Eurynorhynchus pygmeus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

View Printer Friendly

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	SCOLOPACIDAE

Scientific Name:

Eurynorhynchus pygmeus

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Spoonbill Sandpiper

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Critically Endangered A2abcd+3bcd+4abcd;C2a(i) ver 3.1

Year Published:

2011

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S., Symes, A. & Taylor, J.

Contributor/s:

Chan, S., Li, Z., Moores, N., Stroud, D., Syroechkovskiy, E., Tomkovich, P. & Zöckler, C.

Justification:
This charismatic species is listed as Critically Endangered because it has an extremely small population which is undergoing an extremely rapid population reduction. This is because of a number of factors, including habitat loss in its breeding, passage and wintering grounds, which is compounded by disturbance, hunting and the effects of climate change. Fledging success and juvenile recruitment are very low, leading to fears that the population is ageing rapidly; action is now urgently required to prevent the extinction of this species.

History:

2010	–	Critically Endangered
2009	–	Critically Endangered
2008	–	Critically Endangered
2004	–	Endangered
2000	–	Vulnerable
1996	–	Vulnerable
1994	–	Vulnerable

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species has a naturally limited breeding range on the Chukotsk peninsula and southwards up to the isthmus of the Kamchatka peninsula, in north-eastern Russia. It migrates down the western Pacific coast through Russia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong (China), Taiwan (China) and Vietnam, to its main wintering grounds in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Wintering birds have also been recorded from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, in the Fujian province of China¹¹, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. It occurs regularly at only a few sites within this wintering range, with important countries including Bangladesh and Thailand, and Myanmar, which is potentially the most important wintering country (with 84 recorded in 2007-2008, 73 in January 2009¹⁴, and 89 in 2010¹⁹; 150-220 were estimated in the Bay of Martaban in 2010^16,19). In March-April 2010, a minimum total of 49 individuals were recorded during targeted surveys along the coast of Bangladesh¹⁷. Due to its specialised breeding habitat requirements it was probably always a scarce species, but numbers have dropped in recent years and surveys on the breeding grounds have revealed a dramatic 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 2005⁴ and not more than 150-320 pairs in 2008⁹. The breeding population in 2009-2010 was optimistically estimated at 120-200 pairs^16,17 (in an estimated total population of 500-800 individuals¹⁶), perhaps indicating an 88% decline since 2002, equating to an annual rate of decline of 26%¹⁶. These declines have taken place across all known breeding sites, and it is unlikely that significant colonies remain undiscovered^3,4. Declines are also being observed at wintering grounds. For example, no birds were sighted wintering in Vietnam in 2009 at a site that supported at least 27 birds in the mid 1990s¹². Breeding success is very low: average productivity was 0.66 young fledged per nest in 2005, and much lower in 2007, and this is compounded by a very low rate of juveniles and adults returning to the breeding grounds. The species now has an ageing and rapidly declining population with little recruitment. For example, data collected on birds at one breeding area from 2003 to 2009 suggest that recruitment into the adult breeding population was effectively zero in all years apart from 2005 and 2007¹⁶. Evidence to support suspicions that immature birds stay on their wintering grounds until their second year came from photographs of a second calendar-year bird in Thailand in July 2010²⁰.
Countries:	Native: Bangladesh; China; Hong Kong; India; Japan; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Malaysia; Myanmar; Philippines; Russian Federation; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Taiwan, Province of China; Thailand; Viet Nam Vagrant: Canada; United States
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The breeding population in 2009/2010 was estimated at 120-200 pairs (Zöckler et al. 2010a, C. Zöckler per Bird et al. 2010), but this is thought to be optimistic (Zöckler et al. 2010a).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It has a very specialised breeding habitat, using only lagoon spits with crowberry-lichen vegetation or dwarf birch and willow sedges, together with adjacent estuary or mudflat habitats that are used as feeding sites by adults during nesting. The species has never been recorded breeding further than 5 km (and exceptionally once, 7 km) from the sea shore. Breeding birds are very site faithful. It breeds either in single pairs or loose aggregations¹³. 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, often with a higher sand content and thin mud layer on top. In the areas with total coastal conversion it favours certain stages in the management of saltpans¹³. The species feeds by plover-style pecking and occasionally probing¹³, also appearing to use its bill as a shovel¹⁷.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

