‘Eurynorhynchus pygmeus’— the small broad nose. The Spoon-billed
Sandpiper’s scientific name is accurate in portraying its namesake physical
characteristic, their unique spatulate bill, yet says nothing about the
heartbreaking decline that this tiny shorebird is suffering. Listed on the IUCN
Red List as Critically Endangered, the last possible listing before ‘Extinct’,
the global population of Spoon-billed Sandpipers tentatively rests at a
dangerous level— a meager 100 breeding pairs remain. Breeding in Russia and
flying thousands of miles to wintering grounds in Southeast Asia, they are
dependent on the health of ecosystems worldwide. Their shockingly small
numbers, combined with a high mortality in young birds, puts them at risk for disappearing
in the next ten years…and perhaps even within the next five. For a bird whose population was in the thousands just a few
decades ago, this is a terribly depressing realization. Their buzzy trills once
so common in Russia might soon be silenced forever.
Spoon-billed
Sandpipers find their most immediate concern in the trapping practices of
hunters at the birds’ winter homes. Since pockets of breeding birds are so
scarce, this species has no room for even a single loss, and the subsistence hunting
of shorebirds in Asia poses a dire threat. Additionally, their stopover sites
on their migratory paths, critical “refueling” points on a very long and
demanding journey, are rapidly disappearing. Due to human development of
intertidal habitat, the places which these birds, along with a wide array of
other migratory shorebirds, utilize during migration are being converted into
agricultural areas. With nowhere to rest and feed after days of nonstop flight,
birds simply die of exhaustion. Each migration could be the Spoon-billed
Sandpiper’s last. In a few short years, spring on Russia’s coastal tundra could
arrive without the rolling voices of its rarest shorebird.
Clearly,
immediate and effective conservation action is desperately needed to save the
Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Concerned scientists from around the globe have
collectively begun a movement to boost the recovery of this special bird,
beginning with addressing the issue of hunting in Asia. Poor families in
countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar collect hundreds of shorebirds, hoping to
make enough money to sustain their struggling families. While these people are
as desperate to survive as the sandpipers themselves, it is vital to the
existence of the birds that this hunting be ended immediately. How to help the
people, though? It is a relatively simple solution: replace the birds with
another way of life. In the case of Myanmar, the locals receive funding and
training for fishing in return for their cessation of hunting sandpipers. According
to the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task
Force, up to 90% of hunters in critical Spoon-billed Sandpiper habitats have
agreed to stop trapping the birds.
This
is a tremendous achievement for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, but their numbers
are so low that stopping hunting alone cannot ensure the survival of the
species. Further action must be taken, and a multitude of international bird
organizations, including BirdLife International, Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds, and the Moscow Zoo have partnered up in order to create a
captive-breeding program. Birds will be hand-raised until they are fit for
release into the wild; this practice will build a captive population of the
birds to have as “back-up” in the event that the Spoon-billed Sandpiper
vanishes from the wild entirely. Captivity in itself is a sensitive subject,
but desperate times call for desperate measures, and in the case of Eurynorhyncus pygmeus, there is no time
to debate. Action must be swiftly taken if these precious birds are to survive.
Captive breeding has shown success in other species, and so is a grand hope for
the Spoon-billed Sandpiper’s future.
What,
though, makes the Spoon-billed Sandpiper so worthy of saving? Why not ignore
its plight, for such few birds remain. The species is on a fast track to
extinction, and in a very short window of time. Why spend thousands of
international dollars to help such a small and scarce shorebird?
The
question we should be asking, however, is “Why not?”
Every single living organism on Planet
Earth has its biological niche to fill, and every species is a thread in the
web of life and energy in our biosphere. One loss has global consequences. The
disappearance of one species can directly cause the death of another. From
phytoplankton to fin whales, Earth’s beings and the ecosystems in which they
live are constantly balancing on a thin rope, ready to topple over at any
moment.
Beyond
these biological facts, however, lies a deeper reason to preserve even the
rarest creatures: they are, like us, individuals. They are living, breathing,
thinking, feeling beings who deserve the most basic of pleasures—the freedom to
live. No matter their outward appearance, no matter their place in the
ecosystem, no matter how uncommon or how abundant they are. They are alive, and it is only just to ensure
that they are able to run the course of their brilliant and beautiful lives and
pass the secrets of this life to future generations. Every life matters, and
the 200 Spoon-billed Sandpiper lives still flying through our skies deserve our
time and effort as good as anyone. This sparrow-sized shorebird may be rare,
but compassion is not. The efforts of caring individuals can, and will, restore
the symphony of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper’s song for many seasons to come.
__________________
•• Learn more about the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, and the efforts to protect them! ••
