Newsletter for the Asia Pacific Flyways & Australian Shorebirds 2020 Project

Newsletter for the Asia Pacific Flyways & Australian Shorebirds 2020 Project

Newsletter for the Asia Pacific Flyways & Australian Shorebirds 2020 Project No. 47 April 2018 CONTENTSCONTENTS EditorialEditorial Steep upward trajectory in Great Knot numbers at sites in It’s always exciting to read about recent survey results, :RUOG&XUOHZ'D\$SULO Southeast Asia 2 especially when they are unexpected, as are the increasing )DU(DVWHUQ&XUOHZDQG:KLPEUHOVDWHOOLWH Great Knot satellite tracking project 4 Great7KLVHGLWLRQRI7DWWOHUUHÀHFWVWKHRQJRLQJFRXQWLQJ Knot numbers at certain sites in Southeast Asia. Are WUDFNLQJ Wader Study - published by IWSG 4 theseÀDJJLQJWUDFNLQJDQGVXUYH\LQJHIIRUWVRISHRSOH birds shifting from habitats that have been lost or is :KLPEUHOWDNHVDFWLRQWRDYRLGLPSDFWRIF\FORQH Southward migration studies on West Kamchatka 5 thereXS DQG a happier GRZQ explanation? WKH (DVW $VLDQ$XVWUDODVLDQ It is also exciting to read )O\ZD\ about &RPPXQLW\FRQVHUYDWLRQRIWKH)DU(DVWHUQ&XUOHZ Key research issues for shorebird conservation in the Yellow new$OO WKHVHHIIRUWVDUHOHDGLQJWRDEHWWHUGH¿QLWLRQshorebird sites being discovered in Bangladesh – ³,W¶VDOODERXWWKHELUGV´ Sea region 6 thanksRIFULWLFDOVKRUHELUGDUHDVDQGDJUHDWHUDZDUHQHVV to the efforts of the Bangladesh Spoon-billed Yellow7KUHDWWR5DPVDUVLWHVLQ$XVWUDOLD Sea tidal flats – ecosystem status and anthropogenic Sandpiper Conservation Project - and the amazing spectacle RI WKH GHFOLQH LQ VKRUHELUG SRSXODWLRQV 5HVHDUFK threats5HGFDSSHG3ORYHUSDUHQWVFDUHPRUHIRU\RXQJ 8 of thousands of Whimbrel migrating southward past AgeingRIWKHRSSRVLWHVH[ Australian Oystercatchers 9 KamchatkaUHVXOWV DUH in August. SXWWLQJ Recent SUHVVXUH research RQ papers JRYHUQPHQWV on the Yellow WR Spoon-billed1RUGPDQQ¶V*UHHQVKDQNFRXQWLQ'RQJWDL5XGRQJ Sandpiper site discovered in Bangladesh 10 SeaLPSOHPHQWSROLFLHVWKDWZLOOFRQVHUYHYLWDOVKRUHELUG highlight the need for continued on-ground surveys and Spoon-billed2FWREHU Sandpiper & Tiaozini Sandbanks, China 11 researchKDELWDWRQERWKVPDOODQGODUJHVFDOHV to justify effective conservation actions, while the Proposed5XGG\7XUQVWRQHVRQ.LQJ,VODQGQHDU7DVPDQLD Grey Plover satellite tracking program 11 report on the 8th meeting of the EAAF Partnership shows Report on the 8th meeting of the EAAF Partnership 12 how this alliance continues to assist shorebirds and their 6HDZHHGDQGVKRUHELUGVLQ:HVWHUQ$XVWUDOLD 7KDQNV WR GLJLWDO WHFKQRORJ\ DQG WKH LQWHUQHW , Shorebird Working Group – EAAF Partnership 15 habitats. /HVVHU6DQG3ORYHUSUHHQLQJOHJÀDJ DPDEOHWRFRQWLQXHWRHGLW7DWWOHUZKLOHHQMR\LQJ Global Database of Active Shorebird Projects 15 New³7KHZRUVWH[SHGLWLRQHYHU´ E-mail List Serve for the EAAF Shorebird Working FromDFUXLVLQJOLIHVW\OHWKURXJKVRXWKHDVW$VLD6DGO\ individual surveyors on the ground to representatives Group5HG.QRWDOHUW 16 of, DPnon-government DOVR ZLWQHVVLQJ organizations, ¿UVWKDQG WKHresearchers ZLGHVSUHDG and Pukorokoro9DOH'DYLG0LOWRQ Miranda Naturalists’ Trust celebrates Year of the governmentSODVWLFSROOXWLRQRIWKHVHDDQGVKRUHOLQHVDVZHOO representatives, the network of people Godwit:HOFRPLQJDQHZSDUWQHU'HPRFUDWLF3HRSOH¶V 2015 16 interestedDV H[WHQVLYH in shorebirds UHFODPDWLRQ is as complex SURMHFWV and interwoven