Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
A short Video showcasing our spectacular shorebirds as they moult into their breeding colours. They are about to head off on a long journey that, in some cases exceeds 13,000 KLM, non stop. The annual return journey of many species is 25,000 kLMS. The route is known as the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
This film shows Bar-tailed Gotwits, Great Knots, Whimbrel's and Far-Eastern Curlews all gathering at high tide. I have filmed much of these sequences in 120FPS, showing the plumage and movements in intimate detail.
The following extract is from the Queensland's governments 'Wetland Info site'.
Migratory shorebirds of the East Asian—Australasian Flyway breed in parts of northeast Asia (eastern Siberia and China), to as far west as the Taymyr Peninsula in the far north of Russia and as far east as Alaska (e.g. some bar-tailed godwits). Most of these birds migrate southward before the onset of winter, with the destination for many being the warmer feeding habitats of Australia.
After spending the summer in the south, the first leg of the northward migration from Australia for waterbirds can be a very long flight of more than 6,000 km to reach a staging site in the flyway, such as the mudflats around the Yellow Sea in China and Korea. The Yellow Sea region of the flyway is especially important as birds need to spend time here feeding to regain weight lost in consuming body fat that powered the first leg of their journey north from Australia, and to prepare for arrival at their breeding grounds.
Birds of most species travel 20,000 km to the northern hemisphere and back to Australia each year. The epic journeys of bar-tailed godwits across the Pacific Ocean to the east coast of Australia and New Zealand from Alaska include nonstop flights of up to 13,000 km.
A short Video showcasing our spectacular shorebirds as they moult into their breeding colours. They are about to head off on a long journey that, in some cases exceeds 13,000 KLM, non stop. The annual return journey of many species is 25,000 kLMS. The route is known as the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
This film shows Bar-tailed Gotwits, Great Knots, Whimbrel's and Far-Eastern Curlews all gathering at high tide. I have filmed much of these sequences in 120FPS, showing the plumage and movements in intimate detail.
The following extract is from the Queensland's governments 'Wetland Info site'.
Migratory shorebirds of the East Asian—Australasian Flyway breed in parts of northeast Asia (eastern Siberia and China), to as far west as the Taymyr Peninsula in the far north of Russia and as far east as Alaska (e.g. some bar-tailed godwits). Most of these birds migrate southward before the onset of winter, with the destination for many being the warmer feeding habitats of Australia.
After spending the summer in the south, the first leg of the northward migration from Australia for waterbirds can be a very long flight of more than 6,000 km to reach a staging site in the flyway, such as the mudflats around the Yellow Sea in China and Korea. The Yellow Sea region of the flyway is especially important as birds need to spend time here feeding to regain weight lost in consuming body fat that powered the first leg of their journey north from Australia, and to prepare for arrival at their breeding grounds.
Birds of most species travel 20,000 km to the northern hemisphere and back to Australia each year. The epic journeys of bar-tailed godwits across the Pacific Ocean to the east coast of Australia and New Zealand from Alaska include nonstop flights of up to 13,000 km.
