Last week we received the fantastic news that two of the young godwits released at WWT Welney last year have been spotted in Portugal. This is the first non-UK sighting we’ve received since the birds were released and marks an important milestone for the project. We’re delighted to hear that they have migrated safely, and it’s an especially happy moment for Nicky, Louise, Rosie and the rest of the WWT rearing team. The birds were spotted in large flocks alongside other godwits. This indicates that the birds are behaving as they should and the hope is that they will return to breed at Welney next spring, but because black-tailed godwits don’t usually breed until they are two years old we’re going to have to be patient before discovering if released birds will breed successfully in the fens.
Orange Yellow Green Lime (E) has been spotted in Portugal – pictured here at RSPB Old Hall Marshes in July (Jerry Lanfear)
Lime Lime Green Lime (E) was also resighted last week, pictured here in July at WWT Steart Marshes (Joe Cockram)
The birds were spotted by a team of Dutch ornithologists in the Tagus Estuary, near Lisbon. Lime Lime Green Lime (E), a male, was last spotted previously back in July at WWT Steart Marshes. Orange Yellow Green Lime (E), a female, was last seen at RSPB Old Hall Marshes in Essex. We hope that this will be the first of many sightings this year and are once again reaching out to the birding community to send us any sightings of the birds. It’s possible that, although the birds are unlikely to breed this year, they may return to the UK. Any sightings of the birds can be reported to us here https://projectgodwit.org.uk/get-involved/report-a-sighting/
As well as the headstarted godwits, we received several sightings last week from Portugal of birds from the fens breeding population. This included one female (pictured below) who was first ringed as a chick in 1999 – making her almost nineteen years old! We’re looking forward to seeing her back at the washes this spring. For the third winter in a row, we’ve also received a sighting of female Yellow Red Red Lime (E) in Senegal, West Africa.
A female black-tailed godwit resighted in the Tagus Estuary was ringed as a chick in 1999 at the Nene Washes (photo Kees de Jager)
Soon the black-tailed godwits that breed in the fens will be making their journeys back to the breeding grounds at the Nene and Ouse Washes. The teams at WWT Welney and RSPB Nene Washes have been working hard to get the habitat in tip-top condition for the birds’ return. Alongside headstarting, a key aim of Project Godwit is to improve productivity in the wild, creating more and safer areas for black-tailed godwits to raise their young. We usually expect the earliest birds to arrive the first week in March. Interestingly, many of the islandica godwits which spend the non-breeding season in the fens are yet to depart, so the two sub-species can be seen together. You can read more about this in Graham Appleton’s wadertales blog here https://wadertales.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/godwits-in-godwits-out-springtime-on-the-washes/