Surveys to find previously undiscovered breeding sites of the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper got a boost this month with funding and logistical support from a New Zealand-based expedition company.
Russian and international scientists working with BirdLife have been monitoring diminishing populations of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus), at several important breeding sites in Chukotka and Northern Kamchatka for more than 20 years.
Birdlife International has just announced a new BirdLife Species Champion for the rare Sandpiper, to provide logistical and financial support that will enable new surveys to be carried out. The expedition travel company, Heritage Expeditions, (based in Christchurch), will provide access from the sea for the surveys, via its expedition ship, “Spirit of Enderby”.
Past surveys reveal rapid decline
Surveys for Spoon-billed Sandpipers in 2009, revealed a serious reduction in the population at wintering sites in Myanmar when international scientists recorded only 48 of these critically endangered birds, in surveys that counted more than 5700 other shorebirds at those sites.
Conservationists have in the past been unable to establish exactly where the Spoon-billed Sandpipers breed in many of the coastal areas of the Northern Kamchatka and Chukotka regions of the Russian Far East.
Logistical and financial support
Recent studies together with new mapping and modelling techniques have identified several other areas where Spoon-billed Sandpipers are highly likely to breed. The challenge has been getting to these sites, due to the vast scale of the areas needing surveys, combined with the remoteness and inaccessibility.
The funding and assistance of Heritage Expeditions means that these surveys can now be conducted in those areas where an approach from the sea is essential.
The company is promoting a new voyage to the area, called ‘In the Wake of Bering’, that will take place in June and July this year. The voyage will provide a dedicated search for breeding Spoon-billed Sandpipers in the Olyutorsky Bay area, that was inaccessible to ground-based searchers.
First surveys of the area
The voyage will divide participants into small groups in searches for the birds under the supervision of BirdLife’s scientists. As this is the first detailed survey of this area all species encountered will be recorded and notes will be taken on the suitability of habitat encountered, says Rodney Russ, conservationist and owner of Heritage Expeditions.
“Our remarkable ship – The Spirit of Enderby – unlocks the opportunity for this urgent piece of research to be undertaken. We are delighted to be able to offer our customers this extraordinary adventure and support the vital conservation action required for Spoon-billed Sandpiper in this way”, he says.
BirdLife International’s Preventing Extinctions Programme Manager, Jim Lawrence says that while there is ‘much hype in the tourism industry about unique travel opportunities, this expedition offers just that.’
“Heritage Expedition’s customers will not only visit places tourists have never set foot in before, they will also be directly contributing to conservation. We are very excited about the new opportunities this initiative represents.”
Visit to known breeding sites
After the surveys for new breeding sites for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, the voyage will continue north to the species’ main study site at Meinypilgyno. This is an area where Birds Russia, and BirdLife International, are already monitoring breeding Spoon-billed Sandpipers. Whether the earlier surveys are successful or not, participants will have another good chance of seeing nesting Spoon-billed Sandpipers under controlled conditions that minimise disturbance.
Rapid population reduction in the migratory Spoon-billed Sandpipers has been attributed to a number of factors, including habitat loss in its breeding, passage and wintering grounds. This has been made worse by disturbance, hunting and the effects of climate change. Fledgling success and juvenile recruitment are also very low.
Reduced populations along migration routes
This species migrates south from its breeding grounds, down the western Pacific coast through Russia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, to its main wintering grounds in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
It occurs regularly at only a few sites within its wintering range with important countries including Bangladesh, Thailand, and Myanmar, which is potentially the most important wintering country. In this area there were more than 80 recorded in 2007-2008 and 63 in January 2009).
Breeding ground surveys
Due to its specialised breeding habitat requirements the Spoon-billed Sandpiper is likely to have always been a scarce species, but numbers have dropped in recent years. Surveys on the breeding grounds have revealed a critical decline from 2,000-2,800 pairs in the 1970s to fewer than 1,000 pairs in 2000, 402-572 pairs in 2003, 350-380 pairs in 2005 and not more than 150-320 pairs in 2008/9.
These declines have taken place across all known breeding colonies, and it is hoped that significant new colonies will be found with the new surveys.
References
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
