Goodbye and Good Luck to the Godwits

• Godwits are on our school vision poster because they  help us to remember our school vision Expanding Horizons. Three ornithologists came to talk to some of the classes about the godwits' incredible migratory flight. Rob Shuckard told us how they catch the godwits in a mist net and  put transmitters on them. Then the scientists can track the godwits' journey all the way to Alaska to breed and back to New Zealand. 

Eden wrote:

Last week we went to the Boulder Bank to look at the godwits. We went with three scientists. We took our bags because we were having lunch there. We saw the godwits fly in, it was really cool, they were going round and around for a while. Then we started sketching them. I kept looking through the telescope. It was a bit blurry at first so I tried looking through the binoculars. We saw some black swans as well as the godwits and we saw some ducks too. It was really fun to watch the black swans with the godwits.

Alexi wrote:

Godwits store fuel at the bottom of their tummy for going to Alaska. First they fly from New Zealand to China and have a break there. Then they fly all the way to Alaska to lay eggs. The eggs hatch and the mother teaches them how to find food, then she sets off back to New Zealand. Soon the chicks store food to go, and then they set off to New Zealand too.

Luca wrote:

When I looked through the 'scope I saw heaps of godwits. They were flying around and around again and again. It made me dizzy. They went fast as rockets. It was cool to watch, they were good flyers. They fly a long way but they are not good swimmers. There was a swan and some seagulls. It was fun as.

Brayden wrote:

Godwits go to China and then they go to Alaska and then they go back to New Zealand. Then they are very hungry from flying. They get fatter and fatter from eating ragworms so that they can go back again.