Bay Shorebirds
Western Sandpiper. Photo by Glenn Vargas © California Academy of Sciences.
DB: This is Earth and Sky. The most abundant shorebird in Western North America is the Western Sandpiper.
JB: And that’s the sound of this Sandpiper. We spoke with John Takekawa, a research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He and colleagues study the movement of migratory birds like sandpipers – to understand the habitats that are important for them along the Pacific Flyway – a region along the West coast of North America, from Mexico all the way up to Alaska.
DB: A recently completed study found that salt ponds in the Bay Area – artificially created a century ago for commercial salt production – might be the most important stopover for Western Sandpipers outside of Alaska. They’re a focus now for Takekawa’s research.
John Takekawa: It’s been very important to have a better understanding of what our conservation needs are for migration areas along the coast as we continue to face development pressures in Western North America. We also, at the same time, are trying to save the most important areas that allow migrations of these species to continue. So our work is aimed at trying to figure out which areas are most important, and also which areas are the ones that the birds seem to use for the longest time period.
JB: More about a plan to restore salt pond wetlands in the San Francisco Bay Area – tomorrow. Thanks today to the Bureau of Land Management and to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. We’re Block and Byrd for Earth and Sky.
The following person was interviewed for today’s program. Our thanks to:
John Takekawa
Research Wildlife Biologist
Biological Resources Group
Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
Links:
South Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project
California Resources Agency – Cargill Agreement Documents
Additional Teacher Resources
U.S. Geological Survey: Western Sandpiper
This site provides a natural history and biology of the western sandpiper including ID tips, life history, distribution map, migration chart, taxonomy, and list to links on more information.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service?Pacific Region, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge: Marvels of Migration: The Northward Flight of the Western Sandpiper
One of the most impressive demonstrations of bird migration occurs from mid-April to the beginning of May at San Francisco Bay. San Francisco Bay Estuary, is recognized as a site of hemispheric importance for shorebirds, based on estimates of as many as 1 million shorebirds passing through on a single day during peak spring migration. This article explains how the majority of both wintering and migrating birds in this area are made up of one species, the western sandpiper.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Fish & Wildlife News: Tiny Sandpiper Unites Distant Refuges
This article tells of two biologists who found a Texas-banded western sandpiper on the Yukon Delta in the Yukon National Wildlife Reserve in Alaska. Students will appreciate this impressive feat considering this species weighs just over an ounce and annually makes this 3,700 mile flight round-trip from Texas to Alaska.
