Godwits

[Markvetnz]

I recently visited a shorebird centre where I saw thousands of Godwits. These birds migrate here from Siberia every summer. They fly over 10000km without stopping. Nature just amazes me!

[Colin Southern]

I recently visited a shorebird centre where I saw thousands of Godwits. These birds migrate here from Siberia every summer. They fly over 10000km without stopping. Nature just amazes me!

Darn nice photo Mark - well done!

I'd heard about these ultra long flights ... how the heck to they do it ... I would have thought that they basically just wouldn't have enough stored energy in their bodies???

[Donald]

... how the heck to they do it ?

Indeed, nature is fascinating. My partner has a particular interest in the life of and protection of, birds .... and some of it, just through an interest in my environment, rubs off.

It really does stretch understanding to try and take in what some these birds to achieve. The tiny things that go between here and sub-Saharan Africa being a case in point. Just quite staggering.

Makes those that I captured last October seem as they've just been on a short-haul flight.

And that, Mark, is an excellent image. I think your pp work, keeping the tones quite muted, works very, very well.

[Markvetnz]

These aren't small birds. They weigh in the region of 400 grams. The Miranda shorebird centre has exampes of birds that were tracked with small satellite receivers and the distances and routes they follow are mind boggling.

That's a great shot of yours Donald.

[Tringa]

A really good shot, Mark.

While good close up photos of individual birds are always welcome, I often think shots of birds with some context are equally attractive and potentially more valuable - you can see more of their environment, individual behaviour and how they react to each other.

I'm guessing these are bar-tails, though I can't be sure.

Some of the flights of migrating birds are almost beyond understanding. I sometime wonder how they cope with the change from the breeding ground where they could easily have never seen anything of human activity to flying over cities and wintering close to human habitation.

Dave

[Markvetnz]

A really good shot, Mark.

While good close up photos of individual birds are always welcome, I often think shots of birds with some context are equally attractive and potentially more valuable - you can see more of their environment, individual behaviour and how they react to each other.

I'm guessing these are bar-tails, though I can't be sure.

Some of the flights of migrating birds are almost beyond understanding. I sometime wonder how they cope with the change from the breeding ground where they could easily have never seen anything of human activity to flying over cities and wintering close to human habitation.

Dave

You're right Dave. Bar Tailed Godwits.