Black-tailed Godwit
Here is a Black-tailed Godwit coming into land at Martin Mere in Lancashire. Most of the 40,000 Black-tailed Godwits that occur in Britain are of the Icelandic breeding race (islandica). The small number (c50 pairs) that breed in the Fens are of the paler European nominate race limosa. Icelandic birds that have failed at breeding will often return straight away to Britain, but one-year old birds that are too young to breed probably don't bother flying to Iceland for a reccie, but remain in Britain for their first summer so they can be seen on British wetlands year-round. The Icelandic breeding population has undergone a sustained increase over the last century and this has resulted in an increase in birds visiting Britain. When I started birdwatching a sighting of a Black-tailed Godwit was noteworthy but now birdwatchers seem to be blasé about them. My first Collins guide (Heinzel, Fitter & Parslow published in 1972) listed Black-tailed Godwit as "Local or uncommon".
Black-tailed Godwit
Here is a Black-tailed Godwit coming into land at Martin Mere in Lancashire. Most of the 40,000 Black-tailed Godwits that occur in Britain are of the Icelandic breeding race (islandica). The small number (c50 pairs) that breed in the Fens are of the paler European nominate race limosa. Icelandic birds that have failed at breeding will often return straight away to Britain, but one-year old birds that are too young to breed probably don't bother flying to Iceland for a reccie, but remain in Britain for their first summer so they can be seen on British wetlands year-round. The Icelandic breeding population has undergone a sustained increase over the last century and this has resulted in an increase in birds visiting Britain. When I started birdwatching a sighting of a Black-tailed Godwit was noteworthy but now birdwatchers seem to be blasé about them. My first Collins guide (Heinzel, Fitter & Parslow published in 1972) listed Black-tailed Godwit as "Local or uncommon".