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The northward flight of Bar-tailed Godwits began in mid-March with the departure of four godwits from the North Island of New Zealand. This year we are following two populations of birds north, a group of 9 from New Zealand and a group of 15 from Western Australia (WA). The birds from WA represent a different subspecies of Bar-tailed Godwit that nests in eastern Siberia whereas the New Zealand birds nest in Alaska. The main thing we hope to learn from the current effort is the exact route taken by the WA godwits and where they stop en route, but also by following a sample of birds from New Zealand during the same migration we will be able to compare the migration strategies of the two populations.
By clicking on the Update page you will see the daily progress of godwits from both New Zealand and Western Australia and by clicking on the Maps page you can select individual godwits to follow. Have fun! The 2007 effort
“Beyond all expectations” would not overstate the information obtained from the 16 godwits that were satellite-tagging in New Zealand in February 2007. In brief, this would include: 1) godwits from both North and South islands flying directly and non-stop to the Yellow Sea, 2) the North Yellow Sea and particularly the area around the Yalu Jiang Nature Reserve being a critical staging place, 3) birds also having non-stop flights from the Yellow Sea to the breeding grounds in Alaska, 4) the Kuskokwim Shoals off the mouth of the Kuskokwim River again proving to be the single most important autumn staging site for godwits in Alaska, 5) the third and final leg of the annual flight, that from Alaska to the nonbreeding grounds, being direct across the central Pacific Ocean, and 6) what would become the media darling, godwit ‘E7’ (see below), being tracked over her complete flight after leaving New Zealand in mid-March to her return in early September, an odyssey that covered almost 30,000 kilometers. Even the one bird (Y3) that did not migrate from New Zealand still provided a wealth of information on her use of the Farewell Spit area during the six-months her satellite-tagged mates were away from the area. |
Epic Flight Across the Pacific - USGS Newsroom, 12 Sep 07
You need Google Earth installed on your computer to view an interactive file of godwit movements. Click here to get Google Earth free. Click on the movements link below. If Google Earth doesn't automatically open, refer to the instructions at .
 Click the godwit to download the kmz file and view an interactive map.
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2 messages only, no accuracy estimation |
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>1500 m |
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<350 m |
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3 Messages only, no accuracy estimation |
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<1000 m |
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<150 m |
 Click on PRBO's logo to view an additional interactive map.
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