Describing habitat and finding colour rings of Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa) in Doñana, Spain, from 3 – 10 October 2018

• Main Authors: Hooijmeijer, Jos, Howison, Ruth, Piersma, Theunis
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: University of Groningen 2018
• Subjects: black-tailed godwit; Limosa limosa
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/c21c395f-f824-4b24-9e7f-61162a719ad2; https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/c21c395f-f824-4b24-9e7f-61162a719ad2; https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/250902764/Donana_Oct_2018_Trip_Report.pdf

The Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa; BTG) is a meadow bird (Verstrael 1987; Thijse 1904). The current Dutch population is estimated at fewer than 40.000 breeding pairs (Kentie et al. 2016) and represents an important part of the total continental BTG population Limosa limosa limosa. However, the number of breeding pairs have declined rapidly over the last decades, as compared to the 120.000 pairs in the 1960s (Mulder 1972). This is mainly caused by a change in agricultural land use. Intensification and rationalisation have led to degradation of the breeding habitat, resulting in low reproduction. The population in the Netherlands cannot produce enough chicks for a stable population. (Vickery et al. 2001; Newton 2004; Tscharnke et al. 2005; Teunissen & Soldaat 2006; Roodbergen et al. 2012). After the breeding season godwits migrate to southern Europe (Spain and Portugal) and West-Africa where they stay for wintering (Márquez-Ferrando et al. 2009; Hooijmeijer et al. 2013).