Migratory Plovers

The team at BirdLife Australia are delighted to announce that three of the Grey Plovers have taken off from Broome on their annual northward migration! The first bird to depart, named ‘Ecosure’, has already made it to the South China Sea, just off the coast of the Chinese city of Shantou. While ‘Nad’ and ‘Charlie’ seem to have taken a different route and have stopped over in Indonesia.

This development is really exciting, because for the first time ever their journey won’t be shrouded in mystery. Although thousands of Grey Plovers visit Australia each year, we know almost nothing about their migration. But now, thanks to satellite technology, they’re beginning to reveal their secrets.

Unlike other species of migratory shorebirds, where we know so many intimate details of their most personal habits, the Grey Plover remains a mystery to science.

To solve the mystery, last month the Australasian Wader Studies…