The Semipalmated Sandpiper breeds in Arctic and subarctic Canada and winters along the northern and central coasts of South America. It is best surveyed during migration when birds congregate at interior wetlands and beaches of the Atlantic coast. Migration monitoring surveys suggest that Semipalmated Sandpipers have exhibited a large decrease in abundance relative to about 1970, primarily prior to the mid-1990s. Morphometric data from the Bay of Fundy suggest that the eastern breeding segment of the population (those with the longest bills) may be declining to a greater extent than central breeders (Hicklin and Gratto-Trevor 2010). Previous monitoring on the breeding grounds has also suggested that there is regional variation in trends, with eastern birds showing declines, and central and western Arctic-breeding birds showing stable or even increasing trends (see Brown et al. 2017 and references therein). Because migration monitoring surveys are biased towards sites on the Atlantic coast (at the expense of interior sites), the rate of decline suggested by migration monitoring results may be larger than the actual range-wide decline. Still, a decrease in the abundance of Semipalmated Sandpipers is likely and is consistent with information from the breeding and wintering grounds (e.g., Jehl 2007, Brown et al. 2017, R.I.G. Morrison, ECCC, pers. comm.). Future assessments of status will be improved when results from the Arctic Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (Arctic PRISM) become available. The Semipalmated Sandpiper is currently below the lowest acceptable level relative to its national population goal (see graph below).
Additional information on: Analyses of Shorebird Migration Monitoring Data
