Black-Tailed Godwit Diet and Size: Feeding Habits, Predators, and Measurements
The Black-tailed Godwit’s feeding behaviour is a key part of its migration strategy. They consume enough food to significantly increase their body fat, which is then used as energy during their long, uninterrupted migratory flights between breeding sites and wintering areas.
In this article we’ll take a close look at the dietary habits, breeding habits as well as the size and weight of these interesting birds. Keep reading to find out more.
Table of Contents
The Dietary Habits Of The Black-Tailed Godwit
Let’s look at what Black-tailed Godwits eat and how they feed their young.
What Does A Black-Tailed Godwit Eat?
Foraging in wetlands, mudflats, and grasslands, Black-tailed Godwits primarily consume invertebrates. Their diet includes a variety of insects, worms, larvae, crustaceans, molluscs, and sometimes small fish. During the breeding season, these protein-rich foods are essential for maintaining their energy levels.
Black-tailed Godwits switch to consuming rice, seeds, and grains during winter or migration, often foraged from fields and flooded areas. This dietary shift helps them manage when invertebrates are in short supply. By probing into the mud or soil with their long, sensitive bills, these birds are able to detect and capture prey, a feeding method well-suited to their favoured habitats.
What To Feed A Baby Black-Tailed Godwit?
Black-tailed Godwit adults provide their chicks with a diet that closely mirrors their own, which is mainly composed of invertebrates like snails, worms, insects, and small crabs. They often gather food and return to the nest to feed their young.
This kind of feeding behaviour is common among wading birds, including Black-tailed Godwits, who feed their chicks protein-rich invertebrates to promote healthy growth in the early stages. The chicks are provided with small, easy-to-handle bits of food that the parents collect nearby, helping them to develop the foraging skills they’ll need later.
Breeding Habits Of Black-Tailed Godwits
Generally breeding between late April and mid-June, Black-tailed Godwits are known for their preference for specific wetland habitats. They choose areas like river valleys, grasslands, and fens, where the moist soil conditions provide the perfect environment for nesting. Their nests are usually simple scrapes on the ground, carefully lined with vegetation for protection and camouflage.
Males typically start the breeding season by claiming and defending their territories, using aerial displays and calls to mark their presence. Once they pair up, the female usually lays a clutch of 3 to 6 eggs, with both parents taking turns incubating them for roughly 22 to 24 days. The chicks hatch precocial, meaning they are quite mobile and developed, though they continue to depend on their parents for food and protection until they fledge, which typically takes place 25 to 30 days after hatching.
Do Black-Tailed Godwits Mate For Life?
Forming lifelong bonds is common among Black-tailed Godwits, with many pairs reuniting at the same breeding site each year. These birds often share the responsibilities of courtship, nest building, and raising their chicks. These pairs often return to the same spot annually, with some doing so for as long as 25 years.
Although they pair up during the breeding season, these birds may go their separate ways when the season ends, migrating independently and reuniting only when it’s time to breed again. Their annual return to the same breeding spot highlights their strong attachment to both their location and their mate.
The Size & Weight Of Black-Tailed Godwits
Let’s have a look at the size and weight of Black-tailed Godwits, along with some interesting details on how their size and weight differ between males and females.
How Much Does A Black-Tailed Godwit Weigh?
Male Black-tailed Godwits generally weigh around 275 grams, but females, who are slightly heavier, average about 345 grams. Such differences in weight are typical in bird species, especially when the breeding roles like incubation and raising chicks vary between the sexes.
How Big Is A Black-Tailed Godwit?
With a length of 39 to 44 cm (15.3 to 17.3 inches) and a wingspan between 70 to 83 cm (27.5 to 32.7 inches), the Black-tailed Godwit is a prominent wader bird. Its long legs and bill are expertly adapted for shallow water foraging. These physical traits make it especially suited to wetland habitats, where it finds both its food and nesting grounds.
Are Black-Tailed Godwits Under Threat?
The Black-tailed Godwit, considered “Near Threatened” by the IUCN, is struggling due to the ongoing loss and degradation of wetlands. This decline is largely attributed to the spread of agricultural activities, urban development, and altered water management. Over the last 25 years, Europe has seen a significant drop in their numbers, with nearly half of the population disappearing.
Conservation efforts in the UK, like Project Godwit, are dedicated to restoring habitats and managing bird populations, with headstarting—raising chicks in controlled conditions before their release—being a key technique. Despite these efforts, the species still faces significant risks from ongoing habitat loss and environmental pressures.
What Eats A Black-Tailed Godwit?
The early stages of life and nesting periods are particularly dangerous for Black-tailed Godwits due to natural predators. Mammals like foxes and martens are frequent threats to their eggs and chicks. In addition, large raptors are known to prey on both young and adult godwits. The ground placement of nests makes the eggs and chicks highly susceptible to these predators.
Where Can I See Black-Tailed Godwits In The UK?
In the UK, prime locations for observing Black-tailed Godwits include nature reserves and wetlands, particularly during breeding and migration times. The Fens, home to the RSPB Nene Washes and Ouse Washes, are ideal, housing over 90% of the nation’s breeding godwits. These sites are central to conservation efforts like “headstarting,” where eggs are carefully incubated, and chicks are nurtured in controlled settings before release.
The WWT Welney Wetland Centre in Norfolk serves as another key location for the conservation of this species. For those looking to observe flocks of Black-tailed Godwits on the move, the Dee Estuary on the North Wales-Merseyside border and RSPB Titchwell Marsh in Norfolk are ideal destinations. These areas are well-known for their abundant birdlife, offering birdwatchers plenty of chances to see Black-tailed Godwits, particularly in the spring and autumn when they migrate.
SEE ALSO: Black-Tailed Godwit Life Cycle: Nest Building To Fledging (and everything in between)
Frequently Asked Questions
A Black-Tailed Godwit primarily eats invertebrates, including insects, worms, larvae, crustaceans, and molluscs. During winter or migration, they switch to eating rice, seeds, and grains.
A Black-Tailed Godwit typically measures between 39 to 44 cm in length, with a wingspan of 70 to 83 cm. Males generally weigh around 275 grams, while females are slightly heavier, averaging about 345 grams.
Black-Tailed Godwits are considered “Near Threatened” by the IUCN, primarily due to habitat loss and degradation. Conservation efforts are ongoing, but the species still faces significant risks from environmental pressures.
The predators of a Black-Tailed Godwit include mammals like foxes and martens, as well as large raptors that prey on their eggs, chicks, and adults.
