Tracking juvenile bar-tailed godwits

USGS collaborator Jesse Conklin (Max Planck Institute) tracks juvenile Bar-tailed Godwits near Nome, Alaska. Researchers tracked birds locally using 0.5-gram VHF radios as part of a study to understand the growth and survival of godwit chicks. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute, U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a study to track the migration of juvenile (hatch year) bar-tailed godwits from breeding sites near Nome, Alaska. Alaska-breeding bar-tailed godwits annually conduct non-stop migrations between Alaska and wintering sites in New Zealand and eastern Australia, but the movements of juvenile godwits on their first southbound migrations have never before been tracked. This study was conducted to better understand how these birds navigate their first migrations from Alaska to wintering site. This work is part of a larger effort to understand the locations and times of the year where godwits face the greatest threats.