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Dutch Spoonbillsplatalea leucorodiaand a Finnish Turnstone Arenaria interpreson tropical islands: countsof shorebirds in the Cape Verdes in March 1996

Klaas van Dijk & TheoBakker

Dijk, K. van & Bakker,T. 1998.Dutch Spoonbills Platalea leucorodiaand a FinnishTumstone Arenaria interpreson tropicalislands: counts of shorebirdsin the CapeVerdes in March 1996. WaderStudy Group Bull. 86:40 - 43

Thispaper presents the results of a surveyof winteringwaders and other waterbirds at theCape Verde Islands. In total, 1,702waders of 19 specieswere counted. Tumstone Arenaria interpres was the most abundant species. Our resultsconfirm earlier studies showing that the CapeVerdes do not supportlarge numbers of winteringwaders.

Klaasvan Dijk, Vermeerstraat48, 9718 SN Groningen,The Netherlands. Theo Bakker,Javalaan 53A, 9715 GS Groningen,The Netherlands.

INTRODUCTION Almost 7.5 million wadersuse the EastAtlantic Flyway. The Table 1 shows the maximum numbers recorded at each site majorityof thesewinter in wetlandsalong the Ariantic coast of duringany one visit. The sewagefarm nearMindelo (Sgo Africa, mainly at the Bancd'Arguin in Mauritaniaand in the Vicente) was visited on 9 March (between 16:30 and 18:30) Arguip61agodos Bijag6s in Guinea-Bissau(Smit & Piersma andon 10 March (throughoutthe day). The coastlineof Porto 1989). When Hazevoet(1992, 1995) summarisedall available Grande (west of Mindelo) was visited on 10 March at low tide, informationon wadersof the CapeVerde Islands, he concluded but the waderspresent here roost at the sewageponds during that limited numberswinter there. In addition,only three high fide. Countswere made at the lagoonnear Sgo Pedro waderspecies breed on the CapeVerdes: Black-winged Stilt (SgoVicente) on 11 Marchand at the lagoonnear Santa Himantopushimantopus, Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius Monicabeach (Boavista) on 19 March. Rabil lagoon cursor and Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus. (Boavista) was countedon 18, 20, 21 and 22 March and the surroundingsof Sal Rei (Boavista)on 19, 21 and22 March. The Repfblicade CaboVerde is an oceanicarchipelago of We sawno exchangebetween these two areas.The lagoons volcanicorigin situated in the easternAtlantic (14-17øN 22- nearPedra Badejo (Santiago) were visitedtwice (23 and26 25ow), 500-800 km westof S6n6gal.There are nine inhabited March) andthe Pedrade Lume salt-pans(Sal) andthe salt- islands and several uninhabited islets. The total land area is pansand the beachnear Santa Maria (Sal) on 29 March. 4,033km 2. Largeareas are extremely arid and therefore Observations elsewhere included birds seen around Praia unfavourable for waders and other waterbirds. There are no (Santiago),Palmeira (Sal), Tarrafal(Sgo Nicolau), Porto Novo siteswith permanentfresh water and no intertidalmudflats. (SantoAntgo) and on Raso. Althoughwe were concerned Most islandshave large stretches of steeprocky shores; some mainly with waders,other waterbirds were countedas well. islandshave long stretchesof sandybeaches and some semi- For further details and details about other birds observed see permanentlagoons. There are somesalt-pans on theeastern Bakker & Van Dijk (1996). Descriptionsof vagrantswere islands. The islandSgo Vicente has a sewagefarm. Between3 submittedto Dr C.J. Hazevoet(Cape VerdeRarities and 30 March 1996, we visitedthe CapeVerdes on a private Committee)and acceptedon the Cape Verdianlist (Hazevoet birdwatchingtrip, primarilyto studyendemics and seabirds 1997). (Bakker& Van Dijk 1996). Waderswere by far the most numerousPalearctic migrants observed during our trip. We cardedout countsof wadersat the major sitesand the results RESULTS are presentedin this article. Waders In total, 1,702 wadersof 19 differentspecies were counted METHODS (Table 1). Most birds(542 individuals)and most species (14) All countswere carded out on foot, using10x binocularsand a werecounted at the sewagefarm nearMindelo, followed by 20-45xtelescope. All sitesvisited were rather small and open the surroundingsof Sal Rei andthe Rabil lagoonwhich and easyto survey.Most countswere cardedout without togetherheld 561 wadersof 11 species. regardto thetide. Duringour trip we visitedseven islands: Santiago,Sgo Vicente, Santo Antgo, Sgo Nicolau, Boavista, Sal The mostnumerous and widespreadspecies were Tumstone and the uninhabited islet of Raso. The sites visited are listed in Arenaria interpresand Sandealing Calidris alba, bothlong- 41