It has a very specialised breeding habitat, using only lagoon spits with crowberry-lichen vegetation or dwarf birch and willow sedges, together with adjacent estuary or mudflat habitats that are used as feeding sites by adults during nesting. The species has never been recorded breeding further than 5 km (and exceptionally once, 7 km) from the sea shore. Breeding birds are very site faithful. It breeds either in single pairs or loose aggregations¹³. 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, often with a higher sand content and thin mud layer on top. In the areas with total coastal conversion it favours certain stages in the management of saltpans¹³. The species feeds by plover-style pecking and occasionally probing¹³, also appearing to use its bill as a shovel¹⁷.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Throughout its migratory and wintering ranges, tidal flats are being reclaimed for industry, infrastructure and aquaculture and are becoming increasingly polluted. The important staging area at Saemangeum and Geum estuary, South Korea, including the Mangyeung and Tongjin estuaries, has already been reclaimed, and remaining wetlands are under serious threat of reclamation in the near future⁴. Another important passage site, with up to 20 birds, is Rudong (China), which has been negatively affected by an introduced grass and is ear-marked for reclamation in the near future²¹ as well as being the site for development of the largest wind farm in Asia⁶. Plans for a deep-water port at Sonadia and cross-dams along the coast of Bangladesh continue to pose threats¹⁷. Although not specifically targeted, it is regularly caught in nets set to catch other waders for food in the key wintering areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar^6,8,17,19, and this may be a particularly serious threat to birds wintering on Nan Thar Island and in the Gulf of Martaban, Myanmar^6,19. Hunting in the species's non-breeding range could be a crucial factor in the poor rate of recruitment into the breeding population, as immature birds do not return to the breeding areas until they are two years old and thus are more exposed to capture¹⁶. There are no immediate threats to the breeding grounds, but nests in the vicinity of villages are sometimes destroyed by dogs⁵. Poor breeding productivity in recent years has been attributed to heavy nest predation and bad weather¹⁵. Significant habitat degradation has been observed in 5 of 30 visited breeding locations⁶. Human disturbance, both by residents and researchers, may cause increased levels of nest desertion and predation by foxes and skuas⁴. Shorebirds, including this species, are also occasionally killed by children with slingshots⁴; one male was also shot by a Russian hunter near the Chinese border in 2008⁷. Small but significant numbers of birds and their eggs have been collected for scientific purposes in the last 20 years, with one small colony completely wiped out due to this activity⁴. Climate change and associated habitat shifts are expected to impact negatively on this species and others dependent on tundra habitat for breeding. Modelling indicates that 57% of the breeding habitat for this species could be lost by 2070².

Major Threat(s):

Throughout its migratory and wintering ranges, tidal flats are being reclaimed for industry, infrastructure and aquaculture and are becoming increasingly polluted. The important staging area at Saemangeum and Geum estuary, South Korea, including the Mangyeung and Tongjin estuaries, has already been reclaimed, and remaining wetlands are under serious threat of reclamation in the near future⁴. Another important passage site, with up to 20 birds, is Rudong (China), which has been negatively affected by an introduced grass and is ear-marked for reclamation in the near future²¹ as well as being the site for development of the largest wind farm in Asia⁶. Plans for a deep-water port at Sonadia and cross-dams along the coast of Bangladesh continue to pose threats¹⁷. Although not specifically targeted, it is regularly caught in nets set to catch other waders for food in the key wintering areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar^6,8,17,19, and this may be a particularly serious threat to birds wintering on Nan Thar Island and in the Gulf of Martaban, Myanmar^6,19. Hunting in the species's non-breeding range could be a crucial factor in the poor rate of recruitment into the breeding population, as immature birds do not return to the breeding areas until they are two years old and thus are more exposed to capture¹⁶. There are no immediate threats to the breeding grounds, but nests in the vicinity of villages are sometimes destroyed by dogs⁵. Poor breeding productivity in recent years has been attributed to heavy nest predation and bad weather¹⁵. Significant habitat degradation has been observed in 5 of 30 visited breeding locations⁶. Human disturbance, both by residents and researchers, may cause increased levels of nest desertion and predation by foxes and skuas⁴. Shorebirds, including this species, are also occasionally killed by children with slingshots⁴; one male was also shot by a Russian hunter near the Chinese border in 2008⁷. Small but significant numbers of birds and their eggs have been collected for scientific purposes in the last 20 years, with one small colony completely wiped out due to this activity⁴. Climate change and associated habitat shifts are expected to impact negatively on this species and others dependent on tundra habitat for breeding. Modelling indicates that 57% of the breeding habitat for this species could be lost by 2070².

