Invisible Connections

Each year, invisible to the naked eye, millions of migrating shorebirds fly from Australasia to the tidal flats of the Yellow Sea. The migration route encompasses 22 countries and is home to over 50 million migratory waterbirds from over 250 different populations, including 28 globally threatened species. They cross state and provincial boundaries, countries and oceans from their breeding grounds in or near the Arctic Circle, moving through East and South-East Asia, to arrive in their non-breeding grounds as far south as Australia and New Zealand. They then return along similar routes. International cooperation is essential to maintain an unbroken chain of habitats to support these global travelers and their need for stopover sites to rest and refuel along their flyway. This book and its wonderful photographs by Jan van de Kam bring to life the dramatic journeys of migratory shorebirds in the East Asian'Australasian Flyway, the importance of their staging sites and the need for international cooperation to maintain this cycle. Key features '¢ Outstanding photography '¢ Important conservation issues linking USA, Asia and Australasia