Threatened shorebird species of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway: significance for Australian wader study groups

DAVID MILTON

Australasian Wader Studies Group and Queensland Wader Study Group Committee member, 336 Prout Rd., Burbank4156 QId., Australia, e-mail: pitta @gil.com.au

Milton, D. 2003. Threatenedshorebird species of the East Asian-AustralasianFlyway: significancefor Australianwader studygroups Wader StudyGroup Bull. 100:105-110.

The EastAsian-Australasian Flyway hasthe dubiousdistinction of havingmore threatened shorebird species than all otherflyways combined.I summarisethe speciesat risk in the flyway and where they occur.Most are residentspecies that are foundin few countries.Their distribution,abundance and habitatrequirements are poorly known or understood.This is hamperingconservation efforts and reducingtheir effectiveness. Over the last 20 years,the very active volunteerwader studygroups in Australia and New Zealand have focussedtheir activitieson counting,banding and flaggingthe abundantmigratory species. The distribution, abundanceand habitats of mostof thesespecies in Australiaand New Zealandare now quite well understood. Therefore,it seemstimely that the wader studygroups should reassess the value for shorebirdconservation of continuingstudies of the commonermigrants at the samelevel of intensity.I suggestthat the large body of valuabletechnical expertise in wader ecologythat is foundin thesegroups could have greaterconserva- tion impactif they adopteda more flyway-wide focuson speciesthat are underthreat.

INTRODUCTION potentialto achievea betterreturn on fundsbecause of the free volunteer labour. The quality and biodiversityof the world's naturalenviron- In Australia, there are severalvolunteer "Wader Study mentsare declining rapidly as the human population increases. Groups"whose objectivesinclude undertakingscientific Water is onecommodity that is becomingscarcer as the com- studies of shorebirds to enhance shorebird conservation. One petitionbetween humans and environmental requirements in- of the objectivesof the AustralasianWader StudiesGroup, crease. Birds such as shorebirds that use natural weftands are for example, is to "formulate and promotepolicies for the comingunder increasing threats of extinctionas their habitats conservationof waders and their habitat, and to make avail- arereduced or modified(Melville 1997).Migratory shorebirds ableinformation to local andnational governmental conser- areparticularly vulnerable because they undertake long flights vationbodies and other organisations to encourageand assist andso require adequate food, before, during and after migra- them in pursuingthis objective"(Gosbell 2002). tion for the speciesto surviveand breed. To date, the main way in which this objectivehas been Thereare six shorebirdFlyways currently recognised and fulfilled hasbeen highlighting the plight of shorebirdsin spe- the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) is one of the cific coastalland-use conflicts that impact shorebird feeding largest,with an estimateof over 5 million birds(Priest et al. or roostinghabitats. Mostly this has involved the groupin 2002). The birdsin EAAF breedin NE Asia andadjacent NW writing lettersof concernto the appropriateauthorities. Two North America (Fig. 1). The majority(>70%) of birdsbreed- notableexceptions are the work of Mark Barter and Doug ing in theseregions migrate southwards to spendthe non- Watkinsin surveyingshorebirds and identifyingsignificant breedingseason in Australiaand New Zealand,where they habitatsin easternChina and the Yellow Sea (Barter 2002) occurin mostlycoastal habitats. Potentially, of all the world's and studiesof AustralianPainted Snipes by Danny Rogers shorebirds,these are the speciesat highest risk as their andothers who havehighlighted population declines in this migratoryroutes through E Asia are in closeproximity with speciesand its distinctivebiology (Lane & Rogers2000, someof the largestconcentrations of humansanywhere. This Hassell& Rogers2002) (for scientificnames of the species is an areawhere intertidal habitats are frequentlyreclaimed mentionedin this paper,please refer to Table 1). for human use (Barter 2002, Melville 1997). However,several other species of shorebirdin the Flyway Given the largenumber of threatsfaced by shorebirdsin are alreadyat risk. Theseneed specificactions now, before the EAAF and the limited resourcesavailable to mitigate theirpopulations decline below a minimumviable level. One these risks, conservation effort needs to be focussed on the meansof identifyingshorebirds under threat is to use the speciesmost underthreat or risk of declinein the future. In criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of the region, many national and regionalbodies are increas- Nature (IUCN) (BirdLife International 2000, Garnett & ingly usingnon-government organisations, including volun- Crowley 2000). teerconservation groups to undertakesurveys and implement The aim of this studyis (1) to summarisethe ecological threatmitigation. This has severalbenefits to the funding riskassessments of the resident and migratory shorebirds that agencies,including broader community participation and the use the East Asian - AustralasianFlyway and (2) to review 105 Bulletin100April2003 106 Wader Study Group Bulletin

