The real story
Bar-tailed godwits breed in Alaska and winter in New Zealand and Australia. Before leaving they gorge on invertebrates in the mudflats until fat makes up a huge share of their weight, while organs they won't need in flight, like the gizzard and intestines, shrink to save load. They can't swim or glide over water, so once they leave, they can't stop.
The adults leave first. The young, only a few months old, follow weeks later with no one to guide them, using inherited instinct and good tailwinds. In October 2022 one juvenile, tag 234684, left Alaska on 13 October and landed at Ansons Bay, Tasmania, 11 days later after 13,560 km, the longest nonstop bird flight ever recorded. Young godwits then usually stay in the south for a few years before making the trip back.
