Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica)

The Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) has been identified as a focal species of management concern because it has a small total breeding population size (70,000-80,000 birds) and breeds in a few, geographically scattered locations.  Within the U.S., Hudsonian Godwits breed in western and southwestern Alaska, usually where tundra or muskegs are interspersed with a few trees.  Hudsonian Godwits also aggregate in a few sites in southern Chile and Argentina during the boreal winter.  Whether Hudsonian Godwits use any stopovers or make a non-stop flight during their southward migration to wintering grounds is unknown.  Therefore, potential threats during the migration period cannot be evaluated at present. Because they congregate in a few estuarine sites, Hudsonian Godwits are vulnerable to habitat loss and disturbance caused by coastal development.

Sources:

Brown, S., C. Hickey, B. Harrington, and R. Gill, editors. 2001. The U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan, 2nd ed. Manomet Center for Conservation Science, Manomet, MA.

Elphick, C. S., and J. Klima. 2002. Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved May 2009 from http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/629.