Swallow Migration, the Ultimate Ultra Marathon.

In the Western world, spring has well and truly arrived.

Despite what is happening around us, each year it ushers itself in  without any fanfare.

Depending on where we live, bit by bit we notice the days becoming longer, the trees becoming green again, spring flowers appearing and the temperatures becoming warmer.

It is a time of rebirth and new life.

Humans emerge from indoors and tackle gardens, carry out repairs and maintenance, and start to feel the benefits from being out of doors.

One of the very obvious signs that spring has arrived is watching the behaviour of animals and birds.

It is a time when birds  breed and set up home for the forthcoming young, and many animals  give birth to new life.

Birds in particular are interesting to watch, as depending on the species, they will have carefully chosen and adapted their habitat to suit their needs and circumstances. 

They have methods of communicating with each other and can find ways of escaping danger and threats by evolving  and  inventing complex coping mechanisms.

Some birds will have spent the colder months on home territory, whilst others migrate to warmer environments in which to spend the winter months.

One of the most interesting and almost unbelievable migratory feats, is that of the barn swallow.

A tiny bird, weighing only 10-60 grams (0.35-2,12 oz), and with a body length of 10-24 cm (3.9-0.4 inches), and an open wingspan of 32-34.5 cm,(12.5-13.5 inches),it  journeys between Europe and Southern Africa, crossing huge areas of land, the Mediterranean Sea, and the vast Sahara Desert. (Just think about these dimensions)!

It leaves the UK in October, and flying at an average of an incredible 322 kilometres (200 miles) per day, crosses France, Spain, north Africa, the Sahara, and finally reaches its destination. 

It will make the return journey in April/May.

Not only are these facts quite staggering, but the swallow will also return to the same spot at both ends of its journey, and will probably use the same nest.

How is that possible?

Despite our progress on so many fronts, including the exploration of space, we haven`t worked out this ingenious product of nature.

Why does the swallow push itself that bit harder, across incredible danger and  all sorts of obstacles, not to mention the physical distance, when it could easily settle for the winter in a warm country in Europe, making  life less challenging?

How does it know to navigate to where it was the year before?

On a human comparison, I watched a video about David Goggins, known for many achievements gained against incredible personal disadvantages, including  physical and mental challenges.

He became an ultra marathon  runner amongst other accomplishments, was  a U.S. Navy SEAL, and is now an advanced  paramedic, studying anatomy and physiology of the body with particular interest in the brain. He has also written two books.

Having made the decision to move out of a desperately negative set of circumstances, he has dedicated his life to pushing himself forward on a daily basis to prevent himself falling back into his old lifestyle.

He explains the difficulty he has to this day, of having to read and re- read  a page, in order to photographically imprint it on his brain, as he cannot retain the information from just reading.

Having achieved so much, both personally and financially, it appears he doesn`t now have to push himself so hard, but he sums it all up by saying that he has to work through what he doesn`t want to do each day, in order to function. If he doesn`t, he will lose his motivational ability.

He doesn`t owe anyone anything, as he has overcome his issues  totally  by himself, without therapy or medication and in the process, by digging deep, has discovered exactly who he is. He puts it all down to power of the mind and discipline.

It seems to me there is a parallel there.

The swallow may not need to fly to South Africa each year, it could take an easier option, but it doesn`t.

It must also have some sort of magnetic and photographic ability  within its body in order to have such impressive memory and  navigational skills.

The swallow  pushes itself through its comfort zone, all by itself, to achieve its objective.

It must be in a constant state of alert to danger, navigating such incredible journeys, but something in its psyche pushes it on.

Perhaps if the easier option was taken, the navigational skills  and exceptional feats of stamina may be lost?

As humans, we tend to  push for the easy options in life, but are they all they are cracked up to be?

We buy material things to make ourselves more comfortable and which need minimal  effort from us.

We invent machines to work for us which require little or no physical  or mental input. We are now using A.I. to think for us.

What are the observations from this way of dealing with life? Are we happier and more fulfilled?

It would seem not. Indications suggest that material wealth has certainly increased dramatically, but mental health problems are increasing alongside.

Why should that be and could there be a connection?

Once again the natural world holds the key to so many questions, but as humans we have been ignoring what has been right in front of us and around us.

Instead of working with nature, we try to build a world which we think we want, and don`t look after the natural world which looks after us so well and gives us everything we need.

There are so many amazing things within the natural world that we know nothing about. Perhaps it is time we learned both about them and from them?