Here’s some good news for one of the planet’s most critically endangered birds, the spoon-billed sandpiper.
Spoon-billed sandpiper chick (Jon O'Sulivan)
The numbers of this entrancing small wading bird are now thought to be as low as 400 individuals. They nest on the tundra in the far north of Russia and depend on coastal wetlands to survive the winter. And one of the threats to their survival is the loss of these vital links in their chain of migration.
For two sites near Shanghai in China the future now looks brighter with the news that the Walt Disney Corporation are giving a grant of $100,000 through their Disney’s Friends of Change programme – you can read more here.
The revelation that there are now so few spoon-billed sandpipers, as a result of recent surveys, is a real wake up call for action. Tackling habitat loss is but one aspect of the challenges ahead – hunting pressure at key migration and wintering sites is a major factor and the impact of climate change on their arctic breeding grounds may be an additional issue.
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