Think Spot Tuesday 1 April (Averil)

Have you seen these beautiful birds?

There are thousands of them on the Kaipara Harbour. Kuaka or bartailed Godwits. i am very interested in NZ birds and we have visited two of the harbours when they are. Mirande on the Firth of Thames and Tapora on the Kaipara Harbour

Around 75,000 Kuaka visit NZ from Alaska for a six month holiday arriving in September and leaving in March. What's so extraordinary about them is that they fly non-stop from the Arctic to NZ. That's 12,000 kms. Taking about eight to nine days averaging a speed of 54 kph. When they get here they feed up on marine-worms and get fat enough to go all the way back via the Yello sea in China, some 16,000 kms in all

Once they arrive in the Arctic they breed and then when the babies are only four months old they fly all the way to NZ. The fat reserves build up in the Arctic sustain them. They even shrink their digestive systems for the journey as they aren't needed in flight.

You may see Kuaka during the winter time too as only adults of breeding age return to the Arctic.

What remarkable birds God has made. His creation continually astounds me!!