When: October - November
Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, is home to around 2,072 people – and more than 40 million red crabs. At the beginning of the wet season (October/ November), they migrate to the sea to breed – a journey that can take five to seven days.
The spectacle has become an annual tourist attraction and most local people do their best to avoid crushing the creatures – erecting walls and plastic fencing along streets to funnel the creatures into ‘crab bridges’ where they can cross roads in safety.
Getting there: Virgin flies from Perth, Australia, to the Christmas Islands four times a week. (The flight from Kuala Lumpur was suspended at the end of March 2013.) Air Pacific also runs flights from Fiji and Honolulu, Hawaii, to the Christmas Islands.
When: October - February
Millions of monarch butterflies make the journey from the east of the Rocky mountains to the fir forests of Mexico each winter – although it’s not actually the same butterflies who arrive. One generation will die during the journey, with the females leaving eggs for the next generation of butterflies flying south.
Each October around 20,000 of the winged beauties descend on the town of Pacific Grove in California, attracted by the protected microclimate of eucalyptus trees and Monterey pines of the Monarch Grove Sanctuary.
Getting there: the nearest large international airport is San Francisco. From there, it’s a two-hour drive to Pacific Grove.
Where: Antarctica
When: March
Emperor penguins endure incredibly harsh conditions in order to breed (-30C and 89mph wind speeds), as was so movingly documented in the 2005 film, March of the Penguins. During March and April, tens of thousands of them waddle and slide their way from the ocean to their ancestral breeding grounds inland.
After laying a single egg, the female carefully passes it to the male, who incubates it for more than two months. While she journeys to the sea to feed, he goes without food – on her return, she feeds the hatched penguin, while the male makes the journey to feed.
Getting there: most expeditions to Antarctica depart from the Ushuaia in Argentina. Around 20 vessels explore the seas of the Antarctic between November and March. Prices start at around USD $6400 per person for an 11-day trip.
Where: Western Australia
When: June - November
The mighty humpback whale journeys around 16,000 miles each year during its seasonal migration – spending summers in cooler, high-latitude waters and travelling to warm tropical and subtropical waters to breed.
Tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of these migrating giants of the ocean have several options, including the warm waters of Colombia’s Pacific coastline and Western Australia. If the idea of a trip to Oz appeals, head to the Ningaloo marine park off the coast of Exmouth between June and November.
Getting there: Ningaloo is a two-and-a-half-hour flight or two-day drive from Perth.
Where: Tanzania and Kenya, Africa
When: July - August
Nearly two million wildebeest, up to half a million zebra and around 100,000 other grazing animals make the Great Migration through Kenya and Tanzania each year – in the process attracting thousands of tourists, all keen to witness one of the most amazing natural wonders of the world.
The exact starting date of the migration varies but animals tend to be on the move by early March, arriving in the fertile plains and woodlands of the western Serengeti in Kenya’s Masai Mara region by July. Many fall at the last hurdle – weakened by travel, thousands become lunch for swarms of hungry crocodiles, which infest the rivers of the area.
Getting there: there are many organised safari tours. Africa Sky has a three-day Migration Safari, including a full day inside the Masai Mara Game Reserve, from around USD $3000.
Where: east coast of South Africa
When: May - July
From May through to July, millions of sardines spawn in the cold southern oceans off South Africa's Cape Point and make their way north up the east coast of Africa.
Visible even by satellite, the massive shoals of silvery fish can stretch to over nine miles in length, two miles in width and nearly 40 metres in depth. The annual sardine run isn’t just a wonder of the natural world – it’s a cause for celebration too. The massive shoals attract sharks, dolphins, gannets and humans – all drawn by the promise of an easy meal.
Getting there: Seal Expeditions has an eight-night package, including scuba diving, snorkelling or surface viewing, and half-board accommodation at the Mbotyi River Lodge for around USD $4000 per person, excluding flights.
Where: Brighton/UK-wide
When: October - December
As well as having its own resident starling population, the UK becomes home to millions of migratory birds each year. They come to Britain from northern Europe each winter, attracted by the relatively mild weather.
Arriving in October, before the cold weather sets in, the starlings like to roost together – sometimes over one million birds in one place. One of the great spectacles of winter is watching their pre-roost assembly. The birds swoop around and join together until they form one gigantic, swirling mass moving with almost balletic grace. Such murmurations are a cause for wonder and delight – one of the most famous and regular sightings occurs over Brighton Pier.
Getting there: trains run regularly from London to Brighton and take less than an hour.
Where: Ascension Island
When: November - May
Sea turtles can migrate thousands of miles between their feeding and ancestral breeding grounds. Their homing skills are so impressive (they can find their way to a speck of land in the middle of the great Atlantic Ocean) that scientists are unable to explain how they do it – though most theories suggest they use astronomical cues or the Earth’s magnetic fields.
If you want to see the baby turtles hatching in their tens of thousands, head to the remote Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, where expectant mothers carve out their nests (as many as 13,000) and lay their eggs before making the journey back home.
Getting there: there are no commercial flights but it may be possible to buy a seat on the military charter flight from RAF Brize Norton, near Oxford, for around USD $1600 return. Alternatively, fly to Cape Town and pay for a ticket on the working cargo ship RMS St Helena, which calls at the island. It has its own website showing schedules and fares.
Where: Nebraska, US
When: March - April
Some animal migrations you hear before you see – and few sound more impressive than that of the sandhill crane. Every March, around half a million of these huge birds descend on Nebraska's Platte river basin, a major stopover on their long migration north from Texas, Oklahoma or Mexico.
The area is geared up for tourists – the Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary, near Kearney, offers daily crane-viewing trips from 2 March to 7 April, while avid photographers can book photography hides for close-ups. Luckily, you get a warning that these birds are coming as their arrival is heralded by their fantastic, melodic chorus, which carries for over a mile.
Getting there: fly to Omaha. The drive from the airport to the sanctuary takes just over two-and-a-half hours, along I-80 W.
Where: the Camargue, Provence, France
When: November - March (though January - February is considered peak time)
Around a million flamingos migrate to Lake Natron in Tanzania to breed each year – but you don’t have to travel to Africa to see a pink-feathered spectacle. Each year, around 50,000 of the birds migrate to the lagoons around the Camargue – a vast stretch of isolated roads, lagoons, marches and sand dunes in southern France.
The easiest place to observe them is the Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Gau, where nature lovers can walk across a series of boardwalks or observe the area’s 400-plus different species of birds from an observation hide.
Getting there: the nearby town of Arles is connected to Avignon by train (20 minutes), from which the TGV runs to Paris. Alternatively, you can fly to nearby Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes airport and drive to the park.
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