Rising Tide Images
'Akekeke on the Mudflat
Common ruddy turnstones in breeding plumage forage on the mudflats at low tide prior to departing the tropics for northern nesting grounds. The Hawaiian name, ‘akekeke, mimics the bird’s call. Migratory ruddy turnstones like to remain clustered after arriving at their winter range. Kōlea and ‘ūlili, two of the other common shore birds in Hawaii, disperse from their migratory flocks upon arrival and defend solitary territories until gathering again for the return migration to the breeding grounds. Fattening up is requisite for an annual migration from Hawaii to nesting grounds on the tundra of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. The trip spans over approximately 3,000 miles of open ocean requiring an exhaustive, marathon effort of 3 to 4 days and nights of nonstop flight. Turnstones use the stars and the earth’s magnetic field to find their way over the featureless ocean to the same small patch of territory every year. They may use the earth’s magnetic field visually with the magnetoreception molecules of cryptochrome in their retinae.
'Akekeke on the Mudflat
Common ruddy turnstones in breeding plumage forage on the mudflats at low tide prior to departing the tropics for northern nesting grounds. The Hawaiian name, ‘akekeke, mimics the bird’s call. Migratory ruddy turnstones like to remain clustered after arriving at their winter range. Kōlea and ‘ūlili, two of the other common shore birds in Hawaii, disperse from their migratory flocks upon arrival and defend solitary territories until gathering again for the return migration to the breeding grounds. Fattening up is requisite for an annual migration from Hawaii to nesting grounds on the tundra of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. The trip spans over approximately 3,000 miles of open ocean requiring an exhaustive, marathon effort of 3 to 4 days and nights of nonstop flight. Turnstones use the stars and the earth’s magnetic field to find their way over the featureless ocean to the same small patch of territory every year. They may use the earth’s magnetic field visually with the magnetoreception molecules of cryptochrome in their retinae.