At this time of year the Bar-tailed Godwits are changing color so quickly they are worth watching every day - and certainly worth a second post.
I still haven't managed to see one with full breeding plumage up close enough to get a good photo. However, I have had a good chuckle at the way so many of them are waddling because of the extra weight they stack on right before migration. Then the other day while taking photos I got some with the birds in flight and realized that you can clearly see the fat bodies. The first photo shows their long beautiful wings. The next two photos are taken at an angle where the wings are hardly visible but the lovely plump bodies are easy to see. The birds need all this fat because they fly directly from here to the Yellow Sea area of China without a stop. The fat supplies the energy on this long flight.
For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.
I still haven't managed to see one with full breeding plumage up close enough to get a good photo. However, I have had a good chuckle at the way so many of them are waddling because of the extra weight they stack on right before migration. Then the other day while taking photos I got some with the birds in flight and realized that you can clearly see the fat bodies. The first photo shows their long beautiful wings. The next two photos are taken at an angle where the wings are hardly visible but the lovely plump bodies are easy to see. The birds need all this fat because they fly directly from here to the Yellow Sea area of China without a stop. The fat supplies the energy on this long flight.
For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.
great godwits!
ReplyDeleteeverybody else seems to be seeing and photographing godwits at the moment. I'd love to as well, but they are not exactly high alpine birds...
happy birding,
Dale
http://alpinebirds.blogspot.com
Wonderful shot of the Godwits. Great capture of their fat bellies.
ReplyDeleteHi Dale, right here they are the most common of all the shorebirds. Definitely a low altitude bird!
ReplyDeleteHi Eileen, they need all that fat and arrive at their destinations very much thinner.
Hope you get that full breeding plumage close up before they all leave.
ReplyDeleteI love your captures of the Bar-tailed Godwits Mick, especially those in-flight shots. Marvelous!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing how far some birds travel on one tank of gas? NPR did a story on fuel efficiency of cars vs honey bees, I think someone should do a study of birds "miles per gallon."
Hi Gwendolen - thanks for your wishes for a good photo of a Godwit in full breeding plumage. I just need some fine weather so I can get out on my kayak!!
ReplyDeleteHi Larry, that's a very interesting link about the fuel efficiency of the honey bee. http://www.jstor.org/pss/4089124 That's a link about a recent study that shows that even the Godwits' internal organs shrink just before their migration. Apparently since they are not used on the migration the abdominal organs are not important! They must re-build these organs after the migration.
Good ones, Mick. I'd forgotten how chubby they can become.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony - interesting to think that the fat fuels their flight.
ReplyDeleteLove the images of the Godwits Mick!
ReplyDeleteThanks BirdingMaine
ReplyDeleteVery cool! Nice action shots in flight there--kudos!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lana
ReplyDeleteI think that is what is so exciting about birds. So many different looks to cover. :) You don´t get tired of them. Your set of photos are great. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting NF
ReplyDelete