100 things challenge - 28: Artic tern

It's that time of the year again, when many birds head of to their wintering grounds. It's an amazing feat for any migrating birds species to travel yearly for many hunderd or thousand kilometers, but the bird topping all this is the Artic tern. This elegant white seabird, weighing only about 85-120 grams, breads on the coast of the northern parts of North America and Eurasia during the summer of the northern hemisphere. It will however be wintering in the Antartic region, reaching the southernmost parts of the Antartic ice. To accomplish this, the bird must fly at least 19.000 km (12.000 miles) two times each year! This is by far the longest regular migration of any animal.

Recent research using electronic tracking devices showed that some Artic terns even cover a much longer distance. Eleven birds, breeding in Iceland or Greenland covered on average 70.900 km/year during the research period. These high numbers are believed to be caused by birds taking a meandering course on their trip round the world, to take advantage of prevailing winds.