The bar-tailed godwit is a large, tall wader that breeds in Arctic Scandinavia and Siberia, and migrates here in the thousands, either for the whole winter or en route to wintering grounds further south. Large numbers can be spotted in estuaries such as the Thames, Dee, Humber and Wash.
How to identify
During spring and summer, adult bar-tailed godwits have dark brown and grey backs and brick-red heads, necks and underparts. In winter, they are streaky-grey above and white below. When they fly, bar-tailed godwits have a barred tail, and a white wedge on the rump and back; their feet only just stick out past their tail. They are shorter-necked and -legged than black-tailed godwits, and have a slightly upturned bill.
Did you know?
During the winter, bar-tailed Godwits often commute between the Wash on the east coast and the estuaries of North West England, sometimes moving back and forth between the two overnight.