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway CMS Appendix I and II. Protected areas in its breeding, staging and wintering areas include Moroshechnaya and several local wildlife refuges on the Chukotsk peninsula (Russia), Yancheng and Chongming Dongtan (China), Mai Po (Hong Kong), Lanyang estuary (Taiwan), Point Calimere and Chilka lake (India), and Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve (Vietnam). Annual surveys are undertaken of breeding sites on Chukotka and over 450 adults and young have been ringed on the breeding grounds since 2000¹⁰. Local support groups have been established in some breeding areas and negotiations have taken place to reduce short-term hunting pressure at one of the key wintering sites in Myanmar^8,19. Researchers and a local environmentalist group convinced two villages on Nan Thar Island to agree to a hunting ban of the species, with a view to develop an ecologically and economically sound alternative in the future^6,19. In the Bay of Martaban, socio-economic surveys carried out in early 2010 indicated that bird-hunting is undesirable and that most hunters would readily switch to alternative livelihoods if assisted²². These surveys were swiftly followed by mitigation activities in the same year, in which hunters agreed to stop their activities in exchange for equipment to provide them with an alternative income source and awareness-raising events and materials were provided for whole communities²³. A Species Action Plan was produced in 2008¹⁰, with an updated version published in 2010²⁴. Studies into the feasibility of captive breeding and use of data-loggers on small calidrine waders were on-going in 2009¹⁵. A captive-rearing and breeding programme is programmed to start in 2011 with eggs being collected on in Chukotka and the young birds being transported to purpose built conservation breeding facilities at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust headquarters at Slimbridge, UK¹⁸. Conservation Actions Proposed Continue to monitor numbers at known breeding sites and carry out searches of suitable habitat in North Kamchatka. Actively prevent collection of eggs and birds for scientific purposes, museums and private collections. Take measures to ensure that researcher activity does not increase mortality. Ensure effective legal protection of all known breeding sites. Survey existing and potential wintering sites in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Stop hunting and trapping at key sites in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Russia. Ensure protection of newly discovered sites and existing sites, especially in South Korea. Campaign against the continued reclamation of intertidal mudflats along the entire migration route. Restore reclaimed wetland sites. Campaign to stop shorebird hunting in Asian countries. Legally protect it in all range states. Identify and mitigate pressures at breeding grounds. Lobby against plans for a deep-water port at Sonadia, Bangladesh¹⁷. Pursue protected area status for the Bay of Martaban and other coastal sites in Myanmar²³.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
CMS Appendix I and II. Protected areas in its breeding, staging and wintering areas include Moroshechnaya and several local wildlife refuges on the Chukotsk peninsula (Russia), Yancheng and Chongming Dongtan (China), Mai Po (Hong Kong), Lanyang estuary (Taiwan), Point Calimere and Chilka lake (India), and Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve (Vietnam). Annual surveys are undertaken of breeding sites on Chukotka and over 450 adults and young have been ringed on the breeding grounds since 2000¹⁰. Local support groups have been established in some breeding areas and negotiations have taken place to reduce short-term hunting pressure at one of the key wintering sites in Myanmar^8,19. Researchers and a local environmentalist group convinced two villages on Nan Thar Island to agree to a hunting ban of the species, with a view to develop an ecologically and economically sound alternative in the future^6,19. In the Bay of Martaban, socio-economic surveys carried out in early 2010 indicated that bird-hunting is undesirable and that most hunters would readily switch to alternative livelihoods if assisted²². These surveys were swiftly followed by mitigation activities in the same year, in which hunters agreed to stop their activities in exchange for equipment to provide them with an alternative income source and awareness-raising events and materials were provided for whole communities²³. A Species Action Plan was produced in 2008¹⁰, with an updated version published in 2010²⁴. Studies into the feasibility of captive breeding and use of data-loggers on small calidrine waders were on-going in 2009¹⁵. A captive-rearing and breeding programme is programmed to start in 2011 with eggs being collected on in Chukotka and the young birds being transported to purpose built conservation breeding facilities at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust headquarters at Slimbridge, UK¹⁸.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Continue to monitor numbers at known breeding sites and carry out searches of suitable habitat in North Kamchatka. Actively prevent collection of eggs and birds for scientific purposes, museums and private collections. Take measures to ensure that researcher activity does not increase mortality. Ensure effective legal protection of all known breeding sites. Survey existing and potential wintering sites in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Stop hunting and trapping at key sites in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Russia. Ensure protection of newly discovered sites and existing sites, especially in South Korea. Campaign against the continued reclamation of intertidal mudflats along the entire migration route. Restore reclaimed wetland sites. Campaign to stop shorebird hunting in Asian countries. Legally protect it in all range states. Identify and mitigate pressures at breeding grounds. Lobby against plans for a deep-water port at Sonadia, Bangladesh¹⁷. Pursue protected area status for the Bay of Martaban and other coastal sites in Myanmar²³.

