Describing habitat and finding colour rings of Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa) between Casamance and Djoudj, Senegal, from 28 November – 11 December 2016

Expedition report, University of Groningen & Global Flyway Network, The Netherlands December 2016 Concentrating our efforts in Senegal, we used remote sensing products (Modis EVI 16 day time series) and 3.5 years of good quality locations of black-tailed godwits (equipped with PTT satellite tags) to generate a spatially and temporally explicit habitat prediction model using MaxEnt modelling. We found that during the non-breeding period black-tailed godwits show a preference for stable habitats within a relatively low productivity range (EVI value 0.1-0.2), likely associated with open wetlands, low vegetation cover and shallow surface water. However, remote sensing data is difficult to interpret without accurate ground-truthing information. In this study we aimed to conduct a rapid survey along a north-south transect of the Senegal coastal region, categorizing and describing habitats important for black-tailed godwits. Between 28 November and 11 December 2016 we visited the most import areas in Senegal to record resightings of individual birds and describe godwit habitat. In this report we present a daily overview of our findings with photos, locations we visited, numbers present and the first conclusions and recommendations.