25th Alaska Shorebird Group Meeting

Group met 1st time on 10 April 1996 (23 years ago)

https://www.fws.gov/alaska/pages/migratory-birds/shorebirds (scroll down to Alaska Shorebird Group tab)• Terms of Reference• Members of the Executive Committee

o send me contact info• Presentations

o Will upload ppt from meeting• Meeting minutes

o Lisa and I will work to post• Shorebird Projects in Alaska

o 2002 to present• Next meeting in December 2020 (with Alaska Bird

Conference in Homer)• Alaska Shorebird Group listserv (go here to

subscribe, learn how to post, get off the list: https://www.fws.gov/lists/listinfo/ak.shorebird)

Contact Rick Lanctot at:richard_lanctot@fws.gov

Arctic Migratory Bird Initiative

Began in 2015, instrument of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group, which is part of the Arctic Council

Goal is to improve conservation status and secure the long-term sustainability of declining Arctic breeding migratory bird populations.

Approach is to use the power of the Arctic Council to engage non-Arctic countries to help shorebirds on nonbreeding grounds

Work plans for 4 flyways• East Asian-Australasian Flyway• African-Eurasian Flyway• Americas Flyway• Circumpolar Flyway

Themes1. Evaluate impacts of overabundant geese

populations on Arctic shorebird habitat and implement appropriate mitigation measures.

2. Identification of climate resilient shorebird breeding and wintering habitat

3. Reduce shorebird habitat impairment from human intrusions, disturbances, destruction and degradation

4. Flyway Planning and Implementation

Objectives1. Identify and secure important breeding and

staging habitats of key AMBI-EAAF migratory bird species in Arctic Russia and Alaska.

2. Secure intertidal and associated habitat for AMBI priority species at key staging and wintering sites.

3. Prevent illegal hunting and regulate unsustainable legal harvest of Arctic migratory birds along the flyway.

4. Work with partners to increase the number and quality of population estimates of Arctic breeding waterbirds.

5. Address other threats to Arctic migratory birds along EAAF and improve international cooperation.

Objectives1. Enhance data collection and data input into

habitat protection initiatives2. Harvest assessments and mitigation of

unsustainable harvest3. Mitigate seabird and seaduck bycatch4. Address environmental pollution issues5. Support the activities and priorities of the

International Snowy Owl Working Group

Western Hemisphere Shorebird GroupLaunched in 2006Goals are to 1. Raise the public’s awareness of shorebirds2. Promote research, monitoring, management, conservation and

education/outreach relevant to shorebirds in Western Hemisphere3. To provide a structured forum to facilitate, coordinate, and enhance the

exchange of shorebird information4. Promote range-wide management and conservation of shorebirds in the

Western Hemisphere

Executive Committee formed in 2017

Main effort is holding biennial scientific meetings that rotate between North, Central and South America

New website: westernshorebirdgroup.orgFacebook page: Western Hemisphere Shorebird GroupWHSG listserv, contact Rick Lanctot https://www.fws.gov/lists/listinfo/whsg

• 4 days of talks, 1 field trip day• 4 plenary speakers, 8 symposium and 3 concurrent sessions of 20 minute talks• Workshops – NABC Shorebird Banding Training, Buff-breasted Sandpiper Conservation, Trophic

Ecology, Mid-continental Flyway Shorebird Initiative • Student oral and poster awards – Sarah Hoepfner – poster

• Alan Baker Lifetime Achievement Award for Shorebird Conservation – Stan Senner• Lewis Oring Lifetime Achievement Award for Shorebird Research – Roberto Carmona• Pablo Canevari Award – WHSRN – Ben Haase

• Travel Awards to students throughout Western Hemisphere, Latin American professionals, and early career North American professionals (ca. 75 awards)

• ~215 people from 23 countries attended – majority from Latin America• Bilingual (Spanish, English)

Local Hosts:

Rosabel Miro and Yenifer DiasPanama Audubon

Local Hosts:

Luis Oscar Bala, Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Buenos Aires

Vero D’Amico, Centro Nacional Patagonico

East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership

• Launched in 2006, although started in 1996 as the Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy

• Goal is to protect migratory waterbirds, their habitat and the livelihoods of people dependent upon them.

• Currently 37 partners from 18 countries, 6 intergovernmental agencies, 12 international NGO, and 1 international private enterprise.

• Flyway Site Network• 900 sites recognized as important• 141 designated sites• 18 countries with sites• USA has 2 sites: Yukon Delta NWR, Qupaluk in NPR-A• Site assessments and management

• 7 Working Groups and 7 Task Forces, including Shorebird Working Group

• Website: https://www.eaaflyway.net/project/shorebird-working-group/

• Facebook: East Asian-Australasian Flyway Shorebird Conservation Network

• EAAF Shorebird Working Group listserv (https://www.fws.gov/lists/listinfo/eaafswg)

East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership

• Small Grant program, $5,000 max• Shorebird Working Group priorities:

• Support identification and monitoring of important sites• Support conservation of shorebird species

• Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Far Eastern Curlew task forces, Nordmann’s Greenshank• Help with red-listing of new species• Coordinate and promote collaboration of migration ecology studies along the EAAF• Engage with the Illegal Hunting, Taking, and Trade of Migratory Waterbirds Task Force• Develop a flyway shorebird conservation strategy

• Support capacity building for shorebird conservation and management• Organize training workshops to enhance efforts to monitor, band, track, and manage sites• use existing field studies to expand experience of people throughout the flyway• Learn, share experiences and develop best managing practices

• Enhance communication relating to shorebird conservation• EAAF Shorebird Science Meeting – maybe in Feb 2020

• Next MOP Meeting, Brisbane Australia, 14 – 19 March 2021• Casey Burns – anything to add? Others?

