Tracking Alaska’s Godwits

Link to the video Tracking Alaska’s Godwits on Vimeo.

A team of scientists ventures to Alaska’s remote North Slope to capture ten Bar-tailed Godwits and surgically implant each with a satellite transmitter. The information from these transmitters will allow scientists to understand where Bar-tailed Godwits go during their incredible non-stop migrations and contribute to the conservation of the species.

Bar-tailed Godwit: In North America, this large (males 250-350 g, females 300-500g) shorebird is only commonly found in western and northern Alaska during the summer (where it breeds) and fall. In fall, it stages in spectacular concentrations along the coast of the Yukon-Kukskokwim Delta and further south on the Alaska Peninsula before departing on the longest non-stop migration known for any shorebird species, across the Pacific Ocean down to New Zealand and southeast Australia.

Up to five subspecies of Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica) are recognized, breeding from northern Norway to western and northern Alaska.

Link to the video Tracking Alaska’s Godwits on Vimeo.

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