And then, imagine my delight when I heard back at 2:00 am with the story of an incredible journey. These plovers had spent the winter in Turks and Caicos, and were headed to Canada! Cheri Gratto-Trevor wrote,
White flag 03 was banded as a chick in July 2017 at Codroy Valley Provincial Park, Newfoundland. She was initially given black flag 63, but that was replaced in 2019 as the code faded on her first flag. She has been back to NL each summer. She winters in the Turks and Caicos, and has been reported previously in spring – 2018 VA, and 2020 and 2022 NC.
That is actually kind of astonishing! This tiny bird has successfully migrated back and forth from Newfoundland to Turks and Caicos, flying a distance of 2400 miles 12 times! That is 28,800 miles. More than the circumference of the GLOBE!!