GODWITS
Long-haul champions

Every now and again a book comes along that knocks your socks off. That is certainly the impact that Keith Woodley’s book being published by Penguin Books on 1 October had on me.

Wonderful subject matter of course, the amazing bar-tailed godwits, then add to that a meticulously researched, authoritative and eloquent text, all combined with hundreds of truly beautiful full-colour photographs and the final result is both inspiring and affecting.

For me, Keith Woodley, full-time manager at the internationally acclaimed Miranda Shorebird Centre on the Firth of Thames, was one of the star turns at last weekend’s Going West Festival. He impressed as a thoughtful, humorous and humble man with an encyclopeadic knowledge of shorebird migration in general and of the godwit story in particular.
We learned that some years ago his fledgling curiosity in birds very quickly led to a strong interest in ornithology. As a result, he became ‘born again’ - as a birdwatcher. He has since hosted thousands of people at the Miranda Centre and given hundreds of talks on the subject of shorebird migration. He has fostered an intense knowledge of the shorebird migration flyway and visited key sites in Australia, Alaska, China and Korea - all the while having had a front seat as the godwit story unfolded.

His book, Godwits: Long-haul champions, is simply enchanting as it tells the miraculous story of the godwits and their migrations. It follows the birds on their intrepid journeys, examining the places they visit, be it an estuary in northern New Zealand, a mudflat on the Chinese-North Korean border, or a tundra nesting site in Alaska. Woodley, manager of the Miranda Shorebird Centre, details the amazing changes these birds undergo before their departure - from moulting into new plumage, to doubling their weight and shrinking non-essential body organs - as well as outlines their array of innate skills in weather prediction and global navigation.

(Pic above right - Yalu River. A flock of bar-tailed godwits over the Yalu River, which forms the border of China and North Korea. The intertidal flats of this region, so important to these birds during their northward migration, extend well to the east into North Korea. JESSE CONKLIN)

(Pic below - Juvenile godwit. E7 is an individual best known to us because her migration was tracked, but she is just one of the tens of thousands of godwits that make similar flights every year. Included among them are first-year birds such as this juvenile, photographed in New Zealand in early October but which probably hatched some time in late June or early July. Note its wing coverts are already showing signs of wear. PAUL GIBSON).

I asked Keith Woodley about the writing of his book. Here is his response:
Godwits is a project I enjoyed immensely. I suppose I have always liked writing, and my time at Miranda Shorebird centre has offered me a few opportunities, such as regularly contributing to our magazine Miranda News. But the idea of something more substantial never really manifested itself until sometime in 2006, when I began to realise the godwit story needed telling. My original idea was to produce a series of watercolour plates (art, i.e birds as a subject, was my gateway into the world of birds) and tell the story around them.
But I soon realised the story was far bigger than that, a view that became insurmountable on the eve of the satellite telemetry project which was scheduled to begin at Miranda in February 2007.

From then on I realised I was immensely fortunate to have an inside seat, working with all the key players on the project. This sense of privilege reached a peak during the northern spring of last year, with the opportunity to spend 8 weeks on the tundra with godwits. Looking back on the two years or so it took to put the book together, I cannot recall a single day on which I didn't do something for it - be it a few minutes or the entire day, nor a single moment when it was anything less than a pleasure.

Perhaps this is the stuff of first books, I don't know. Mind you, it was also good - last January, once the final manuscript went off to Penguin - to get back to my default setting which is reading books rather than writing 'em!
GODWITS
Long-haul champions
by Keith Woodley

RELEASE DATE - 1 OCTOBER 2009
RRP $50.00 Large-format paperback with flaps a 240pp
Published by Raupo (an imprint of Penguin Group (NZ))

FOOTNOTE:
The Bookman notes with pleasure and approval that Penguin has published this title under the Raupo imprint. This is the imprint they created two years ago when they took over Reed Publishing NZ.
The old AH & Aw Reed publishing firm which was subsumed into Reed Publishing some years ago was responsible for much very fine publishing on the subject of New Zealand birds.
I feel certain that former longtime Reed Publisher Ray Richards will be delighted to see this superb new book and the high production values that Penguin has brought to it, and likewise the late A.W. (Cliff) Reed, would also be chuffed.
Penguin NZ’s long-serving Publishing Director Geoff Walker, started his publishing career with AH & AW Reed so there is a nice synchronicity there.

And coincidentally last weekend also saw the launch of anther book n Godwits, this time a children’s title:

E3 CALL HOME
A true story of godwit migration and misadventure
Janet Hunt – Random House

Another gorgeous book but this time a 40 page picture book for children up to Intermediate school age.
Here in New Zealand it is Spring and the bar-tailed godwits have started to return to their summer home at Miranda and ther coastal locations. How appropriate, then, that Montana award winning writer, Janet Hunt, should celebrate the launch of her charming picture book, on a balmy Sunday afternoon (September 13), on Auckland’s Waiheke Island.

E3 Call Home was officially launched by seven year old Jack Shields from Te Huruhi primary school. He gave a warm plea to the assembled crowd of around 60 Waiheke locals and mainlanders, to “keep our beaches clean for the godwits.” Janet Hunt echoed that sentiment in her speech, reminding everyone that it was Conservation Week and to think twice about the negative impact we pose to the environment, in particular, when building homes near waterways which are rich feeding grounds for our bar-tailed godwits.

Publisher Jenny Hellen spoke on behalf of Random House New Zealand and said “This is the fourth book I’ve published with Janet and each time Janet’s passion for the miracles of the natural world have resulted in a wonderful book. And this time it is the incredible magic of the godwits’ journeys across the world – and in particular the stories of E3 and E7. I’m completely in awe of these amazing birds and their journeys. And I’m also in awe of Janet and the way she has used words, artwork, photography and creative design to bring this story to children and adults as well.”
Like Jenny Hellen I too am in awe of Janet’s achievement with her latest book.

Although it s clearly aimed at children I’m sure any adult with an interest in the subject will find it both enjoyable and educational. In a way it is a very brief version of Keith Woodley’s magnum opus. The female bar-tailed godwit called E7 became a media star when she returned home in 2007, after a round-trip of some 17,000 kilometres from New Zealand to Alaska and back. But what became of E3? Janet Hunter tells his story and the wider story of the bar-tailed godwits who, when they are adults, make their epic annual journey to Alaska to breed.

Janet Hunt is the award-winning author of A Bird in the Hand, From Weta to Kauri, and the stunning Wetlands of New Zealand which won both the Environment category and the overall non-fiction prize at the 2008 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

E3 Call Home, and Godwits – long-haul Champions are two fine books that I am both delighted and honoured to have on my bookshelf.

Postscript 29 September.

Here is a pic just in, taken by Janet Hunt this morning, these godwits have just arrived back from their marathon flight.