Table 1. Summafisedmaximum of waderscounted on the CapeVerde Islands in March 1996. Key to sites:1. sewagefarm nearMindelo (SiloVicente), 2 lagoonnear Silo Pedro (Silo Vicente), 3. beachand harbour near Tarrafal (Silo Nicolau), 4. Rabil lagoon(Boavista), 5. surroundingsof Sal Rei (Boavista), 6. lagoonnear Santa Monica beach (Boavista), 7. PedraBadejo lagoons (Santiago), 8. Pedrade Lumesalt-pans (Sal), 9. salt-pansand beach at SantaMafia (Sal), 10. observations elsewhere.

SITES

SPECIES I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TOTAL

Himantopushimantopus - 2 - - 28 - 30 Cursorius cursor - 2 .... 14 16 Charadrius dubius 3 ...... 3 Charadrius hiaticula 40 5 - 8 9 6 8 3 79 Charadrius alexandrinus 60 17 - 45 20 7 3 19 21 1 193 Pluvialis squatarola 12 1 - 12 4 4 - 3 3 39 Calidris alba 80 31 3 45 11 1 7 66 28 38 310 Calidris minuta 35 - - 5 2 - 18 5 65 Calidris minutilla 1 ..... 1 Calidrisferruginea .... 1O0 1 101 Philomachuspugnax 1 ...... 1 Gallinago gallinago 1 ...... 1 Limosa lapponica .... 2 - - 2 Numeniusphaeopus 14 - 1 2 5 9 - - 2 5 38 Tringa totanus ...... 3 - 3 Tringa nebularia 40 - 1 2 1 1 3 2 - 50 Tringa glareola 10 ..... 10 Actitis hypoleucos 20 - 2 4 - - 4 - 5 35 Arenaria interpres 225 - 30 47 335 5 1 8 34 40 725

TOTALS 542 54 36 173 388 29 22 256 99 103 1702 distancePalearctic migrants. These were followed numerically Other waterbirds by the residentKentish Plover; breeding birds were recordedat Among the otherwaterbirds, Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis was by the sewagefarm nearMindelo (onepair with two pulli of about far the mostabundant species (Table 2). The highestnumber one week), at Rabil lagoon(one pair with threepulli) andat a of thisAfrotropical visitor was 540 at a roostat the sewage lagoonnear SantaMonica beach(one pullusof abouttwo farm near Mindelo, and at least 90 were at a roost in Praia. weeksold). Breedingbehaviour of Cream-colouredCourser Smaller numbers were observed on Santo Antiio, Silo Nicolau wasrecorded near Praia (one pair displayingon 4 March). and Boavista. Breedingbehaviour of Black-wingedStilt was not recorded. Little EgretsEgretta garzettawere observedon all seven We recordedtwo waderspecies previously unknown from the islandsvisited. The highestnumber was 15 at the sewage Cape Verdes(Hazevoet 1995; Hazevoetet al. 1996). A Least pondsof Mindelo and at least 10 were at a roostin Praia. On SandpiperCalidris minutilla was observed on 9 and 10 March 21 and 22 March, a Little Egret with orangewing marks(black at the sewagefarm nearMindelo, and a SnipeGallinago inscription"SFR") was seenat the Rabil lagoon. This bird was gallinagoflushed from this site on 9 March. ringedas a chickon 6 July 1995 nearAigues-Mortes (Camargue)in France [43o34N 04O11E]and was sightedon 19 Two Tumstoneswith metal ringswere seenaround Sal Rei. August 1995 some100 km west of Aigues-Mortes,near the On 22 March, we were ableto readwith a telescopethe coast.The distancebetween the Camargueand the Rabil completeinscription on the metalring of onebird while it was lagoonis approximately4,000 km. foragingon fish offal in the harbour.This Tumstone (HELSINKI AT 067432) was caughton 9 July 1990 at S•ippi, WesternReef HeronsEgretta gularis were seenin Praia (up to Luvia in Finland [61O29N21O21E] as a full-grown bird (born two on 4, 5, 25 and 26 March) and at the PedraBadejo lagoons before 1990) with a wing lengthof 157 mm and a weightof (one on 26 March). Between20 and 22 March, up to two 104.5 g. The bird was caughtagain at the sameplace on 11 IntermediateEgrets Egretta intermediawere presentat Rabil July 1990. The distancebetween the ringingsite and Sal Rei is lagoon[photograph in Dutch Birding 18 (1996): 95]. The very 6,136 km. rare endemicCape Verde Purple Heron Ardea bournei was observedbreeding in the knowncolony at Boa Entrada (Santiago)[photograph in DutchBirding 18 (1996): 93]. There 42

