Bar-Tailed Godwit Sets Record for Longest Bird Flight Going from Alaska to Australia in 11 Days
By: Divya Thearia
27 October 2022 (New Delhi): The young bar-tailed godwit has set a new record in the world of migratory birds. Especially in the recorded records, he has destroyed all the records. It has made the journey from Alaska to Tasmania non-stop in a little over 11 days, and the biggest thing is that the bird that set this record is just 5 months old. It was tagged by ornithologists so that information about its location was available and a complete route-map could be collected for scientific records. At a distance of thousands of kilometers, he kept passing over many islands, but he did not stop his journey, according to the available information.
A 13,560km flight from Alaska to Tasmania
A young 5-month-old bird has set a new record by flying thousands of kilometres ‘non-stop’. This young bar-tailed godwit (number 234884) has enthralled bird lovers and scientists around the world by flying consistently long distances for a bird species. This tiny bird has covered the 13,560 km distance from Alaska to Tasmania in just 11 days and an hour. Yuva Godwitt was tagged in, setting a record for success and getting the full route.
Passed through many islands but did not stop the journey
This bar-tailed godwit took off from Alaska on October 13, 2022 and made landfall in Ansons Bay in north-eastern Tasmania on October 24. From looking at the travel map, it seems that he did not step on the earth anywhere on this long journey and kept flying continuously. Along the way, it also found islands such as Oceania, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia, but it seems to have made up its mind to land directly in Tasmania instead of on the voyage.
Bar-tailed Godwitt did an amazing job
In this way, this little bird has broken two records for the first male ‘4BBRW’. In 2020, he covered a distance of 12,854 km from Alaska to New Zealand. Then he broke his own record in 2021 by travelling 13,050 km on the same route. But, the now-bar-tailed Godwitt has shattered all these records at the age of just 5 months. This is the first time a tagged bar-tailed godwit has migrated from Alaska to Tasmania.
Predicted the landing location?
However, when it is very cold in Alaska’s region, many species of these migratory birds usually reach these areas by taking long flights. But this time, his flying record was recorded, and at such a young age.An NGO named Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Center reported on Facebook about the flight that a local birdwatcher in Tasmania wanted to visit to see a possible landing, but perhaps too much rain caused him to do so. would be prevented from receiving it.
Bird biologists’ assessment turns out to be correct
According to information given by the same organization, Mark Barter and other waterfowl biologists had estimated that it is possible for such species of birds to fly at a range of 11,000 to 13,000 km. Mark isn’t alive to see it now, but the guess he made seems completely accurate when the time comes.