Population status

Willet
(Tringa semipalmata)

The Willet is well monitored by the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), which provides coverage of more than 80% of the population. BBS results indicate a moderate, long-term decrease in abundance in Canada relative to 1970, though the magnitude of that decrease has lessened during the most recent period (2006-2016) in the Prairie population. The eastern population (see results for the Atlantic Northern Forest Bird Conservation Region below) seems to have experienced a steeper decline, which has not lessened over the the most recent period. However, the majority of the North American population breeds in the United States (Morrison et al. 2001). BBS results suggest that the continental population has shown little overall change since the 1970s. The Willet is currently below the lowest acceptable level relative to its national population goal (see BBS Canada graph below).

Population goal and acceptable levels of variation

Species/group	Goal	Lower level	Upper level
Willet	Mean abundance (first 5 years of survey)	Goal minus 25%	Not applicable

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Additional information on: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

View definitions of table column headings being used by: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis

Table 1: Population trends by geographic area
Geographic area	Time Period ^{Table 1 - footnote 1}	Annual trend ^{Table 1 - footnote 2}	Limits
Geographic area	Time Period ^{Table 1 - footnote 1}	Annual trend ^{Table 1 - footnote 2}	Lower	Upper
Canada Select to view graph of the geographic area: Canada 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis	1970-2016	-0.7	-1.3	-0.1
Canada Select to view graph of the geographic area: Canada 2006-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis	2006-2016	-0.1	-1.6	2
Boreal Taiga Plains Select to view graph of the geographic area: Boreal Taiga Plains 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis	1970-2016	-1.2	-3.6	1
Prairie Potholes Select to view graph of the geographic area: Prairie Potholes 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis	1970-2016	-0.6	-1.2	0
Atlantic Northern Forest Select to view graph of the geographic area: Atlantic Northern Forest 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis	1970-2016	-1.5	-3	0
North America Select to view graph of the geographic area: North America 1970-2016; Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) - Canadian analysis	1970-2016	-0.4	-1	0.2

References

Erskine, A.J. 1992. Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Maritime Provinces. NSM/Nimbus co-publication, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 280 pp.
Lowther, P.E., H.D. Douglas III and C.L. Gratto-Trevor. 2001. Willet (Tringa semipalmata), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Lowther, P.E., H.D. Douglas III and C.L. Gratto-Trevor. 2001. Willet (Tringa semipalmata), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
Morrison, R.I.G., R.E. Gill, Jr., B.A. Harrington, S. Skagen, G.W. Page, C.L. Gratto-Trevor and S.M. Haig. 2001. Estimates of shorebird populations in North America. Canadian Wildlife Service Occasional Paper no. 104. Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa. 64 pp.
Navedo, J.G., G. Fernández, N. Valdivia, M.C. Drever, J. A. Masero, and S. Bauer. 2017. Identifying management actions to increase foraging opportunities for shorebirds at semi‐intensive shrimp farms. Journal of Applied Ecology 54:567-576. Navedo, J.G., G. Fernández, N. Valdivia, M.C. Drever, J. A. Masero, and S. Bauer. 2017. Identifying management actions to increase foraging opportunities for shorebirds at semi‐intensive shrimp farms. Journal of Applied Ecology 54:567-576. (Link)