1
00:00:01,233 --> 00:00:07,066
♪♪

2
00:00:07,066 --> 00:00:09,100
FULLER:
I love Eastern curlews.

3
00:00:09,100 --> 00:00:11,266
They're majestic.
They're stately.

4
00:00:11,266 --> 00:00:13,566
They are powerful fliers.

5
00:00:13,566 --> 00:00:15,866
They have a purpose.

6
00:00:15,866 --> 00:00:18,566
LINSCOTT: The way a group
of godwits looks

7
00:00:18,566 --> 00:00:21,966
when it takes to the air,
the way they move together...

8
00:00:21,966 --> 00:00:25,966
move with the wind, give this
embodied shape to the wind.

9
00:00:25,966 --> 00:00:29,066
It is remarkable.

10
00:00:29,066 --> 00:00:32,600
NARRATOR: Shorebirds are Earth's
most global citizens,

11
00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:36,600
crossing from one end of the
world to the other each year.

12
00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,500
Yet below them,
once familiar landscapes

13
00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:45,333
are giving way to development,
drought, and rising seas.

14
00:00:45,333 --> 00:00:49,800
Scientists are doing their best
to map their epic journeys

15
00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:51,666
and the dangers they face

16
00:00:51,666 --> 00:00:55,900
as they follow the flights
of these heroic birds.

17
00:00:55,900 --> 00:00:59,033
LINSCOTT: I hope I might even
catch up with her

18
00:00:59,033 --> 00:01:02,366
in a couple of weeks in a very
different part of the world.

19
00:01:02,366 --> 00:01:04,866
I wish her the best.

20
00:01:04,866 --> 00:01:06,666
She's got a really
long way to go.

21
00:01:06,666 --> 00:01:29,400
♪♪

22
00:01:46,933 --> 00:01:52,666
♪♪

23
00:01:52,666 --> 00:01:57,066
NARRATOR: On beaches and tidal
mudflats all around the world,

24
00:01:57,066 --> 00:02:00,066
you'll see them
in their thousands...

25
00:02:03,333 --> 00:02:05,200
...shorebirds.

26
00:02:07,333 --> 00:02:11,666
There are more than 200 species
on the planet...

27
00:02:14,366 --> 00:02:17,900
...feeding on the teeming life
between the tidelines.

28
00:02:17,900 --> 00:02:28,033
♪♪

29
00:02:28,033 --> 00:02:31,066
Then, from one day to the next,

30
00:02:31,066 --> 00:02:34,933
they'll be gone
on an extraordinary journey.

31
00:02:36,900 --> 00:02:40,233
They're heading
for their breeding grounds,

32
00:02:40,233 --> 00:02:44,133
up to 9,000 miles away,

33
00:02:44,133 --> 00:02:49,233
following ancestral flyways
that wrap around the globe.

34
00:02:49,233 --> 00:02:56,466
♪♪

35
00:02:56,466 --> 00:03:00,266
Shorebirds, like this
little Western sandpiper,

36
00:03:00,266 --> 00:03:03,000
are supreme endurance athletes.

37
00:03:04,866 --> 00:03:10,433
They can fly for days and nights
without landing...

38
00:03:10,433 --> 00:03:13,100
over cities...

39
00:03:13,100 --> 00:03:15,466
and deserts...

40
00:03:15,466 --> 00:03:17,966
and trackless oceans.

41
00:03:17,966 --> 00:03:19,900
[ Thunder rumbling ]

42
00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:26,733
♪♪

43
00:03:26,733 --> 00:03:30,233
The bogs and tundra
of the Arctic north.

44
00:03:32,300 --> 00:03:35,300
Here, in the endless
summer daylight,

45
00:03:35,300 --> 00:03:38,933
their chicks can feed
on clouds of insects.

46
00:03:41,100 --> 00:03:44,166
And in just a few weeks,
they'll gain the weight

47
00:03:44,166 --> 00:03:46,433
to follow their parents
south again.

48
00:03:46,433 --> 00:03:51,633
♪♪

49
00:03:51,633 --> 00:03:54,800
But the world beneath
their wings is changing.

50
00:03:56,900 --> 00:04:01,500
Shorebirds are among the most
threatened birds on the planet.

51
00:04:01,500 --> 00:04:10,233
♪♪

52
00:04:10,233 --> 00:04:14,400
We're going to fly with
three of these adventurers

53
00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,500
and share the elation
and the anxiety

54
00:04:17,500 --> 00:04:20,333
of the men and women
who track their migrations

55
00:04:20,333 --> 00:04:23,000
from three separate continents.

56
00:04:25,266 --> 00:04:28,933
From the far south
of South America...

57
00:04:28,933 --> 00:04:33,500
from the desert beaches
of West Africa...

58
00:04:33,500 --> 00:04:38,466
and from Australia,
in a place called Moreton Bay...

59
00:04:38,466 --> 00:04:40,066
FULLER: See that curlew
up there flying?

60
00:04:40,066 --> 00:04:41,900
JACKSON: Yeah!

61
00:04:41,900 --> 00:04:46,000
NARRATOR: ...around 500 square
miles of mudflats and sandbanks

62
00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,433
on Australia's east coast.

63
00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,066
Every March,
biologist Richard Fuller

64
00:04:52,066 --> 00:04:54,633
and his colleague Micha Jackson
come here

65
00:04:54,633 --> 00:04:58,633
to watch the shorebirds fatten
up for their journey north.

66
00:04:58,633 --> 00:05:00,833
JACKSON: Couple of hundred birds
there, I think.

67
00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,966
NARRATOR
Richard's special interest --

68
00:05:05,966 --> 00:05:09,866
the largest migratory
shorebird in the world --

69
00:05:09,866 --> 00:05:12,500
the Far Eastern curlew.

70
00:05:12,500 --> 00:05:13,833
FULLER:
I love Eastern curlews.

71
00:05:13,833 --> 00:05:15,066
They're majestic.

72
00:05:15,066 --> 00:05:16,300
They're stately.

73
00:05:16,300 --> 00:05:18,933
They are powerful fliers.

74
00:05:18,933 --> 00:05:20,000
They have a purpose.

75
00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:21,666
They're on a mission.

76
00:05:24,133 --> 00:05:25,966
And although
they're a brown bird,

77
00:05:25,966 --> 00:05:28,233
but the intricacy
of their plumage

78
00:05:28,233 --> 00:05:32,766
and the patterning on them is
just fascinating and beautiful.

79
00:05:35,500 --> 00:05:39,833
NARRATOR: These magnificent
birds fly more than 7,000 miles

80
00:05:39,833 --> 00:05:44,133
to their breeding grounds
in north Asia and back again.

81
00:05:47,666 --> 00:05:50,566
Over the course
of its 20-year lifespan,

82
00:05:50,566 --> 00:05:52,900
an Eastern curlew travels
the distance

83
00:05:52,900 --> 00:05:55,433
from the Earth to the Moon.

84
00:05:57,566 --> 00:06:02,400
To make these prodigious
flights, it must have fuel.

85
00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:07,100
It needs to gain up to half
its bodyweight in fat.

86
00:06:09,266 --> 00:06:11,100
FULLER:
A curlew's diet is comprised

87
00:06:11,100 --> 00:06:13,466
almost completely
of crustaceans.

88
00:06:13,466 --> 00:06:16,966
But they have a particular
predilection for crabs.

89
00:06:16,966 --> 00:06:18,866
They love crabs.

90
00:06:22,133 --> 00:06:24,833
The curlew will probe
into the ground,

91
00:06:24,833 --> 00:06:29,166
you know, often 20 centimeters
down, grab a crab,

92
00:06:29,166 --> 00:06:32,033
and when it's successful,
you'll see a curlew rip its bill

93
00:06:32,033 --> 00:06:33,733
out of the sediment,
and it will be

94
00:06:33,733 --> 00:06:35,733
kind of manipulating
the crab in its bill,

95
00:06:35,733 --> 00:06:37,733
sometimes tossing it up
into the air,

96
00:06:37,733 --> 00:06:39,400
to get it in the right position,

97
00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,133
and then it goes in,
in one gulp.