Bibliography [top]

	BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. Tomkovich, P. S.; Syroechkovski, E. E.; Lappo, E. G.; Zöckler, C. 2002. First indications of a sharp population decline in the globally threatened Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus. Bird Conservation International 12: 1-18. Zöckler, C. 2005. Spoon-billed Sandpiper expedition Chukotka 2005. Zöckler, C.; Bunting, G. 2006. International Single species Action Plan for the conservation of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus. Zöckler, C.; Lysenko, I. 2000. Water birds on the edge. First circumpolar assessment of climate change impact on Arctic breeding water birds. WCMC, Cambridge, UK. Zöckler, C.; Syroechkovski, E. E.; Bunting, G. C. 2008. International Action Plan for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. BirdLife International Asia, Tokyo. Zöckler, C.; Syroechkovskiy, E. E. 2008. Report update from the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Recovery Team. Zöckler, C.; Thin Hla. 2009. Spoon-billed Sandpiper Expedition Myanmar 2009.

BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

Tomkovich, P. S.; Syroechkovski, E. E.; Lappo, E. G.; Zöckler, C. 2002. First indications of a sharp population decline in the globally threatened Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus. Bird Conservation International 12: 1-18.

Zöckler, C. 2005. Spoon-billed Sandpiper expedition Chukotka 2005.

Zöckler, C.; Bunting, G. 2006. International Single species Action Plan for the conservation of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus.

Zöckler, C.; Lysenko, I. 2000. Water birds on the edge. First circumpolar assessment of climate change impact on Arctic breeding water birds. WCMC, Cambridge, UK.

Zöckler, C.; Syroechkovski, E. E.; Bunting, G. C. 2008. International Action Plan for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. BirdLife International Asia, Tokyo.

Zöckler, C.; Syroechkovskiy, E. E. 2008. Report update from the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Recovery Team.

Zöckler, C.; Thin Hla. 2009. Spoon-billed Sandpiper Expedition Myanmar 2009.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2011. Eurynorhynchus pygmeus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2012.
Disclaimer:	To make use of this information, please check the <Terms of Use>.
Feedback:	If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided