Occurrence and changing numbers of Hudsonian Godwits during southward migration in the eastern United States

This study summarizes information on Hudsonian Godwit numbers and occurrence in the continental United States (excluding Alaska). Evaluations from southward migration on the coasts of Massachusetts and Virginia show that generally predictable numbers regularly visit certain key sites. Data from these sites show (1) the southward migration phenology (peak counts of adults during mid and late August), (2) greater numbers in Massachusetts than in Virginia prior to juvenile migration, but greater numbers in Virginia after the peak adult migration, (3) increasing counts of Hudsonian Godwits at Atlantic stopovers from the 1960s to the 1970s, but a decreasing trend since. Our studies also confirm that Hudsonian Godwits mainly use stopovers in the interior of the United States during northward migration and Atlantic coast sites during southward migration.