Rock Sandpiper
(Calidris ptilocnemis)

Overview

Summary

© Jukka Jantunen
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

Rock Sandpipers are a truly Beringian species, with at least four recognized subspecies breeding in Alaska and Russia. The predominant subspecies to visit Canadian coastlines on migration, C. p. tschuktschorum, both breeds furthest north and winters furthest south, taking annual round trips of up to 9,000 km between the breeding grounds in Russia and wintering grounds along the North Pacific coast to northern California. Survey data are insufficient to reliably determine a change in population status in Canada for this uncommon winter visitor. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Due to their highly restricted breeding range in Alaska and Russia, Rock Sandpipers are inherently vulnerable to perturbations at nesting sites; during non-breeding they predominately use intertidal habitats. Rock Sandpipers are one of the most vulnerable species to oil spills (Gill et al. 2002) due to their habitat preferences and tendency to form large flocks. The unknown effects of introduced mammals (e.g., reindeer, cattle, foxes and rats) are a potential threat (Gill et al. 2002).

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.

References

• Andres, B.A., P.A. Smith, R.I.G. Morrison, C.L. Gratto-Trevor, S.C. Brown, and C.A. Friis. 2012. Population estimates of North American shorebirds, 2012. Wader Study Group Bulletin 119(3):178–194. Andres, B.A., P.A. Smith, R.I.G. Morrison, C.L. Gratto-Trevor, S.C. Brown, and C.A. Friis. 2012. Population estimates of North American shorebirds, 2012. Wader Study Group Bulletin 119(3):178–194. (Link)
• Gill, R.E., P.S. Tomkovich, and B.J. McCaffery. 2002. Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Gill, R.E., P.S. Tomkovich, and B.J. McCaffery. 2002. Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• Wetlands International. 2014. Waterbird Population Estimates. Wetlands International. 2014. Waterbird Population Estimates. (Link)