Justification: A major segment of the annual cohort of juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpipers comes to western Alaska each autumn following contact with adults on the breeding grounds that in turn staged in East Asia during northward migration.

Background:

The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper nests in northeastern Siberia from the Lena River delta east to Chaun Gulf and spends the nonbreeding season in Australasia, primarily southeastern Australia (Higgins and Davies 1995). Its population as of 2004 was estimated at 160,000 individuals (Bamford et al. in press). Northward migration from Australia occurs in two long legs, the first to coastal East Asian (Taiwan, Korea, Yellow Sea, Japan, southern Russian Far East) and second direct to the breeding grounds. Southward migration may be unique among all shorebirds. Adults depart from breeding grounds and pass overland through Mongolia, China, and Manchuria to coastal Asia; juveniles (possibly the annual cohort) fly east across the Bering Strait to western Alaska (Kotzebue Sound south to central Alaska Peninsula estuaries), but return to Australasia (September-October) via an apparent direct, nonstop flight (cf. Gill et al. 2004). During the nonbreeding period birds prefer freshwater swamps and ephemeral wetlands, but also occur on intertidal habitats and hypersaline environments, especially during droughts. During passage, birds are found regularly in East Asia at sewage ponds and pasturelands but they are equally common on intertidal areas. In Alaska, the species is mostly found on coastal salt meadows and on nonvegetated substrates along tidally influenced rivers. The core staging area in Alaska appears to be the central Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD). Sharp-tailed Sandpipers frequently occur with other species of shorebirds during passage and when staging in Alaska. There are numerous regional reports on the seasonal occurrence and numbers of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers in Alaska (e.g., Gill et al. 1981; Connors and Connors 1985; Gill et al. 1985; Gill 1987; Gill and Handel 1981, 1990; Gill and Vacca 1987; Schamel et al. 1979; Shields and Peyton 1979; Woodby and Divoky 1983).

Ranking Score: 14.5

Methods:

No. of samples: Total 400 (200 ea. from the YKD and Alaska Peninsula). The extent of the range in Alaska and the prolonged period of residence (late August into early November) warrant the increased sampling effort.
Sampling locations: Primary locations include the central YKD (Old Chevak, Tutakoke River, Kashunuk River, Hazen Bay) and Alaska Peninsula estuaries (Ugashik Bay and Hook-Cinder Lagoon). Secondary locations include Kuskokwim Shoals, eastern Norton Sound and the St. Michael wetland complex.
Sampling timeframe: Late August through early November.
Sample demographics: Only juveniles will be sampled since they are the only age cohort to occur in Alaska. Equal numbers of males and females will be sampled (sex determined from measurements when bird in hand).
Methods of capture: Almost all samples will come from live-captures using walk-in traps and mist nets. During relatively brief periods in autumn 2004 and 2005, over 300 birds were captured on the YKD using walk-in traps and mist nets. Small numbers of samples will be obtained from alternative methods, namely feces and lethal capture (~20-40 birds).
Other targeted species: At the proposed primary sampling sites it will be possible to sample large numbers (>200) of Dunlin, Rock Sandpipers, and Bar-tailed Godwits, and small numbers of Pectoral Sandpipers and Long-billed Dowitchers

Principal Investigator(s):

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Yukon Delta NWR (August through October)
Contact: Brian McCaffery

Alaska Peninsula-Becharof NWR (August through October)

Contact: Susan Savage

Togiak NWR (August through October)

Contact: Rob MacDonald

U.S. Geological Survey

Alaska Science Center - Shorebird Project
Contact: Robert Gill

Literature Cited:

Bamford, M., D. Watkins, W. Bancroft, and G. Tischler. 2006. Migratory shorebirds of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway: population estimates and important sites. Wetlands International Oceania. (In press).

Connors, P. G., and C. S. Connors. 1985. Shorebird littoral zone ecology of the southern Chukchi coast of Alaska. Pages 3-57 in Environmental Assessment of the Alaskan Continental Shelf, Final Reports of Principal Investigators, Vol. 35. NOAA, Environ. Res. Lab., Boulder, CO.

Engelmoer, M., and C. Roselaar. 1998. Geographical variation in waders. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

Gill, R. E., Jr. 1987. Trip report: birds and mammals observed at Ugashik Bay, Alaska Peninsula, 26 September-22 October 1986. Unpubl. Rept., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK.

Gill, R. E., Jr., K. S. Bollinger, and M. R. Petersen. 1985. Trip report: birds and mammals observed at Ugashik Bay and Cinder River, Alaska Peninsula, September 26-October 19, 1985. Unpubl. Rept., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Fish and Wildlife Research Center, Anchorage, AK.

Gill, R. E., Jr., and C. M. Handel. 1981. Shorebirds of the eastern Bering Sea. Pages 719-738 in D. W. Hood and J. A. Calder (eds.). The eastern Bering Sea shelf: oceanography and resources, Vol. 2. Univ. Washington Press, Seattle.

Gill, R. E., Jr., and C. M. Handel. 1990. The importance of subarctic intertidal habitats to shorebirds: a study of the central Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Condor 92:709-725.

Gill, R. E., Jr., and M. M. Vacca. 1987. Trip report: birds and mammals recorded at Hook Lagoon and west Cinder Lagoon, Alaska Peninsula, September 26-October 22, 1986. Unpubl. Rept., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK.

Higgins, P. J., and S. J. J. F. Davies (eds.). 1996. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Volume 3: Snipe to Pigeons. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Schamel, D., D. Tracy, P. G. Mickelson, and A. Seguin. 1979. Avian community ecology at two sites on Espenberg Peninsula in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. Pages 289-607 in Environmental Assessment of the Alaskan Continental Shelf, Final Reports of principal investigators, Vol. 5. NOAA, Environ. Res. Lab., Boulder, CO.

Shields, G. F., and L. J. Peyton. 1979. Avian community ecology at the Akulik-Inglutalik River Delta, Norton Bay, Alaska. Pages 608-710 in Environmental Assessment of the Alaskan Continental Shelf, Final Reports of Principal Investigators, Vol. 5. NOAA, Environ. Res. Lab., Boulder, CO.

Woodby, D., and G. Divoky. 1983. Bird use of coastal habitats in Norton Sound. Pages 353-704 In Environmental Assessment of the Alaska Continental Shelf, Final Reports of Principal Investigators, Vol. 18. NOAA, Environ. Res. Lab., Boulder, CO.

Asian H5N1 ranking criteria for Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata.

Distribution Map: