Severn Counties Foreign & British Bird Society
NIGEL HEWSTON WILL RUN THE LONDON MARATHON IN APRIL 2012 IN AID OF
THE SPOON-BILLED SANDPIPER
THE SPOON-
You may have seen news reports recently about the Spoon-billed Sandpiper conservation breeding project being started at Slimbridge. I will be running the London Marathon in April to raise funds for this, so if anyone would consider sponsoring me you can contact me at www.justgiving.com/sandpiper '
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is an amazing and unique little wader - imagine something smaller than a Dunlin with a beak like a Spoonbill - which breeds in far north-eastern Siberia and winters in Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh, a migration of about 8000km. Until about 10 years ago there were still thousands, but there are now possibly as few as 200. The problems are not fully understood, but include development of some of the intertidal mudflats used as staging posts on migration, and trapping for food on the wintering grounds. The species is hurtling towards extinction perhaps faster than any other bird.
A major effort is underway to reverse the decline, involving a range of organisations working on different aspects, for instance helping the trappers to find alternative livelihoods. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust's contribution is to try to establish a captive breeding population, so that if and when the problems are solved, there will be some birds to reintroduce. So far, staff from Slimbridge led an expedition to the breeding grounds in 2011, with Russian colleagues, to collect eggs for hatching and rearing. After many adventures and setbacks, thirteen birds are now in a purpose-built offshow facility at Slimbridge (with a daily TV link to the visitor centre), which will be expanded to include breeding aviaries (the birds don't breed until two years old in the wild).
I think this is one of the most exciting and important avicultural conservation projects of recent times, which is why I've decided to raise funds for it. I've also known some of the team involved at Slimbridge for a long time, and have every confidence that if anyone can make a success of this, they can.