A bird sets a world record after flying 13560km nonstop from Alaska to Australia

The young bar- tailed godwit appears to have set a non stop distance for migratory birds.

The bird flew at least 13,560km from Alaska to the Australian state of Tasmania a bird expert said.

History of the bird

The bird was tagged as a hatchling in Alaska during the Northern Hemisphere summer with a tracking GPS and a tiny solar panel that enabled the research team to follow its first annual migration across the pacific ocean , birdlife Tasmania convener Eric Woehler said. Because the bird was young its gender was unknown.

Journey of the bird

October 13, the bird aged about 5 months left southwest Alaska at the Yuko Kuskokwim delta and touched down 11 days later at Ansons bay on the island of Tasmania’s northeastern tip on October 24. According to the data from Germany’s max plank institute for Ornithology.

The bird started on a southwest course towards japan then southeast over Alaska’s Aleutin Islands . The bird was again tracking southwest when it flew over or near Kiraibati and New Caledonia then past the Australian mainland before turning directly west for Tasmania

Experts thoughts

“Whether this is an accident, whether this bird got lost or whether this is part of a normal pattern of migration for the species we still don’t know”, said Woehler

Woehler said researchers did not know whether the latest bird flew alone or as part of a flock.

“It maybe that half the birds that do the migration from Alaska come to Tasmania directly rather than through New Zealand or it might be that this is the first its ever happened’, he added

He hopes to see the bird once the wet weather clears in the remote corner of Tasmania where it will fatten up having lost half its body weight on this journey.

Its both shocking and amazing that such a small bird can travel without stopping. How nature is fascinating.

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