98
00:06:42,133 --> 00:06:48,700
♪♪

99
00:06:48,700 --> 00:06:50,666
NARRATOR: But the curlew's
feeding grounds

100
00:06:50,666 --> 00:06:53,533
in Moreton Bay are shrinking.

101
00:06:53,533 --> 00:06:57,400
Human encroachment has been
going on for decades.

102
00:06:59,666 --> 00:07:01,933
FULLER: There's every chance
the Eastern curlew

103
00:07:01,933 --> 00:07:04,300
could be extinct
within a few decades,

104
00:07:04,300 --> 00:07:06,200
and that's a terrifying thought.

105
00:07:10,933 --> 00:07:16,300
♪♪

106
00:07:16,300 --> 00:07:18,466
NARRATOR
On the other side of the world,

107
00:07:18,466 --> 00:07:22,300
where the Sahara
meets the Atlantic,

108
00:07:22,300 --> 00:07:25,266
huge flocks of hungry birds
are jostling

109
00:07:25,266 --> 00:07:27,300
for a spot on the beach.

110
00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,433
Busy and beak-down in the mud

111
00:07:33,433 --> 00:07:37,000
is our West African migrant --
the red knot.

112
00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,533
GILS: They are so pretty!

113
00:07:40,533 --> 00:07:42,600
NARRATOR
These plucky little birds

114
00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,166
must double their weight
in just a few weeks

115
00:07:45,166 --> 00:07:48,400
to power their
6,000-mile migration

116
00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,900
from Mauritania to Siberia,
where they breed.

117
00:07:52,866 --> 00:07:56,100
But red knots, too,
are struggling.

118
00:07:56,100 --> 00:08:00,500
GILS: We had a half a million
red knots in the 1980s,

119
00:08:00,500 --> 00:08:03,366
and nowadays it's only 100,000.

120
00:08:03,366 --> 00:08:07,000
So a loss of 80%
in just 40 years.

121
00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:13,366
♪♪

122
00:08:13,366 --> 00:08:16,766
NARRATOR
Dutch ecologist Jan van Gils

123
00:08:16,766 --> 00:08:20,700
has been studying the red knot
for 30 years.

124
00:08:20,700 --> 00:08:22,800
It's not just
the red knot population

125
00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,266
that's declining.

126
00:08:25,266 --> 00:08:28,433
The individual birds
are shrinking, too.

127
00:08:28,433 --> 00:08:30,766
GILS: The bill is getting
shorter,

128
00:08:30,766 --> 00:08:32,566
the wing is getting shorter,

129
00:08:32,566 --> 00:08:34,400
the legs are getting shorter.

130
00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:36,866
And you can say,
"Well, who cares?

131
00:08:36,866 --> 00:08:39,066
Smaller red knots?"

132
00:08:39,066 --> 00:08:41,633
But what is important,
if you come here

133
00:08:41,633 --> 00:08:44,300
as a smaller red knot
in Mauritania,

134
00:08:44,300 --> 00:08:45,933
you have a big problem.

135
00:08:49,233 --> 00:08:50,900
NARRATOR
Jan and his colleagues

136
00:08:50,900 --> 00:08:52,666
from the University
of Nouakchott

137
00:08:52,666 --> 00:08:55,900
take samples of the mud
the bird feeds in.

138
00:08:57,466 --> 00:08:59,300
GILS: Oh, yeah! Oh!

139
00:08:59,300 --> 00:09:00,466
Look at that.

140
00:09:04,766 --> 00:09:06,666
[ Indistinct conversations ]

141
00:09:06,666 --> 00:09:08,166
So, this is the food

142
00:09:08,166 --> 00:09:10,733
that the red knots really,
really like.

143
00:09:12,366 --> 00:09:14,600
They ingest
these bivalves whole,

144
00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,400
and they crush these bivalves
in their stomach.

145
00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:22,200
So, they have a very
strong stomach.

146
00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:23,500
They need good food.

147
00:09:23,500 --> 00:09:26,100
They need the bivalves like this
in order to make it

148
00:09:26,100 --> 00:09:28,366
to Northern Siberia.

149
00:09:28,366 --> 00:09:31,100
But these birds
are becoming smaller,

150
00:09:31,100 --> 00:09:35,000
so maybe all these bivalves
are actually way too deep

151
00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,066
for the knots to reach.

152
00:09:40,133 --> 00:09:43,200
NARRATOR
So what are they eating instead?

153
00:09:46,366 --> 00:09:48,633
GILS: The birds were roosting
here this morning

154
00:09:48,633 --> 00:09:52,200
and we see signs of where they
were roosting, we see tracks.

155
00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,566
Here it is.

156
00:09:54,566 --> 00:09:58,433
NARRATOR: The red knots'
droppings provide the evidence.

157
00:09:58,433 --> 00:10:02,600
GILS: A normal knot dropping is
full of fragments of shellfish.

158
00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:05,866
They have switched diets

159
00:10:05,866 --> 00:10:08,933
from their favorite bivalves
to sea grass.

160
00:10:13,733 --> 00:10:16,000
So, it is, in a way,
a very sad story

161
00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,200
because this shows they are
fueling up for Siberia

162
00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,300
on very poor-quality food.

163
00:10:23,300 --> 00:10:39,633
♪♪

164
00:10:39,633 --> 00:10:42,533
NARRATOR: In Chiloé Island,
more than halfway down

165
00:10:42,533 --> 00:10:44,833
the long coast of Chile,

166
00:10:44,833 --> 00:10:48,300
our South American voyager
dances on the wind.

167
00:10:50,100 --> 00:10:52,033
LINSCOTT: The way a group
of godwits looks

168
00:10:52,033 --> 00:10:53,800
when it takes to the air,

169
00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,533
the way they move together...

170
00:10:56,533 --> 00:11:02,233
move with the wind, give this
embodied shape to the wind.

171
00:11:02,233 --> 00:11:03,900
It is remarkable.

172
00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,166
NARRATOR
As long-distance athletes,

173
00:11:09,166 --> 00:11:15,300
Hudsonian godwits outperform
almost every other shorebird.

174
00:11:15,300 --> 00:11:21,866
Each year they fly 9,000 miles,
from Chile to Alaska.

175
00:11:21,866 --> 00:11:25,300
Most make just one or two
refueling stops.

176
00:11:27,033 --> 00:11:29,800
But their options
are narrowing by the year.

177
00:11:31,766 --> 00:11:34,900
Jennifer Linscott has joined
an international network

178
00:11:34,900 --> 00:11:40,100
of scientists studying the
migration of Hudsonian godwits.

179
00:11:40,100 --> 00:11:42,166
LINSCOTT:
We really don't know

180
00:11:42,166 --> 00:11:44,000
how many of those sites exist,

181
00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:48,000
and we don't know how
they are changing over time.

182
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,433
We know that it's now
a landscape

183
00:11:49,433 --> 00:11:54,033
that's been completely
re-engineered for agriculture.

184
00:11:54,033 --> 00:11:55,833
Godwits, like many other
migratory shorebirds,

185
00:11:55,833 --> 00:11:57,133
are in decline.

186
00:11:57,133 --> 00:11:59,700
And we think that that likely
has a lot to do

187
00:11:59,700 --> 00:12:01,800
with what's happening
during migration.

188
00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,866
♪♪

189
00:12:10,533 --> 00:12:12,800
NARRATOR
The best way to get answers,

190
00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:14,300
the scientists all agree,

191
00:12:14,300 --> 00:12:18,966
is to attach GPS trackers
to individual birds.

192
00:12:18,966 --> 00:12:23,000
FULLER: Tracking goes to the
heart of what conservation is.

