At least 11 rare spoon-billed sandpipers have been discovered along the coast of Bangladesh, scientists said Friday, raising hopes for the survival of the birds.
DHAKA, Bangladesh — At least 11 rare spoon-billed sandpipers have been discovered along the coast of Bangladesh, scientists said Friday, raising hopes for the survival of the birds, whose population has dwindled to just 300-350 pairs in the wild.
Concern rose over the fate of the small shore birds, named for their distinctive teaspoon-shaped bills, after a 2005 expedition failed to find a single bird in their traditional winter habitat along India's east coast.
But the prospects of the sandpipers thriving in Bangladesh are bleak unless urgent steps are taken to protect the mudflats where they can be found, said Christoph Zockler, a German ornithologist based in Cambridge, England.
"Bangladesh is highly significant as a wintering area for the spoon-billed sandpipers. But we are very concerned that the last suitable habitat for them will be destroyed over the next few years," said Zockler, speaking at a seminar in the Bangladeshi capital.
In populous Bangladesh, poor villagers are increasingly encroaching on coastal mudflats and mangroves to set up shrimp farms or salt beds. Also, fishermen often trap shore birds in their nets.
"Urgent international action is required to protect the coastal habitats of these birds," Zockler said. He suggested an international action plan involving concerned countries from Russia to Bangladesh.
The sandpipers spend summers breeding in the Russian tundra, then migrate south to warmer climates in South Asia after a nearly 6,000-kilometer (3,730-mile) arduous journey over Japan, Korea, China and Thailand.
A 2000-2005 survey found only an estimated 300-350 breeding pairs in Siberia, Zockler said.
The cause of their decline is not clear, but something may be happening to the birds along their migratory route, he said.
"We hope to uncover the mystery along the fly path," he said, adding that some of the birds have been ringed.
Possible reasons for the decline include predators, egg collectors, global warming or coastal degradation due to human activities such as land reclamation.
An 18-member survey team of experts from Russia, Germany, Britain and Bangladesh searched Bangladesh's southern coastline from Jan. 17 to 25, finding eight of the sandpipers on a mudflat at Bangladesh's southernmost tip in the Bay of Bengal. Three more birds were spotted at two places in a southern coastal district.
The Bangladesh survey also collected soil samples and pinpointed geographical locations to study the species' winter habitat and feeding habits to determine if factors such as reduced food reserves or human activities are causing them to die out.
Source: Associated Press
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