Many migratory bird species have undergone recent population declines, but there is considerable variation in trends between species and between populations employing different migratory routes. ...Understanding species‐specific migratory behaviours is therefore of critical importance for their conservation. The Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos is an Afro‐Palaearctic migratory bird species whose European populations are in decline. We fitted geolocators to individuals breeding in England or wintering in Senegal to determine their migration routes and breeding or non‐breeding locations. We used these geolocator data in combination with previously published data from Scottish breeding birds to determine the distributions and migratory connectivity of breeding (English and Scottish) and wintering (Senegalese) populations of the Common Sandpiper, and used simulated random migrations to investigate wind assistance during autumn and spring migration. We revealed that the Common Sandpipers tagged in England spent the winter in West Africa, and that at least some birds wintering in Senegal bred in Scandinavia; this provides insights into the links between European breeding populations and their wintering grounds. Furthermore, birds tagged in England, Scotland and Senegal overlapped considerably in their migration routes and wintering locations, meaning that local breeding populations could be buffered against habitat change, but susceptible to large‐scale environmental changes. These findings also suggest that contrasting population trends in England and Scotland are unlikely to be the result of population‐specific migration routes and wintering regions. Finally, we found that birds used wind to facilitate their migration in autumn, but less so in spring, when the wind costs associated with their migrations were higher than expected at random. This was despite the wind costs of simulated migrations being significantly lower in spring than in autumn. Indeed, theory suggests that individuals are under greater time pressures in spring than in autumn because of the time constraints associated with reproduction.
Capsule: Fitting geolocators to Common Sandpipers Actitis hypoleucos did not affect their return rates, return dates, body condition or reproductive success, but did cause leg injuries in some ...individuals.
Aims: To investigate the effect of fitting geolocators to Common Sandpipers on their return rates and timing, the condition in which they return and their subsequent breeding success.
Methods: We fitted geolocators to colour-ringed Common Sandpipers and monitored them throughout the breeding seasons prior to migration and following return from their wintering grounds. We then compared return rate, return date, change in body condition, hatching success, and fledging success between birds with and without the tags. We also fitted a number of smaller geolocators to wintering individuals in Africa and compared their return rates with a control group.
Results: We found no significant differences between birds with and without geolocators in any of the variables measured. However, several individuals fitted with the larger tags were found to have incurred leg injuries.
Conclusion: Our study highlights the need for complete transparency when reporting the effects of geolocators and shows the importance of continuous monitoring of individuals when carrying out tracking studies.
The natural valleys of large rivers provide suitable nesting and foraging sites for many bird species. In this study, we assess the effects of water fluctuations during the breeding season on Common ...Sandpipers’ nest survival on a semi-natural section of the Vistula River, and evaluate which tactics this species can adopt to minimise the effects on a long-term scale. Birds can avoid losses due to flooding by adjusting the timing of nesting to avoid the occurrence of extreme water conditions, and/or by choosing a safe nesting location. We found that nest location is a direct response to periodic high water, and the threat of flooding seems to be one of the important determinants of Common Sandpiper nest placement. The choice of nest location is not random, as 70% of pairs nested above a height that provides an 80% chance of avoiding flooding of the nest. For the lowest-lying nests found in this study, nesting success was reduced up to 92% because of inundation. Birds choose more elevated places, even during the second half of the season when the threat of flooding is lower. Their preference for nesting above a certain height does not change over the breeding season, which corresponds to the very small impact of the date of first egg laying on breeding success. Those who breed earlier in the season have a slightly higher risk of being flooded, but nesting in more elevated places reduces this risk much more than shifting the time of breeding.
Stability of breeding habitat use and population variability was studied in two common wader species: green sandpiper Tringa ochropus and common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos in a boreal lake area in ...southern Finland. The main natural driver of habitat disturbance in the area is an ecosystem engineer, the North American beaver Castor canadensis. We also studied the presence and abundance of green sandpipers before, during and after beaver-induced floods.
In the studied landscape, the variable habitat created by beaver flooding appeared to have carrying capacity for a larger green sandpiper population than the more stable habitat for that of the common sandpiper. Common sandpipers made much use of the same lakes from year to year whereas the occupation of wetlands by the green sandpiper was more variable. The population of common sandpipers fluctuated more, although they inhabited the more stable environment. Green sandpiper pair numbers increased during beaver flooding, which suggests that they adapt rapidly to changes in breeding site availability. Some of the facilitating effects of the beaver appeared to remain 1–2 years after the flooding.
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•Common sandpipers favor stable breeding habitats.•Green sandpipers benefit from variable habitat created by beavers.•There is more habitat for green than common sandpipers in the beaver landscape.
This paper discusses the distribution of terrestrial vertebrates in the northeastern part of the Kanin Peninsula (67°50′47″ N, 46°20′40″ E) based on the results of their census conducted in July ...2021. In total, 1 amphibian species, 1 reptile species, 57 bird species, and 6 mammal species have been recorded. The following bird species have been recorded in the tundra zone of the Kanin Peninsula for the first time: tufted duck (
Aythya fuligula
L.), common eider (
Somateria mollissima
L.), pallid harrier (
Circus macrourus
S.G. Gmelin), and common sandpiper (
Actitis hypoleucos
L.). A distinct feature of the vertebrate fauna inhabiting this region located in the low-growing dwarf-birch tundra belt is the presence of boreal species, including common frog (
Rana temporaria
L.), viviparous lizard (
Zootoca vivipara
Lichtenstein), tufted duck, common goldeneye (
Bucephala clangula
L.), Eurasian crane (
Grus grus
L.), common sandpiper, brown bear (
Ursus arctos
L.), and European elk (
Alces alces
L). So far, this is the northernmost known habitat of the viviparous lizard. The following factors are favorable for the presence of boreal species in this area: its location on the southern slope of the plateaulike Kanin Kamen Ridge and ruggedness of its relief, including deep river valleys with well-heated slopes protected from winds. It is established that the spatial density of the Arctic fox (
Alopex lagopus
L.) brood burrows has decreased ten times when compared with the 1940–1950s due to the activation of cryogenic processes in permafrost that destroy the burrows dug by this predator in loose soils.
