Satellites Track Godwit Migration

Satellite transmitters show that migratory Bar-tailed Godwits can fly for seven days—more than 10,000 kilometres—non-stop.

Bar-tailed godwits spend their winters in New Zealand or Australia, and their summers in Alaska—it’s a long trip each spring and fall. Scientists have implanted satellite transmitters in some of the birds, hoping to learn how they migrate. Now some of the first results are in.

Bar-tailed Godwits feed heavily before migration so that they have enough body fat and energy to make the trip. Then they can fly for incredible distances. Some stop in Papua New Guinea, the Phillipines, and Micronesia, but two birds, and probably whole flocks, have made a trip of more than 10,000 kiometres non-stop to the Yellow Sea, by Korea. The transmitters showed that the birds traveled at an amazing average of 56 km hour and reached altitudes of 2 km! Not surprisingly, these birds beat all records for bird migration so far.

View a map of the migration route.

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Sources:

The Australian. "Birds Set Endurance Record." March 29, 2007. “Scoop” Independent News. "Satellite–tracking the Flight of the Godwit " March 28, 2007.