Purple Sandpiper
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Purple Sandpiper International threshold: 750 Calidris maritima Great Britain threshold: 180 † All-Ireland threshold: 35* GB max: 1,745 Feb NI max: 106 Jan *50 is normally used as a minimum threshold Annual Index 2008/09 Previous five -year mean Trend Range 2003/04 - 2007/08 Figure 47.a, Annual indices & trend for Purple Figure 47.b, Monthly indices for Purple Sandpiper Sandpiper for GB. for GB. The wintering population of Purple distribution of this species in recent years, Sandpipers in the UK comprises birds which with the proportion of birds now found in breed in eastern Canada, Scandinavia and the north-western parts of the UK Svalbard. Birds breeding in Iceland and considered to have increased, indicating a much of Greenland are considered more shift towards the Canadian breeding likely to be resident. The majority are to be grounds (Rehfisch et al. 2004). found on relatively poorly monitored rocky The largest WeBS counts in 2008/09 shores along the Scottish coastline. Such related to 324 on Papa Westray in habitats are covered more effectively by November and 348+ on Farne Islands in the occasional NEWS (Non-Estuarine October; the two regularly counted sites of Waterbird survey), last carried out in 2007 national importance for this species. Counts (Austin et al. 2008). Typically, sizeable of more than 130 were also received from gatherings also concentrate at favoured six other sites in Scotland: Ardivachar Point sites during passage periods at either end of (South Uist), Moray Coast, Scuthvie Bay, the migration to and from the breeding Dee Estuary, Thurso Bay and Dornoch Firth. areas. Away from northern Britain, much smaller groups tend to frequent anthropogenic sites such as harbour entrances and sea defence structures, as well as the relatively limited stretches of rocky shore. In 2008/09, the highest counts from sites in England were 49 at Scarborough and 43 at Morecambe Bay, both in January, and 41 at Thanet Coast in February. In Northern Ireland, numbers at Outer Ards Shoreline, the most important site for the species in the country, were close to Purple Sandpipers (Tommy Holden) average. Notable peaks from the six other sites where Purple Sandpipers were Following a marked decline during the recorded included 21 at Belfast Lough in 1980s and 1990s, the national indices since November and 17 at Newcastle Shore in the turn of the 2000s have been largely February. stable at their current low level. There is a suggestion of a change in the winter 125 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 Mon Mean Sites of national importance in Great Britain Island of Papa Westray 385 431 413 324 Nov 388 35 Tiree 368 368 Farne Islands 375 116 (184) (171) (348) Oct 280 Sites of all-Ireland importance in Northern Ireland Outer Ards Shoreline 84 60 122 66 85 Jan 83 Sites with mean peak counts of 100 or more birds in Great Britain Ardivachar Point (South Uist) 144 200 139 108 233 Feb 165 Moray Coast 134 118 67 229 199 Dec 149 Scuthvie Bay (35) 164 130 Feb 147 Dee Estuary (Scotland) 185 157 140 88 145 Dec 143 Forth Estuary (93) 112 98 145 (114) Nov 118 13 Thurso Bay 120 28 50 160 170 Jan 106 Island of Egilsay 81 130 (90) 99 Jan 103 Sites below table qualifying levels but exceeding threshold in WeBS-Year 2008/09 in Great Britain Dornoch Firth 19 32 20 123 136 Jan 66 The Houb (Whalsay) 29 82 146 74 107 Apr 88 Beadnell to Seahouses 72 74 110 78 100 Dec 87 † as few sites exceed the British threshold a qualifying level of 100 has been chosen to select sites for presentation Dunlin International threshold: 13 ,300 Calidris alpina Great Britain threshold: 5,600 All-Ireland threshold: 880 GB max: 274,263 Dec NI max: 9,554 Jan Annual Index 2008/09 Previous five -year mean Trend Range 2003/04 - 2007/08 Figure 48.a, Annual indices & trend for Dunlin for Figure 48.b, Monthly indices for Dunlin for GB GB (above) & NI (below). (above) & NI (below). The British index for Dunlin reached its northern breeding populations are now lowest ever point in 2008/09; this species is wintering on the Wadden Sea, probably as a experiencing a strong decline in the UK with result of milder conditions. Declines in no signs of any change of fortune. This fall, wintering numbers of other wader species particularly in Britain, is strongly mirrored in UK, including Bar-tailed Godwit and by increasing numbers in the Netherlands Curlew, have also been attributed to similar (Hustings et al. 2009) indicating that a shifts in wintering distribution (Maclean et larger proportion of birds migrating from al. 2008). Conversely, numbers of Dunlin 126 recorded on the Wadden Sea on passage, spring and autumn migration at inland sites significantly declined during the 1990s in central Europe has shown that the Dunlin (www.waddensea-secretariat.org/TMAP/9- is one of three species (along with Wood birds.html ). Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper) which Of the 23 sites in the UK of international has significantly advanced its spring passage or national importance for Dunlin, only six (Adamík & Pietruszková 2008), presumably recorded a winter peak in 2008/09 that was in response to climatic amelioration. higher than the respective recent five-year In Northern Ireland, the overall trend has site average. At Chichester Harbour, counts also been one of steady decline in the past suggest there may have been some twelve years. In 2008/09, counts were displacement of birds from the adjacent variable at individual sites, seven of which Langstone Harbour which may explain the are of national importance. As far as the apparently large increase at the former two most important sites are concerned, site. In contrast, the most marked declines the count from Lough Foyle was the highest were at Mersey Estuary, The Wash and for five years whereas that at Strangford Langstone Harbour where peak counts in Lough was the lowest since 1992/93. 2008/09 were all at least 25% lower than Beale et al. (2006) found there to be the respective five-year site averages. significant annual variation in recruitment The highest individual site counts in the in Dunlins, which was strongly correlated last two WeBS-years have been noted at with summer temperature (but not rainfall) Ribble Estuary during spring passage, when on breeding grounds. Furthermore, the birds of the nominate race (which breeds same study found that years with high from Scandinavia north and westwards) are recruitment were correlated with increases joined by the arctica and schinzii races. in the national winter population estimate. Recent research into the phenology of 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 Mon Mean Sites of international importance in the UK Ribble Estuary (27,847) 29,305 33,506 52,551 (45,662) May 40,256 Thames Estuary 40,838 39,889 33,335 34,941 (26,842) Dec 37,251 11 Mersey Estuary 43,020 34,731 34,600 41,270 23,115 Jan 35,347 The Wash 42,361 35,468 25,913 24,523 24,444 Apr 30,542 Morecambe Bay 17,848 (27,110) 38,248 21,743 20,289 Dec 25,048 Humber Estuary (14,733) (26,305) (14,951) 16,730 (15,444) Jan 21,518 Severn Estuary (16,069) (19,561) 16,625 (16,072) 25,993 Nov 21,309 11 Dee Estuary (England and Wales) 16,878 19,867 35,834 12,094 16,855 Jan 20,306 Langstone Harbour 28,239 22,356 12,950 15,007 8,126 Feb 17,336 Chichester Harbour 12,651 12,989 14,152 (18,759) 26,311 Nov 16,972 Blackwater Estuary (16,007) 15,178 9,581 15,015 17,966 Dec 14,749 Sites of national importance in Great Britain Stour Estuary (8,156) 7,019 7,231 8,150 18,338 11 Feb 10,185 Solway Estuary (14,628) 9,396 6,512 (7,194) 7,836 Dec 9,593 Dengie Flats 8,254 13,018 (7,340) 6,116 10,650 Nov 9,510 Medway Estuary 9,373 11 7,367 (5,222) (9,132) (10,633) Dec 9,126 Duddon Estuary 6,970 11 8,741 11 6,542 14,523 8,000 13 Jan 8,955 Swale Estuary 9,181 7,830 5,706 (7,692) 6,419 Jan 7,366 Alt Estuary 8,540 5,184 7,630 7,652 7,819 May 7,365 Poole Harbour (7,026) (2,182) (2,196) (2,350) (3,271) Jan (7,026) Portsmouth Harbour 3,933 (9,228) (6,592) (7,002) (6,842) Feb 6,719 Colne Estuary (3,359) (5,323) (3,756) 6,716 11 (4,970) Dec 6,716 Burry Inlet 6,318 6,965 6,218 11 6,903 5,703 Jan 6,421 Forth Estuary 9,132 6,422 5,488 4,937 5,855 Dec 6,367 Breydon Water & Berney Marshes 4,387 8,072 11 5,755 11 5,310 13 4,720 13 Jan 5,649 Sites of all-Ireland importance in Northern Ireland 11 11 11 11 Strangford Lough 4,934 7,669 3,151 4,115 4,455 Dec 4,865 Lough Foyle 1,688 3,334 1,592 2,028 3,750 Feb 2,478 Carlingford Lough 2,238 1,573 (2,185) 2,621 1,552 Jan 2,034 Outer Ards Shoreline 742 1,119 2,810 739 605 Jan 1,203 Dundrum Inner Bay (497) 1,202 1,047 1,186 1,277 Feb 1,178 11 Belfast Lough 1,136 920 (1,712) 742 699 Dec 1,042 Bann Estuary 1,100 1,090 1,030 900 671 Jan 958 Sites no longer meeting table qualifying levels in WeBS-Year 2008/09 Lindisfarne 5,885 (5,540) 6,951 (5,315) 3,755 Feb 5,533 127 Buff-breasted Sandpiper Vagrant Tryngites subruficollis Native Range: America After none the previous year, two were records.