“Stemming the Tide of Shorebird Loss” by Jane Qiu
July-August 2013
“With migrations that can span thousands of miles, pacific shorebirds are among nature’s most amazing aerialists. But without crucial stopover habitat along their way, they could be doomed.”
Audubon Magazine author Jane Qiu gives us in-depth look at the Yellow Sea and the ecological crisis it is now facing.
Please take time to find out what the experts who are dedicated to this region know about this crisis, the reasons behind it, how it is directly effecting about half of the world’s shorebird species, and what we can do to help.
“Twenty-four shorebird species that use the flyway are heading toward extinction, with many others facing exceptionally rapid losses, sometimes as high as 5 percent to 9 percent a year, according to a report released last October by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The worst hit are the long-distance, Arctic-breeding migrants such as the Red Knot and the Spoon-billed Sandpiper; the latter, declining at a rate of 26 percent a year and with fewer than 200 breeding pairs in the wild, is listed by the IUCN as critically endangered. These rates are among the highest of any on the planet, the report says. And all species identified as declining rely on the Yellow Sea shoreline during migration.”
Many of our supporters will be pleased to find how this article highlights the importance of Saemangeum, the work of Birds Korea, and the momentum that is building for Yellow Sea conservation here and increasingly in North America. With our friends at Audubon and elsewhere, we will continue to do all that we can to raise awareness of the threats these shorebirds face, and to find solutions. Please join us and help conserve these birds and their very special tidal-flat habitats!
You can read more here, at Audubon Magazine:
http://www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/birds/stemming-tide-shorebird-losses