetic plains to the central Asia steppes." "The Red-crowned Crane flies 1,000 kms from the Far East to the Siberian Taiga." "The Bald Eagle flies 3,000 kms from the American West to Alaska." "The Canada Goose flies 3,500 kms from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Circle." "The Snow Goose flies 4,000 kms from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic lands." "The Sandhill Crane flies 3,500 kms from the Central American plains to the Arctic lands." "Coming from every continent the migrant birds converge upon the Arctic and disperse." "Their life as a community is over." "Now, it's family time." "The Common Murre Scattered over the North Atlantic." "The Northern Gannet Wandering across the oceans." "The Arctic summer is short-lived." "Soon the northern lands will be locked in the cold of the polar night." "It is time for the fall migration." "No more food." "Time to leave." "Flying south is now a matter of life or death." "The Arctic Tern flies 20,000 kms from the Arctic to the Antarctic." "Crossing North America." "The Red-breasted Goose crossing Europe." "For millions of birds from Europe the journey's end is Africa but many will fall by the wayside." "The Waders fly 10,000 kms from the Arctic Circle to the west coast of Africa." "The African White Pelican crossing the continent." "Heaven is ephemeral." "It will only last a season." "Once again they must take to the skies in their endless search for food." "The Amazon..." "The Andean Condor Overview of the Andes" "The Albatross around Antarctica" "No landmass slows the swell of the southern oceans." "Sea birds nest on wind-lashed islands." "The young albatross only comes to land after circling the Antarctic for several years." "The Rockhopper Penguin travels 1,000 kms following South Atlantic currents." "The King Penguin travels from the roaring 40s to the howling 50s." "In the Northern Hemisphere migrating birds herald a new spring." "The promise to return has been fulfilled."