Heathlands under siege: Europe's birds struggle for places to eat and rest during long migrations

Heathlands are critical stopping off places for birds crossing Europe.

Transcript

00:00From the hot landscapes of North Africa to the cooler climates of Northern Europe, migratory

00:05birds rely on ancient heathlands like these for crucial rest and resources during their

00:11journey to breeding grounds. But rising temperatures are challenging these delicate ecosystems.

00:19As one vital link in this chain weakens, the next becomes increasingly crucial.

00:24When you've got migratory species, birds in particular, they are travelling huge distances.

00:31When you overlay climate to that, at what point do those habitats actually become too

00:36hot for both the migratory and the resident species?

00:40Recent data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service has recorded even higher surface temperatures

00:46this year compared to last, accompanied by a significant surge in ozone levels this week.

00:53With heatwaves currently sweeping across Europe, heathlands in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany

00:58and Britain serve as essential pitstops for these birds. This year's heatwave has led

01:04to a concerning 15% decline in some bird populations.

01:09Tree pippet is just about hanging on. If that bird, you know, having made the journey from

01:17sub-Saharan Africa, encounters conditions that are not optimal when it arrives, you know,

01:24will we see those again? So I think absolute key is for people to work together. The exchange

01:30of knowledge as well, but...

01:32Before Brexit, Neil Lister co-led a European partnership funded by the EU, focusing on

01:38cross-border conservation. He's found that maintaining these channels of communication

01:44is essential, even in the face of a changing political landscape.

01:49It's always nice to know that that contact is there and the channels of communication

01:54are there and that just that way of working is not completely lost.

02:02As climate change continues to impact these regions, preserving these critical resting

02:07areas and the biodiversity they support remains a key focus for conservationists across Europe.

02:14Luke Hanrahan, Euronews, Suffolk.