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With recent advancements in radio telemetry and datalogger technology, the need for long-term instrument attachment to medium-and small-sized birds is increasing. Glue applied to the skin and/or feathers is appropriate only for short-term deployment (Mong & Sandercock 2009, Warnock & Warnock 1993), with the expectation of natural shedding after instrument batteries are expended. Harness attachment, whether backpack or leg-loop design (eg, Rappole & Tipton 1991), offers longer retention, but can negatively affect behaviour (Sykes et al. 1990), breeding success (Rotella et al. 1993), flight speed (Irvine et al. 2009), or survival (Mong & Sandercock 2009). Long-distance migrants may be particularly ill-suited to back-mounted instrumentation, because drastic body mass changes make a proper harness fit problematic (Gill et al. 2009), and increased wind drag may significantly decrease flight range (Obrecht et al. 1988). Instrument attachment to the tibia is a viable option for sufficiently large birds, and is made practical by the availability of leg bands and flags used for individual identification. Instruments have typically been attached to metal or plastic leg bands with epoxy (eg, Haig et al. 2002, Morris & Burness 1992) or cable ties (eg, Phillips et al. 2009). With the advent of small-sized dataloggers that require recapture for data retrieval, and also have sufficient longevity to warrant redeployment of units, there is a growing need for durable attachment that is simple to both apply and remove. Here, we describe a leg-mounted attachment method successfully used on the Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica baueri, which performs the longest …