Critically endangered black-tailed godwits thrown lifeline in the Fens

Critically endangered black-tailed godwits thrown lifeline in the Fens - Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust

black tailed godwit chick with a label on the leg on a blue surface — Black Tailed Godwit chick (WWT)

Today (28 June) sees the final release of hand-raised black-tailed godwits as part of an emergency intervention which has thrown the critically endangered wetland bird a lifeline and helped increase its chances of survival.

Data collected by a five year partnership between the RSPB and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) called Project Godwit, shows the number of new birds added to the population is around five times higher than it would have been without these urgent measures.

The great news is that many of the birds released in previous years have successfully migrated to southern Europe and Africa and then returned to the Fens to breed. Evidence gathered by Project Godwit has shown that over 40% of all breeding pairs now include one or two headstarted birds, and the UK population is 40% larger than it would have been without this vital work.

But conservation experts are warning that all the good work could still be undone leaving a bleak future for the waders unless more of the vital healthy wetland habitat the birds need to survive is created.