In 2019, a big storm called Typhoon Faxai hit Japan.
It was very strong, with winds close to 200 km/hr. While this storm caused problems on land, scientists got a chance to see how seabirds handle such strong winds.
This is especially important because we think climate change will bring more such big storms in the future.
Before the storm, Kozue Shiomi, a scientist studying birds, had put GPS trackers on 14 streaked shearwaters.
These are a type of seabird. She was trying to learn about how they find their way home. The trackers showed where these birds went during the storm.
Most of the birds seemed fine after the storm. They either avoided it or were not affected by it. But one male bird had a crazy journey!
He went around in big circles, five times, each circle being between 50 and 80 km wide. The storm took him on a wild ride of over 1,000 km in just 11 hours!
Normally, these birds fly slowly, at speeds between 10-60 km/hr, and they stay close to the water. But during the storm, the GPS showed that this bird flew really fast, up to 170 km/hr! It also went super high, up to 4700 m in the sky.
The storm even carried the bird over land, which is risky for these birds. They’re great at flying over the sea but can have problems on land, like bumping into things or getting hunted.
Some people might wonder: why didn’t the bird just escape the storm? Well, it might have decided to stay with the storm until it reached the sea again. This is because these birds fly low over the water, which is good for them at sea.
But over land, flying low can be dangerous. They could crash into buildings or wires.
Plus, if they land on the ground, they’re not very good at walking or flying up again. So, they can be in danger from other animals.
Different seabirds handle storms in their own ways. Some birds, like the red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds, fly up high to let the storm pass underneath.
Others, like the Eastern brown pelicans, stay on the ground and wait for the storm to go away. Some even stay in the middle part of the storm, where it’s more peaceful.
Now, the big question is, can these seabirds handle more big storms in the future? As our planet gets warmer, we might see more powerful storms.
This could be a problem for birds that live over the oceans. We need to learn more about how these birds deal with such bad weather. Understanding this will help us know if they can survive the challenges of a changing climate.
In the end, studying these brave seabirds can give us a lot of information. They can show us how nature reacts to big changes and what we might expect in the future.
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