The Whimbrel migrates in long bouts from its arctic breeding grounds to its South American wintering grounds. Exact migratory routes are becoming better understood through the use of bird-borne data loggers (e.g., Watts et al. 2008). Results from migration monitoring surveys suggest that the population has decreased relative to about 1970. However, many birds may overfly the areas with the greatest coverage of migration monitoring surveys, so this assessment of the species' status is tentative. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
Populations were greatly reduced by market hunting in the late 19th and early 20th century (Skeel and Mallory 1996). The species is still hunted in the Caribbean and South America, but current estimates of harvest are lacking for most regions. Whimbrels are known to use agricultural lands during fall migration, especially blueberry fields in eastern Canada and the United States, where they are routinely harassed and prevented from feeding (Nagy-MacArthur 2016). Climate change is expected to have a negative effect on arctic-breeding shorebirds because their conservative life-history strategy (low reproduction and long lifespan) makes it difficult for them to quickly adapt to the effects of accelerated climate change on their breeding habitat (Meltofte et al. 2007). Effects may include: drying of tundra ponds (Stow et al. 2004, Smol and Douglas 2007), shrub encroachment (Callaghan et al. 2005, Tape and Racine 2006, Ballantyne and Nol 2015), asynchrony of insect-chick hatch (Tulp and Schekkerman 2008), and unusual weather events (Martin and Wiebe 2004, Tulp and Schekkerman 2006).
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.
