A Truly Astonishing Migration

Tiger, that's extraordinary.  I bet the people watching their movements could hardly believe their eyes!

Clare Bailey said:

Tiger, that's extraordinary.  I bet the people watching their movements could hardly believe their eyes!

Yes indeed. Once again the value of tracking. 

Sorry Tiger, but you just don't get it do you, not everyone agrees with you & yet you try to stuff it down our throats all the time. For interest, what are the benefits to the bird species apart from going in the guiness book of records!!

Can we please keep comments on satellite tracking to the relevant thread?  I like learning what these birds are capable of and I enjoyed reading Tiger's link.

Clare,

In this case it would not have been possible to follow the movements "in real time", as the phalarope was tracked using a geolocator.

This is a different kind of equipment from a satellite transmitter. As I understand it, Geolocators can be made very small, but they have a downside; they are not capable of transmitting data.

To recover the data, a) the bird has to return and b) researchers have to recapture it, and remove the geolocator. This is implied in the article Tiger linked to.  

Ok folks, I can appreciate that tagging is a sensitive topic, but can I remind everyone of our terms and conditions and to treat other folk as you would expect to be treated yourselves.

Hazel b said:

Yes indeed. Once again the value of tracking. 

I was referring to this comment & not to the linking of the article. I found this comment inflammatory. I apologise if I caused offence to forum members.

I didn't realise geolocators worked so differently.  You learn something new every day.

Just read about this the other day,fantastic flight.