By fitting godwits with transmitters researchers want to find out how the birds migrate between their winter and summer grounds and where exactly they stay in winter. An unique online-tracking system enables the general public to track the godwits on their journey from Africa to the Northwest of Europe and vice versa. The website shows, at a glance, godwit ‘Amalia’ and what’s been up to the past 24 hours, what route she took last week, month or year. Just one click and you can be part of her migration, seeing what she sees. This research project is part of a long term research programme examining changes in godwit populations, headed by professor Theunis Piersma. Quite some knowledge has been gathered about godwits’ breeding season, but a lot questions remain about how they migrate and their routes. The research results will be used to protect the resting places. The goal is to end the decline of godwit populations from the past decades.