MajorRoutes of East Asian-Australasian MigratoryShorebird Flyway

Papua New GUinea

Indonesia

Australia

New Zealand

Figure 1. Map showingthe extent of the East Asian-AustralasianFlyway. thoseassessments in the light of the recentfocus of volun- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION teer conservationeffort in the Flyway by Australianwader studygroups. The EastAsian-Australasian Flyway (Fig. 1) hasat least95 shorebirdspecies that regularly occur in theFlyway (Table 1). METHODS Of these,48 species,or over 50% are migratory,with most spendingtheir non-breedingseason in Australia(Table 2). Shorebirdsthat are regularly recorded in theEast Asian-Aus- Of the threeregions identified, continental Asia hasthe larg- tralasianFlyway were identifiedfrom variouslistings such estnumber of residentspecies, followed by Australia.How- as Watkins (1993), Priest et al. (2002) and Hayman et al. ever, New Zealand has the greatestnumber of threatened (1987). Specieswere separatedinto threegroups according speciesand only oneresident species is not undersome level to the locationwhere they spendtheir non-breedingseason of ecologicalrisk (Table 2). - Australia, New Zealand or SE Asia. Australia and New Zealandwere treated separately for two reasons:(1) Australia Australia is the final destinationof the majority of migratory shore- birds using the Flyway and (2) New Zealand has a large Migratory species number of endemic resident shorebirds that are all under a degreeof threat.Within each group,species were identified Of the 54 speciesthat are residentor migrate regularly to as migratoryor residentdepending on the degreeof move- Australia,none of themigratory species have been identified mentbetween countries. Species where the majorityof the as being at significantrisk. Of the two migratory species populationsremain within the breedingrange were consid- identified as near-threatened, Eastern Curlew and Asian ered resident. Dowitcher,only Eastern Curlew occur in significantnumbers

Bulletin 100 April 2003 Mdton. Threatened shoreb•rdspecies of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway 107

Table 1. The shorebirdspecies that occur in the East Asian-AustralasianFlyway that are residentor regularlymigrate to Australia or SE Asia for their non-breedingseason (Priest et al. 2002) and their level of ecologicalrisk (BirdLifeInternational 2000).

Non- Population Common name Scientific name IUCN classification Major threats breeding status distribution

