Maketū's godwit visitors are a blessing to appreciate

Bar tailed godwits in Maketu Harbour.

A few years ago I was in Alaska in late June helping a colleague with fieldwork when around a dozen bar-tailed godwits (kuaka) flew overhead.

Everyone became very excited because godwits in America nest so far north in the arctic tundra that few people are around to actually see them.

I laughed at their excitement because only a few months previously I was watching thousands of godwits in Miranda as they were preparing to migrate north in February and March.

I spent 30 years in Canada and never saw a bar-tailed godwit until I moved to New Zealand, and the only time I ever saw them in America was that one day when 12 flew over us.

American birders to go great lengths to spot just a few godwit. We don't realise how lucky we are to have one of the world's longest migrating and most northerly nesting bird species spend its winters (our summers) on our front doorsteps.

Maketū Harbour and Dotterel Point, Pukehina, are areas where these amazing birds spend their time eating, getting fat and resting before having to fly north again to nest in Alaska in April-June; a round trip of 29,000km.

Earlier this year while doing bird surveys for Maketū Ongatoro Wetland Society (MOWS), I recorded 11 bar-tailed godwit at Maketu Spit on August 30, and a fortnight later I recorded 30.

Possibly, these birds were non-breeders (retired or juveniles within their first few years) who spend all year in New Zealand, or they may have been returning breeders, arriving back to New Zealand with their new offspring who hatched only three or four months ago.

Eleven birds is a small flock, but as our summer progresses the numbers will grow.

Since 2011, 6,313 bar-tailed godwits have been counted during bird counts by MOWS personnel which take place fortnightly from late August to mid-February.

Sometimes, only a scattered godwit is spotted while other times over 1000 birds will be resting in the harbour or along the spit.

The average flock size recorded over the past nine years for Maketu Spit is 191 birds.

Compared to areas like Miranda, these are only small numbers, but still impressive. Over 3250 godwits were counted around Miranda just in September.

But Maketū Harbour was also home to a legendary godwit named E7, who until just a few weeks ago, held a 13-year world record for the longest non-stop flight, when she spent eight days and nights flying 11,680km from Asia to New Zealand.

The new record holder, a male named 4BBRW, is estimated to have flown 12,200km from Alaska to New Zealand in 11 days and arrived in the country on September 27.

If you are wondering how a bird can keep going for such long periods without falling asleep, birds have an amazing ability to 'close down' half of their brain – and fly with the other half. Quite a mean feat!

We are very excited to see if 4BBRW also retires in Maketū Harbour after making headlines around the world.

If you spot any bar-tailed godwits in the area this summer, keep your eyes peeled for any coloured bands or flags on their legs. Sightings of any birds in the area can be reported to MOWS staff (jenn@maketuwetlands.org.nz) and to the DoC banding office (bandingoffice@doc.govt.nz).

For more information on godwits, visit our webpage https://www.maketuwetlands.org.nz/wildlife/ or check out http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz

- Jenn Sheppard is the biodiversity officer for Maketu Ongatoro Wetland Society.