Table 2. Summarisedmaximum of otherwaterbird species observed on the (1992) that only limited numbersof migrantwaders winter on CapeVerde Islands in March 1996. the CapeVerdes. Fluctuationsin numbersat varioussites are clearlydue to local conditionssuch as waterlevel. SPECIES NUMBER We agreewith Hazevoet(1992) thatTumstone was by far the Cattle Egret Bubulcusibis 741 commonestspecies. This is notsuprising in view of the many WesternReef Heron Egretta gularis 3 rockyshores. In addition,the speciesis oftenfound around Little Egret Egrettagarzetta 40 coastalvillages, foraging at rubbishdumps and on fish offal. IntermediateEgret Egretta intermedia 2 Our total of 725 is the highestnumber ever recorded. It is Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 18 certain,however, that total numbers at the CapeVerdes are considerablyhigher as Tumstones are widespread along rocky CapeVerde Purple Heron Ardea bournei 7 shoresthroughout the archipelago(Hazevoet 1995). This is SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodia 3 alsolikely for someother species, particularly Kentish Plover Duck Anas sp. 1 (alsopresent at Maio andon sitesnot visitedon Boavistaand Little Tern Sternaalbifrons 3 Santiago),Sandealing (present on sandybeaches of Maio, Boavista,Sal and SgoVicente) and Whimbrel Numenius werefour occupiednests; on 24 Marchchicks were seenin phaeopus(widespread in smallnumbers throughout the threenests. For furtherdetails see Bakker & Van Dijk (1996). archipelago).

Threeimmature Spoonbills Platalea leucorodiaarrived on 9 At least35 waderspecies occur in theCape Verdes (Hazevoet March at the sewagefarm nearMindelf. Two birdswere 1995, 1997;Hazevoet et al. 1996). Two species,Least unringed,one was colour-ringedwith a blackcolour-ring Sandpiperand Snipe, have not beenrecorded previously. (inscription"E") on the left tarsusand two colour-ringswithout LeastSandpiper is a rareNearctic vagrant to theWestern inscription(green above white) on the right tarsus.All three Palearctic with some records from other East Atlantic Island birdswere alsopresent on 10 March andthey were observed groups(Azores and CanaryIslands, Lewington et al. 1991; againat the samesite on 24 April (Hazevoet1997). The Gantlett1995). Snipeis a rathercommon Palearctic winter colour-markedSpoonbill was ringed as a chickon 26 May visitorto weftandsin WestAfrica southof the Sahara(Cramp 1994 on Terschelling[53ø25'N 05ø29'E], one of the Dutch & Simmons1983). Up to the present,there has only beenone WaddenSea islands. Between 16 July and 10 September1994, recordof an unidentifiedsnipe Gallinago gallinago/media thisbird was observedregularly at the nearbyWadden Sea from the CapeVerdes (Hazevoet 1995). island Ameland. Thereafter there were no observations until our record. Up to May 1998,there had been no furtherrecords Wymengaet al. (1990) providegood evidence that the of this individual. The distance between the Wadden Sea and majorityof Tumstoneswintering in WestAfrica belongto the Mindelf is 4,882 km. Accordingto their bill pattern,both the Fenno-Scandian/WestRussian breeding population. Our otherbirds also belonged to P I. leucorodia. observationof a FinnishTumstone supports this. It would appear(Hazevoet 1995) thatour sightingof a ringedTumstone An unidentifiedduck was seenon 8 March, flying eastat sea is thefirst recoveryof a waderfrom the CapeVerdes. off Vila da Ribeira Grande(Santo Antgo). Presumablythis bird was a Pintail Anas acuta, but it was seentoo late for a properidentification. Little TernsSterna albifrons (two adults, Other waterbirds one first-winter)were observedalong the shoreof Boavista, The numberof waterbirdsand the numberof specieswere very nearthe Rabil lagoon. low.This is caused•mainly by lack of suitablehabitat. Comparedwith manyEuropean and African coasts, the completeabsence of gullsduring our visitwas surprising. DISCUSSION Waders WesternReef Heron appearsto be a regularAfrotropical Hazevoet (1992) statedthat numbersat varioussites on the visitor in small numbers: five of the seven earlier records have CapeVerdes remain rather stable from lateAugust until April. beensince 1986 (Hazevoetet al. 1996). IntermediateEgret is Directobservations of springmigration of wadersleaving the anAfrotropical vagrant with four earlierrecords. Litfte Egrets BancdArguin support this: most of the long-distancemigrants aresupposed to be breedingresidents (Hazevoet 1995). Our winteringon the Banc d'Arguindo not leave the areabefore observationof a markedbird from the Camargueis the first April (Piersmaet al. 1990). It is reasonable,therefore, to proofthat Palearctic migrants also visit the CapeVerdes. considerour resultsas a censusof winteringwaders. OtherWest African recoveriesof Litfte Egretsbreeding in the Camarguehave been reported from theGambia, Mali and Data summarisedfrom the countsof Hazevoet (1992) indicate Ghana(Voisin 1991). a total of 900-1,200 waderswintering at the majorlocations. Our total of 1,702 was mainly due to highernumbers on Spoonbillsare probablyannual Palearctic visitors in small Boavistaand at the sewageponds near Mindelf. On the other numbers(Hazevoet et al. 1996). The colour-markedindividual hand,our countsat the PedraBadejo lagoons (almost dried wasthe first recoveryof a DutchSpoonbill at theCape Verdes out) and at the Pedrade Lume salt-panswere lower. (WorkingGroup Spoonbill International). In winter,most Nevertheless,our figuressupport the conclusionof Hazevoet DutchSpoonbills stay at the Bancd'Arguin in Mauritaniaand 43 in the deltaof the S6n6galriver alongthe border of Mauritania Hazevoet,C.J. 1992. Migrant andresident waders in the Cape VerdeIslands. andS6n6gal. There has only been one recovery further south: WaderStudy Group Bull. 64: 46-50. an immaturebird which landedon a shipoff SierraLeone Hazevoet,C.J. 1995. The Birds of the Cape VerdeIslands. BOU-checklist 13. [09ø30'N 16ø20'W] (Poorter1982). BOU, Tring.

