Black-tailed godwit: breeding success

So many nests of the black-tailed godwit have been lost that the population is at risk.

Trends

In recent years the average nesting success rate for the black-tailed godwit has been 0.4 to 0.5 per breeding pair. Research has shown that in order for a population to be maintained, an average of 0.4 clutches per breeding pair must hatch per year. This critical value was not attained in 1997 and 1998. This means that in these years the "clutch survival" (see Technical note) was too low to compensate for natural mortality.

There are indications that the threshold of 0.4 clutches is too low. But if the threshold is raised above 0.4 the clutch survival in the other years also becomes too low to maintain the population.

Although in many locations nests are currently being protected by various measures, many clutches are being lost because of agricultural activity or predation. If the clutches hatch, a critical phase ensues, in which few chicks survive because it is difficult to find food and shelter.

The black-tailed godwit is on the Red List of birds. The black-tailed godwit is also internationally important, as about half of the European breeding population is found in the Netherlands.