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ARTICLES ON HAWAIIAN and PACIFIC BIRDS, BIRDWATCHING and WILDLIFE

Populations of North American Shorebirds in 2001

The Canadian Wildlife Service published the results of its Estimates of Shorebird Populations in North America (Occasional Paper 104, 2001) in early 2001, authored by R.I.G. (Guy) Morrison and five other Canadian and American ornithologists. These numbers are the best estimates of the total populations in North America at this time.

This article originally appeared in 2001 and contained the above information as well as information on occurrence of many of the species in Hawai'i during the period and comments on their arrival, however due to loss of certain files the original article is no longer available - sorry for any inconvenience.

SPECIES	GLOBAL POPULATION*	NORTH AMERICAN POPULATION	HS**

GREY PLOVER	498,000	200,000	SM
AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER		150,000
PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER	125,000	16,000	CM
SNOWY PLOVER	586,000	16,000
WILSON'S PLOVER		6,000
RINGED PLOVER	442,500	Less than 10,000	V
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER		150,000	SM
PIPING PLOVER		5,913 with 2,100 in Canada
KILLDEER		1,000,000 in North America with 366,000 in Canada (size of Neotropical population unknown)	V
MOUNTAIN PLOVER		9,000 with just 10 in Canada
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER	58,850	8,850 in North America and just 4 in Canada
BLACK OYSTERCATCHER		8,900
BLACK-NECKED STILT	850,000+	150,000 in North America and 400 in Canada	ER
AMERICAN AVOCET		450,000 with 63,000 in Canada
GREATER YELLOWLEGS		100,000	V
LESSER YELLOWLEGS		500,000	CM
SOLITARY SANDPIPER		25,000	V
WILLET		250,000 with 25,000 in Canada. Eastern nominate form (semipalmatus) estimated at 90,000 and western form (inornatus) at 160,000.	V
WANDERING TATTLER		10,000 with 5,000 in Canada	CM
SPOTTED SANDPIPER		150,000	V
UPLAND SANDPIPER		350,000 with 10,000 in Canada
HUDSONIAN WHIMBREL	57,000		V
BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW		10,000	SM
LONG-BILLED CURLEW		20,000 with probably several thousand in canada
HUDSONIAN GODWIT		50,000	V
BAR-TAILED GODWIT	1,345,000	10,000 in North America	V
MARBLED GODWIT		171,500 with 103,000 in Canada	V
TURNSTONE	449,000	235,000 in Canada	CM
BLACK TURNSTONE		80,000
SURFBIRD		70,000
RED KNOT	1,291,000	400,000 in North America	V
SANDERLING	643,000	300,000 in North America	CM
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER		3,500,000	SM
WESTERN SANDPIPER		3,500,000	SM
LEAST SANDPIPER		600,000	SM
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER		400,000	V
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER		300,000	V
PECTORAL SANDPIPER		400,000	CM
PURPLE SANDPIPER	65,000	15,000 in Canada
ROCK SANDPIPER	200,000	150,000 in North America
DUNLIN	3,934,000	1,525,000 in North America	CM
STILT SANDPIPER		200,000	V
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER		15,000	V
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER		320,000; three well-marked forms with 110,000 for the eastern nominate griseus, 60,000 for the interior hendersoni and 150,000 for the western caurinus	V
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER		500,000	CM
WILSON'S SNIPE		2,000,000	SM
AMERICAN WOODCOCK		5,000,000 with 1,000,000 in Canada
WILSON'S PHALAROPE		1,500,000 with 680,000 in Canada	SM
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE	4,000,000	2,500,000 in North America	V
RED (GREY) PHALAROPE	1,000,000		SM
GREY-TAILED TATTLER		Confirmed breeding record for Alaska	V
RED-NECKED STINT		A few dozen breed in Alaska	SM
CURLEW SANDPIPER		A few dozen breed in Alaska	V
RUFF		A few dozen breed in Alaska	SM

* GLOBAL POPULATION = If population also exists outside of North America.

**HS = Hawaiian Status: CM = Common Migrant/Visitor; SM = Scarce Migrant; V = Vagrant; ER - Endemic Race.

It is interesting to note the species which occur in Hawai'i on a regular basis, as well as those which only occur as vagrants. For example Short-billed Dowitcher has a population of 320,000 and Long-billed Dowitcher has a population of 500,000 and although the populations are of a similar size, Short-billed is a much rarer visitor to Hawai'i, due of course to the migration routes of the two species. Species with small populations such as Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper and Greater Yellowlegs are also very rare in the Hawaiian Islands, and this is not just a reflection of their migration routes, but truly reflects the population size, although interestingly Buff-breasted Sandpiper occurs annually on the other side of the Atlantic in Britain (and Stilt Sandpiper and Greater Yellowlegs are recorded more often in Europe than they are in Hawai'i). The two most-numerous Phalaropes (Red and Red-necked) are also an interesting case: Red-necked is twice as numerous as Red in North America, and yet Red is by far the more common species recorded from Hawaiian waters - yet another species whose occurrence in Hawai'i is a reflection of its migration routes. Lastly although Wilson's Snipe numbers over two million, the species remains a very scarce winter visitor to the Islands, it is also intereting to wonder how many of those recorded in the past were actually Wilson's and how many were Eurasian Common Snipe.

Undoubtedly the Hawaiian Shorebird list will continue to grow, with new additions from Asia and North America, but it is also probably inevitable that unless wetland areas in Hawai'i are restored, protected and increased in number and size that the overall number of shorebirds visiting Hawai'i will decrease, and that even those species which are fairly numerous at present (eg Dunlin, Sanderling, Dowitchers etc) will be affected, and may not consider the long flight to Hawai'i worth the effort.

References:

GANTLETT, S. 2001. North American Wader Numbers in OrnithoNews in Birding World 14:2, p46. Norfolk, UK.

HAYMAN, P.; MARCHANT, J and PRATER, T. 1986. and T. Prater. Shorebirds - An Identification Guide. Helm, Kent.

MORRISON, R.I.G., et al. 2001. Estimates of Shorebird populations in North America in 2001. Canadian Wildlife Service occasional paper 104. Ottowa, Canada.

PRATT, H.D.; BRUNER, P. and BERRET, D.G. 1987. A Fieldguide to the Birds of Hawai'i and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton.

PYLE, R. and DONALDSON, P. 1999, 2000, 2001. Quarterly reports for Hawai'i in North American Birds 53:1 - 55:1. ABA, Colorado.

Christian Melgar, Worthing, West Sussex, UK, 2003.

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