Navigation for Migration and Homing

Yesterday in class we learnt about how animals use different types of navigation when Migrating and homing. These different ways included Visual cues when they use their visuals to know where to go, Star compass when animals use the stars to navigate, Magnetic when they use the Earths magnetic field as a way of navigation they can feel the world's magnetic field and can tell where on the earth they are through this, Sun compass is when animals use Sun as a way of navigating.  Homing is  when animals are able to return home after searching for food or mates from a short distance. Migration is a journey made by animals often over long distances, often once a year or once in a lifetime where they move from once region to another.

Godwits are New Zealand Native birds. Bar-Tailed Godwits Migrate from New Zealand to as far as Alaska.  To navigate during their migration from New Zealand to Alaska and back they use all the different types of navigation to get there but also need to be very skill full in knowing the different types of weather they may experience during their journey. Although there are disadvantages while taking this journey the advantages outweigh the disadvantages which is why they migrate. The advantages include their need to find different types of food in different seasons and the amount of food they need in those seasons. The Godwits migrate because of their need to find resources of different seasons this includes Mudflats and seafloor dwelling fauna. The advantages include a larger source of food for birds that will be breeding and for their young. The disadvantages of this long journey is the energy it cost to do this, the chances of being eaten and the fact when they arrive wings are drooping. 

The poster below shows how we know these different types of navigations are actually used by animals