193
00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:27,433
You can describe the migration
of the species by mapping it,

194
00:12:27,433 --> 00:12:30,033
by understanding
the places it visits

195
00:12:30,033 --> 00:12:32,366
and crucially
by understanding

196
00:12:32,366 --> 00:12:36,100
what threats they're facing
along the flyway.

197
00:12:38,733 --> 00:12:41,933
NARRATOR: But to attach
a tracker on a bird,

198
00:12:41,933 --> 00:12:44,700
first, you have to catch it.

199
00:12:48,466 --> 00:12:50,366
In Australia...

200
00:12:52,366 --> 00:12:55,266
...in South America...

201
00:12:55,266 --> 00:12:59,200
and in West Africa,
the nets are being set.

202
00:13:00,733 --> 00:13:02,833
Jan is hoping to catch
some red knots

203
00:13:02,833 --> 00:13:05,800
as they fly in
to roost at night.

204
00:13:09,333 --> 00:13:10,600
FULLER: Oh, this is great.

205
00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:12,100
There's birds coming in
to the catching area.

206
00:13:12,100 --> 00:13:15,200
NARRATOR: But Richard and his
team must wait for the curlews

207
00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:18,533
to gather in precisely
the right spot.

208
00:13:18,533 --> 00:13:19,766
FULLER: Eastern curlews

209
00:13:19,766 --> 00:13:22,066
are exceptionally difficult
birds to catch.

210
00:13:22,066 --> 00:13:24,533
They're very, very wary.

211
00:13:26,900 --> 00:13:29,366
[ Sighs ]

212
00:13:29,366 --> 00:13:31,266
Come on, birds.

213
00:13:31,266 --> 00:13:33,833
[ Wind whistling ]

214
00:13:33,833 --> 00:13:37,366
NARRATOR
So must Jennifer in Chile.

215
00:13:37,366 --> 00:13:39,266
[ Birds chirping ]

216
00:13:39,266 --> 00:13:42,200
LINSCOTT: This is the part
we can't control.

217
00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,100
We just have to wait,
wait for the tide to come in,

218
00:13:45,100 --> 00:13:47,633
wait for the birds to move.

219
00:13:47,633 --> 00:13:50,733
Wait for them to move
to the right spot.

220
00:13:58,066 --> 00:14:01,966
NARRATOR: In Australia,
the moment arrives.

221
00:14:04,033 --> 00:14:05,266
MAN:Everybody ready.

222
00:14:05,266 --> 00:14:07,666
3, 2, 1, fire.

223
00:14:15,433 --> 00:14:19,433
NARRATOR: But for Team Curlew,
it's a miss.

224
00:14:19,433 --> 00:14:27,166
♪♪

225
00:14:27,166 --> 00:14:31,033
Will Team Godwit in Chile
have better luck?

226
00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,066
MAN:Tres, dos, uno.

227
00:14:43,366 --> 00:14:45,000
¿Bolsa?

228
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,133
WOMAN:Bolsa.

229
00:14:49,666 --> 00:14:52,466
Tal vez nos vemos
un poco estresadas

230
00:14:52,466 --> 00:14:57,433
pero es para apurarnos
y que las aves lleguen pronto.

231
00:14:57,433 --> 00:14:59,133
MAN:Dos.

232
00:14:59,133 --> 00:15:01,733
LINSCOTT:
We got about, hmm, 30...

233
00:15:01,733 --> 00:15:02,766
30 birds?

234
00:15:05,166 --> 00:15:17,166
♪♪

235
00:15:17,166 --> 00:15:20,966
NARRATOR: Jan and his team
have also netted some red knots.

236
00:15:23,500 --> 00:15:25,566
GILS: So...

237
00:15:25,566 --> 00:15:29,166
it seems we have 13 red knots.

238
00:15:29,166 --> 00:15:30,633
So, that's really awesome.

239
00:15:30,633 --> 00:15:38,066
♪♪

240
00:15:38,066 --> 00:15:41,833
NARRATOR: In Mauritania...

241
00:15:41,833 --> 00:15:43,533
and in Chile,

242
00:15:43,533 --> 00:15:45,833
the satellite trackers
are fitted.

243
00:15:51,633 --> 00:15:56,433
♪♪

244
00:15:56,433 --> 00:15:59,600
Despite months of trying,
Richard and his team

245
00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:04,600
in Moreton Bay have failed
to catch a single curlew.

246
00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:09,666
♪♪

247
00:16:09,666 --> 00:16:13,900
But there is one bird
that they tagged back in 2017

248
00:16:13,900 --> 00:16:16,866
that is still transmitting
her location.

249
00:16:19,266 --> 00:16:22,400
Her name is AAD.

250
00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:26,333
She's a tough,
successful traveler.

251
00:16:26,333 --> 00:16:29,233
Richard has already
tracked her twice,

252
00:16:29,233 --> 00:16:33,933
all the way to northern China
and back here to Moreton Bay.

253
00:16:33,933 --> 00:16:36,933
FULLER: I have a high sense
of anticipation right now,

254
00:16:36,933 --> 00:16:39,366
an excited expectation.

255
00:16:39,366 --> 00:16:44,966
But I'm also apprehensive,
I think, and deeply concerned.

256
00:16:44,966 --> 00:16:49,300
Will she find what she needs
along her migration journey?

257
00:16:51,366 --> 00:16:55,066
NARRATOR: As March draws the
curtain on the southern summer,

258
00:16:55,066 --> 00:16:58,700
shorebirds start to stir
with yearning for the north.

259
00:17:00,933 --> 00:17:04,933
The scientists call it
migratory restlessness.

260
00:17:04,933 --> 00:17:11,366
♪♪

261
00:17:11,366 --> 00:17:14,433
FULLER: You can see them
getting excited;

262
00:17:14,433 --> 00:17:18,300
calling to each other,
maybe taking short flights.

263
00:17:19,666 --> 00:17:22,400
But then, eventually,
a group will decide,

264
00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,866
"This is the moment."

265
00:17:24,866 --> 00:17:28,000
NARRATOR:
AAD spreads her wings.

266
00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,600
FULLER: The first bird
of the expedition in the air.

267
00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:39,800
♪♪

268
00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,666
NARRATOR: And in Chile,
Jennifer and the team

269
00:17:42,666 --> 00:17:45,100
send the godwits on their way.

270
00:17:46,966 --> 00:17:50,333
LINSCOTT: I hope, you know,
I'll be in the same area

271
00:17:50,333 --> 00:17:52,600
where she's likely to stop
along the way.

272
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,466
So there's a chance I might even
catch up with her

273
00:17:56,466 --> 00:18:00,733
in a couple of weeks in a very
different part of the world.

274
00:18:00,733 --> 00:18:04,500
I just wish her the best.

275
00:18:04,500 --> 00:18:06,600
She's got a really
long way to go.

276
00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:24,600
♪♪

277
00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:28,433
NARRATOR: Thousands of miles of
ocean lie between the shorebirds

278
00:18:28,433 --> 00:18:30,400
and their first hope of rest.

279
00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,400
[ Thunder rumbling ]

280
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:37,333
A migrating shorebird
may not need to sleep.

281
00:18:37,333 --> 00:18:42,033
It rests half its brain while
the other half remains alert.

282
00:18:42,033 --> 00:18:47,233
♪♪

283
00:18:47,233 --> 00:18:50,366
It's thought that pigments
in its eyes let it perceive

284
00:18:50,366 --> 00:18:53,566
the Earth's magnetic field
and stay on course.

285
00:18:53,566 --> 00:18:57,800
♪♪

286
00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:01,700
At night, it can navigate
by the stars.

287
00:19:01,700 --> 00:19:06,366
♪♪

288
00:19:06,366 --> 00:19:10,766
The godwits fly over
5,000 miles of open ocean.

289
00:19:12,366 --> 00:19:14,333
They can't glide or swim,

290
00:19:14,333 --> 00:19:17,466
so must beat their wings
continuously...

