Flight of the Godwit: Tracking Epic Shorebird Migrations

Summary

SHOREBIRDS ARE ASOUNDING travelers, from the Bar-tailed Godwit that boasts the longest nonstop migratory flight of any bird, to the Hudsonian Godwit, whose young of the year migrate from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego on their own, having never before visited South America. Part travelogue, part field guide, and all adventure, Flight of the Godwit is an ornithologist’s journey across North America to find his “Magnificent Seven,” the grandest and most beautiful the shorebirds.

Beehler traveled by car, plane, helicopter, train, kayak, and on foot through 37 states and 9 Canadian provinces and territories to visit shorebird breeding grounds, staging sites, and wintering hotspots. Along the way, he encountered a marvelous range of birds and other creatures, which he brings to life with his descriptive field stories. He also details the cutting-edge science explaining the remarkable biology of the shorebirds and their migrations—their internal biological clocks, celestial cues that aid their orientation, and the use of quantum physics to “see” latitude and longitude when migrating.

In Flight of the Godwit, Beehler takes readers along as he surveys shorebirds from the Arctic Ocean to Hudson Bay, tromping through tundra, muskeg, sandflats and mountain summits. This fascinating firsthand account reveals the wonders and endurance of North America’s shorebirds.

“If you’ve ever wanted to join the great shorebird migration across the hemisphere, this book will take you along on this magnificent and magical journey. Beehler’s captivating blend of travelogue and bird guide takes you as close to flying with the birds as there is.”—Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal, authors of A Wing and a Prayer: The Race to Save Our Vanishing Birds