Australia Resident AustralianPainted Snipe Rostratulaaustralis Vulnerable Habitat loss Australian Pratincole Stiltia isabella - BandedLapwing Vanellustricolor - Banded Stilt Cladorhynchusleucocephalus - Beach Stone-curlew Esacusneglectus Near threatened Disturbance of nesting Black-fronted Dotterel Elseyornis melanops - Black-winged Stilt Himantopushimantopus - Bush Stone-curlew Burhinusgrallarius Near threatened Nestingpredation, habitat loss Comb-crestedJacana Irediparra gallinacea - Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis Near threatened Nestingpredation Inland Dotterel Charadrius australis - Masked Lapwing Vanellusmiles - Pied Oystercatcher Haematopuslong, irostris - Plains-wanderer Pedionomustorquatus Endangered Habitat loss Red-cappedPlover Charadriusruficapillus - Red-kneed Dotterel Erythrogonys cinctus - Red-necked Avocet Recurvirostra novaehollandiae - Sooty Oystercatcher Haematopusfuliginosus - Migrant Asian Dowitcher Limnadromussemipalmatus Near threatened Non-breedinghabitat loss Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica - Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa - Broad-billedSandpiper Limicolafalcinellus - Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia - Common Redshank Tringa totanus - CommonSandpiper Actitushypoleucos - Curlew Sandpiper Calidrisferruginea - Double-banded Plover Charadrius bicinctus - EasternCurlew Numeniusmadagascariensis Near threatened Non-breedinghabitat loss Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris - Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultii - Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola - Grey-tailedTattler Heteroscelusbrevipes - Latham'sSnipe Gallinagohardwickii - Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus - Little Curlew Numenius minutus - Long-toedStint Calidris subminuta - Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis - Oriental Plover Charadrius veredus - Oriental Pratincole Glareola maldivarum - Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva - PectoralSandpiper Calidris melanotos - Pin-tailed Snipe Gallinago stenura - Red Knot Calidris canutus - Red-neckedPhalarope Phalaropus lobatus - Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis - Ruddy Tumstone Arenaria interpres - Ruff Philomachuspugnax - Sanderling Calidris alba - Sharp-tailedSandpiper Calidris acuminata - Swinhoe'sSnipe Gallinago megala - Terek Sandpiper Xenuscinereus - WanderingTattler Heteroscelusincanus - Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus - Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola - New Resident Black Stilt Himantopusnovaezelandiae Critical Nesting predation Zealand ChathamIsland Oystercatcher Haematopuschathamensis Endangered Small island range ChathamIsland Snipe Coenocoryphapusilla Vulnerable Small island range New Zealand Dotterel Charadrius obscurus Vulnerable Nesting predation New ZealandSnipe Coerocoryphaaucklandica Near threatened Small island range Shore Plover Thinornis novaeseelandiae Endangered Small island range Variable Oystercatcher Haematopusunicolor - Wrybill Anarhynchus fron talis Vulnerable Declining breedinghabitat quality

Bulletin 100 April 2003 108 Wader Study Group Bulletin

Table 1 cont, The shorebirdspecies that occur in the EastAsian-Australasian Flyway that are residentor regularlymigrate to Australia or SE Asiafor theirnon-breeding season (Priest et aL 2002) and theirlevel of ecologicalrisk (BirdLife International 2000).

Non- Population Commonname Scientificname IUCN classification Majorthreats breeding status distribution

SE Asia Resident Amami Woodcock Scolopaxmira Vulnerable Habitat loss Bronze-winged Jacana Metopidius indicus - BukidnonWoodcock Scolopaxbukidnonensis - CelebesWoodcock Scolopaxcelebensis - Dusky Woodcock Scolopaxsaturata - EurasianOystercatcher Haematopusostralegus - Great Thick-knee Esacus recurvirostris - Grey-headedLapwing Vanelluscinereus - Ibisbill lbidorhynchastruthersii - JavaneseLapwing Vanellusmacropterus - Little Pratincole Glareola lactea - Malaysian Plover Charadriusperonii - NorthernLapwing Vanellusvanellus - Moluccan (Obi) Woodcock Scolopaxrochussenii Vulnerable Habitat loss Painted Snipe Rostratula benghalensis - Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta - Pheasant-tailedJacana Hydrophasianuschirurgus - Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus - River Lapwing Vanellusduvaucelii - Solitary Snipe Gallinago solitaria - Wood Snipe Gallinago nemoricola Vulnerable Habitat loss Migrant CommonSnipe Gallinago gallinago - Dunlin Calidris alpina - EurasianCurlew Numeniusarquata - EurasianWoodcock Scolopaxrusticola - Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus - Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus - Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius - Long-billed Plover Charadriusplacidus - Spoon-billedSandpiper Eurynorhynchuspygmeus Vulnerable Habitat loss SpottedGreenshank Tringaguttifer Endangered Habitatloss SpottedRedshank Tringa erythropus - Temminck's Stint Calidris temminckii -

