a blog post by Wouter Vansteelant
Migration is defined as the regular movement of animals from one place to another, often following a seasonal rhythm. In the northern hemisphere we typically talk about migrants travelling south ‘in autumn’ and travelling north ‘in spring’. But in reality, bird migrations are taking place year-round, and one of our main study species – the Black-tailed Godwit – is a good example of a bird that likes to challenge convention.
In the Netherlands, many godwits already head south at the beginning of June, weeks before the summer solstice. Vice versa, godwits that migrate all the way to West Africa after breeding already start moving back to Europe in November and December, well before the winter solstice. This year, WOUDBUREN was the first GPS-godwit from the Netherlands to make the northward flight from Senegal across the Sahara.
Woudburen is being tracked on northward migration for the 6th consecutive timing. He has covered nearly 65.000km since we started tracking him in May 2020.
Woudburen left Senegal on 8 December, the 2nd earliest departure from West Africa we’ve recorded for this Woudburen since he was tagged in the Netherlands in May 2020. On previous migration cycles, he had left West Africa on 17 January (2020-2021), 4 December (2021-2022), 23 January (2022-2023), 9 December (2023-2024) and 17 December (2024-2025). What’s more, the two times that Woudburen left West Africa late in January, he had been staging in the coastal Senegal delta. In all other years, he left in December from areas far upstream the Senegal river.
Woudburen was last photographed by Wim Tijsen on 21-02-2024 in Yelbes, Extremadura, Spain. He has been seen on at least three February expeditions to Iberian staging sites in recent years. Note the antenna of the transmitter sticking out from below the wings.
There is still so much to learn about how godwits tune their annual rhythm to seasonal cycles in temperate and tropical environments at both ends of their migratory journeys. Soon we will welcome two new PhDs working on Godwit ecology and agro-ecology in Senegal and other godwit destinations in West Africa. Stay tuned!
