Distribution

Breeding Range

Scattered breeding locations from western Alaska to Hudson Bay, although extent of current range is poorly known because knowledge is based largely on old records and many areas remain to be surveyed. Although these problems apply to many arctic nesting species, the small and disjunct range of the Hudsonian Godwit makes it especially difficult to extrapolate with confidence.

In south-central Alaska, breeding is confirmed (i.e., nests or flightless young found) at several sites around upper Cook Inlet, from western the Kenai Peninsula to Susitna Flats (3 Williamson, F. S. L., and M. A. Smith (1964). The distribution and breeding status of the Hudsonian Godwit in Alaska. Condor 66:41-50. Close , 61 Kessel, B., and D. Gibson (1978). Status and distribution of Alaska birds. Studies in Avian Biology 1:1–100. Close , L. Tibbitts, unpublished data). In western Alaska, breeding confirmed from the St. Mary's area (G. Peltola, personal communication) and Koyukuk River floodplain between Galena and Huslia (M. Spindler, personal communication); breeding almost certainly occurs at numerous sites on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (62 McCaffery, B. J., and C. M. Harwood (2000). Status of Hudsonian Godwits on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Western Birds 31:165–177. Close ); probably breeds at Innoko National Wildlife Refuge (NWR; B. Skinner, personal communication) and in other areas east of Kotzebue Sound and Norton Sound (e.g., Selawik NWR [G. Peltola, personal communication], Kotzebue area [T. J. Doyle, personal communication]); possibly also on Seward Peninsula and south shore of Norton Sound (61 Kessel, B., and D. Gibson (1978). Status and distribution of Alaska birds. Studies in Avian Biology 1:1–100. Close , 63 Kessel, B. (1989). Birds of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Their Biogeography, Seasonality and Natural History. University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, AK, USA. Close ). Has been found to breed in northcentral Alaska in Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge—well away from either marine or major riverine habitats—where both nests and flightless young have been found (Harwood and Senner, unpublished data). Occurs annually in very small numbers elsewhere inland in Alaska during spring and less than annually in summer; very rare in northern Alaska during summer and fall and no evidence of breeding (61 Kessel, B., and D. Gibson (1978). Status and distribution of Alaska birds. Studies in Avian Biology 1:1–100. Close , T. J. Doyle, personal communication).

The main breeding area in western Canada appears to be along the far northwestern shore of the Northwest Territories, with breeding records from the Mackenzie River delta and the Anderson River valley; also breeds on West Mirage Island in Great Slave Lake (64 Godfrey, W. E. (1986). The Birds of Canada. Revised Edition. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Close ). Found during summer in other parts of Northwest and Nunavut Territories, suggesting that additional breeding sites exist (65 MacFarlane, R. (1891). Notes on and list of birds and eggs collected in Arctic America 1861–1866. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 14:413–446. Close , 31 Bent, A. C. (1927). Life histories of North American shorebirds, Part 1. U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 142. Close , 66 Trauger, D. L., and R. G. Bromley (1976). Additional bird observations on the West Mirage Island, Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories. Canadian Field-Naturalist 90:114–122. Close , 67 Kuyt, E. (1980). Distribution and breeding biology of raptors in the Thelon River area, Northwest Territories, 1957-1969. Canadian Field-Naturalist 94:121-130. Close , 68 Salter, R. E., M. A. Gollop, S. R. Johnson, W. R. Koski, and C. E. Tull (1980). Distribution and abundance of birds on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Yukon and adjacent Northwest Territories, 1971–1976. Canadian Field-Naturalist 94:219–238. Close ). No evidence of breeding in Yukon, but small numbers have been seen in the north during June (69 Sinclair, P. H., W. A. Nixon, C. D. Eckert, and N. L. Hughes (Editors) (2003). Birds of the Yukon Territory. UBC Press, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Close ). In northern British Columbia, a tiny population breeds in Chilkat Pass area (70 Campbell, R. W., N. K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J. M. Cooper, G. W. Kaiser, and M. C. E. McNall (1990). The Birds of British Columbia, Volume 2. Diurnal Birds of Prey Through Woodpeckers. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC, Canada. Close ), with only a single pair during the late 1990s (W. Campbell, personal communication).

