MOSCOW, March 25 (RIA Novosti) – Cold weather in Russia has delayed the annual northward migration of birds, the Russian Bird Conservation Union said on Monday.
“The [bird] migration in the European part of Russia has stalled, except for the rooks. Those bird colonies are almost all already in place,” a spokeswoman for the group said.
Strong northern winds and -30 degree Celsius temperatures have also stopped the migration of birds to Russia’s Far East, in particular the Amur region, she said.
Another bird expert said there was nothing unusual about the halt in the migration, however.
During flight, birds quickly lose their fat reserves, and if they see that it is cold and that there is nothing to eat they normally stop and do not fly any further, said Sergei Ogurtsov, an associate professor at the Moscow State University School of Biology.
“If it gets colder they can roam around and even move back a little further south,” Ogurtsov said.
