September 2nd, 2008

Godwit chick ringed in Iceland in July seen in Denmark six weeks later!

Yet another chick ringed this July in northern Iceland has been seen, this time in Denmark. The chick was caught and colour ringed on the 13th July by godwit team members Guillaume Gélinaud (France) and Astrid Kant (Netherlands) near Akureyri.

Godwit chick 'Green Lime/Lime Red flag' was in Denmark six weeks after this photo was taken (photo © Astrid Kant).

On August 22nd David Boertmann saw the same colour ringed Black-tailed Godwit at Agger Tange in West Jutland (56° 44' 54'' N, 8° 14' 40'' E), Denmark. It had flown 1,813 kilometres! It was in a flock of 25 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits. Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits are not common in Denmark. They usually see the European race of Black-tailed Godwit in Denmark and this bird was well away from their normal wintering grounds in western Europe

Sadly 'Green Lime/Lime Red flag's sibling was not so lucky. (photo © Astrid Kant)

Unfortunately not all godwit stories are happy ones. Young godwits face many dangers in their first year of life and sadly another young godwit from the same nest must have died shortly after one of it's first flights when it was unable to avoid a barbed wire fence.