A while back there was at least an incipient thread on Tweeters about
long-distance migration. This record-setting performance might be of
interest to those Tweeters who aren't on the ORNITH-L list.

JW

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| From: RAOU Conservation (Hugo Phillipps) <conservation at raou.com.au>
| To: Multiple recipients of list ORNITH-L <ORNITH-L at UAFSYSB.UARK.EDU>
| Subject: Record movement of Common Tern
| Date: 29 January, 1997 5:40 PM
|
| WORLD RECORD BREAKING BIRD JOURNEY
|
| Studies in bird habits increase our knowledge of the amazing flying feats
of
| the globe-roaming migratory species. The Victorian Wader Study Group
(VWSG)
| of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) has captured a
| juvenile Common Tern, Sterna hirundo, that had flown over 26,000
kilometers
| from its nest in Finland to coastal Victoria, in south-eastern Australia.
|
| The tern was caught on Friday 24 January on a beach near the RAOU's
Rotamah
| Island Bird Observatory on the Gippsland Lakes, after what is believed
to
| be the longest documented journey of any bird in the world. It was
banded
| as a chick, in its nest, on an island in a lake in central Finland on 30
| June 1996.
|
| The Tern averaged an amazing 120 kilometers a day, for every day of its
| life, as it travelled to make this epic trip from Finland. Given that it
| would not have flown until two weeks after banding, and that it took some
| time for the bird to grow strong enough to make the journey, and since it
| cannot be assumed that the bird was caught the day it arrived, experts
| believe that its actual speed of travel may be closer to 200 kms per day.
|
| The Guinness Book of Records states that the longest bird journey was one
| made by an Arctic Tern banded on the White Sea in Russia in July1955, and
| found in Fremantle in May 1956. Assuming it also flew following a
coastal
| route, that bird would have travelled approximately 22,500 kilometers.
|
| Assuming the bird followed the normal migratory route of Common Terns
from
| Finland, it flew out into the Atlantic, down the coast of Africa,
arriving
| at the the normal wintering area at the Cape of Good Hope in South
Africa.
| From there it was probably caught up in severe southern ocean gales, and
so
| followed the route taken by the two recently rescued solo sailors.
Refuge
| was found on the Gippsland Lakes beach where the bird research and
| conservation team was studying birds to determine their migratory paths,
and
| hence what important wetland regions to protect.
|
| Dr Clive Minton, who leads the VWSG, is excited by this very important
find,
| as it provides another small clue to the puzzle about how and why birds
make
| these amazing journeys. Dr Minton says that the Common Tern is a
graceful
| sea bird that feeds on small fish, and weighs about 120 grams. He was
| surprised that, given the ordeal the bird was subjected to, it was in
| excellent condition, and it's weight was normal.
|
| Further Information:
|
| Dr Clive Minton
| Tel/Fax: +613 9589 4901
|
| or
|
| Hugo Phillipps,
| RAOU Conservation & Liaison,
| Australian Bird Research Centre,
| 415 Riversdale Road,
| Hawthorn East, VIC 3123, Australia.
| Tel: +61 3 9882 2622. Fax: +61 3 9882 2677.
| Email: <conservation at raou.com.au>
| The Virtual Emu: http://www.vicnet.net.au/~raou/raou.html