Living at the extremes of North and South America, and hustling between them to breed, the Hudsonian Godwit reveals its life history only to persistent and lucky observers. In preparation for its non-stop 2,800-mile migration each fall, these large sandpipers gorge on aquatic plants, an unusual diet for a shorebird.

Hudsonian Godwits breed at only a few known sites in the northern boreal forest, from Canada's Hudson Bay to the shores of western and southern Alaska. These godwits winter in flooded grasslands, or pampas, and a few, key tidal flats along the southern coast of South America. At least half of all Hudsonian Godwits spend the winter in Tierra del Fuego.

 

A legend for the range map to the right can be found here.

With few known staging areas and an inaccessible, poorly understood breeding range, the Hudsonian Godwit has been difficult to census. Neither the Breeding Bird Survey nor the Christmas Bird Count have accumulated sufficient data to describe a trend. From 1974 to 1998, the Canadian Maritimes Shorebird Survey recorded a 4.8% decline in this species. The Canadian and U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plans consider this mysterious godwit a "species of high concern," based on threats to wintering populations, including habitat destruction and hunting, small population size, and very limited breeding and wintering ranges.

Since the Hudsonian Godwit's staging and breeding ranges are so restricted, localized disasters could seriously impact this species. Habitat destruction at the birds' Midwestern resting areas, overgrazing by geese on breeding grounds, and the extraction of natural resources in godwit habitat are the most immediate threats.

 

Oil drilling at Alaska's Cook Inlet disrupts the godwits' breeding activities and ruins food supplies. This important region hosts many birds, like the threatened Stellar's Eider, and other rare animals including endangered beluga whales. Federal and state agencies allow the discharge of drilling wastes into Cook Inlet, a practice banned in all other North American estuaries. Despite the recommendations of government studies and private conservation groups, the state of Alaska sold additional leases totaling 363,000 acres in the spring of 2004. Cook Inlet, the Churchill region, and parts of coastal Hudson Bay are being considered for conservation under international agreements, like The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

During fall migration, look for the Hudsonian Godwit at a reliable, accessible staging site, like the Joppa Flats Education and Wildlife Sanctuary.

 

During spring migration, visit Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas, where approximately half of all Hudsonian Godwits rest; their numbers peak here in late April.  

 

Conduct and report a migratory shorebird survey according to International Shorebird Survey protocol.

 

The future of the Hudsonian Godwit depends on the health of boreal forests. Join the Boreal Songbird Initiative and its efforts to preserve, study, and share the wonder of these great wilderness areas.

 

Support the Cook Inletkeeper, which monitors water quality, investigates reports of illegal discharges, and advocates for the responsible use of natural resources in the Hudsonian Godwit's habitat.

 

For more actions you can take, including Audubon activities, please visit our resources page.

Visit our resources page for more information about this species.

 

Elphick, C. S., and J. Klima. 2002. Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica). In The Birds of North America, No. 629 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

 

Kaufman, Kenn. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York.

 

MMS Finalizes Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Sale Release." Minerals Management Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. The News Room.  Press Release #3074 (April 15, 2004).

 

Sibley, David Allen. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.