The birds have migrated, four days late due to bad weather (strong NW wind). At 7:10 pm, AJD and four others flew into the setting sun, enroute to the Yellow Sea, as reported by Jim Norris. Jane and I, and most others had left 20 minutes before this. We now wish we had had a little more patience! This is the 16th migration, we know of, for AJD.
What a great day it has been, spent mostly at the estuary. We first checked at 8 am, then 11:30 am, and back again at 3 pm. 21 godwits were present, and from 3 pm to 5 pm we were at the Sailing Club, enjoying the elevated view from their balcony.
It was 4:45 pm when I heard the first migration calls, and these continued up until they migrated. The birds were restless, and moved about plenty, but the migrating birds generally stayed close to each other. They bathed a few times, which was interesting. Below is a picture of AJD calling – seems he uses his tongue to make the sound. The lighting was great, so to snap 300 pictures was no trouble! Many people (up to 30 at one time) were able to enjoy this special day and some later listen to the special call that godwits only make on the day of their migration. I’ll attach a very brief video from my phone that has these calls – turn on your sound up.
So, a closure to the godwit season, and now we await their return at the end of the year.
