Super Eco

Photo credit: P.J. McAdie

A study from Scotland's Durham University suggests that local birds may be consistently migrating north, as their previous habitats are becoming too warm due to global climate change. You read that right. The birds are finding it too warm in Scotland. Do you have any idea how far north Scotland already is? The city of Edinburgh is farther north than Edmonton, Copenhagen, Warsaw and all of Kazakhstan!

According to the study, species of birds that already live in the far north areas may be increasingly at risk as the temperature rises. The researchers predict the birds will move up to 340 miles north by the end of the century, which would essentially put them in Santa's Village. If it's too warm there, we've got a big problem. Among the potentially endangered birds are the red-necked phalarope, the common scoter, the Scottish crossbill, the snow bunting, the ptarmigan and the dotterel. As the Scottish climate heats up, Iceland may serve as the only refuge and suitable habitat for species that currently live in the mountains and lochs of Scotland. Unfortunately, some of the birds may not have the capabilities to make it to Iceland on their own, which could make continued survival impossible.

I remember about a decade ago, when stories like this would come out, there was still the idea that we could make stark changes in our behaviors to prevent these ecological catastrophes. Now that we know global warming is more or less irreversible, at least in the short term, we have to find ways to help the affected species adapt. Am I suggesting that we load all the birds onto a big plane and fly them to Iceland? I'm not sure. Perhaps they could all be carried there by unladen swallows?