From: Don Reid <donreid@africaonline.co.ke>
Date: 2007-09-17 19:14
Subject: Fw: Godwit's migration flights
Dear Birders,
 
Thought this may be of some interest to some of you.  It was sent to me by a birding friend in New Zealand but who was for many years in Kenya.  Marlene Reid
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Phyllis and Henry
To: Don Reid
Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2007 1:59 PM
Subject: Re: Godwit's migration flights

Dear Marlene,
Thought you would be interested in the details of the migration flights of the godwit which was fitted with a transmitter, so have reproduced them for you below.
Love,
Phyllis.
 

E7 - Female Bar-tailed Godwit

"Below is a potted history of E7's movements since Feb 2007.  Figure will be fine tuned at some point

Transmitter implanted - Miranda, Firth of Thames, New Zealand - 06.02.07

Miranda 6 Feb - 17 Mar  Spent most of this time around Piako river mouth

Departed Miranda - 17 March
Departed from Piako at about 8 a.m on 17 March and flew non-stop to Yalu Jiang almost on the great circle route this included not overlying Korea but flying up the Yellow Sea.

A total distance of 10,219 km. (Great circle route 10,043km)

Arrived Yalu Jiang 24 March
Probably arrived at about 9pm NZ time on 24 March after 10,219 km.  
The flight took 7 days 13 hours or 181 hours thus averaging 56.5kph

Departed Yalu Jiang 1 May
Probably departed Yalu Jiang at about 6pm on 1 May and flew eastwards well south of the Aleutian Islands picking up good wind assistance before heading northeast to briefly land at Nelson Lagoon on the  Alaska Peninsula arriving on 5 May having travelled 6459 km from Yalu  Jiang. She then moved to Port Heiden also on the Peninsula before turning north to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) where she landed near Chefornak on 12 May but she quickly moved to Manokinak, (no more  than a name on an occasional map) arriving there on 15 May, her final  destination, having travelled a total of 17,456 km from Piako,  probably after about 350 hrs of flying. (14.5 days)

Manokinak 15 May - 17 July
E7 has stayed in this region of the YKD and is believed to have nested in the area

To Avinof - 18 July
She finally left Manokinak on 18 July and flew the 155 km to Cape Avinof and the Kuskokwim Shoals on the SE coast of the YKD, a major  godwit refuelling site.

Avinof to Piako
E7 left the Kuskokwim shoals we think at about 10:00 local time on 29 August or 06:00 on 30 August NZ Time and headed south towards the Peninsula and on out over the Pacific missing Hawaii she swung SW and  continued on close to Fiji and eventually to the North Cape area of 
NZ before swinging south to Miranda and Piako arriving probably  Friday night 7 September after about 8 days 12 hours (204 hr) flying. 

Did she stop in Northland for one day?  Extremely unlikely thus  flying at least 11,570 km not stop

Distance each leg
Miranda - Yalu Jiang                               10,219
Yalu Jiang - Alaska Peninsula                6,459
Alaska Peninsula - Manokinak                  778

 

Manokinak - Cape Avinof                               155
Avinof - Piako                                           11,570

Minimum Total flown                           29,181 km

About 500 hours of flying"