The link between the Bar-tailed Godwit that arrive at Miranda each year, from their breeding grounds in Alaska and Siberia, and those seen in Yellow Sea region in China has recently been demonstrated in a very direct fashion.

It has long been suspected that the Bar-tailed godwit and Red knot that leave New Zealand in March have travelled through the Yellow Sea region on their journey to the north. Several birds banded in New Zealand have been sighted around the Yellow Sea in April and May, confirming this link.

In April 2002 David Melville who lives in Nelson was invited to the Yalu Jiang Nature Reserve in Liaoning Province in North East China, to train the local reserve wardens in how to catch and band birds. During that demonstration they caught 73 godwit and these were marked with green and orange flags. This is a distinctive combination of colours and easily visible to observers.

On 27 October 2002 one of these birds was seen on the shellbanks at Miranda. Since that date it has been seen on other occasions at Miranda and sometimes on the shellbanks near Thames.
There have been sightings of other birds with that leg flag combination in the Kaipara Harbour to the north of Auckland, the Manukau Harbour in Auckland, one at Nelson and one at Golden Bay, both at the top of the South Island. This makes a total of 5 seen so far in New Zealand.

There have also been reports of two others seen in Australia.

The high proportion of the number of birds banded at Yalu Jiang and subsequently seen in New Zealand has clearly established that area as a very important stop over point for our New Zealand birds as they travel to the breeding grounds. It is therefore very essential that the coastal areas around the Yellow Sea are protected. This provides an excellent reason for the Miranda Naturalists' Trust and the Chinese Conservation Education Trust to work together on projects and try to raise awareness of the importance of that area in China.