Very rapid long-distance sea crossing by a migratory bird

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Alves, Jose, Dias, Maria P., Méndez, Verónica, Katrínardóttir, Borgný, Gunnarsson, Tomas Gretar
• Other Authors: Rannsóknasetur Suðurlandi (HÍ), Research Centre in South Iceland (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature 2016
• Subjects: Animal migration; Behavioural ecology; Far dýra; Vistfræði; Vaðfuglar; Iceland; Numenius phaeopus
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/394; https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38154

Landbirds undertaking within-continent migrations have the possibility to stop en route, but most long-distance migrants must also undertake large non-stop sea crossings, the length of which can vary greatly. For shorebirds migrating from Iceland to West Africa, the shortest route would involve one of the longest continuous sea crossings while alternative, mostly overland, routes are available. Using geolocators to track the migration of Icelandic whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus), we show that they can complete a round-trip of 11,000 km making two non-stop sea crossings and flying at speeds of up to 24 m s−1; one of the fastest recorded for shorebirds flying over the ocean. Although wind support could reduce flight energetic costs, whimbrels faced headwinds up to twice their ground speed, indicating that unfavourable and potentially fatal weather conditions are not uncommon. Such apparently high risk migrations might be more common than previously thought, with potential fitness gains outweighing the costs. This work was funded by NERC, RANNIS - The Icelandic Research Fund (Grant of Excellence 130412-051) and FCT (individual grant to JAA: SFRH/BPD/91527/2012). NCEP Reanalysis data provided by the NOAA/OAR/ESRL PSD, Boulder, Colorado, USA, from their Web site at http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/. Peer Reviewed