Fresh solar-powered satellite tags track two birds' flight from Australia to Russia
Nature has given us more evidence that we are the laziest link in the evolutionary chain.
A pair of grey plover birds have been tracked flying from balmy Australia to the comparitively frigid shores of Russia.
The two birds called CYA and CYB (genius, guys) were tagged by researchers in the early part of 2016. The tiny, solar-powered satellite tags have revealed that the duo flew non-stop (with the stamina of a sun-soaked-superman) from the south of Australia to China -- a blistering 7,000 kilometres (4,349 miles).
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After their short rest in China, the dynamic duo went on to finish their migration, ending up on Wrangel Island -- all the way near the tippy top of the earth in Arctic Ocean.
The mapping of the flight path was uploaded to the Grey Plover Facebook page .
The flight, which the birds undertake with their actual wings and not aboard a metal tube thing, is an estimated 13,000 kilometres (8077 miles).
Speaking with the ABC, the manager of coast and marine for Natural Resources Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Tony Flaherty said satellite tags are invaluable research tools. "These birds, born up in the Russian and Mongolian Arctic, are international travellers and everything we do down here in Australia has a global impact."
Flaherty added that his research team were monitoring the birds for their return journey to identify any differences between their initial journey and the return route.
Don't hold your breath however. The birds won't be travelling again until the end of the year. "We won't be expecting them back in Australia probably till late September, October or even November," he said. These two are so flighty, jeez.