291
00:19:19,833 --> 00:19:24,200
...crossing over Central
American and the Gulf of Mexico.

292
00:19:26,733 --> 00:19:31,566
After six days and nights
without food, water, or rest,

293
00:19:31,566 --> 00:19:35,300
they reach the coast of Texas.

294
00:19:35,300 --> 00:19:38,400
But the land below
is in severe drought.

295
00:19:40,533 --> 00:19:45,700
Tracking shows the birds are
slowing down and making turns,

296
00:19:45,700 --> 00:19:48,900
searching perhaps for a refuge
that isn't there.

297
00:19:50,900 --> 00:19:53,166
And so, they press on.

298
00:19:56,266 --> 00:20:00,333
Shorebirds burn fat for water
as well as energy.

299
00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:04,300
They can even digest parts
of their own organs

300
00:20:04,300 --> 00:20:05,600
to stay hydrated.

301
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:11,800
And when their bodies are pushed
to their utmost limit,

302
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,633
they burn the very muscle
that beats their wings.

303
00:20:19,966 --> 00:20:24,166
At last, the godwits
find a place to rest and feed

304
00:20:24,166 --> 00:20:26,700
in South Dakota.

305
00:20:26,700 --> 00:20:29,466
LINSCOTT: South Dakota
is filled with wetlands.

306
00:20:29,466 --> 00:20:31,733
They're just divots
in the landscape

307
00:20:31,733 --> 00:20:36,133
that were carved out
by the movement of a glacier,

308
00:20:36,133 --> 00:20:40,733
and now they fill with snowmelt
and rainwater every spring.

309
00:20:40,733 --> 00:20:48,366
♪♪

310
00:20:48,366 --> 00:20:51,233
As soon as summer rolls in
and the temperatures climb,

311
00:20:51,233 --> 00:20:55,166
that water's going to evaporate,
but for now, it's perfect.

312
00:20:58,433 --> 00:21:02,533
It's exactly the kind of habitat
that's gonna help them

313
00:21:02,533 --> 00:21:05,433
find the fuel that they need
to keep migrating.

314
00:21:05,433 --> 00:21:11,133
♪♪

315
00:21:11,133 --> 00:21:12,666
NARRATOR: Every spring,

316
00:21:12,666 --> 00:21:16,400
Jennifer spends weeks
scouring South Dakota,

317
00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,300
searching for the birds
she tagged in Chile.

318
00:21:21,533 --> 00:21:24,000
LINSCOTT: They have been
migrating through

319
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,733
this ephemeral landscape
for thousands of years,

320
00:21:26,733 --> 00:21:28,766
so they're evolved for that.

321
00:21:28,766 --> 00:21:30,766
But the rates at which things
are changing

322
00:21:30,766 --> 00:21:34,066
are much faster
than they've ever been.

323
00:21:34,066 --> 00:21:36,400
We don't know if godwits
can cope

324
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,733
with this kind
of variability now

325
00:21:38,733 --> 00:21:41,266
in the way that they've
coped with it in the past.

326
00:21:41,266 --> 00:21:50,333
♪♪

327
00:21:50,333 --> 00:21:52,900
Looks like it's right back here.

328
00:21:55,266 --> 00:21:56,733
Oh, yeah, that's a godwit.

329
00:21:56,733 --> 00:21:58,633
KYLIE: Godwit? Nice.

330
00:21:58,633 --> 00:22:00,433
[ Birds chirping ]

331
00:22:00,433 --> 00:22:01,866
LINSCOTT: Looks like
there's more than one.

332
00:22:01,866 --> 00:22:03,333
KYLIE: Ooh.

333
00:22:03,333 --> 00:22:04,900
Wait, is that a whole group
of godwits, do you think?

334
00:22:04,900 --> 00:22:06,900
LINSCOTT: Yeah, I think so.
KYLIE: Yeah? Cool.

335
00:22:06,900 --> 00:22:09,266
LINSCOTT: One, two, three.

336
00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:15,200
You can feel, in a way,
just watching them,

337
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:21,733
how long of a journey it's been
and how hungry they are.

338
00:22:21,733 --> 00:22:23,833
It's incredible.

339
00:22:23,833 --> 00:22:26,933
You know, we spend so much time
out here

340
00:22:26,933 --> 00:22:29,233
looking and looking and looking.

341
00:22:29,233 --> 00:22:34,033
And then to finally see one
out in the middle of a --

342
00:22:34,033 --> 00:22:36,200
of a cornfield, you know,
a godwit

343
00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:39,833
that we might have seen in Chile
not that long ago...

344
00:22:41,133 --> 00:22:44,466
...it's a great feeling.

345
00:22:44,466 --> 00:22:45,966
NARRATOR: In Western Europe,

346
00:22:45,966 --> 00:22:49,000
the red knots also need
to refuel

347
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,333
on their journey
from West Africa to Siberia.

348
00:22:54,266 --> 00:22:56,800
They flock to the vast
tidal mudbanks

349
00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:00,900
that stretch along
the Dutch and German coasts --

350
00:23:00,900 --> 00:23:02,133
the Wadden Sea.

351
00:23:02,133 --> 00:23:12,600
♪♪

352
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:16,000
GILS: This is the westernmost
part of the Wadden Sea.

353
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,466
It's a major staging site
for the birds

354
00:23:18,466 --> 00:23:20,333
on their way to the Arctic.

355
00:23:20,333 --> 00:23:28,533
♪♪

356
00:23:28,533 --> 00:23:31,700
They stay here
for, like, two, three weeks

357
00:23:31,700 --> 00:23:34,266
in order to gain strength again

358
00:23:34,266 --> 00:23:36,600
to travel all the way
to Siberia.

359
00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,600
♪♪

360
00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:43,833
Yes, we have,
currently two birds

361
00:23:43,833 --> 00:23:47,000
that we caught in Mauritania
just a few weeks ago.

362
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:51,800
When you see birds that you have
tagged yourself

363
00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:53,966
and they arrive here
in the Wadden Sea,

364
00:23:53,966 --> 00:23:56,366
ahh, that's so cool.

365
00:23:56,366 --> 00:23:57,800
NARRATOR:
But at this moment,

366
00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:02,566
Jan's elation
turns to bitter disappointment.

367
00:24:02,566 --> 00:24:05,733
GILS: We have a new problem,
and it's the war in Ukraine.

368
00:24:05,733 --> 00:24:09,566
And, ahh, we actually just heard
from the Ministry

369
00:24:09,566 --> 00:24:12,533
that we cannot go to Siberia.

370
00:24:12,533 --> 00:24:15,300
We are forced to ban
our connections

371
00:24:15,300 --> 00:24:18,866
to Russian scientists
right now from this moment.

372
00:24:18,866 --> 00:24:21,033
And we just heard we cannot go.

373
00:24:21,033 --> 00:24:24,033
It's a huge frustration.

374
00:24:24,033 --> 00:24:29,600
♪♪

375
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:31,166
These birds are going to Russia.

376
00:24:31,166 --> 00:24:35,166
They're crossing borders
that we cannot cross this year

377
00:24:35,166 --> 00:24:38,433
and maybe next year,
and God knows for how long.

378
00:24:38,433 --> 00:24:42,866
♪♪

379
00:24:45,700 --> 00:24:47,366
NARRATOR: From Moreton Bay,

380
00:24:47,366 --> 00:24:50,800
Richard watches
his curlew's journey north.

381
00:24:53,266 --> 00:24:55,066
FULLER: We've tracked AAD

382
00:24:55,066 --> 00:24:57,433
crossing over
the Great Barrier Reef,

383
00:24:57,433 --> 00:25:01,633
Cape York, Papua New Guinea,
still flying,

384
00:25:01,633 --> 00:25:06,333
over some of the highest
mountains in Southeast Asia

385
00:25:06,333 --> 00:25:08,800
pushing north,
over the Philippines,

386
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,433
and she's touched down
in Taiwan.