Hazevoet,C.J. 1997. Noteson distribution,conservation, and taxonomyof birdsfrom the CapeVerde Islands, including records of six speciesnew to the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS archipelago.Bull. Zool. Mus. Univ.Amsterdam 15: 89-100. We are gratefulto H. Horn and O. Overdijk (WorkingGroup SpoonbillInternational, The Netherlands)for additional Hazevoet,C.J., Fischer,S. & Deloison,G. 1996. Ornithologicalnews from the informationabout the colour-markedSpoonbill, to Dr H. CapeVerde Islands in 1995,including records of speciesnew to the archipelago.Bull. Zool. Mus. Univ.Amsterdam 15: 21-27. Hafner (StationBiologique Tour du Valat, Camargue,France) for his quickreply concerningthe wing-markedLittle Egret Lewington,I., Alstr6m,P. & Colston,P. 1991.Afield guideto the rare birdsof andto the Ringing Centreof Finlandfor their detailed Britain and Europe. Domino Books, Jersey. informationabout the ringedTurnstone. Finally, we thankM. Piersma,T., Klaassen,M., Bruggemann,J.H., Blomert,A.-M., Gueye,A., Engelmoerand Dr C.J. Hazevoet for valuablecomments on a Ntiamoa-Baidu,Y. & Brederode,N.E. van. 1990. Seasonaltiming of the spring draft of thismanuscript, and two anonymousreferees who departureof wadersfrom the BancdArguin, Mauritania. Ardea 78: 123-134. commentedon the final versionof the manuscript. Poorter,E.ER. 1982. Migration et dispersiondes Spatules nfiefiandaises. L'Oiseau et R.F.O. 52: 305-334.

REFERENCES Smit,C.J. & Piersma,T. 1989.Numbers, midwinter distribution and migration Bakker,T. & Dijk, K. van. 1996. CABO VERDE MARCH 1996: reportof a 4- of waderpopulations using the EastAtlantic Flyway. In: Boyd, H. & Pirot,J.- weekbirdwatching trip to the Cape Verdesin March 1996. Privatelypublished Y. (eds.)Flyways and reserve networks for waterbirds. IWRB Special report,Groningen. Publication No 9: 24-63.

Cramp,S. & Simmons,K.E.L. (eds.).1983. Handbook of the birdsof Europe, Voisin,C. 1991. TheHerons of Europe.Poyser, London. NorthAfrica and the Middle East: the birdsof the WesternPalearctic. Vol. III. OxfordUniversity Press, Oxford. Wymenga,E., Engelmoer,M., Smit, C.J. & Spanje,T.M. van. 1990. Geographicalbreeding origin and migration of waderswintering in West Gantlett,S. 1995. 1994: the WesternPalearctic year. Birding World8: 22-39. Africa. Ardea 78: 83-112.