Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Off Topic => Topic started by: Donnywolf on November 22, 2022, 03:22:38 pm
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I couldn't resist posting this. Even if you are not remotely interested in Birds in any way this is staggering
The known migration world record has been broken by a bird in a single flight .... non stop .... No stop to sleep .... and no feeding either
Just for a bit of fun
How many miles in total did it do
How many continuous days did it do
No need to post answers ... Just make your ,2 estimates / guesses and be prepared for 2 shocks
No clue whatsoever but the bird was a Bar Tailed Godwit (a Wader like a Curlew) and is only 5 months old
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/27/bar-tailed-godwit-sets-world-record-with-13560km-continuous-flight-from-alaska-to-southern-australia
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Thanks for posting that John.
What a bird!
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Staggering performance for sure. They think it was part of a flock but only had that one with transmitter
Last record holder did a couple of hundred miles less than this but has a Set of commemorative T Towels which they say will be retired and replaced to honour the new kid in town
See loads of these locally but bet they don't go so far
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So how do they navigate when flying over vast expanses of ocean?
And how did a juvenile on its first migration know where it was going?
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This'll shed some light on it RD.
An interesting read too.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-basics-how-why-and-where-of-bird-migration/#:~:text=Birds%20can%20get%20compass%20information,at%20least%20for%20homing%20pigeons.
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I’ve always wondered how bird such as geese decide which one leads the flock at the tip of the V formation and how do the rest know if the one at the front knows where he’s going lol!
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They take turns in being lead bird.
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Unbelievable wolfie, that's the first time I've read about birds being able to shrink internal organs to give them more room for fat storage.
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I read somewhere that once swallows are "born/hatch !!" they fly continuously for ever
...
Just remembered it was a programme on the radio and mentioned the patterns in the sky they collectively make
It all went over my head
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Did you mean Swift CLH.
Swallows often land for mud for nests etc whereas Swift's are alleged never to land and indeed if any of them do then they have to be assisted back into the air (or I suppose get eaten).
However that doesn't stack up either because there are nest boxes specifically designed for Swifts being put up each year to encourage them to breed
Therefore they land , to lay eggs and hatch them for a start but largely they are said to even sleep on the wing.
https://www.swift-conservation.org/Swift%20Facts.htm#:~:text=They%20feed%2C%20drink%2C%20mate%20and,are%20very%20hard%20to%20study (https://www.swift-conservation.org/Swift%20Facts.htm#:~:text=They%20feed%2C%20drink%2C%20mate%20and,are%20very%20hard%20to%20study).