April 17, 2008
Please remember when reading the information below that this is not the 'final story', these are the initial findings and may change when the final analysis is done. We also 'join the dots' between each signal, however the birds are so skilled at navigating that this is most likely the route they travel.
Dear All
Here is an update on the Broome Bar-tailed Godwits. We now have twelve birds in China or on their way there, one bird has decided to go south! And two are still in Roebuck Bay although C0 has been walkabout and returned so only one has yet to leave at all.
H8, our only male carrying a transmitter, is on the northern coast of the Yellow Sea in or near the Yalu Jiang National Nature Reserve. He probably arrived there on April 12th. This is where the NZ birds that migrated are also fattening for the next leg of their journey. He is approx 6500km north of Roebuck Bay.
A7 is 500km SW of Yalu Jiang, north of Qingdao and close to a site that 2 of the NZ birds used for a short time before they moved to Yalu Jiang. A7 has been there for 3 days
H3 and C3 are 110km NNE of Chongming Dongtan National Nature Reserve, this is about 850Km S of Yalu Jiang. H8 stopped here briefly on his way north.
C2 appears to be just east of Chongming Dongtan National Nature Reserve about 900km S of Yalu Jiang. Her last signal was poor.
C7 is also close to Chongming Dongtan National Nature Reserve. She is just east of the 20million inhabitants of Shanghai some 950km S of Yalu Jiang.
H9 took the most easterly route of all our birds so far and traveled over the Philippines; she is now on the Chinese coast, 1030km S of Yalu Jiang, on the mudflats of Hangzhou Bay.
A3 is in the same bay as H9. It will be interesting to see if they stay there or head further north in the Yellow Sea prior to heading for Siberia.
C4has not reported for a few days, the area she is in does get some satellite interference so we are unsure as to her status. Her last report was off the coast of SE China 4300km north of Broome.
C6 is 4700km north of Broome flying between the China and Taiwan.
A9 is 2300km NW of Broome flying off the coast of Borneo.
H7 is 2100km NW and flying over the island of Borneo. It will be interesting to see her route and stop over strategy as she was still very skinny in late March when I saw her.
H2 has decided to go 120km SW! She is near La Grange Bay; she may be on her way to 80 Mile Beach for the winter?
That just leaves H0 and C0 in Roebuck Bay.
C0 has been the most unconventional of birds if you have been following the birds you will know that she was the first bird to leave but only went 300km NE and settles at an area called Raft Point. I had 2 friends working on a boat who were visiting Raft Point and I asked them to try and visit the area that C0 has been frequenting. They spoke with their skipper and they mounted a special expedition to check it out for me! Then rang Ady (I was on a plane) on the satellite phone to report in.
They did not see C0 herself but they did see many hundreds of shorebirds. Most were too distant to ID but there was a minimum of 100 Bar-tailed Godwits roosting on a Sandy Spit.
The area 30Km to the NE that she has visited is another 'icon' place in the Kimberley, Montgomery Reef. An enormous reef that has cascades running off it as the tide drops, a real sight to behold. I have seen very small numbers of shorebirds there in the past, mostly Whimbrel and Grey-tailed Tattlers but I have seen small numbers of BTG's there.
She has now returned to Roebuck Bay after having set off north. It would seem hat she stopped at Ashmore Reef or one of the many Indonesian Islands before returning to the Bay.
Cheers
Chris
For those of you not yet following the tracks of the NZ and Broome birds I recommend you do! It is fascinating stuff (but I would say that wouldn't I?) To view the birds follow the information below.
The best way to follow the project is to visit the USGS site. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and there is a godwit icon: Click the godwit to download the kmz file/icon to your desktop. Click on the icon and this will open Google Earth, where you can view the globe with the travels of the godwits marked out on it.
You will need Google Earth installed on your computer. It is a free download which you can get here.