I can report that our local godwits / kuaka on the Whanganui Estuary have now migrated and as I write this should be almost arriving at the Yellow Sea. A large group of people were there on the evening of 25 March to farewell the birds, and AJD, being the usual date they migrate. During the afternoon the birds were uttering their migration calls, and doing pre-migration behaviour, so we were sure they would go, right on the day. I was out on the mud with them, and what a wonderful experience again, to witness their behaviour from close by. At 5:56 pm the birds left and headed out to sea. However, five minutes later, they were back, having aborted their migration attempt. I believe it was because of a 15 km-20 km head wind that had got up, that they considered was too much. We had to go to Christchurch the next morning for business, but others reported that the godwits left the following night, 26 March 2025. Early on 26 March I did get a look at AJD and could confirm that they did not migrate during the late evening or night of the 25th. This is the 17th migration of AJD that I have been witness to. We now look for his return again in six months' time.
