In September, a migratory bird made headlines around the world: the common woodcock with the identification 4BWRB encountered such strong headwinds that it had to turn around after 2,000 kilometers on its way to New Zealand and fly back to Alaska. After a 57-hour non-stop flight, the long-haul specialist, whose migration is being tracked by the New Zealand Department of Conservation via a radio transmitter, landed at his place of departure. Now it has “blown” him again.
Researchers had been waiting eagerly to see what the adult male would do next. After all, many of his kind had already mastered the marathon route to New Zealand by this time. The good news: The snipe was determined and a few days later, on September 24th, took off again for the southern hemisphere, as the zoologist Phil Battley of New Zealand’s Massey University said on Tuesday. At first she made good progress. But then the bird was faced with violent winds again – this time on the southern tip of New Caledonia.
“I thought he was heading to Australia, but instead he flew northwest the length of the island and then crossed it to land exactly where he is now,” said Battley. The same woodcock was forced to make a longer stopover last year and stayed in New Caledonia for 38 days. Experts are intrigued because the animal apparently knows exactly where it is: “Obviously, it knows this place and likes it,” says Battley. The bird has been on the island in the South Pacific for 18 days. Battley believes it could take a while before he flies again to reach New Zealand after all.
Common woodcock (Limosa lapponica) – called “Kuaka” in New Zealand – are known to cover great distances to get to their winter quarters. The 11,000-kilometer non-stop migration between Alaska and New Zealand is one of the longest in the bird world. In September 2020, a common godwit set a record that even made it into the Guinness Book: The animal flew 12,200 kilometers in 224 hours without a break.