Baird's Sandpiper
(Calidris bairdii)

Summary

Picture of bird
© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

Baird's Sandpipers breed in Arctic Canada, including the northernmost reaches of the Arctic islands, and Alaska. The species winters in the short grasslands of South America, often at high altitudes. Surveys conducted during fall migration and on the breeding grounds suggest that the Canadian population has experienced a moderate increase relative to about 1970, but the reliability of these results is considered low because of poor survey coverage and poor precision of the trend estimates.

Designations

Listing of the main designations for the species
DesignationStatusDateSubspecies, population
IUCN (Global)Least Concern2012 
Wild Species (Canada)Secure2010 

Population status

Geographic areaStatusReliability
CanadaModerate IncreaseLow
 

Population estimate

Canada100,000 - 500,000 adults (includes birds breeding and migrating within Canada)
 

Distribution maps

 

Migration strategy, occurrence

Long-distance migrant

Responsibility for conservation of world population

CanadaHigh

Conservation and management

The Baird's Sandpiper currently faces few threats on its remote breeding grounds in the Arctic. However, habitats used during winter in South America are lost as a result of agricultural intensification when grazing lands are converted to crop land and when flooding pampa is drained (Blanco et al. 1993).

 

Bird conservation region strategies

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:

  • conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
  • stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
  • management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
  • other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

BCRs, marine biogeographic units, and sub-regions in which the species is listed as a priority
RegionSub-region and priority type
NoneNone
 

References