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The ornithologists of the international Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force, funded by the foundation Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung, are thrilled: the unexpected discovery of a new Spoon-billed Sandpiper breeding ground gives new hope that this species, threatened with imminent extinction, can still be saved.

The chair of the group, our scientific associate Dr. Christoph Zöckler, reports on the discovery:

‘We were all completely astonished when K9, a Spoon-billed Sandpiper tagged in Thailand, in June 2024 suddenly flew inland into the mountains on his migration to the breeding grounds, north of the well-known coastline on the east coast of Kamchatka. At first, we thought it was an erroneous reading from the satellite transmitter, but further signals over the next six weeks confirmed his location in the mountains. This was very unusual and we couldn't explain it, as all previously known breeding sites are located on the coast.

A Russian seaplane, already on another conservation mission in Chukotka, has been persuaded to fly over the area in July. However, it was not possible to land there, and no suitable breeding habitat could be identified on the flyover.

In the summer of 2025, a three-member Russian research team finally succeeded in landing with a small aircraft near to the location, spending a week searching the region for possible breeding sites. The group, led by Dr. Elena Lappo, eventually discovered suitable breeding habitats on the mountain plateaus and, surprisingly, not only one breeding Spoon-billed Sandpiper, but three pairs, each of them with three little chicks! This sensational finding gives hope that there may be more breeding pairs in the area.

Despite the newly discovered breeding grounds, the sandpiper remains extremely rare and its population sadly continues to decline.’ 

Further details can be found in the News Bulletin no. 33.

Christoph Zöckler, SBS Task Force Chair, Manfred Hermsen Stiftung