387
00:25:11,433 --> 00:25:19,100
♪♪

388
00:25:19,100 --> 00:25:20,666
NARRATOR: In Taiwan,

389
00:25:20,666 --> 00:25:23,933
birdwatching
is a national passion.

390
00:25:23,933 --> 00:25:25,433
WOMAN: [ Speaking
native language ]

391
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,666
FULLER: We immediately notified
birdwatchers in Taiwan

392
00:25:40,666 --> 00:25:43,233
and the messages
went out on social media,

393
00:25:43,233 --> 00:25:46,766
hundreds of people
began searching for AAD.

394
00:25:53,833 --> 00:25:56,733
ZHENG-FENG:
[ Speaking native language ]

395
00:25:56,733 --> 00:25:59,433
NARRATOR: It is retired vet
Li Zheng-Feng

396
00:25:59,433 --> 00:26:01,966
who scores the jackpot.

397
00:26:01,966 --> 00:26:07,766
♪♪

398
00:26:24,466 --> 00:26:26,166
WOMAN:
[ Speaking native language ]

399
00:26:35,466 --> 00:26:37,933
ZHENG-FENG:
[ Speaking native language ]

400
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:49,466
FULLER: We can track birds
with satellite transmitters,

401
00:26:49,466 --> 00:26:51,100
but when you see one
on the ground,

402
00:26:51,100 --> 00:26:52,766
it's really the holy grail.

403
00:26:52,766 --> 00:26:56,133
That's an on-ground
confirmed observation

404
00:26:56,133 --> 00:26:57,900
of the bird
that's just been a dot

405
00:26:57,900 --> 00:27:00,533
on a computer screen
up until that point.

406
00:27:00,533 --> 00:27:02,466
So, I'm super excited
about that,

407
00:27:02,466 --> 00:27:04,966
and I'm excited to learn
where she goes next.

408
00:27:04,966 --> 00:27:09,266
♪♪

409
00:27:09,266 --> 00:27:14,300
NARRATOR: Where AAD goes next
is northern China,

410
00:27:14,300 --> 00:27:19,733
where she and her forebears have
been nesting for generations.

411
00:27:19,733 --> 00:27:22,466
But Richard fears that,
year by year,

412
00:27:22,466 --> 00:27:24,033
her chosen breeding ground

413
00:27:24,033 --> 00:27:27,633
is less likely
to bring her success.

414
00:27:27,633 --> 00:27:29,033
FULLER:
This region of China

415
00:27:29,033 --> 00:27:32,333
has undergone
massive transformation.

416
00:27:33,900 --> 00:27:38,300
Those wonderful grassy,
forested, mosaic, wilderness

417
00:27:38,300 --> 00:27:45,000
and swamplands have been
converted into rice paddies.

418
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,966
So, now some of our curlews,
they're literally using

419
00:27:47,966 --> 00:27:53,500
the last remaining patches
of that original habitat,

420
00:27:53,500 --> 00:27:58,100
and we see birds making forays
out into the rice paddies,

421
00:27:58,100 --> 00:28:01,400
perhaps forlornly
looking for food.

422
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:03,333
There won't be much for them.

423
00:28:03,333 --> 00:28:05,800
Yet we see them still
searching there.

424
00:28:08,666 --> 00:28:11,633
The birds that traditionally
breed in China,

425
00:28:11,633 --> 00:28:13,966
I think are now
under immense threat

426
00:28:13,966 --> 00:28:17,400
and likely to be
declining really fast.

427
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:25,066
NARRATOR: Many other shorebird
species nest farther north,

428
00:28:25,066 --> 00:28:27,800
in the marsh and tundra
of the Arctic.

429
00:28:29,900 --> 00:28:34,366
As the snows melt and the air
warms, the godwits arrive

430
00:28:34,366 --> 00:28:37,833
in the boglands
of Alaska's Beluga River.

431
00:28:39,666 --> 00:28:41,500
In their 5-week journey,

432
00:28:41,500 --> 00:28:45,700
they've demonstrated a mastery
of navigation,

433
00:28:45,700 --> 00:28:48,500
as well as extraordinary
stamina.

434
00:28:51,066 --> 00:28:55,133
Astonishingly, many of them land
within a hundred yards

435
00:28:55,133 --> 00:28:59,033
of where they were born.

436
00:28:59,033 --> 00:29:01,533
Jennifer's colleague
Nathan Senner

437
00:29:01,533 --> 00:29:05,433
leads the godwit research
here in Alaska.

438
00:29:05,433 --> 00:29:06,833
SENNER: All of Jenny's birds

439
00:29:06,833 --> 00:29:08,566
have made their way back
to Alaska

440
00:29:08,566 --> 00:29:11,200
and are hopefully finding each
other as quickly as they can

441
00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:13,833
and getting on
with the breeding season

442
00:29:13,833 --> 00:29:17,100
because, you know,
they've got only 10 weeks here.

443
00:29:19,166 --> 00:29:22,833
What we've found is that
they're remarkably able to,

444
00:29:22,833 --> 00:29:25,500
in some cases,
lay their first egg

445
00:29:25,500 --> 00:29:27,900
within five days
of getting here.

446
00:29:31,066 --> 00:29:33,066
NARRATOR:
The researchers need to know

447
00:29:33,066 --> 00:29:37,433
how many chicks will survive
this year to fly south.

448
00:29:37,433 --> 00:29:40,333
SENNER: So, we have to find
the nest and then,

449
00:29:40,333 --> 00:29:41,400
once the eggs hatch,

450
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:42,933
put tracking devices
on the chicks

451
00:29:42,933 --> 00:29:45,633
and follow their movements
and their survival

452
00:29:45,633 --> 00:29:48,300
over the course of their
development here in the bog.

453
00:29:51,233 --> 00:29:53,233
NARRATOR:
On the other side of Alaska,

454
00:29:53,233 --> 00:29:54,566
Jan is on the trail

455
00:29:54,566 --> 00:29:58,433
of a different population
of red knots.

456
00:29:58,433 --> 00:30:01,166
The birds he tagged
in Mauritania

457
00:30:01,166 --> 00:30:04,533
are on their way
to Siberia without him.

458
00:30:08,166 --> 00:30:11,533
So now, he and his team
are searching for nests

459
00:30:11,533 --> 00:30:14,500
without any tracking devices
to guide them.

460
00:30:14,500 --> 00:30:19,733
♪♪

461
00:30:19,733 --> 00:30:23,133
They play red-knot calls
over a speaker,

462
00:30:23,133 --> 00:30:25,433
hoping to attract adult birds

463
00:30:25,433 --> 00:30:27,600
that they can follow
to their nests.

464
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,233
[ Bird calls playing ]

465
00:30:30,233 --> 00:30:34,500
GILS: But knots in the Arctic
are very, very cryptic.

466
00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:38,666
They have feathers with
the color of the lichens

467
00:30:38,666 --> 00:30:40,100
on the rocks here.

468
00:30:40,100 --> 00:30:43,266
So there are thousands of rocks,

469
00:30:43,266 --> 00:30:45,333
and they all look
like red knots.

470
00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:55,600
NARRATOR: After two weeks
of fruitless hunting,

471
00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:58,833
Jan's team tries out
a new approach --

472
00:30:58,833 --> 00:31:01,966
a drone with an infrared camera

473
00:31:01,966 --> 00:31:04,833
they hope will detect
the warm-blooded red knots

474
00:31:04,833 --> 00:31:07,566
nesting in the frozen tundra.

475
00:31:19,700 --> 00:31:21,433
GILS: Oh, my God.

476
00:31:24,266 --> 00:31:27,400
NARRATOR:
And at last, they spot one.

477
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:28,900
GILS: Ah, I feel excited.

478
00:31:28,900 --> 00:31:31,166
I feel really excited.

479
00:31:31,166 --> 00:31:33,300
It heats me up in the cold.

