Two ’wits to view
Long-legged and long-billed, godwits are characteristic birds of our shoreline and estuary habitats in the winter months, Bar-tailed, or Black-tailed, or both, these are waders to enjoy
Bar-tailed or Black-tailed, or both, these are waders to enjoy on our shorelines and estuary habitats
The Bar-tailed Godwit and its close relative the Black-tailed Godwit visit us in relatively large numbers at this time of year, with about 90,000 ‘wits’ in total. We, in Britain, are blessed with some great wintering waders, but watching a flock of godwits flying in to land on the estuary mud has to be one of my favourite birding sights.
Now, wader identification can be difficult, especially in gloomy winter light and at a distance, and separating the godwits on the ground can be challenging, but as you get to know the birds, their identification becomes much easier. But, before we start talking about how to identify them, let us have a look at the individual species themselves.
The Bar-tailed Godwit is the smallest of the two species (males are notably smaller and shorter billed than females). They start to arrive with us in the spring, but most occur between November and February. Many of the earlier arrivals are only visiting us for a short time, fuelling up on the abundant food in our estuaries and on our mudflats before travelling onwards to wintering destinations in southern Europe and on the west coast of Africa. However, some also stop here for the duration and it is estimated that more than 40,000 Bar-tailed Godwits (also known colloquially as ‘Barwits’) actually spend the winter with us.
The Barwits that come our way breed in the far north of Europe, typically in the Arctic regions of northern Norway and Finland, and also along the coast of north-west Russia. But Barwits are found right around the Arctic north, with the breeding population continuing along the coast of north-east Russia through to Alaska. These birds undertake a different migration, the eastern Russian birds wintering in south-east Asia and Australia, but when it comes to arduous migration treks, it is the Bar-tailed Godwits of Alaska that really take the biscuit.
They winter in New Zealand. Alaska to New Zealand is a mind-boggling distance, but what is even more remarkable is that the birds make that journey without stopping! They fly continuously for more
than 6,800 miles to reach their wintering grounds and they do so in just seven days – that’s about a 1,000 miles a day, remarkable by any standard. It is no surprise to learn that this is believed to be the longest non-stop journey of any bird.
Breeding rarity
The Black-tailed Godwit is actually with us here in Britain for every month of the year. We have a small breeding population (of the nominate subspecies L. l. limosa) on wet meadows and marshes in various parts of the country, but the numbers are well below 100 pairs, making the species a real breeding rarity.
However, as with the Bar-tailed, birds from elsewhere start to arrive from the summer onwards, as they do so our small breeding population heads to its own wintering grounds in Africa and the majority of the birds that join us for winter, around 44,000 of them, are birds that have bred in Iceland.
Black-tailed Godwits (known colloquially as Blackwits) also have a large global distribution. They don’t generally breed as far north as the Barwits, with the European population mostly breeding in central Eastern Europe and into Russia, with a shorter-legged, darker red (in breeding plumage) subspecies
(L. limosa islandica) breeding in Iceland. These European and Russian birds mainly migrate to Africa for the winter, although some also spend the colder months of the year in the Persian Gulf and in India. Other breeding populations are found in eastern Asia and these birds migrate to south-east Asia and Australia for the winter. Blackwits might not cover the phenomenal distances of the Barwits, but they are still prodigious travellers.
In the winter months, both species can be found right around the British Isles, with our estuaries and coastal marshes being the favoured habitats of these well-travelled waders. But how do you tell the difference between your Barwits and your Blackwits?
The obvious thing is their respective tail patterns. The names of Black-tailed and Bar-tailed tell you what you need to know about how their tail feathers are
going to look, but these are waders and waders often huddle together in winter light on distant mudflats. Obvious tail patterns are generally not on view most of the time, making separating the two species more trickier than it sounds when you hear their names.
Plumage colour and pattern can vary enormously on waders depending on the time of year that you see them. This is certainly the case with these two species, both have a very different breeding plumage to their wintering one and of course you have the intermediate plumages as the birds moult from one to the other.
As someone who is colour blind, I tend to look at the bird’s structure before I look at plumage details, which is useful for our wintering godwits in poor light, as they are structurally different birds.
The Black-tailed Godwit is a longerlegged and longer-billed bird than the Bar-tailed Godwit. This gives it a slightly more slender and, dare I say it, more graceful appearance than its close relation. The bill of the Blackwit, as well as being longer, is also much straighter than the bill of the (especially female) Barwit, which has a noticeable upcurve. The shorter legs and shorter upcurved bill of the Bar-tailed Godwit give it a very different appearance from the Black-tailed, even in poor light and at a distance.
Closer to and in better light, the best way of describing the differences in their plumage is with the word streaky! Bar-tailed Godwits have a streaky looking grey plumage, while the plumage of the Black-tailed is a rather plain, but attractive, smooth looking grey. Blackwits have longer legs, a long straight(ish) bill and a smooth, unstreaked grey plumage.
Barwits, on the other hand, have shorter legs, a noticeably upcurved bill that is shorter than its relation’s and streaked grey plumage. Good views of the birds on the ground should also give you views of their tails poking out from underneath the wing feathers, with the dark black tip of the Blackwit’s tail looking very different from the faint barring of the Barwit’s.
In flight, the birds are much easier to separate. The Black-tailed has a very distinctive and obvious white wing-bar that sharply contrasts with the otherwise dark wings, it also has a white square rump that terminates in a solid black band at the end of the tail. The Bar-tailed completely lacks any wing-bar and instead of having a white square rump, it has a white wedge extending up its back, not dissimilar to a Whimbrel of Curlew.
The tail, instead of having a heavy black terminal band, has a series of very fine bars running across it, exactly as the bird’s name suggests.
When flying high up above you against a bright sky, the structure of the birds is again key to separating them. The Blackwit’s longer bill coupled with its long legs that obviously protrude out past the end of the tail give it a very elongated appearance, while the Barwit looks much more compact, with only the very tips of its toes protruding out past its tail.
The best way to learn how to identify birds is to get out there and watch them and that is certainly the case with our two wintering godwits. By looking at their structure and by looking at their plumage you will soon be able to tell your Barwits from your Blackwits at considerable distance.
Both species are brilliant birds and now is the perfect time to get to know them.