Conservationists
will attempt to give dozens of Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpipers a
head start this summer, by hand-rearing them for the first weeks of their lives
in Russia. The new strategy is part of an ongoing international conservation
effort that stretches from the coast of Bangladesh
and Burma
to the Russian Far East, and even has an outpost at Slimbridge in
Gloucestershire.
Spoon-billed
Sandpipers are estimated to number as few as 100 pairs.
Surveys from the
last few years show that just 0.6 birds fledge from each nest of four eggs on
average. Experience from last summer has shown that experts can successfully
raise at least three per nest over the same period by hand-rearing. Added to
this, it is hoped some pairs will lay a second clutch that they will raise
themselves.
Spoon-billed
Sandpiper
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper - Eurynorhynchus pygmeus - is a small
wader which breeds in north eastern Russia
and winters in South East Asia. They migrate
to the wintering grounds at the end of August. During winter it prefers mixed sandy tidal
mudflats with uneven surface and very shallow water, mainly in the outermost
parts of river deltas and outer islands.
Description
A small stint
with a most distinctive spatulate bill. The breeding adult bird has a red-brown
head, neck and breast with dark brown streaks. It has blackish upperparts with
buff and pale rufous fringing. Non-breeding adults lack the reddish
colouration, but have pale brownish-grey upperparts with whitish fringing to
the wing-coverts. The underparts are white and the legs are black.
Call
The contact calls
of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper include a quiet preep or a shrill wheer.
Food
The species feeds
by plover-style pecking and probing, also appearing to use its bill as a shovel.
It uses its unusual bill to probe for small invertebrates. It will also forage
by pushing its bill into the muddy sand of coastal areas. Chicks eat mainly
small insects and seeds.
Breeding
They nest between
June and July on coastal areas in the tundra, always within six kilometres of
the sea, choosing locations with grass close to freshwater pools. These birds will
return year after year to breed at the same nest site. The first males to
arrive at the breeding grounds occupy the largest territories. Pairs meet and
mate, laying eggs that are incubated for 19 to 23 days and hatch between early
July and early August. Both parents tend to their young.
Conservation Status – Critically Endangered
Recent research
suggests that the breeding population of Spoon-billed Sandpiper was between
120-200 pairs in 2009, with the species believed to be declining at approximately
26% per year, due to extremely low survival of juvenile birds. The current
estimate is as few as 100 pairs.
Threats - With very particular habitat requirements,
high nest site fidelity and a small population, habitat loss has had a large
impact on this species. As with many coastal regions, tidal mudflats are being
reclaimed for industry or aquaculture. Pollution, climate change and human
disturbance have also altered the habitat of this species, and hunting of
shorebirds contributes to the decline of the spoon-billed sandpiper.
Birdwatching
Ask Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures to
create a tour for you to see these Critically Endangered Spoon-billed
Sandpipers.