480
00:31:33,300 --> 00:31:40,700
♪♪

481
00:31:40,700 --> 00:31:42,200
NARRATOR: Back in Beluga,

482
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:46,733
Nathan knows the godwits'
breeding area intimately,

483
00:31:46,733 --> 00:31:50,800
but it's no less of a wonder
each time he finds a nest.

484
00:31:50,800 --> 00:32:02,033
♪♪

485
00:32:02,033 --> 00:32:04,266
[ Bird chirping ]

486
00:32:04,266 --> 00:32:07,200
SENNER: You can see the bill of
the chick starting to poke out.

487
00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,166
This bird is gonna hatch
tomorrow morning.

488
00:32:12,733 --> 00:32:15,500
NARRATOR: Nathan marks
the location of the nest

489
00:32:15,500 --> 00:32:18,233
so his team can return tomorrow.

490
00:32:18,233 --> 00:32:21,866
SENNER: If we're not there when
the chick actually hatches,

491
00:32:21,866 --> 00:32:23,366
we're never likely to see them

492
00:32:23,366 --> 00:32:25,500
because they are moving away
from the nest

493
00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:27,966
within a couple of hours
of hatching,

494
00:32:27,966 --> 00:32:31,900
and it's incredibly difficult
to find them in the bog

495
00:32:31,900 --> 00:32:34,300
after they've actually
left the nest.

496
00:32:37,433 --> 00:32:38,933
NARRATOR: And scientists

497
00:32:38,933 --> 00:32:41,633
aren't the only ones
searching for nests.

498
00:32:41,633 --> 00:32:47,033
♪♪

499
00:32:47,033 --> 00:32:51,300
Hidden cameras reveal
a variety of predators.

500
00:32:51,300 --> 00:33:18,566
♪♪

501
00:33:00,433 --> 00:33:18,566
♪♪

502
00:33:18,566 --> 00:33:20,766
SENNER: Uh-oh.

503
00:33:20,766 --> 00:33:23,833
That's not good.

504
00:33:23,833 --> 00:33:25,133
I found an egg

505
00:33:25,133 --> 00:33:27,733
with some, like, an open egg
with some blood in it

506
00:33:27,733 --> 00:33:30,000
that looks to me more like it
was eaten

507
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,000
than, like, it hatched.

508
00:33:35,666 --> 00:33:38,200
That another one?

509
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:42,600
Alright, well, let's leave
these parents to their anguish.

510
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:46,900
Yeah, not good.

511
00:33:46,900 --> 00:33:50,700
You're rooting for the birds.
That's why we're here.

512
00:33:50,700 --> 00:33:55,433
I mean, it is part of
the whole process, but as --

513
00:33:55,433 --> 00:33:59,166
Yeah, when you've watched a nest
for a long time,

514
00:33:59,166 --> 00:34:00,833
it's not a good ending.

515
00:34:00,833 --> 00:34:06,100
♪♪

516
00:34:06,100 --> 00:34:09,066
NARRATOR:
It's June in the Arctic.

517
00:34:09,066 --> 00:34:12,266
The warm air buzzes
with insects.

518
00:34:15,766 --> 00:34:17,900
Summer is here

519
00:34:17,900 --> 00:34:22,366
and from those hollows
in the scrub emerges...

520
00:34:22,366 --> 00:34:23,500
life.

521
00:34:23,500 --> 00:35:06,566
♪♪

522
00:35:06,566 --> 00:35:08,500
Nathan and his team
have returned

523
00:35:08,500 --> 00:35:10,533
to one of their godwit nests,

524
00:35:10,533 --> 00:35:13,333
searching for newly
hatched chicks.

525
00:35:13,333 --> 00:35:27,166
♪♪

526
00:35:27,166 --> 00:35:30,800
[ Birds chirping ]

527
00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:33,433
SENNER:
Can I hand you the first one?

528
00:35:33,433 --> 00:35:37,033
WOMAN: Gosh, they are really
cute, kinda goofy.

529
00:35:40,733 --> 00:35:42,966
SENNER: There we go, 25.

530
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:54,900
WOMAN #2:
Look at those floppy legs.

531
00:36:00,766 --> 00:36:02,733
SENNER:
When they come out of the egg,

532
00:36:02,733 --> 00:36:05,933
some parts of them
are more developed than others

533
00:36:05,933 --> 00:36:08,300
and so that
they can run across the bog

534
00:36:08,300 --> 00:36:10,600
as quickly as they're
out of the egg,

535
00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:13,500
they've got really
developed legs,

536
00:36:13,500 --> 00:36:14,766
whereas their bill, you can see,

537
00:36:14,766 --> 00:36:17,100
is nothing like
the adult bill yet.

538
00:36:17,100 --> 00:36:18,566
It's quite short because

539
00:36:18,566 --> 00:36:20,933
they just preen insects
off the vegetation.

540
00:36:20,933 --> 00:36:23,500
They're not probing
into anything.

541
00:36:23,500 --> 00:36:24,800
And then the wings, of course,

542
00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:27,133
they're not anywhere
near being ready to fly.

543
00:36:27,133 --> 00:36:29,766
So those are the least
developed of all.

544
00:36:29,766 --> 00:36:32,400
NARRATOR: And yet, those wings
are going to carry

545
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,833
the young bird 9,000 miles.

546
00:36:35,833 --> 00:36:38,866
SENNER: The fact that this chick
in two months

547
00:36:38,866 --> 00:36:43,033
is gonna go from 22 grams
to over 300 grams,

548
00:36:43,033 --> 00:36:46,133
and it's gonna fly all the way
to southern South America,

549
00:36:46,133 --> 00:36:49,833
that's a phenomenal --
phenomenal growth rate.

550
00:36:49,833 --> 00:37:00,533
♪♪

551
00:37:00,533 --> 00:37:02,566
NARRATOR:
In the tundra to the north,

552
00:37:02,566 --> 00:37:04,633
Jan's infrared drone reveals

553
00:37:04,633 --> 00:37:08,200
that one of his red knots'
clutches has hatched.

554
00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:20,633
♪♪

555
00:37:20,633 --> 00:37:21,933
WOMAN: Oh! Another chick.

556
00:37:21,933 --> 00:37:24,266
MAN: Wow, nice!
GILS: Nice!

557
00:37:26,633 --> 00:37:30,566
MAN: Tarsus is 28.3.

558
00:37:40,900 --> 00:37:42,700
NARRATOR:
For the red knot chicks,

559
00:37:42,700 --> 00:37:47,000
the first few weeks of life
are especially perilous.

560
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:53,466
Only about a quarter of them

561
00:37:53,466 --> 00:37:57,733
will live long enough
to make the journey south.

562
00:37:57,733 --> 00:38:00,966
GILS: He's going.
Here he is.

563
00:38:00,966 --> 00:38:02,566
There we go!

564
00:38:06,033 --> 00:38:08,966
Do your best, man!

565
00:38:08,966 --> 00:38:13,033
NARRATOR: But Jan's main concern
is that even those that survive

566
00:38:13,033 --> 00:38:16,666
will be smaller
than they ought to be.

567
00:38:16,666 --> 00:38:19,400
GILS: Three weeks after the snow
has melted,

568
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,500
there's the insect peak
on which the chicks can feed.

569
00:38:24,866 --> 00:38:27,433
With the rapid warming
of the Arctic,

570
00:38:27,433 --> 00:38:30,566
the summer has already started.

571
00:38:30,566 --> 00:38:34,766
These insects are emerging
earlier from the soil.

572
00:38:34,766 --> 00:38:40,500
But what the birds do not do
is adjust their travel schedule.

573
00:38:40,500 --> 00:38:44,666
So nowadays, these birds
in the Arctic arrive too late

574
00:38:44,666 --> 00:38:48,900
for the chicks to make use
of this burst of insects.

575
00:38:48,900 --> 00:38:52,100
And so, they don't have good
growing opportunities

576
00:38:52,100 --> 00:38:54,733
and that makes these birds
smaller

577
00:38:54,733 --> 00:38:56,800
than they actually should be.

