Harper the Heron Flew for 38 Straight Hours from Maine to Florida
And you think YOU don't want to be around for the upcoming winter months.
Here's a great story from our friends at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Heron Observation Network of Maine.
It's about Harper the Heron and her 38-hour migration over open water from Maine to Florida.
Why the name Harper? Well, that has to do with her take-off point. From the Heron Observation Network of Maine:
"Harper is an adult female Great Blue Heron tagged with a GPS transmitter by biologists this past May in Harpswell, Maine. She spent the summer in northern New Brunswick, Canada, and departed on her southward migration on October 3rd at 5:30pm. She flew directly south to Saint John, New Brunswick, and rested and refueled for 13 hours before taking off for a long journey over the Atlantic Ocean. Her next landfall was on October 6th at 4:10am in Nocatee, Florida. She flew nonstop for 38.6 hours over the open ocean! Over the last day and a half she has leisurely (for her) made her way south to DeBary, Florida."
The Heron Observation Network of Maine says that to follow her movements, you can check on movebank.org (typically updated at 6pm each night), and follow the instructions here: https://www1.maine.gov/
And Harper is now living life in the islands with a stop in Cuba.
What a trip! Talk about crushing your migration.
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