{"id":9668,"date":"2013-09-30T03:45:25","date_gmt":"2013-09-30T09:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=9668"},"modified":"2025-09-05T16:04:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T21:04:01","slug":"marbled-godwits-a-grassland-shorebird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/09\/30\/marbled-godwits-a-grassland-shorebird\/","title":{"rendered":"Marbled Godwits &#8211; A Grassland Shorebird"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Marbled Godwits are large shorebirds that winter along the coast lines of the Gulf of Mexico, Baja Peninsula as well as the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. They breed in grasslands and grassy marshes of the Great Plains both in Canada and the U.S. including some areas of Alaska.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-154468 size-full\" title=\"Graceful Marbled Godwit, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3324.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3324.jpg\" alt=\"Graceful Marbled Godwit, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3324-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3324-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3324-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3324-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3324-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3324.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Marbled Godwit in a Florida lagoon<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Degradation of habitat on both wintering and breeding ground\u00a0is a serious threat to Marbled Godwits. On <a href=\"https:\/\/birdsna.org\/Species-Account\/bna\/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BNA<\/a>\u00a0(Birds of North America Online)\u00a0they state:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left; padding-left: 40px;\">Worldwide, grasslands most imperiled ecosystem. Huge decrease in historic grasslands in North America: &lt;1% intact in some areas (<a href=\"https:\/\/birdsna.org\/Species-Account\/bna\/home\">Sampson and Knopf 1996<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Less than one percent of grasslands in North America?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Wow.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Agriculture is a threat as are the permanent losses of habitat from oil and gas pipeline routes that are replanted with non-native grasses that are taller than what is suitable for Marbled Godwits to use.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Those persons who think that the Keystone XL Pipeline is a good idea are delusional because the pipeline would go through what is left of the habitat for these amazing shorebirds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Let&#8217;s be real, those pipelines are going to permanently damage habitat for far more birds and animals than just the godwits.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">They will say the pipeline is going to be safe but how many times have we heard that only to see damage wrought later and those companies sit there and don&#8217;t want to take blame? They are horrible about that.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Exxon Valdez. DDT. Deepwater Horizon. The list goes on and on.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I hope that in 100 years Marbled Godwits will still be on this planet and future generations won&#8217;t know them only from images like mine and skins in a museum.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/marbled-godwit-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Marbled Godwit photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I hope that in 100 years Marbled Godwits will still be on this planet and future generations won&#8217;t know them only from images like mine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":154468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,2152,25,704,88],"tags":[4004,5132,2546,3945,4038,2361,2362,3997,4163,13722,274,165],"class_list":["post-9668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-conservation","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-marbled-godwits","tag-adult","tag-coastal","tag-godwit","tag-godwits","tag-grasslands","tag-habitat-degradation","tag-keystone-xl-pipeline","tag-lagoon","tag-limosa-fedoa","tag-pipelines","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-spring"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3324.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2vW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27257,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/08\/08\/marbled-godwits-are-migrating\/","url_meta":{"origin":9668,"position":0},"title":"Marbled Godwits Are Migrating","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The past few times I have gone to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I have seen Marbled Godwits flying over and I know that their migration to their wintering grounds has begun.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Marbled Godwits feeding, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/marbled-godwits-feeding-mia-mcpherson-6873.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/marbled-godwits-feeding-mia-mcpherson-6873.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/marbled-godwits-feeding-mia-mcpherson-6873.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/marbled-godwits-feeding-mia-mcpherson-6873.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22574,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/24\/a-marbled-godwit-surprise-on-antelope-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":9668,"position":1},"title":"Marbled Godwit Surprise on Antelope Island","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I was surprised to see this Marbled Godwit on the island but over the years I have learned to expect the unexpected whenever I am out photographing birds!","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Marbled Godwit on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/marbled-godwit-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8942.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/marbled-godwit-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8942.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/marbled-godwit-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8942.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/marbled-godwit-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8942.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1255,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/11\/10\/shorebirds-of-fort-de-soto-marbled-godwits\/","url_meta":{"origin":9668,"position":2},"title":"Shorebirds of Fort De Soto &#8211; Marbled Godwits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Marbled Godwits are graceful birds while on the ground, feeding and in flight.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Marbled Godwit standing out from the crowd, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-mia-mcpherson-one-legged-3267.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-mia-mcpherson-one-legged-3267.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-mia-mcpherson-one-legged-3267.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-mia-mcpherson-one-legged-3267.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21987,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/15\/a-marbled-godwit-feeding-on-the-shore-of-the-gulf\/","url_meta":{"origin":9668,"position":3},"title":"Marbled Godwit Feeding On The Shore Of The Gulf","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Marbled Godwits are migrating through Utah on their way to their breeding grounds right now so I thought I'd feature this one on my post today.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Marbled Godwit feeding on the shore of the Gulf, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-1189.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-1189.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-1189.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-1189.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45277,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/02\/28\/marbled-godwit-and-friends-on-exposed-mudflats\/","url_meta":{"origin":9668,"position":4},"title":"Marbled Godwit and Friends on Exposed Mudflats","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2009 I photographed this foraging Marbled Godwit and friends on exposed mudflats of a Fort De Soto County Park lagoon.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Foraging Marbled Godwit on exposed mudflats, north beach of Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-willets-mia-mcpherson-6690.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-willets-mia-mcpherson-6690.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-willets-mia-mcpherson-6690.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-willets-mia-mcpherson-6690.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6198,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/09\/27\/marbled-godwit-in-a-tidal-lagoon\/","url_meta":{"origin":9668,"position":5},"title":"Marbled Godwit In A Tidal Lagoon","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a single image of a Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa) that strolled past me while I sat in the water photographing it. Every time I look at this image I feel a wonderful sense of peace, the same feeling I had when I took this photo.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Marbled Godwit in a tidal pool, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3322.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3322.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3322.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/marbled-godwit-florida-mia-mcpherson-3322.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}