In eastern Canada, breeding is known from several sites along shore of Hudson Bay: in Manitoba, from the Churchill area (71 Taverner, P. A., and G. M. Sutton (1934). The birds of Churchill, Manitoba. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 23:1–83. Close , 72 Jehl, J. R., Jr., and B. A. Smith (1970). Birds of the Churchill region, Manitoba. Special Publication no. 1. Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Close , 73 Cooke, F., R. K. Ross, R. K. Schmidt, and A. J. Pakulak (1975). Birds of the tundra biome at Cape Churchill and La Pérouse Bay. Canadian Field-Naturalist 89:413-422. Close ) and in Ontario, from the Cape Henrietta Maria region (74 Peck, G. K. (1972). Birds of the Cape Henrietta Maria Region, Ontario. Canadian Field-Naturalist 86:333-348. Close , 75 Peck, G. K., and R. D. James (1983). Breeding Birds of Ontario: Nidiology and Distribution Volume 1: Nonpasserines. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada. Close , 76 Morrison, R. I. G. (1987). "Hudsonian Godwit." In Atlas of the breeding birds of Ontario., edited by M. D. Cadman, P. F. J. Eagles and F. M. Helleiner, 527. Waterloo, ON: Univ. of Waterloo Press. Close ). Other reports of birds during summer, primarily involving displaying adults, suggest that breeding occurs elsewhere along Hudson Bay coast; possibly also on Akimiski Island in James Bay (77 Schueler, F. W., D. H. Baldwin, and J. D. Rising (1974). The status of birds at selected sites in northern Ontario. Canadian Field-Naturalist 88:141–150. Close , 64 Godfrey, W. E. (1986). The Birds of Canada. Revised Edition. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Close , 76 Morrison, R. I. G. (1987). "Hudsonian Godwit." In Atlas of the breeding birds of Ontario., edited by M. D. Cadman, P. F. J. Eagles and F. M. Helleiner, 527. Waterloo, ON: Univ. of Waterloo Press. Close ).

Non-breeding Range

Largely restricted to pampas marshes and coastal mudflats of southern South America. Most of the species spends the non-breeding season in Tierra del Fuego, primarily at Bahía San Sebastián, Argentina and Bahía Lomas, Chile (78 Morrison, R. I. G., and R. K. Ross (1989). Atlas of Neararctic shorebirds on the coast of South America. Volume 1. Canadian Wildlife Service Special Publication. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Close , 79 Yorio, P. M. (1998). "Zona Costera Patagónica." In Los humedales de la Argentina. Clasificación, situación actual., edited by P. Canevari, D. E. Blanco, E. Bucher, G. Castro and I. Davidson, 137-167. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Publ. no. 46, Wetlands for Americas. Close , 80 Espoz, C., F. Labra, R. Matus, A. Ponce, I. Barría, B. Saavedra, A. Figueroa, and M. Rondanelli (2011). Plan de manejo para el sitio Ramsar Bahía Lomas. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente/Universidad Santo Tomás/Wildlife Conservation Society. Santiago, Chile. 131 pp. Close ). Over half the world's population, represented almost entirely by the eastern breeding population, migrate to the Atlantic coast. In the north, birds are split between three main locations in Argentina: Punta Rasa, Laguna Mar Chiquita, and Bahía Blanca. A second major concentration, consisting largely of Alaskan breeders, is found in Chiloe on and adjacent to Chiloé Island (Seno de Reloncaví and Maullín [ 81 Espinosa, L., A. P. von Meyer, and R. P. Schlatter (2005). Status of the Hudsonian Godwit in Llanquihue and Chiloé provinces, southern Chile, during 1979–2005. Wader Study Group Bulletin 109:77–82. Close , 82 Andres, B. A., J. A. Johnson, J. V. Valenzuela, R. I. G. Morrison, L. A. Espinosa, and R. K. Ross (2009). Estimating eastern Pacific coast populations of whimbrels and Hudsonian Godwits, with an emphasis on Chiloé Island, Chile. Waterbirds 32(2):216–224. Close ] and Calbuco [83 Aguirre, J., and F. Medrano (2019). Sobre la importancia de Calbuco, Región de Los Lagos, Chile, para el Zarapito de pico recto (Limosa haemastica). Revista Chilena de Ornitología 25 (2): 74-76. Close ]). This concentration represents 99% of the Pacific coast population and occurs within 16 individual bays that each support at least 1% of the population. Smaller numbers winter as far north as southern Brazil on the Atlantic coast and northern Peru on the Pacific coast (38 Lara Resende, S. de M. (1988). Nonbreeding strategies of migratory birds at Lagoa do Peixe, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Master's Thesis, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY. Close , 78 Morrison, R. I. G., and R. K. Ross (1989). Atlas of Neararctic shorebirds on the coast of South America. Volume 1. Canadian Wildlife Service Special Publication. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Close , 84 Blanco, D. E., P. González, and M. M. Martínez (1995). Migración de la Becasa de mar, Limosa haemastica (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae), en el sur de América del Sur. Vida Silvestre Neotropical 4:119–124. Close , 85 Minton, C. D. T., T. Piersma, D. E. Blanco, A. J. Baker, and L. G. Benegas (1996). Wader numbers and the use of high tide roosts at the Hemispheric Reserve "Costa Atlantica de Tierra del Fuego," Argentina–January and February 1995. Wader Study Group Bulletin 79:109–114. Close , 86 Botto, F., O. O. Iribarne, M. M. Martínez, K. Delhey, and M. Carrete (1998). The effect of migratory shorebirds on the benthic species of three southwestern Atlantic Argentinean estuaries. Estuaries 21:700–709. Close , 87 Senner, N. R. (2006). Habitat use and foraging ecology of Hudsonian Godwits, Limosa haemastica, in South America (abstract). Wader Study Group Bulletin 109:66. Close ).

