At the start of July, an intense and successful field season – with more young birds than we have seen for a long time – is slowly drawing to a close. Many adult Black-tailed Godwits have already left the Dümmer area and are on their way to the Netherlands, France, Spain, or Portugal. A few have already reached West Africa.
For the young birds, however, an important stage still lies ahead: most of them are still moving around the wetlands and are making the most of freshly mown meadows to build up energy reserves for their first migration to their wintering grounds. Small flocks are gathering at the remaining flooded areas – the perfect time for the site managers to look out for colour rings and see which of the marked young birds have successfully fledged.
Work is also still underway outside the core zone of the Dümmer. Before mowing takes place there, the fields are carefully checked for any remaining young birds that are not yet able to fly. Only then are they cleared for mowing.
However, as soon as the breeding season ends, preparations for the next one begin. The summer months, when birds are absent, must be used to mow and maintain the grassland as long as it can still be accessed by tractors. After all, following the water impounding in winter, this will no longer be possible in many places. Any land that is not maintained now may be lacking as a suitable breeding habitat next spring. In this way, the conditions for a successful 2027 breeding season are being laid down today – for Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwings and many other meadow birds.