in the parts of Australia where there are active volunteer reachAustralia (probably <1,000). However,there are prob- wader studygroups. ablytoo few at any singlesite for conservationeffort on this The QueenslandWader Study Group (QWSG) has stud- speciesto be worthwhile.Initiatives that enhanceand pro- ied EasternCurlew in MoretonBay, off Brisbane,E Australia tect the habitatsof similar species,like the two godwits (Finn et al. 2001; Driscoll & Ueta 2002). They have exam- should contribute to the conservation of Asian Dowitchers ined migrationroutes and behaviour (Driscoll & Ueta 2002) aswell. Furthersurveys of theirAsian non-breeding grounds and feedinghabitats during the non-breedingseason (Finn need to be undertaken,especially the Banyuasindelta in et al. 2001). Furtherstudies by PaulFinn (unpubl.data) have Sumatrawhere 65% of the estimatedpopulation (20,000) examinedEastern Curlew feedingbehaviour and habitats. was countedin 1988 (BirdLife International2000). The groupalso monitorsshorebird populations in Queens- land andregularly counts about 25% of the AustralianEast- Resident species ern Curlew population(using estimates in Driscoll 1997). There hasbeen little detailedanalysis to assesslong-term Two residentendemic shorebird species are under serious trends,despite almost 12 yearsof data. risk of extinction in Australia. The Plains-wanderer is most Wilson (2001) examined Eastern Curlew trends at three at risk,from lossof habitatthrough cultivation and increased sitesin Victoria thathave been counted regularly since 1980. predation(Garnett & Crowley 2000). Conservationinitia- The resultsshow a steadydecline of about2% per year or tives outlined in Garnett & Crowley include activities to almost40% in the 19 yearsof counts.This is a majordecline which volunteerwader studygroup members could make a andif it is a reflectionof the Flyway populationas a whole, significantcontribution. These could include surveying for suggeststhat urgentaction is neededto increasethe popu- suitable habitat in New South Wales and Queenslandand lation of the largestshorebird species in the world. populationand habitat monitoring. Both activitieswould be The othernear-threatened migratory species that occurs more effective with more participantsand both the QWSG regularly in Australia is Asian Dowitcher. The main non- and the AWSG have severalmembers with relevantexper- breedingarea is in Sumatra,Indonesia (Hayman et al. 1987; tise and couldmake a valuablecontribution with appropri- Birdlife International2000), but small numbersregularly ate coordinationby governmentconservation agencies.

Bulletin 100 April 2003 Mdton:Threatened shoreb•rdspecies of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway 109

Table 2. Summary by region of the number of shorebirdspecies migrationpaths and habitat requirements of thesemore abun- at risk in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). dant specieshave largelybeen established and the methods and experiencegained would be valuablein studiesof the Region Population Threatened Near N Australian Painted Snipe. status threatened

Australia Resident 2 3 18 Asia Migratory 0 2 36 New Zealand Resident 6 1 8 Migratory species SE Asia Resident 3 0 21 Migratory 2 0 12 Two migratoryshorebird species that spend their non-breed- ing seasonin SE Asia are highlythreatened (Table 1). Spot- TOTAL EAAF Both 13 6 95 ted Greenshankand Spoon-billedSandpiper are amongthe most threatenedshorebirds in the world (BirdLife Interna- OtherFlyways Both 9 10 120 tional2000). The non-breedingrange of SpottedGreenshank is not fully known, so the currentpopulation estimate of up to 1000 birdsmay be too low. Key threatsto both speciesare the loss of coastal wetlands in their non-breeding range The other residentspecies under threat is the Australian (BirdLife International 2000). PaintedSnipe, which has only recentlybeen shownto be Given this situation,volunteer wader studygroups could distinctfrom Asian populations of theGreater Painted Snipe make significantcontributions to slowingthe declinein these R. benghalensis.It is consideredto be "vulnerable"(Lane & speciesby participatingin regionalsurveys of suitablehabitats Rogers2000). AWSG togetherwith the ThreatenedSpecies in orderto identifytheir most important staging and non-breed- Network and Birds Australia have starteda project using ing sites.In somecountries, these sites are already well known, volunteer observers to undertake quarterly surveys for but in severalothers their distributionis poorly documented. PaintedSnipe at wetlandswhere they have been previously In the relevantcountries, surveys could be undertakenin seen.Garnett & Crowley (2000) identifiedseveral types of collaborationwith regionalconservation organizations such information neededfor effective monitoring and recovery as World-Wide Fund for Nature, Wetlands International and that are currently lacking. Volunteer wader study groups the Wild Bird Societyof Japan.These groups have contacts couldundertake studies aimed at filling severalof thesegaps. in countriesthroughout the Flyway, but often lack sufficient Thesemight includestudies of movement,identifying the staff or the technicalexpertise of shorebirdsfound in wader principalbreeding and winteringgrounds and habitatuse. studygroups. Expeditions focussing on high profile, rare or Such activities are already undertaken regularly by the threatenedshorebirds are likely to be popular among ama- AWSG, VictorianWader StudyGroup (VWSG) andQWSG. teurornithologists interested in shorebirds.Participants could However, the focus of most migration studiesto date has be expectedfrom aroundthe world, given the interestand only been on the commonmigratory wader species.The successof the seriesof expeditionsto productiveareas for

