The high-risk life of the bar-tailed godwit: endurance flyers under threat from development #birdoftheyear

These globe-trotting shorebirds travel nonstop from the Arctic but urbanisation is leading to their dramatic declineThe Australian bird of the year poll is on nowSee all our bird of the year coverage hereGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastFrom GJ Walter Park, just north of Toondah Harbour on the shores of Moreton Bay, Judith Hoyle gazes across the dappled water towards Cassim Island, a resilient stand of mangroves emerging from the mudflats several hundred metres offshore. Ferries from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) cruise past, barely causing a ripple.From a spit of mud on the island's southern end, a group of 100 or so bar-tailed godwits appear undisturbed. But the rising tide is rapidly consuming their roost. As roosts disappear beneath the waves, the godwits reluctantly move to higher ground, deeper into the mangroves. By high tide, they'll be forced further inshore, where dogs are allowed off-leash. Continue reading...