Monday 12 March 2012: Waiting for the off.....................
Bartailed godwits, resting at high tide, getting ready for the long trip to Siberia to breed - one of the longest migrations in the world.
These birds spend summer in NZ feeding and when autumn comes many develop breeding plumage, the lovely russet colour to be seen on some of these birds.
They get very restless, lots of wing flapping and hopping about, and then at an unknown, unseen signal they take off on the long journey north.
They rest in wetlands in Asia on the way, which are sadly being drained removing the feeding grounds so their numbers are declining.
A bird banded as E6 was tracked to find out where exactly it went, and it flew up through Asia, resting only once on the way, but flew back a different way non stop.
The juvenile birds don't fly with the adults, coming back on their own, an amazing journey.
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