FRQYHUWLQJ as the Indigenous5HSXEOLFRI.RUHD Wardens get to know wetlands 17 flyway itself. A new email list serve established by the VKRUHOLQHV LQWR GHYHORSPHQW ]RQHV :H KDYH Shorebirds%ULDQ0F&DIIHU\UHWLUHV 2020 WA Regional Coordinator needed 17 Shorebird Working Group of the EAAF Partnership provides WR HQVXUH WKDW VWDJLQJ DQG VWRSRYHU VLWHV DUH Importance$:6*&RPPLWWHHIRU of tropical island restoration 18 an avenue for prompt communication among those In grateful remembrance of Allan Baker, 1943-2014 19 interestedSUHVHUYHGDORQJWKH)O\ZD\DVZHOODVWKHEUHHGLQJ in shorebirds on the EAAF. Theunis Piersma’s %LUG/LIH$XVWUDOLD¶VDQQXDO&RQJUHVVDQG&DPSRXWDW%URRPH tributeDUHDVDQGRYHUZLQWHULQJVLWHV to Allan Baker highlights the importance of supportive and stimulating friendships between shorebird researchers7KHSRZHURIWKHLQWHUQHWDQGGLJLWDOSKRWRJUDSK\LV and enthusiasts. Everyone’s contribution is important.ZHOOGLVSOD\HGLQDQ2SLQLRQSLHFHDERXWVKRUHELUGV LQ GHFOLQH LQ WKH 1HZ <RUN WLPHV KWWSVZZZ This issue of Tattler provides glimpses of field work, research,Q\WLPHVFRPLQWHUDFWLYHRSLQLRQ outreach to raise awareness, efforts by combined organizationsVKRUHELUGVH[WLQFWLRQFOLPDWHFKDQJHKWPO to facilitate habitat conservation and the contributions of one astute researcher. All of these aspects, and many more, are needed to protect shorebirds from extinction.Liz Crawford, Editor &RQWULEXWLRQVDUHZHOFRPHDQGVKRXOGEHVHQWWR WDWWOHU#DZVJRUJDX White-rumped%DUWDLOHG*RGZLWIHHGLQJRQVPDOO6ROGLHU&UDE Sandpiper, sixth Australian record. Shoalhaven Heads,3KRWR2IHU/HY\ NSW, February 2015. Photo by Dan Weller Compiled and published by the Australasian Wader Studies Group www.awsg.org.au A Special Interest Group of BirdLife Australia Tattler 2 World Curlew Day 21 April What are curlews? &urlews LQ trRuEle The curlews, or more precisely the Numeniini, Last year, scientists consulted a large group of are a group of 13 shorebird species most well experts to review the status of the world’s curlews. known for their amazingly long bills. Some curve Unfortunately, seven of the world’s 13 curlew up and some curve down, but all are incredibly species are of conservation concern, and some well adapted to probing for food in the soft mud are in very serious trouble due to widespread of the world’s shorelines. threats across their global ranges. Some of the threats identi¿ ed by this group of experts as Numeniini occur on all continents except having the biggest impacts on curlews include: Antarctica. Most of them are long-distance habitat loss in non-breeding areas, disturbance, migrants and make huge journeys every year invasive species, pollution, and climate change… between breeding areas in the boreal/arctic and and most of these are getting worse. You can non-breeding areas in the southern hemisphere. read the full paper here. Tragically, we have A full list of Numeniini and their whimsical names already lost at least one species of curlew – the is as follows: Upland Sandpiper, Bristle-thighed once-abundant Eskimo Curlew. In his book Curlew, Whimbrel, Little Curlew, Eskimo Curlew, North American Shorebirds from 1895, Daniel Slender-billed Curlew, Long-billed Curlew, Giraud Elliot writes of the Eskimo Curlew: “In Eurasian Curlew, Far Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed the Mississippi Valley this species is the most Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Marbled Godwit, abundant of the Curlews, and in immense numbers and, Hudsonian Godwit. scatters over the prairie in every direction…When feeding about in such large À ocks, they keep up a constant low chattering noise, as if indulging in an uninterrupted À ow of conversation.