The story so far of 8YBYL.

Birds that know no boundaries. Life history spanning not only countries but continents.

A chance encounter of a Great Knot being photographed while flying pass. Not only it had colour bands, it was carrying a GPS tag. What has been learnt from this bird?

The GPS tag and colour bands was placed on the Great Knot on 17/10/2023, a part of a project of MU Tong from Princeton University. The bird is rather unromantically known as 8YBYL. It has been sighted in Roebuck Bay 10 times during 2023 to 2024, during the tropical wet season of heat and humidity.

During 2024 and 2025, it was located at the same location in the breeding grounds on the mountain tops of the Magadan region, Russia, one of the coldest places on earth. During 2025, 8YBYL  was there from 13-05-2025 to 24-06-2025. Enough time to suggest it had a successful breeding season. During that time, the Geo tag collected 1,726 data points!

The last time the data for 8YBYL could downloaded, was in Rudong, China, feeding on the shores of the Yellow Sea from approximately mid-July to early September 2025.

The image taken on 25/09/2025. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to collect the data for 8YBYL since it has returned. When we do, we will be able to see the southward journey back to the beautiful Roebuck Bay in detail.

Magadan and Roebuck Bay are 9, 300 kilometres apart. It is difficult to comprehend the life style of these migratory shorebirds. Vastly different habitat, diet, and climate so far apart.

Thanks to Chris Hassel for providing the information from the tag.