I was listening to a bird segment on CBC Radio Quirks & Quarks on the wknd... I've learned alot about birds from this program. For whatever reason they often discuss birds. Gotta love that CBC radio!
I think I found the Quirks and Quarks summary of the program you heard Irenekl. I love the variety of information presented on Q&Q.
http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/ Marathon Migration
Northern Wheatear - copyright Ómar Runólfsson
The Northern Wheatear is a small (25g) songbird that lives in two main groups; one in the eastern Canadian Arctic, Greenland and Eurasia; the other in Alaska. Although its winter migration destination was suspected, it was only proven recently. Using tiny geo-locaters strapped to the birds like back-packs, Dr. Ryan Norris, an Assistant Professor from the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, was able to track what turns out to be an astonishing route. The birds in the eastern Arctic group migrate across the Atlantic, then south to the west side of sub-Sahara Africa. An incredible 3,500kms! The group from Alaska migrate through Asia to the east side of sub-Sahara Africa - 14,500kms! Both migrations involve amazing distances per day for many months, making the Wheatear's migration route the longest for a bird of its size.