The majority of sites where the Hudsonian Godwit is seen during winter are along the coast (84 Blanco, D. E., P. González, and M. M. Martínez (1995). Migración de la Becasa de mar, Limosa haemastica (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae), en el sur de América del Sur. Vida Silvestre Neotropical 4:119–124. Close ), but this may reflect sampling bias. Inland, it is found in small numbers on upland plateaus of the Patagonian steppe, occasionally north to Paraguay (88 Meyer de Schauensee, R. (1970). A Guide to the Birds of South America. Livingston Publishing Company, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA. Close , 89 Fjeldså, J., and N. Krabbe (1990). Birds of the High Andes. Apollo Books, Svendborg, Denmark. Close ); flocks of up to 350 individuals have been seen in northwest Argentina (90 Laredo, C. D. (1996). Observations on Migratory and Resident Shorebirds in Lakes in the Highlands of North-western Argentina. International Wader Studies 8:103-111. Close ). Has also occurred in small numbers on the Falkland Islands (91 Hudson, W. H. (1920) Birds of La Plata. Volume 1. Dent & Sons, London, United Kingdom. Close , 92 Wetmore, A. (1927). Our migrant shorebirds in southern South America. U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin 26. Close ).

Extralimital Records

In the Pacific, the Hudsonian Godwit is a regular but rare visitor in small numbers to New Zealand (1 or 2/yr; T. Crocker, personal communication); vagrant in Australia, Fiji, Norfolk Island, Marshall Island, and the Hawaiian Islands (12 Higgins, P. J., and S. J. J. F. Davies (editors). (1996). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic birds. Volume 3. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Close , 93 American Ornithologists' Union (1998). Check-list of North American Birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC, USA. Close ). In Europe, it has been recorded in Ireland , Britain , Denmark, Sweden, and the Azores ; British records are from various times of the year, but all may have referred to a single individual (94 Alström, P., and P. Colston (1991). A Field Guide to the Rare Birds of Britain and Europe. Harper Collins, London, United Kingdom. Close ). Several reports are from South Africa, also possibly all relating to one bird (95 Hockey, P. A. R. (1997). Hudsonian Godwit Limosa haemastica. In The Atlas of Southern African birds. Vol. I: Non-passerines (J. A. Harrison, D. G. Allen, L. G. Underhill, M. Herremans, and A. J. Tree, Editors). BirdLife South Afirca, Johannesburg, South Africa. Close ).

Historical changes in population are difficult to assess because major breeding, wintering, and staging sites are all in remote areas, many discovered only in latter half of the twentieth century. A few Alaskan records in the early 1900s may indicate a decline at that time, but may also reflect normal fluctuations of an uncommon and sparsely distributed species (3 Williamson, F. S. L., and M. A. Smith (1964). The distribution and breeding status of the Hudsonian Godwit in Alaska. Condor 66:41-50. Close ). Earlier data are scarce, but indicate higher numbers at Kotzebue Sound, Alaska (3 Williamson, F. S. L., and M. A. Smith (1964). The distribution and breeding status of the Hudsonian Godwit in Alaska. Condor 66:41-50. Close ) and on the southern coast of Hudson Bay (96 Hearne, S. (1796). A journey from Prince of Wale's fort, in Hudson's Bay, to the northern ocean. Undertaken by order of the Hudson's Bay Company. For the discovery of Copper mines, a North West Passage, & c. in the years 1769, 1770, 1771, and 1772. Dublin: Printed for P. Byne and J. Rice. Close ) than at present.