Meeting a remarkable traveler

A34 is a Hudsonian godwit, about the size of a city pigeon. She migrates nearly 10,000 miles between Alaska and Chilean Patagonia each year.

Half of shorebirds have disappeared

Since 1980, roughly half of migratory shorebird species have declined by more than 50%. They're sentinels for ecosystems we also depend on.

“Birds are sentinels. The ecosystems they rely on are ecosystems we rely on as well.”

Little brown guys worth loving

Migratory shorebirds lack the flash of exotic birds. But once people get to know them, they tend to fall in love.

A rare and handsome wader

Hudsonian godwits are rarely seen, dividing their time between remote northern bogs and muddy South American shores. Even Audubon never saw a living one.

“I can count on the fingers of one hand the red-letter days when I have been privileged to see this rare and handsome wader.”

Feasting on Chilean mudflats

On Chiloé Island, godwits spend months bobbing for bivalves and worms. There's no sign they're about to fly nearly 10,000 miles to Alaska.

Coastlines need shorebirds

Without shorebirds, coastlines erode faster, trap less carbon, and become unbalanced. They transport essential seeds and nutrients.

From storks to the moon

For centuries, bird migration baffled people. Aristotle thought birds transformed into other species. One minister claimed they flew to the moon.

Continuous flapping for thousands of miles

Godwits can't soar or glide. They migrate by flapping their wings continuously, day and night, without eating, drinking, or fully sleeping.

“Many arriving shorebirds seem to be tired.”

Greaseballs with tiny guts

Dead godwits found in Alaska were 55% body fat. Their digestive organs had shrunk to reduce weight and metabolic demands during migration.

E7's impossible flight

A tagged godwit named E7 flew 7,000 miles nonstop from Alaska to New Zealand in 2007. It took her more than 200 hours without a break.

The math doesn't add up

Scientists calculated that even the fattest godwits should run out of fuel after 2,500 miles. Yet they fly 7,000 miles or more.

“They look diminutive, fragile, and delicate. But they're these high-performance Ferrari machines.”

Alien abduction for science

Researchers surgically implanted heart-rate monitors in ten godwits to understand their metabolism. Nine birds survived and returned the next year.

“When I look at them, I have this little moment and think, They're going to go off and do these amazing things.”

Migration may not be the danger

Scientists assumed migration was the deadliest time for godwits. But new research suggests they're more vulnerable during breeding season.

Nesting in the Alaskan bogs

About 150 godwit pairs breed near Beluga. Their nests are nearly impossible to find, hidden in sedge clumps across vast, squishy bogs.

Climate confusion

Godwits used to arrive nine days earlier than usual. Now they're arriving six days later, possibly remembering the previous year's spring.

Only one in four chicks survive

Godwit parents fiercely protect their four eggs and chicks. But predators are everywhere, and survival rates rarely exceed 25%.

Abandoned to find their own way

In July, adult godwits leave their young behind and fly south. The juveniles depart weeks later, somehow finding their way alone.

Mudflats aren't seen as beautiful

Tidal mudflats stretch for miles and look uninviting. Their degradation isn't as obvious as a clear-cut forest, but they're vital habitat.

“It's hard for people to imagine that it's an incredibly vibrant and important habitat for so much wildlife.”

China's Yellow Sea turnaround

A third of China's Yellow Sea coastline was lost to development by 2014. Then the government restricted land reclamation, giving birds hope.

Thousands of miles for nothing

A researcher watched godwits travel thousands of miles to breed, only to lose their nests to predators or weather. Many failures, some successes.

“They have travelled thousands of kilometres, just for that.”