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One of the Western Hemisphere’s most common shorebirds, nearly the entire population of Western Sandpiper passes through stopover sites in coastal British Columbia during spring and fall migration while on the move between nesting areas in western Alaska and southern Siberia and overwintering areas from California to Peru. The area used is relatively small and is considered a migratory bottleneck; for this reason, Canada has a very high conservation responsibility for this species. Data from the Christmas Bird Count suggest the abundance of sandpipers has remained relatively unchanged since 1970. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
Western Sandpipers use a short-flight migratory strategy whereby successful movement along the coast depends on the presence of a series of intertidal wetland habitats along the entire migration route (Iverson et al. 1996). Consequently, range-wide concerns for this species center on the identification, availability and protection of important stopover and wintering areas. Degradation and loss of habitat, especially from the draining and conversion of wetlands at wintering and migration stopover sites, are major threats to Western Sandpipers (Franks et al. 2014). Climate change may also play a significant role affecting population dynamics because timing of spring onset and ocean productivity is critical for migration survivorship and breeding success (e.g., O’Hara et al. 2007). Western Sandpipers are particularly vulnerable to a mismatch in the timing of breeding with seasonal peaks in food abundance (Franks et al. 2014).
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.