Limosa haemastica
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica) is a large shorebird in the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae. It is an extreme long-distance migrant, breeding at remote sites in Subarctic North America and flying nonstop in the fall to wintering sites in southern South America. Due to its remote breeding and wintering grounds and rapid, direct migration, it was a poorly-known species and was considered very rare until the mid-20th century, when major staging sites were discovered around James Bay and breeding sites were found around Churchill, Manitoba. Since then, the Hudsonian godwit has become the target of conservation attention due to its fragmented and localized distribution and small population, as well as an important scientific system for migration biology research.
The Hudsonian godwit was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it in the genus Scolopax and coined the binomial name Scolopax haemastica. Linnaeus based his entry on the "red-breasted godwit" that had been described and illustrated in 1750 by the English naturalist George Edwards in the third volume of his... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katmai National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Lauca National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 3 | Torres del Paine National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 4 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 4 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 5 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hudsonian Godwit sighting in Lauca National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 86th most-seen of the 112 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hudsonian Godwit in Lauca National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June, August–September and December–March, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hudsonian Godwit sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Hudsonian Godwit sightings, Lauca National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Katmai National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Scolopacidae
The closest relatives of the Hudsonian Godwit that you can see in Lauca National Park (family Scolopacidae, Sandpipers and Allies) are Baird's Sandpiper (about 40%), Greater Yellowlegs (about 20%) and Wilson's Phalarope (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hudsonian Godwit is recorded against all the birds logged in Lauca National Park (35 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
