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Do you know who the ultimate travelers of the skies are? Every year, millions of migratory shorebirds embark on a journey from the Southern Hemisphere, following ancient, memory-etched flyways to the Arctic Circle. After breeding there, they retrace the same route, covering distances of over 10,000 kilometers. Year after year, they repeat this incredible voyage. What do they see? What do they encounter along these vast flyways?
How do they navigate the vast expanse of the sky?
With their small bodies and just a pair of wings, how do they manage to fly for nine days and nights without eating or drinking?
Flyways: The Untold Journey of Migratory Shorebirds, produced by an international team with support from Taiwan Public Television Service, is a documentary that explores the incredible migratory journeys of shorebirds. Filmed over four years across Australia, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Arctic, the documentary captures the astonishing annual migration of shorebirds from the sandpiper family as they fly north to breed. Led by three teams of scientists, the film follows the journeys of the Far Eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica), and red knot (Calidris canutus), revealing the stories of these super travelers and the hidden threats they face.
Birds Know First About Environmental Health! Flyways: The Untold Journey of Migratory Shorebirds has already aired in Australia, the United States, and France. The Wistron Foundation, long dedicated to environmental sustainability, is actively supporting the film’s release and broadcast in Taiwan. Through this documentary, they aim to showcase the awe-inspiring migratory journeys of shorebirds while raising awareness of the ecological crises, urgent threats to species survival, and the impacts of environmental and climate change.
Director, writer, and cinematographer Randall Wood made a special trip to Taiwan for the premiere, sharing his insights on the filming process. He expressed deep concern for the plight of shorebirds, noting that they inhabit the Southern Hemisphere and breed in the Arctic, relying on quality habitats along the flyways in between to rest and forage in order to replenish their energy. As such, shorebirds serve as key indicators of global environmental health. However, polar warming, human development, and hunting have pushed their populations to the brink, resulting in an 80% decline globally over the past few decades. For instance, the population of the Far Eastern curlew has dropped by 70% in just 30 years. Another star of the film, the red knot, is shrinking in size and has even had to switch its diet from clams to less nutritious seagrass due to these pressures.
This film is a collaboration between Screen Australia, Screen Queensland, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), The Post Lounge, the U.S. nonprofit science production company HHMI-Tangled Bank Studios, public television station WNET THIRTEEN in New York, and the French independent production and distribution company ZED. This valuable international co-production experience was further enhanced by Director Randall Wood, who shared his cross-country filming experiences and techniques in a special talk, offering fresh insights to Taiwan's documentary industry.
(Left) Tainan birdwatcher Li Cheng-Feng spotted the Australian-banded Far Eastern curlew, "AAD," which became a highlight of the film. (Right) A red knot fitted with a transmitter.
Flyways: The Untold Journey of Migratory Shorebirds also conveys a story of hope amid the survival crisis threatening these birds. A highlight of the film follows 59 Far Eastern curlews fitted with transmitters by an Australian research team. While most transmitters fell off, one bird, tagged "AAD," transmitted data for an exceptional five years—a rare achievement in the shorebird world. When the team detected AAD landing in Taiwan, they alerted local birdwatchers and spread the news via social media. Hundreds joined the search, and Li Cheng-Feng from the Wild Bird Society of Tainan was the first to spot AAD at the Syuejia Wetlands. This successful collaboration between scientists and bird enthusiasts exemplifies teamwork in bird tracking.
Concern for environmental issues was the driving force behind the filming of Flyways: The Untold Journey of Migratory Shorebirds. We invite our colleagues to join these migratory birds in soaring across the skies during the Lunar New Year holidays, working together to protect the incredible beauty of our world!
Flyways: the untold Journey of migratory shorebirds Broadcast Platforms
- Television "PTS 13" on February 9 (New Year's Eve) 3:30 PM and 10:00 PM
- Online "PTS+" on February 9 (New Year's Eve) Available from 12:00 PM onward (indefinitely)