Natural England

A ground-breaking York-based project has used satellite technology to track the longest-known flight by a Whimbrel – a migratory wading bird.

The bird, nicknamed Wallace, has so far clocked up over 7000 km since May this year in an epic globetrotting migratory flight path stretching from Africa to Iceland via Yorkshire – a route plotted with the help of a tiny satellite tag attached to the bird’s back.

This is the first time a tag of this type has been used on a Whimbrel – and the information gathered from the Natural England funded-project has provided a valuable insight into the bird’s migration patterns.

Information from the tag was downloaded to a laptop monitored by the project team at the Lower Derwent National Nature Reserve near York. The team then posted updates on the bird’s progress on a specially-developed website which helped generate worldwide interest in Wallace’s journey.

Craig Ralston, Natural England’s assistant site manager at the Lower Derwent reserve, said:
"The project has been a real success. We have been watching Whimbrel at the Lower Derwent site since 1987. We used to see them arrive around mid April and then depart a few weeks later and we wondered exactly where they were going and where they came from. The results have surpassed our expectations and we now understand much more about the distances and speeds involved in the bird’s migratory flight path."

The tag shows Wallace’s journey began at the Lower Derwent Reserve on May 12 when he set off on a 1000 km trip to the bird’s traditional breeding grounds in Iceland. Around four weeks ago, the intrepid traveller left Iceland and headed south to war-torn Guinea-Bissau in Africa in an astonishing four-day non-stop flight of just under 6000km. Satellite tracking shows the bird is currently south east of the country’s capital Bissau where it is expected to over-winter in the African sunshine before repeating the mammoth journey again next spring.

The Whimbrel Research and Satellite Tracking project was funded by Natural England in an attempt to identify the Whimbrel’s migration routes and ensure the protection of sites on the migration corridor. The floodplains of the Lower Derwent reserve are host to up to 150 Whimbrel each year that use the site for around three weeks from mid-April as a key re-fuelling stop on their journey north to Iceland.

Craig said:
"On a local level, we know that Whimbrel have visited the Lower Derwent Valley and in particular with Wheldrake Ings area for over 100 years at least. As a national nature reserve, this area is relatively safe and protected but we hope this project will help raise awareness of the importance of protecting all the other stop off points on the bird’s migratory routes. If the migration routes do not remain intact, the bird cannot reach the breeding grounds and the population will collapse."

The website set up by the project team allowed ornithologists from around the world to plot Wallace’s journey.

Craig said:
"Although this project has been based on a national nature reserve near York, it appears to have caught the imagination of people around the world with questions and comments on the website from the USA, Canada, Africa and Australia. It’s great to have that level of support and interest from so many people making it a truly international story."

The bird’s progress across land and sea was also closely followed by pupils at Bubwith Primary School, which borders the Lower Derwent Valley Reserve. It was Bubwith pupils who named the bird, and his travels have inspired artwork, poetry and stories, which Craig plans to incorporate into a book to be called "Wallace’s incredible journey".

Notes to Editors

1. Further details and a map tracking Wallace’s southward migration are on the project website: www.whimbrel.info/.

2. The Lower Derwent National Nature Reserve is managed by Natural England in partnership with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Carstairs Countryside trust and the local farming community.

3. Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings. We increase opportunities to make the natural environment an enriching part of people's everyday lives, and improve its long term security by contributing to the sustainable management of our natural resources.

Issued on behalf of Natural England by the Government News Network, Yorkshire and the Humber, tel Sheila Perry on 0113 341 3180

For further information about Natural England please visit: www.naturalengland.org.uk