The JournalStilt for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway AWSG Number 69-70 • October 2016 Australasian Wader Studies Group Treasurer: Birgita Hansen, Federation University Australia, PO Box 663, Ballarat, Vic 3353. AUSTRALIA. Ph: (03) 5327 9952. Email: [email protected] Conservation Officer: Dan Weller, Suite 2-05, 60 Leicester Street, Carlton, Vic, 3053, AUSTRALIA. Ph: (03) 9347 0757. Email: [email protected] STATE CONSERVATION OFFICERS QUEENSLAND Sandra Harding, 336 Prout Road, Burbank QLD 4156 Email: [email protected] Stilt NEW SOUTH WALES ISSN 0726-1888 Joan Dawes, Ph: 02 9664 2546. Email: [email protected] © AWSG TASMANIA Eric Woehler, (South Tas), 37 Parliament St, Sandy Bay Tas MISSION STATEMENT 7005. Ph: (03) 6223 1980. Email: [email protected] Ralph Cooper (North Tas), 7 Beach Rd, Legana Tas 7277. To ensure the future of waders and their habitats in Australia Ph: (03) 6330 1255. Email: [email protected] through research and conservation programmes and to encourage and assist similar programmes in the rest of the SOUTH AUSTRALIA East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Paul Wainwright, PO Box 255, Balhannah SA 5242 Ph: 0429 678 475. Email: [email protected] OBJECTIVES VICTORIA . Monitor wader populations through a programme of Doris Graham, 14 Falconer St, Fitzroy Vic 3068. counting and banding in order to collect data on changes Ph (03): 9482 2112. Email: [email protected] on a local, national and international basis. WESTERN AUSTRALIA . Study the migrations of waders through a programme of Bill Rutherford (South WA – cutoff Onslow), 199 Daglish St, counting, banding, colour flagging, collection of Wembly, Perth, WA 6014. Email: [email protected] biometric data and use of appropriate scientific instruments. Chris Hassell (North WA – cutoff Onslow), Global Flyway . Instigate and encourage other scientific studies of waders Network PO Box 3089, Broome, WA 6725. Ph: (08) 9192 8585 such as feeding and breeding studies. or 0408 954 655. Email: [email protected] . Communicate the results of these studies to a wide INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES audience through its journal Stilt and membership NEW ZEALAND newsletter the Tattler, other journals, the internet, the North Island: media, conferences and lectures. Adrian Riegen, 213 Forest Hill Rd, Waiatarua, Auckland 0612, . Formulate and promote policies for the conservation of NEW ZEALAND. waders and their habitat, and to make available Ph: (09) 814 9741. Email: [email protected] information to local and national governmental South Island: conservation bodies and other organisations to Rob Schuckard, 4351 Croisilles French Pass Rd RD3, encourage and assist them in pursuing this objective. French Pass 7139, NEW ZEALAND. Actively participate in flyway wide and international Ph: 3576 5371. Email: [email protected] forums to promote sound conservation policies for waders. OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS . Encourage and promote the involvement of a large band Maureen Christie, Richard Fuller, Ken Gosbell, Chris Hassell, of amateurs, as well as professionals, to achieve these Marcel Klaassen, Adam Leavesley, Amanda Lilleyman, Golo objectives. Maurer, Clive Minton, Kim Onton, Adrian Riegen and Inka Veltheim. MEMBERSHIP OF THE AUSTRALASIAN WADER OFFICE BEARERS STUDIES GROUP Chair: Doug Watkins, 99 MacKellar Cr, Cook, 2614, Membership of the AWSG is open to anyone interested in the ACT, AUSTRALIA. Email: [email protected] conservation and research of waders (shorebirds) in the East Vice Chair: Phil Straw, P.O. Box 2006, Rockdale Delivery Asian–Australasian Flyway. Members receive the twice yearly Centre NSW 2216, AUSTRALIA. Phone and fax: (02) bulletin Stilt, and the quarterly newsletter Tattler. 9597 7765. Email: [email protected] Please direct all membership enquiries to the Membership Chair of Scientific Committee: Danny Rogers 68, Ryans Manager at BirdLife Australia, Suite 2-05, 60 Leicester St, Carlton Rd, Eltham, Vic 3095, AUSTRALIA. Vic 3053, AUSTRALIA. Ph: (03) 8418 0002. Email: [email protected] Ph: 1300 730 075, fax: (03) 9347 9323 Editor: Greg Kerr, 20 Morgan Street, Port Lincoln, SA Email: [email protected] 5606, AUSTRALIA. Annual Subscriptions: Australia & New Zealand A$40.00 Ph: +61 (0)8 8683 4454. Email: [email protected] Overseas A$45.00 Secretary: Alison Russell-French, PO Box 1045 Canberra Institutions A$50.00 ACT 2601, AUSTRALIA. Email: [email protected] Published in December 2016 Stilt 69-70 (2016) EDITORIAL P. Crighton highlights incidental mortality in fish nets as a significant threat to migratory shorebirds. Of Welcome to the combined issue of Stilt 69 and 70. concern is the vulnerability of the critically endangered Unfortunately, it was necessary to delay the production Spoon-billed Sandpiper to this threat, the significance of of Stilt 69 following submission of only two manuscripts which cannot be understated! by the February closing date. Over the following six The state of flux in the taxonomy of the Black- months a diverse range of papers have been