AUDIOBOOK

Flight of the Godwit

Tracking Epic Shorebird Migrations

Bruce M. Beehler
(0)
Duration
9h 22m
Year
2025
Language
English

About

Soar across 46 North American territories to uncover the secrets of 7 magnificent shorebirds, the world's

greatest nonstop travelers

An immersive travelogue that belongs on every birder's bookshelf, with 30 gorgeous black-and-white illustrations

and a birdwatching species checklist

Flying more than 8,000 miles from Alaska to eastern Australia without stopping to eat or rest, the Bar-tailed

Godwit holds the record for the longest nonstop migration of any land bird in the world. Flight of the Godwit

invites readers on ornithologist Bruce M. Beehler's awe-inspiring journey in search of North America's largest

and farthest-flying shorebirds. Driving 35,000 miles between 2019 to 2023, Beehler sought birds he dubs the

"Magnificent Seven":

Hudsonian Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Marbled Godwit

Whimbrel

Long-billed Curlew

Bristle-thighed Curlew

Upland Sandpiper

Beehler interweaves colorful fieldwork stories and rich details on local culture with the natural history and

biology of shorebirds-including evolution, the physics of migration, orientation, homing, foraging, diet, nesting,

parental care, wintering, staging, elusive "super-migrators," and the importance of conservation efforts.

With authoritative prose and 30 beautiful black-and-white illustrations from artist Alan T. Messer, the book

journeys through 37 states and 9 Canadian provinces from Texas to Alaska to Canada's High Arctic. Flight of

the Godwit is a captivating adventure and a tribute to remarkable birds and birding itself.

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