Right, so you

need more lift and thrust to go up and forwards. And your

weight has to be light. Because you'll be pulled down by gravity.

How do you stop drag? It must be windy up there. Yeah,

it's so windy in the sky. The special shape of wings helps. Plus, now you're a godwit, you're shaped like a torpedo. Perfect for zooming through the air without much drag.

OK, so we have less drag with our special wings and torpedo bodies. Yep. And we're nice and lightweight, so gravity isn't too tough on us. Yep.

How do we get lift? It's that special shape of your wings again. The water drop shape. And moves faster over the top of the wing and slower underneath. It's this difference between the fast air and the slow air that helps create lift. It's the same for planes. Are we

doing it? Are

we going out? Do we have lift? Yes, and now we need thrust. A plane gets this from an engine or a propeller. It pushes the plane forward so the air moves over and under the wing in just the right way.

Fasten the top and slow underneath. The

birds don't have engines. They're not a plane. No, so instead when they flap their wings down, they also flap forwards. It pushes the air onto the wing, just like a plane moves forward with its engine or propeller. Once you have lift and thrust, we have circle! Up we go! Whoa! The wind feels rustly and strong in my fingers. I thought this would be harder, but I feel

strong. It

feels easy. That's because godwits go through a lot of changes before they leave. What kind of changes? First, they need to gain a lot of fat. Because there's no snacks. That's right. They won't eat at all on this trip, so they use energy from the fat they've stored up. They even shrink their tummies because they won't be eating, and they also shrink their legs. What? Wow! They're leg muscles. They don't need to be big for flying. Oh yeah. And their heart and chest muscles get really big. To help them fly? Yeah. Can you feel yours beating? Yeah. A bigger heart means it can pump blood around the body bed. And a bigger chest helps godwits flap their wings and not get tired out. Wow. That's so cool.

So do godwits travel a lot? It's not

a holiday. Yeah. They're my gradient. It's when a bird flies to another place for more food. That's right. They fly a really long way. How far? I think at least 20 meters. The Bartell Godwett holds the world record for the longest flight on Earth. Every year it migrates from Alaska at the top of the world, all the way to Australia and New Zealand at the bottom. 13,000 kilometers away. That is so far. And they do it every year. Over its life, a Bartell Godwett clocks some serious miles. The same distance is flying to the moon. To the moon? Wow. Wasn't. Do all birds fly

so far? No.

Lots of birds migrate, but they often stop and rest along the way. Bartell Godwits are special because if the conditions are right, they do it all in one go. How long does it take? It takes the fastest of them nine days of non-stop flying. That's amazing. No eating, no drinking, just flapping. Yep. Godwits are hardcore. Yeah, way more than us. Since we're using our imaginations, we can just meet them at the finish line. Oh, ew. Thank goodness. I don't look for the hallway. Not for nine days. Ah, we're back in Australia. This is Morten Bay on Fonda Mooka Country in Queensland. It's one of the places the Godwits will land. They'll be pretty tired and hungry, so they'll rest a lot and eat all the yummy clams they can dig up in the shallows here. Make sure you have a big dinner. It's important to protect these landing sites so migratory surebirds can rest when they need to. And eat plenty of food so they can keep making their incredible journey every year. The biggest problem facing the Godwits is habitat loss. So you mean people are ruining their homes and the places where they land? Yeah, things like building houses and farms on wetlands. Don't make the birds miss home, get chopped down. Don't pollute. Not leaving a rubbish land in the east mountain. It doesn't blow up. That's a great idea. If I was a scientist, I could check every tree and make sure it's clean and make sure it's nice and good.

Ah,

that's a nice idea. I think it's time for me to get back to my little

bird. Are you allowed to take food in your plane?

Yes, and I can bring a map too. Oh, ew, that's good. Bye,

Millie.

Bye. Thanks for taking us to fly. Bye.