The Indian subcontinent is the primary wintering ground and stopover site for migratory shorebirds to refuel along the Central Asian and South Asian Flyways. Despite the conservation importance of ...this region for migratory shorebirds, we lack information on the distribution and abundance of over-summering shorebirds—migrants that remain on their wintering grounds during the breeding season—to evaluate the impacts of anthropogenic change on this poorly understood life history strategy. We conducted weekly surveys of over-summering shorebirds at mudflats, mangroves, and sand beaches at the Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve on the southwest coast of India, 2005–2018. We examined long-term patterns of over-summering shorebird abundance, species composition, and habitat use and estimated proportional changes in over-summering abundance of each shorebird species documented at this globally important site. Over the 14 yr study, we documented 7 over-summering species, including Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus), Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultia), Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres), and Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva). Mean abundance and species richness were higher at mudflats than at mangroves and sand beaches, with fewer individuals and species observed over-summering after 2010. Mudflats also had the highest species diversity and evenness compared to mangroves and sand beaches. Management plans that aim to restore vulnerable mudflats and mangroves and to reduce anthropogenic threats such as sand mining and waste dumping are needed to prevent the loss of important over-summering, foraging habitat for migratory shorebirds in southern India and along the Central Asian and South Asian Flyways.
Capsule: Common sandpipers stopping over in a tidal marsh in northern Iberia during the autumn migration period showed a moderate mean fuel load and low fuel deposition rate, but relatively long ...stopover periods, suggesting a 'hopping' strategy of migration.
Aims: The main objectives of this paper were to analyse the stopover ecology of migrant Common Sandpipers at Txingudi coastal marshes, northern Iberia, in autumn.
Methods: Common sandpipers were captured during the autumn migration of 2007-2013 at the Txingudi marshlands (province of Gipuzkoa, northern Iberia). Data were obtained from a constant effort ringing station working on a daily basis.
Results: We observed a moderate fuel load and fuel deposition rate and long stopovers.
Conclusion: Our results suggest overall a 'hopping' migration strategy. When moving along the coast of northern Iberia, Common Sandpipers may not use key wetlands to gain much fuel, as found in other waders or in some wetlands of inland Iberia, but all coastal marshes seem to be potentially used in the same way.
Matings between close relatives often reduce the fitness of offspring, probably because homozygosity leads to the expression of recessive deleterious alleles. Studies of several animals have shown ...that reproductive success is lower when genetic similarity between parents is high, and that survival and other measures of fitness increase with individual levels of genetic diversity. These studies indicate that natural selection may favour the avoidance of matings with genetically similar individuals. But constraints on social mate choice, such as a lack of alternatives, can lead to pairing with genetically similar mates. In such cases, it has been suggested that females may seek extra-pair copulations with less related males, but the evidence is weak or lacking. Here we report a strong positive relationship between the genetic similarity of social pair members and the occurrence of extra-pair paternity and maternity ('quasi-parasitism') in three species of shorebirds. We propose that extra-pair parentage may represent adaptive behavioural strategies to avoid the negative effects of pairing with a genetically similar mate.
The common sandpiper is a small wader showing no sexual dimorphism in plumage and some dimorphism in size. Discriminant function analysis was applied to a set of morphometric traits of birds captured ...in Poland during migration. In total, 247 males and 111 females were measured and sexed molecularly. On average, females were larger in all measurements than males. The most sexually-dimorphic trait was wing length. Individuals with wing shorter than 111 mm were males and those with wing longer than 117 mm were females. These values are based on a large sample of individuals sexed molecularly and better describe the range of wing size characteristic of each sex compared with previously published works, where common sandpipers with wings longer than 115 mm were sexed as females. The best discriminant function included wing and tarsus plus toe lengths. The jackknife crossvalidation showed that this equation allowed for correct sexing of 77.1% of birds (87.5% of males and 54.1% of females). When identifying birds with this discriminant function, the values smaller than -0.33 indicate males, while greater than 1.26 indicate females. This allows for correct sexing of 95% of birds of each sex.
Using the point count method, linear mixed models, Shannon’s diversity index, and Bray-Curtis cluster analysis, we conducted a study of the effect of urban fabric layout on bird diversity and ...distribution in northern Rwanda. The results showed a significant effect of city landscapes on bird richness and relative abundance; residential neighborhoods, institutional grounds, and informal settlements had the highest species diversity in comparison to other microlandscape types. Riversides were characterized by specialized bird species, commonly known to be restricted to wetland environments. Built-up areas and open field landscapes had comparable results. One Albertine Rift endemic bird species, the Ruwenzori Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris stuhlmanni), was recorded. Three migratory birds were found in Musanze city for the first time: the Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), the Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata), and the Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus). Two bird species have not been previously reported in Rwanda: the Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin) and the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina). The implications of this study are particularly relevant to urban decision makers who should consider the existence of a great diversity of avian fauna when developing and implementing master plans, especially when villages and cities are in proximity of protected areas or natural reserves.
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