A Manx shearwater flying around Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales. (Dr. Joe Wynn via SWNS)
Seabirds can suffer “jet lag ” during long-distance flights — causing them to lose their way, reveals new research.
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Full tracking dataset from 20 years of GPS data from 1,045 Manx shearwaters, covering 3,688 foraging trips. Outbound flights from the western coasts of the UK and Ireland to foraging grounds in the Irish Sea and Northeast Atlantic are shown in blue; return flights are shown in orange. (Lewin et al, 2026. via SWNS)
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A Manx shearwater flying around Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales. (Dr. Joe Wynn via SWNS)
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Infographic showing clock-shift that occurs during homing flights of shearwaters. The bird begins to home at point A. On the first day of homing, its endogenous clock is calibrated to local time at 30°W. (Lewin et al, 2026. via SWNS)
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A Manx shearwater flying around Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales. (Dr. Joe Wynn via SWNS)
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