578
00:39:00,966 --> 00:39:03,266
NARRATOR:
For the godwit chicks, too,

579
00:39:03,266 --> 00:39:06,666
it's a race against time.

580
00:39:06,666 --> 00:39:07,933
SENNER: Once the chicks hatch,

581
00:39:07,933 --> 00:39:09,533
both parents
take care of the chicks

582
00:39:09,533 --> 00:39:11,400
for at least
the first three weeks

583
00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:12,833
or so that they're around.

584
00:39:12,833 --> 00:39:15,366
But then at some point, the
female will actually take off

585
00:39:15,366 --> 00:39:18,933
and it'll just be left up
to the male,

586
00:39:18,933 --> 00:39:21,966
and the male will see the chicks
through to fledging

587
00:39:21,966 --> 00:39:23,800
before he too takes off.

588
00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:26,366
And then the chicks
are left all alone.

589
00:39:26,366 --> 00:39:30,600
♪♪

590
00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:34,300
[ Wind whistling ]

591
00:39:34,300 --> 00:39:36,666
NARRATOR: As the days shorten
in the Arctic,

592
00:39:36,666 --> 00:39:39,400
the young shorebirds embark
on their first,

593
00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:43,366
and most dangerous, migration.

594
00:39:43,366 --> 00:39:48,400
Their maiden flight
is a miracle and a mystery.

595
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:50,400
They're going home...

596
00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:55,666
a home they've never seen
but somehow, always known.

597
00:39:58,366 --> 00:40:00,866
SENNER: The first southward
migration, to me,

598
00:40:00,866 --> 00:40:03,533
just seems epically difficult.

599
00:40:03,533 --> 00:40:07,133
You're making these incredible
flights,

600
00:40:07,133 --> 00:40:08,500
having never done it before,

601
00:40:08,500 --> 00:40:11,666
and that alone,
if you didn't survive that,

602
00:40:11,666 --> 00:40:14,633
it wouldn't surprise me.

603
00:40:14,633 --> 00:40:17,600
And then when you throw on top
of it the threats

604
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:19,100
that the birds are facing,

605
00:40:19,100 --> 00:40:23,433
at each and every point during
the course of their migration --

606
00:40:23,433 --> 00:40:25,866
hurricanes...

607
00:40:25,866 --> 00:40:29,333
droughts in the midcontinent...

608
00:40:29,333 --> 00:40:30,766
hunting...

609
00:40:30,766 --> 00:40:32,666
[ Gunshot ]

610
00:40:32,666 --> 00:40:37,833
♪♪

611
00:40:37,833 --> 00:40:42,633
NARRATOR: Shorebirds are hunted
all along their flyways.

612
00:40:42,633 --> 00:40:48,400
In France alone, thousands of
red knots are killed each year.

613
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:49,900
GILS: These mainly juveniles,

614
00:40:49,900 --> 00:40:53,633
because they are a bit more
naive than adults,

615
00:40:53,633 --> 00:40:57,266
they're shot on their migration.

616
00:40:57,266 --> 00:41:00,733
FULLER: Curlews are shot at just
as they leave breeding grounds

617
00:41:00,733 --> 00:41:02,166
and are subject
to hunting pressure

618
00:41:02,166 --> 00:41:06,333
all the way through
their southbound migration.

619
00:41:06,333 --> 00:41:18,100
♪♪

620
00:41:18,100 --> 00:41:21,500
NARRATOR: Curlews that dodge
the hunters in Northern China

621
00:41:21,500 --> 00:41:24,066
face other perils
as they head southward

622
00:41:24,066 --> 00:41:27,033
to refueling grounds
in the Yellow Sea.

623
00:41:28,933 --> 00:41:31,733
Among them is AAD.

624
00:41:31,733 --> 00:41:38,333
♪♪

625
00:41:38,333 --> 00:41:41,933
On the outskirts of Shanghai,
in Rudong County,

626
00:41:41,933 --> 00:41:45,533
the birds scour the shoreline
for somewhere to feed.

627
00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:49,633
FULLER: Thousands of kilometers
of seawall

628
00:41:49,633 --> 00:41:51,766
have replaced
the natural coastline

629
00:41:51,766 --> 00:41:53,533
along much of eastern China,

630
00:41:53,533 --> 00:41:56,666
taking out more than
two-thirds of the habitat

631
00:41:56,666 --> 00:42:00,533
that Eastern curlews use
when they're on migration.

632
00:42:04,166 --> 00:42:07,866
NARRATOR: Over 2 million acres
of shorebird habitat

633
00:42:07,866 --> 00:42:11,133
have been lost to development
in the Yellow Sea.

634
00:42:11,133 --> 00:42:15,733
♪♪

635
00:42:15,733 --> 00:42:20,733
The hope of finding safe harbor
here gets slimmer every year.

636
00:42:22,866 --> 00:42:26,266
But AAD gets lucky.

637
00:42:26,266 --> 00:42:30,233
FULLER: AAD found a patch
of remaining habitat at Rudong,

638
00:42:30,233 --> 00:42:32,266
which is great-quality habitat,

639
00:42:32,266 --> 00:42:37,800
that thousands of shorebirds
congregate on during migration.

640
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:40,933
NARRATOR: This intertidal flat
is an oasis of mud

641
00:42:40,933 --> 00:42:44,166
amidst the concrete.

642
00:42:44,166 --> 00:42:47,700
Jing Li is the co-founder
of a conservation group

643
00:42:47,700 --> 00:42:52,633
that campaigns to protect
this vital shorebird refuge.

644
00:42:52,633 --> 00:42:57,266
She's seen firsthand how coastal
development and local industries

645
00:42:57,266 --> 00:43:00,633
have put pressure on shorebirds
like the curlew.

646
00:43:19,966 --> 00:43:22,666
Few shorebirds
actually eat the clams.

647
00:43:24,466 --> 00:43:27,400
But they're competing
for space on the mudflat.

648
00:43:30,866 --> 00:43:34,100
Grassroots activism
and international collaboration

649
00:43:34,100 --> 00:43:36,500
are turning the tide
in the Yellow Sea.

650
00:43:38,433 --> 00:43:42,333
Recently, development on
the Rudong County mudflats

651
00:43:42,333 --> 00:43:43,666
has been stopped.

652
00:44:30,700 --> 00:44:39,000
♪♪

653
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:41,166
NARRATOR:
On the Americas flyway,

654
00:44:41,166 --> 00:44:42,866
young southbound godwits

655
00:44:42,866 --> 00:44:46,933
are arriving in the prairie
potholes of the Dakotas.

656
00:44:46,933 --> 00:44:52,833
♪♪

657
00:44:52,833 --> 00:44:56,733
LINSCOTT: The wetlands out here
we know are less numerous today

658
00:44:56,733 --> 00:45:00,133
than they used to be.

659
00:45:00,133 --> 00:45:03,566
We don't really know how many
of those wetlands we've lost,

660
00:45:03,566 --> 00:45:07,433
but, by some estimates,
maybe as many as 90%.

661
00:45:07,433 --> 00:45:14,833
♪♪

662
00:45:14,833 --> 00:45:19,933
We don't have to make a choice
between farming and shorebirds.

663
00:45:22,733 --> 00:45:26,100
There are ways that these
two things can co-exist.

664
00:45:26,100 --> 00:45:28,966
These wetlands don't need
to be there permanently.

665
00:45:32,133 --> 00:45:35,200
They just need to be there
for the couple of weeks a year

666
00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:37,200
that birds really need them.

667
00:45:40,766 --> 00:45:45,600
NARRATOR: The godwits continue
south, stopping in Panama...

668
00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:54,266
♪♪

669
00:45:54,266 --> 00:45:57,233
...where thousands
of shorebirds congregate...

