Migration by radio-tagged pacific golden-plovers from hawaii to Alaska, and their subsequent survival

Many Pacific Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis fulva) and other shorebirds winter in the Hawaiian Islands. This is the first landfall for mid-Pacific migrants after overwater flights of 4,000 km or more from Alaska (Johnson et al. 1989, Johnson and Connors 1996). Previous findings (sightings of marked birds and wing-length measurements) showed Alaska affinities for golden-plovers wintering in Hawaii (Johnson and Connors 1996), but there had been no attempt to demonstrate movements between the two regions using radiotelemetry. We made such an effort in spring 1996 by radio-tagging plovers on wintering grounds in Hawaii just before their migration. Some of these birds were later found at three sites in Alaska, including a breeding ground,