Ah! My dream bird. I've said a couple of times that when I get great breeding picture of a Spoon-Billed, I'll quit. We'll see what happens.

Ah! My dream bird. I've said a couple of times that when I get a great breeding picture of a Spoon-Billed, I'll quit. We'll see what happens.

Just wait a few years, then the risk of having to quit will be gone...

Yes , sadly Jan is right! I guess the only positive thing about the imminent extinction of the spoon-billed sandpiper then , is the fact that Daniel is not hanging up his photo-gear....

For some of the latest news on the species check these links:

http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2009/03/sbs_surveys.html

http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2009/03/RBYB2009_Spoon-billed_sandpiper.pdf

Can't think of anything else either.....

I might also add , that even if the chance is still there to see this exquisite wader on its breedinggrounds , it has become more difficult since the DOF-tour in 2007. I’m sure that if you ask Eric Schaumburg , who was the leader on that tour , he would tell you that it was not easy then , and according to our Russian guide it has gone from bad to worse. Even on an all-Russian-tour a few weeks later , things were “…very difficult due to a sudden increase in financial demands from certain people from the Anadyr administration”. And he could also tell that “The political climate there has gone so bad that Belyaka Spit will probably be inaccessible in the foreseeable future. However, there is another site in the south, accessible by a long caterpillar trip. Also, border zone restrictions have been tightened (it now takes 2 months and a lot of money to get visit permits)”. So it seems like even with our difficulties , we were extremely lucky with the timing of our trip , which was by the way absolutely unforgettable!!

Jon

Det har vist sig , at en af de helt store trusler mod skerylen er , at den indfanges i vinterkvartererne. I 2009/2010 blev 22 eksemplarer fanget i Burma og Bangladesh , og da den formodede ynglebestand efterhånden er nået ned på anslået 120-220 par , er det jo en betragtelig andel - bestanden i 2000 lå iøvrigt på cirka 1000par!
På SOFs hjemmeside samles der i øjeblikket ind til et projekt som handler om at få stoppet denne fangst , så alle interesserede anbefales stærkt at læse videre her:

http://www.sofnet.org/index.asp?lev=6995&typ=1

Mvh.
Jon