Call for content released a few days ago, Website: http://www.eaafssm.com/

• 3 days of talks, 1 day field trip to Geum Estuary• 6 plenary speakers: Theunis Piersma, Zhijun Ma, ??• Workshops and symposium: Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann’s

Greenshank, Far Eastern Curlew, Motus Towers, ??• Low registration fee

Goals are:1. to promote research that provides an

evidence base for monitoring, management, conservation and education/outreach relevant to shorebirds in East Asia and Australasia.

2. to provide a structured forum to facilitate, coordinate, and enhance the exchange of shorebird information among interested parties.

3. to promote the conservation of shorebirds in the East Asia and Australasia.

Arctic Birds Breeding Conditions Survey

Two data sets• Site data and

general information

• Detailed bird, lemming, predator data

Components• Part 1: general information about

shorebird population size and trends, conservation issues, and conservation strategy for Alaska

• Part 2: BCR-specific outline of priority species, important shorebird areas, conservation objectives and issues and actions

• Species-specific information for 17 Greatest and High Conservation species, and 9 Stewardship species

• 8 Appendices, 11 figures and 10 tables

• Dedicated to David Tessler

• Being copy edited now• Will be available at:www.alaska.fws.gov/mbsp/mbm/shorebirds/plans.htm

Clive Dudley Mintion7 October 1934 – 6 November 2019

British / Australian Metallurgist (PhD, University of Cambridge)

Founding Chairman of the Wash Wader Ringing Group, and the International Wader Study Group in Europe

Helped to develop cannon-netting as a practical capture method for waders

1978 – moved to Australia, introduced cannon-netting to the Victorian Wader Study Group; founding Chair of the Australasian Wader Studies Group and the Broome Bird Observatory

Famous for leading almost annual, expeditions to northwest Australia to catch and mark waders

Helped with banding expeditions for Red Knots in North and South America

Cryptic Forest Falcon named after him (Micrastur minton)

AK Shorebird Group Executive Committee• Rebecca McGuire – chairperson• Lisa Kennedy – Secretary (term expires)• Melissa Gabrielson – member• Ben Lagasse – member• Dan Ruthrauff – member• Shiloh Schulte – member• Katie Christie – member (term expires)• Rick Lanctot – staff member

Alaska Shorebird Group Priorities for 2020• Implementing conservation plan

o Conservation issueso Conservation strategies

Research Population inventory & monitoring Habitat management & protection Education & outreach International collaboration

o Species conservationo BCR implementation

• Boreal shorebirds• Responding to recent development documents

Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy

Identified major threats, laid out conservation strategies and actions, described monitoring efforts, described the conservation landscape, and identified risks to success

Dove tails with the Coastal Solutions Fellows Program – first 6 fellows selected for 2019

Finalizing report on international lending institutions and conventions research to support conservation of shorebirds and develop new funding opportunities towards implementation.

Building web site to facilitate communication and sharing resources.

Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy>$450,000 distributed to Latin American partners to implement the strategyo Development of shorebird-friendly shrimp

aquaculture (National Audubon Society)o Beach Nesting Shorebirds Conservation in

Northwestern Mexico (CICESE)o Expanding shorebird habitat protection on

Chiloe Island (CECPAN and National Audubon Society)

o Improving Management for shorebirds in and around Paracas National Reserve, Peru (CORBIDI)

o The Migratory Shorebird Project- Moving Data to action (Point Blue)

o Restoration and protection of critical shorebird habitat in Ecuador (Aves y Conservation)

o Ecosystem services and threats to shorebirds along the Pacific Coast of Columbia (CALIDRIS)

For more information, contact River Gates, rgates@audubon.org

• Partnership between researchers worldwide who are devoted to long term — usually demographic — work on long distance migrating shorebirds.

• Build on the strengths of comparative demographic shorebird studies worldwide, with the aim to understand and analyze the factors determining shorebird numbers in a rapidly changing world.

• Tries to fill major gaps in coverage of fieldwork of the world’s most threatened shorebird flyways.

• Initially focus on flagship species such as the Red Knot, Great Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit and Black-tailed Godwit.

* large satellite telemetry studies* intensive studies focused on understanding how demographics are changing in response to environmental changes occurring along the flyway

Yellow Sea Developments

• Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) is now part of the EAAF Partnership

• Series of international workshops focused on loss of intertidal mudflats

• China Coastal Wetland Conservation Blueprint Project, with national policy changes:

• All reclamation projects suspended• Zero loss of nature wetlands• Wetland conservation and restoration order• Leadership accountability for wetland loss• Nomination of World Heritage Sites• New ministry developed that will focus on wetland

issues• Focus funds on EAAF flyway: Center for EAAF studies,

Beijing Forestry University $500K USD for 5 years that will work with EAAF Secretariat

• Collaborations with many NGOs and Academic Institutions