Table 3. The breakdownof the numberof shorebirdspecies that use the East Asian - AustralasianFlyway that are at risk in each of the major countriesin the Flyway (BirdlifeInternational 2000).

Country Threatened Near threatened Total

Resident Migratory Resident Migratory

Australia 2 0 3 2 7 Brunei 0 0 1 2 3 Cambodia 0 1 1 0 2 China 1 2 0 2 5 Indonesia 1 1 5 2 9 Japan 1 2 0 2 5 Malaysia 0 2 2 2 6 Myanmar 0 2 1 1 4 New Caledonia 0 0 1 0 1 New Zealand 6 1 1 2 10 PapuaNew Guinea 0 0 2 2 4 Philippines 0 2 2 2 6 Russia 0 2 0 2 4 Singapore 0 2 1 2 5 Solomon Islands 0 0 1 0 1 South Korea 0 2 0 2 4 Thailand 0 2 2 2 6 Vanuatu 0 0 1 0 1 Vietnam 1 2 I 2 6

Bulletin 100 April 2003 110 Wader Study Group Bulletin shorebirds,like Broome and RoebuckBay in NW Australia 2002). However, the focusof their activities has been on the over the last 20 years.These surveyscould be an opportu- higher-profilemigratory shorebirds at the expenseof more nity for closercollaboration between the AWSG and other threatenedresident species. As well asbeing one of themajor similargroups, such as the International Wader Study Group. activitiesof thesegroups, migration studies have focussed mainly on the mostabundant migratory species. Resident species Thereis a pressingneed for actionto improvethe survival of thoseshorebird species that haverecently been shown to Three resident shorebirds of Asia are threatened. All are be underthreat. I think that it is timely for the waderstudy crypticspecies of freshwaterwetlands and damp forests. Two groupsto reconsidertheir focus on the more abundant are Woodcocksand confined to smallisland groups where shorebirdsand use their large collectiveskill-base more for theirforested habitat is beinglogged. For the Amami Wood- the benefit of the speciesat greaterrisk. I have madesome cock, it is establishedthat the most importantaction is to suggestionsof the typesof activitiesand actionsthat could protect remaining forest habitat (BirdLife International be considered. 2000). On the otherhand the MollucanWoodcock is poorly knownand its statusin existingand proposed protected areas ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS is obscure.There is an opportunityhere for Australianwader studygroup members to undertakesurveys for this species. I thankHumphrey Sitters for invitingme to contributeto this However, the political situationin the Maluku provincein specialissue of the WaderStudy Group Bulletin. It hasmade Indonesiais unstable,making this impractical without exten- me think morecarefully about waders and their conservation. sive Indonesiangovernment support. I thank SandraHarding for constructivecomments on an The third threatenedspecies, Wood Snipe,is a secretive earlier draft. bird of high altitude swampsand boggy grasslandsof the eastern Himalayas (Hayman et al. 1987). It occurs from REFERENCES southernChina to India and Nepal and is a partialmigrant. BirdLife International 2000. Threatenedbirds of the world. Lynx One of the targetsproposed by BirdLife International(2000) Edicions and BirdLife, Barcelonaand Cambridge,UK. is to conductextensive surveys of its breedingand winter- Driscoll, P.V. 1997. Distributionof wadersalong the Queenslandcoast- ing areasto determineits currentdistribution, migration and line. Pp. 80-122. In: Straw, P. (ed.). Shorebird conservationin the threats.Australian wader studygroup members in collab- Asia-Pacific region. 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