The Black-tailed Godwit is a large, elegant wading bird that once commonly bred in eastern England, but is now largely restricted to the Nene and Ouse Washes. In this article, the authors discuss the ecology of breeding Black-tailed Godwits in the UK and describe the conservation interventions that have been trialled to reduce predation pressures and boost populations.
Few naturalists have had the spring pleasure of witnessing Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa whickering noisily and chasing excitedly over lowland wet grassland in Britain. Fewer still will have observed a pair chaperoning a brood of recently hatched chicks across a meadow, one adult standing alert on a fencepost, a sentinel of the marsh.