Every year the common woodcock make their way from Alaska to New Zealand, 11,000 kilometers away. A bird that has been observed by researchers for a long time now had to turn around after 57 hours.
Wellington – Bad luck for a migratory bird: Due to adverse weather conditions, a common godwit turned around on its way to New Zealand and flew thousands of kilometers back to Alaska.
The animal, whose migration is being tracked by the New Zealand Department of Conservation using a radio transmitter on its leg, started in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Alaska towards the South Pacific, the agency said on Monday. After 2000 kilometers, however, the adult bird encountered such strong winds that it had to turn around. After a 57-hour non-stop flight, he landed back in Alaska.
The behavior is very unusual for a woodcock (Limosa lapponica) – called “Kuaka” in New Zealand – said zoology professor Phil Battley from Massey University in New Zealand. “Over the years we’ve tracked about 70 bogwarts that have left Alaska, and this is the first we know of had to turn back due to bad weather.” Other specimens that left Alaska around the same time would have it Made it to New Zealand.
Researchers are particularly interested in what the bird will do next, how long it will rest and whether it will still make it all the way to New Zealand, according to Battley. “He still has time. He has certainly not used up all his energy, ”said the expert. “He noticed that he was facing a headwind and thought it was not a good start for a ten-day flight.”
The same snipe had to struggle with strong winds last year and landed in New Caledonia in the South Seas for a month. “Anyone who’s struggled with the same problem for two years in a row can be said to be unlucky,” said Battley. The 11,000-kilometer non-stop migration of the common woodcock is one of the longest in the bird world. dpa
