Looking at the Trumpeter Swans flying overhead in their graceful flight reminds me of my favorite nature documentary “Winged Migration” (“Le Peuple Migrateur”) directed by Jacques Perrin. “Winged Migration” is the result of four years of following and documenting the amazing odysseys of migratory birds, in the northern hemisphere and then the south, species by species, flying over seas and continents. “For every one of us, these winged creatures are among the most fascinating, the most shrouded in mystery and poetry. Among all the vertebrates, they are the only ones to have mastered the open sky. Through a series of miracles of evolution, they have conquered all the skies by equipping themselves with remarkably adapted organs, wings covered with feathers, powerful muscles to move them, the heart of a long distance runner. They combine a minimum of weight with maximum strength and ease. Their flight gives them an accurate place in the biosphere; no other animal has ever come to contest this. Their exceptional faculties have allowed them to answer annual fluctuations in the climates by finding refuge during the winter far from their homelands where they breed. They are the undeniable champions among all the long distance migrants. The life of many of them is spent in long peregrinations between the place where they nest and the one where they live during the winter. Many change continents. Some fly around the earth in untiring turns. And this in spite of the risks which await them. In order to better face them, even the most solitary gather together in gigantic groups, one of the great shows of nature. To perform these exploits, as in anticipation of the efforts awaiting them, the birds accumulate reserves of fats before their departure. To guide themselves, they have discovered astronomical bearings, observing the sun and the stars. They perceive the magnetic field of the earth as the needle of a compass. They have an internal clock which gives them the time and the season of the year. The hereditary innate and a part of apprenticeship with their elders, informs them on the term of their voyages and the skyways to reach them. They know how to cope with weather conditions in an uninterrupted dialogue with the wind. “Winged Migration” relates the saga of these myriad of birds all along their migration routes.” —Professor Jean Dorst, French Academy of Science
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