June 3, 2008

Report on the travels and status of NW Australian sat-tagged Bar-tailed Godwits

Dear Godwit watchers

I am sorry for the long delay between updates on the fantastic satellite implanted godwits. I hope you have been able to keep up with their travels. I have been in South Korea assisting the Saemangeum Shorebird Monitoring Project SSMP and searching for bands and flags at every available opportunity and have had limited access to the internet. Unfortunately I missed all but the first and last birds leaving the Yellow Sea and heading to Siberia. However you can imagine how thrilled I was when I connected to the internet at Singapore Airport and saw all those coloured lines on the breeding grounds!

In summary we have eleven birds on the Siberian Breeding grounds, with 900km separating the most westerly and easterly birds. Three have stayed in Roebuck Bay and we have lost contact with one bird

The arrival date of the first bird H3 of May 19th was earlier than we had expected and this was confirmed when Pavel Tomkovich from the Museum of The Moscow State University told us "Many thanks for your regular exciting updates and especially for today's news. Everything in general went as expected apart of too early date of arrival to Siberian Arctic, however, it is fantastic to see finally direct proves to all expectations. The bird landed east of the Kolyma Delta in the area with low rolling mountains where I expect it is easier to find snow-free patches on some slopes. Flat lowland to the west is probably still under the snow. I checked Russian literature for arrival dates to breeding grounds of menzbieri Bar-tailed Godwits. Available information is poor. All published earliest records are ranging between 25 May and 7 June with additional date of 14 June at the south of New Siberian Islands to the north of the breeding range. The earliest known arrival date to northern East Siberia just to the south of the breeding range is determined by a specimen in my Zool. Museum that was collected on 23 May 1963. Thus, the arrival dates revealed now with help of satellite transmitters are indeed the earliest."

She was very closely followed by our only male bird with a transmitter H8. He left Roebuck Bay a few hours behind H3 and it was the same case of them leaving the Yellow Sea within hours of each other and they the ended up only 63km apart and have wandered to within 35 km of each other. And yes of course it would be mind blowing if they ended up on the same nest but let's not get carried away! The birds are not all using the same habitat more information from Pavel reveals "A3 (green on the below image) is on the upland, a kind of low mountain plateau to the south of the Indigirka Delta. C7, the westernmost bird, is on the south-central part of the Yana-Indigirka Lowland, about 200 km to either of these rivers. It is flat marshy landscape with countless numbers of lakes and common pingo (mound of earth covered ice)."

The first bird arrived on May 19th and the last on May 28th. All birds seemed to have travel quickly and A9 gives a good example of that, she appears to have done the bulk of the journey at about 91km per hour!

Updates on each individual bird

We have three birds H0, H2 and C0 still in Roebuck Bay. Although initially we had hoped and expected these birds to go north with 11 having completed the migration it is almost a bonus that these individuals did not go as we will now get some very accurate insights in to the birds use of Roebuck Bay during our winter dry season. Maybe they were only 3 years old when we implanted the transmitters and not yet ready to breed? Maybe they are taking a year off (because of the transmitter?) This could be a strategy for long lived species if it seems to them too risky to migrate due to lack of condition, safer to take a year off than risk the arduous migration.

C0 is the bird that left Roebuck Bay and went 300km NE and spent 12/03/08 to 10/04/08 at raft Point and Montgomery Reef before heading off on migration (or so we assumed). She then changed her mind (a woman's prerogative!) and returned to Roebuck Bay. It appears that she stopped for a short time at Ashmore Reef or one of the Indonesian Islands before coming 'home'. It is no surprise to us that H0 did not migrate as when she was seen on 12/04/08 she was very skinny and had nowhere near enough fat to fuel her on her migration.

H2 is still in the bay and transmitting good signals and was seen in the east of the bay at roost on May 12th by Anne King of the BBO. She did decide to go 120km SW to La Grange Bay but she was unimpressed and returned to Roebuck Bay 2 hours later! (The Bird not Anne)

We lost contact with C4 as she was flying along the coast of China. We hope that it is a satellite transmitter issue and that we will get a record of her or see her back here in Roebuck Bay in September, but migration is likely to be the stage of these birds incredible life cycle when they are under most pressure and therefore when most mortality may occur.

C3 is 142 54E and is sticking to a very small area; she has been within a 2km radius since she arrived so it is very likely she is established in her breeding territory.

C6 settled initially in a marshy area before moving to similar habitat but some 165 km north.

C7 is the most westerly of our birds 140 54E and also sticking to a very small area in marshy lowlands so also presumably established on her breeding territory.

H3 was the first to leave Roebuck bay the first to arrive in the Yellow Sea the first to leave the Yellow Sea and first to arrive in Siberia, catching us napping as we were expecting another week in the Yellow Sea but she is obviously a very healthy and experienced bird and even beat our transmitter male to the breeding grounds. She landed near the mouth of the Kolyma River and has gradually moved a little way north and east, just 40 or so kilomteres but presumably following the snow melt and therefore the available food. And just to add an extra to this wonderful bird she was photographed by a friend and shorebird colleague of mine in Yalu Jiang Mr. Bai Qingquan, see image below.

H7 has explored a little more than some others and is at her third location in Siberia where she now appears to be settled on low slopes above the marshy terrain.

H8 was only hours behind H3 and they did very similar journeys both taking a short break in the southern Yellow Sea just north of Shanghai before moving to Yalu Jiang in northern China on the border with North Korea. And then ending up within 60km of each other on the vast tundra breeding grounds.

H9 took the most easterly migratory flight from the Yellow Sea but ended up in the middle of all the breeding locations. She spent a couple of days in one location before moving to what appears to be her final destination just 35km south west of where she landed. H9 was the bird that had the most easterly location in the Yellow Sea being our only adventurous soul to use North Korea for her staging area.

A3 we got a fantastic track of A3 in to her Siberian breeding location as her transmitter was on as she arrived. She has settled on low mountain slopes and is sticking to a very small area suggesting she will remain and breed there. She may already be laying or incubating!

A7 has settled some 480km south of most birds in very different looking terrain and I need to contact Pavel to ask about this area. She does though appear to be doing much as the others and sticking to an even smaller area not moving much more than 600m.

A9 has been very good to us and timed her departure from the Yellow Sea and her arrival on to the breeding grounds when her transmitter was on. This was the 13 year old known age bird that I thought would be first to the breeding grounds, she was last! Of the one that got there.

Many thanks to all involved with the project and Pavel Tomcovich for his help with the Siberian side of things and particularly Lee Tibbitts for all her regular updates summaries and Google Earth grabs.

Now we cross our fingers for the batteries to last as well as the ones in the NZ birds did last year and see if we can track the southward migration. Don't turn off yet folks!

Cheers
Chris

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