Wings over Water: the Secrets of Seabird Navigation

Right now, you have a digital map of the world at your fingertips. Wherever your day takes you, the chances are you will be chaperoned by a portable device that ensures that map never strays beyond arm’s reach. If you were really in a pinch, you could probably dig out a paper map, but what if we took those maps away? How far could you travel from home and be confident that you’d find your way back? After leaving behind the familiar, you might rely on road signs, but what if your destination lay across a hostile and featureless landscape like a desert or open ocean? Now let’s make things even harder, imagine this is the first time you have ever left your house. This is the challenge faced by many bird species and seabird migration is one of the most challenging of them all.

Read the full blog on the Zeiss website.

Photo by Rodolfo Mari on Unsplash