670
00:45:57,233 --> 00:46:05,700
♪♪

671
00:46:05,700 --> 00:46:09,900
...a vision of grace amidst
the degradation of their flyway.

672
00:46:09,900 --> 00:46:40,000
♪♪

673
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:42,233
On the far side of the Pacific,

674
00:46:42,233 --> 00:46:46,866
AAD is winging her way home
over the Philippines...

675
00:46:49,700 --> 00:46:52,433
...when a typhoon strikes.

676
00:46:52,433 --> 00:46:54,666
[ Thunder rumbling ]

677
00:46:54,666 --> 00:46:56,933
[ Wind howling ]

678
00:46:59,700 --> 00:47:03,833
The massive storm, with winds
topping 80 miles an hour...

679
00:47:03,833 --> 00:47:05,033
[ Lightning crashes ]

680
00:47:05,033 --> 00:47:07,100
...rips across the flyway.

681
00:47:08,933 --> 00:47:13,033
AAD is blown into a corner
of Southeast Asia

682
00:47:13,033 --> 00:47:15,366
she has never seen before.

683
00:47:18,166 --> 00:47:21,366
Richard can only watch
from Moreton Bay,

684
00:47:21,366 --> 00:47:23,433
hoping she finds her way home.

685
00:47:25,466 --> 00:47:29,066
FULLER: She ended up on a track
going southwest

686
00:47:29,066 --> 00:47:32,666
and managed to find
a large river mouth in Borneo

687
00:47:32,666 --> 00:47:35,500
that had suitable habitat...

688
00:47:35,500 --> 00:47:39,633
♪♪

689
00:47:39,633 --> 00:47:42,800
...and spent time
actually kind of stopping

690
00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:45,566
and regrouping
and refueling there.

691
00:47:45,566 --> 00:47:51,033
♪♪

692
00:47:51,033 --> 00:47:55,700
And then really in an incredible
turn of events,

693
00:47:55,700 --> 00:48:00,266
she took off in exactly
the right orientation

694
00:48:00,266 --> 00:48:03,833
to bring her
all the way back to Australia,

695
00:48:03,833 --> 00:48:07,200
entering Australia
just over Darwin

696
00:48:07,200 --> 00:48:09,000
and actually stopping
in the wetlands

697
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:12,433
in the Gulf of Carpentaria
for a few days.

698
00:48:12,433 --> 00:48:27,300
♪♪

699
00:48:27,300 --> 00:48:30,700
NARRATOR: Gangalidda-Garawa
people are custodians of an area

700
00:48:30,700 --> 00:48:35,066
in northern Australia
the size of France.

701
00:48:35,066 --> 00:48:39,733
They've watched over it
for many thousands of years.

702
00:48:39,733 --> 00:48:42,766
MAN: [ Speaks indistinctly ]

703
00:48:42,766 --> 00:48:44,933
YANNER:
Right on the edge of the water.

704
00:48:48,533 --> 00:48:50,866
A flyway, you know,
is like a string of pearls,

705
00:48:50,866 --> 00:48:52,166
interconnected.

706
00:48:52,166 --> 00:48:55,600
And you're only as strong
as your weakest link.

707
00:48:55,600 --> 00:48:58,200
And it's only from standing back
you see the whole thing.

708
00:48:58,200 --> 00:48:59,333
And it's the same here.

709
00:48:59,333 --> 00:49:01,066
If each person along the flyway

710
00:49:01,066 --> 00:49:03,366
is sharing information,
you see the bigger picture,

711
00:49:03,366 --> 00:49:05,300
and only then do we understand,

712
00:49:05,300 --> 00:49:08,066
see the full painting,
the beauty of it.

713
00:49:08,066 --> 00:49:10,166
NARRATOR: Thanks
to its traditional owners,

714
00:49:10,166 --> 00:49:13,900
this vast wetland
is now a protected site.

715
00:49:16,566 --> 00:49:18,766
YANNER: There's one bird in
particular that impressed us --

716
00:49:18,766 --> 00:49:20,800
the Far Eastern curlew,

717
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:24,033
comes all the way from China
and Siberia and places

718
00:49:24,033 --> 00:49:27,533
and then he travels for days
and nights nonstop.

719
00:49:27,533 --> 00:49:29,366
Pound for pound,
he's a little world champion

720
00:49:29,366 --> 00:49:31,500
and we wanna dedicate
a bit of our country

721
00:49:31,500 --> 00:49:34,100
to looking after him.

722
00:49:34,100 --> 00:49:36,166
[ Birds chirping ]

723
00:49:40,333 --> 00:49:57,533
♪♪

724
00:49:57,533 --> 00:50:03,000
NARRATOR: After two more days
of flying, AAD is home...

725
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:04,700
landing in Moreton Bay,

726
00:50:04,700 --> 00:50:07,933
just yards from where she left
five months earlier.

727
00:50:09,800 --> 00:50:14,433
She and her fellow curlews
have logged over 13,000 miles.

728
00:50:14,433 --> 00:50:28,866
♪♪

729
00:50:28,866 --> 00:50:31,666
FULLER:
One of the great causes for hope

730
00:50:31,666 --> 00:50:35,833
is the sheer number of good
people around this flyway

731
00:50:35,833 --> 00:50:40,033
arguing passionately for
the conservation of these birds.

732
00:50:41,633 --> 00:50:44,366
And these arguments
are gaining traction

733
00:50:44,366 --> 00:50:46,666
and causing change.

734
00:50:46,666 --> 00:50:58,300
♪♪

735
00:50:58,300 --> 00:51:02,133
GILS:
Oh, my God, do you guys see it?

736
00:51:02,133 --> 00:51:05,066
Oh, it's a transmitter bird!

737
00:51:05,066 --> 00:51:08,533
It's back from Siberia.

738
00:51:08,533 --> 00:51:14,133
It's a female that spent three
and a half weeks in Siberia,

739
00:51:14,133 --> 00:51:16,966
just enough time to show us

740
00:51:16,966 --> 00:51:20,466
that she was successfully
reproducing.

741
00:51:20,466 --> 00:51:22,966
Oh, this is so great!

742
00:51:22,966 --> 00:51:25,266
Yah!

743
00:51:25,266 --> 00:51:28,466
NARRATOR: All across
the southern hemisphere,

744
00:51:28,466 --> 00:51:30,933
shorebirds are coming home.

745
00:51:30,933 --> 00:51:40,333
♪♪

746
00:51:40,333 --> 00:51:41,766
GILS:
We can learn from the birds

747
00:51:41,766 --> 00:51:45,400
because
they tell a global story.

748
00:51:45,400 --> 00:51:49,766
They tell a story
that the world has troubles.

749
00:51:49,766 --> 00:51:52,466
And we should actually
listen to them.

750
00:51:52,466 --> 00:51:57,033
♪♪

751
00:51:57,033 --> 00:52:00,633
LINSCOTT: Shorebirds are
incredibly well evolved

752
00:52:00,633 --> 00:52:02,066
for these flights.

753
00:52:02,066 --> 00:52:04,366
But the world that
they're doing this in

754
00:52:04,366 --> 00:52:06,700
is changing very quickly.

755
00:52:06,700 --> 00:52:09,766
If we don't change the way
we see ourselves

756
00:52:09,766 --> 00:52:14,333
and the land that we live in,
we'll lose them.

757
00:52:14,333 --> 00:52:16,800
In a sense,
we're kind of a flock,

758
00:52:16,800 --> 00:52:18,800
we're all part
of the same thing.

759
00:52:18,800 --> 00:52:23,600
♪♪

760
00:52:25,300 --> 00:53:03,200
♪♪

761
00:53:03,200 --> 00:53:04,933
To learn more about
what you've seen

762
00:53:04,933 --> 00:53:06,666
on this
"Nature" program,

763
00:53:06,666 --> 00:53:08,766
visit PBS.org.

764
00:53:08,766 --> 00:53:12,200
♪♪

765
00:53:15,233 --> 00:53:17,566
♪♪