´ But by the early 1900s this species had been effectively wiped out by unregulated hunting. The last time it was recorded with certainty was in 1963, and it is now considered extinct. Devastatingly, we may have lost another curlew species even more recently – the Slender-billed Curlew has not been seen for more than 20 years. Migratory shorebirds that spend their non- breeding season in Australia follow a route known as the East Asian-Australasian Flyway to complete their annual migrations. One species, the Far Eastern Curlew, is endemic to this À yway, occurring nowhere else on earth. Unfortunately this is one of the curlew species that is declining rapidly and is listed as Critically Endangered by the Australian government. Far Eastern Curlew is one of several shorebirds in Australia that are heavily reliant on the Yellow Sea region as a place to stopover – that is to rest and refuel – during their long migrations. It seems that those shorebird species that are most reliant on the Yellow Sea for stopovers are also the ones that A group of beautiful Bar-tailed Godwits getting ready are declining most severely, likely due to a high to migrate from Australia to their arctic breeding concentration of threats and particularly severe grounds. Photo: Micha V Jackson. loss of tidal habitat in this important region. Micha Jackson, Amanda Lilleyman, Brad One curlew species, the Bar-tailed Godwit, holds Woodworth, Eduardo Gallo Cajiao the record for the longest single À ight ever recorded by any bird ± a non-stop -day À ight Editor: This is an extract from the excellent article of 11,700 km! This unbelievable trip took place presented online: from breeding grounds in Alaska to non-breeding grounds in New Zealand over the vast expanse of Source: httSswwwIullerlaERrJ the 3aci¿ c Ocean and is known because the bird haSS\wRrlGcurlewGa\/ had been ¿ tted with a satellite transmitter. 1HZVOHWWHUIRUWKH$VLD3DFL¿F6KRUHELUG1HWZRUN 3 1R$SULO Far Eastern Curlew and Whimbrel Satellite Tracking 2017/2018 Far Eastern Curlew AAD with transmitter at Toorbul, just prior to release Eastern Curlew Migration activity to 15 April 2018 In 2017/18 the Queensland Wader Study Group (QWSG) and the University of Queensland (UQ) Far Eastern Curlews AAD and AAK left Moreton funded 10 tracking devices for use on Far Eastern Bay between 6 and 8 March 2018 and took almost Curlew as part of a broader initiative under the identical paths north along the Queensland coast Far Eastern Curlew recovery initiative. The idea to Cape York. Both birds then headed north, over being to generate detailed data on migration Papua New Guinea towards Guam before turning routes and local movements on non-breeding, westwards towards the coast of Asia. AAD arrived staging and breeding locations. Another project on the east coast of Taiwan on

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