submitted, winged Stilt complex has provided challenges in this resulting in 16 informative and varied articles from edition. The traditional treatment is to lump all forms regions across the flyway. (except Black Stilt) as a single species Black-winged In the first of a proposed series of papers M. Newland Stilt Himantopus himantopus (with multiple subspecies). and E. Woehler analyse a long-term Tasmanian data set More recently the subspecies have been moved to species to assess population trends and juvenile recruitment in level by many authors: the Asian & old world birds are Red-necked Stint. They suggest that when Red-necked treated as a full species, H. himantopus (usually given the Stint populations are at high levels during summer on the English name Black-winged Stilt) and the Australasian Australian mainland the juveniles are forced farther south birds are treated as a full species H. leucocephalus. to Tasmania to find foraging opportunities. P. He and English names that have been used include White-headed five co-authors assess the key characteristics associated Stilt (a literal translation of the scientific name, but with shorebird use of high tide roosts on the banks of confusing in Australia, as they don't have white heads, aquaculture ponds at Yalujiang Estuary Wetlands while Banded Stilts do), Australasian Stilt (although they National Nature Reserve in China. As a guide to certainly occur in Indonesia and SE Asia) and variants of appropriate management of these sites for shorebirds, those two names. There are identification challenges in they found that they prefer to roost on long banks with Asia (Bakewell 2012; Perez 2014; D. Rogers little or no vegetation. Pers.Comm. 09/09/2016). Both kinds occur in Indonesia Seven papers provide survey data from poorly studied (Iqbal et al. 2009; Abdillah et al. 2012) and although or new sites from across the flyway. This issue contains breeding sympatry hasn't yet been proven, the two forms four papers by A. Crossland working with a range of co- nest quite close to each other, with no biogeographic authors. The first paper reviews the status of Great Knot barriers, co-occurring in mixed non-breeding flocks, with in Northern Sumatra, where up to 2000 birds may be no evidence of hybridisation (D. Rogers Pers.Comm. present. Also working with Great Knot, D. Melville and 09/09/2016). Given that Stilt has published papers eight co-authors identify a new site of international relevant to the taxonomy of this group, and has importance in Liaodong Bay on the northern Bohai Sea sometimes needed to differentiate between the forms, in in China. The discovery of this site came about through this issue Black-winged Stilt H. himantopus has been investigation of habitat used by satellite tagged birds, used for Asian birds and White-headed Stilt H. highlighting the value of ongoing satellite monitoring. leucocephalus for Australasian birds. Evidently more Andrew also presents papers on surveys of waders on the work is needed, as the split is becoming increasingly west coast of the South Island of New Zealand, on the widely accepted, but so far is poorly documented. Solomon Islands, and a paper describing inland occurrences of Variable Oystercatchers in New Zealand. REFERENCES Of interest are survey findings showing the Solomon Islands host migratory shorebird species from both the Abdillah, H., M. Iqbal & H.M. Amrul. 2012. First breeding West Pacific Flyway and the East Asian-Australasian records of black-winged stilt Himantopus himantopus himantopus in Indonesia. Stilt 62:18-21. Flyway, and as such should be recognised as an overlap Bakewell, D.N. 2012. What is the status of White-headed Stilt region between the two. Documenting new information Himantopus (himantopus) leucocephalus in the Oriental and supported by a detailed literature review, M. region? BirdingASIA 17:14-16. Schellenkens and C. Trainer assess the status of Iqbal, M., H, Mulyono, A. Ridwan, F. Takari, H. Effendie, shorebirds on Flores Island in Indonesia. Continuing a K. Anwar & Ismail. 2009. A review of the status of the series of ground-breaking surveys in the Democratic white-headed stilt Himantopus leucocephalus in Sumatra People’s Republic of Korea, A. Riegen and seven co- (Indonesia). Stilt 56:2-5. authors, report on a trip to the North and South Pyongan Perez, C. 2014. Differentiating Between Black-winged Stilt Provinces in 2016. Finally, M. Jackson and ten co- and White-headed Stilt: New Splits in the WBCP 2013 Checklist. eBon. authors report on the results of a collaboration with the https://ebonph.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/ask-the-experts- North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management stilt-identification/ Alliance that is producing important insights into shorebird use of the remote and climatically challenging Greater Mapoon area in western Cape York. Greg Kerr Editor 1 Stilt 69-70 (2016): 2-6 Great Knot in North Sumatra THE STATUS OF GREAT KNOT CALIDRIS TENUIROSTRIS ON THE CENTRAL EAST COAST OF NORTH SUMATRA PROVINCE, INDONESIA ANDREW C.