Describing habitat and finding colour rings of Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa) in Guinea-Bissau, from 8-19 December 2018

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).