Distribution

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper has a naturally restricted breeding range in northeastern Russia on the Chukotka Peninsula and extending southwards to the isthmus of the Kamchatka Peninsula (27 Syroechkovski, E. E., P. S. Tomkovich, M. Kashiwagi, I. A. Taldenkov, V. A. Buzin, E. G. Lappo, and C. Zöckler (2010). Population decline in the Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) in northern Chukotka based on monitoring on breeding grounds. The Biological Bulletin 37(9):941–951. Close , 28 Lappo, E., P. P. Tomkovich, and E. E. Syroechkovskiy (2012). Atlas of breeding waders in the Russian Arctic. UF Ofsetnaya Pechat, Moscow, Russia. Close , 29 BirdLife International (2024). Species factsheet: Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea. Close ). The species undertakes a migration along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, traveling through Russia, Japan, the Korean Peninsula (including North Korea), China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It primarily overwinters in southern China, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Myanmar (30 Zöckler, C., A. E. Beresford, G. Bunting, S. U. Chowdhury, N. A. Clark, V. W. K. Fu, T. H. Hla, V. V. Morozov, E. E. Syroechkovskiy, M. Kashiwagi, E. G. Lappo, M. Tong, T. L. Long, Y.-T. Yu, F. Huettmann, H. K. Akasofu, H. Tomida, and G. M. Buchanan (2016). The winter distribution of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaeus. Bird Conservation International 26:476–489. Close , 16 Chang, Q., T. L. T. Ki, G. Q. A. Anderson, K. Brides, N. A. Clark, J. Ding, K. K. S. Leung, J. Li, D. S. Melville, J. Phillips, E. Weston, Z. Yang, and R. E. Green. (2021). Numbers of Spoon-billed Sandpipers in Jiangsu Province, China, during the post-breeding moult in relation to recent changes in the intertidal zone. Wader Study 128:125–136. Close ) with recent records from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, West Bengal (India) and Sri Lanka.

Breeding Range

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper breeds in the coastal tundra of northeastern Russia, specifically within 5 km of the coast on lagoon spits covered with crowberry-lichen vegetation (31 Tomkovich, P. S. (1991). Three-year study of breeding Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Asian Wetland News 4:17. Close , 31 Tomkovich, P. S. (1991). Three-year study of breeding Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Asian Wetland News 4:17. Close ). Although typically coastal, a satellite-tagged individual was recorded inland at a higher elevation during the 2024 breeding season, indicating that we still have much to learn about the species’ breeding behavior (K. Leung, personal communication 2024).

Nonbreeding Range

By mid-August, nearly all individuals depart their breeding grounds and begin their southward migration, covering distances up to 8,000 km, with stops at critical sites in North Korea and China (32 Green, R., N. Clark, G. Anderson, E. Weston, and B. Hughes (2018). Satellite tagging of Spoon-billed Sandpipers reveals the importance of intertidal habitats in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for migration and post-breeding moult. Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force News Bulletin 19:31–33. Close , 17 Yang, Z., B. J. Lagassé, H. Xiao, M. V. Jackson, C.-Y. Chiang, D. S. Melville, K. S. K. Leung, J. Li, L. Zhang, H.-B. Peng, X. Gan, W.-L. Liu, Z. Ma, and C.-Y. Choi (2020). The southern Jiangsu coast is a critical moulting site for Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea and Nordmann’s Greenshank Tringa guttifer. Bird Conservation International 30(4):649-660 Close ). The Spoon-billed Sandpiper primarily overwinters in the intertidal mudflats of Myanmar, southern China, Bangladesh, Thailand and Vietnam. Significant wintering sites include the Gulf of Mottama and Nan Thar Island in Myanmar, Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong province in South China, and Sonadia Island and the Meghna Estuary in Bangladesh (30 Zöckler, C., A. E. Beresford, G. Bunting, S. U. Chowdhury, N. A. Clark, V. W. K. Fu, T. H. Hla, V. V. Morozov, E. E. Syroechkovskiy, M. Kashiwagi, E. G. Lappo, M. Tong, T. L. Long, Y.-T. Yu, F. Huettmann, H. K. Akasofu, H. Tomida, and G. M. Buchanan (2016). The winter distribution of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaeus. Bird Conservation International 26:476–489. Close , 1 Green, R. E., K. K. S. Leung, N. A. Clark, G. Q. A. Anderson, K. Brides, Q. Chang, S. U. Chowdhury, J. A. Clark, M. Foysal, C. Zöckler, Y. Gerasimov, G. A. Gale, N. Iakushev, J. Khamaye, E. Lappo, D. S. Melville, P. S. Tomkovich, E. Weston, J. Weston, and Z. Yang. (2024). New estimate of the trend in world population size of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper suggests continuing decline. Wader Study 131(2): 122–131. Close ). Historically, Myanmar and Bangladesh supported over 80% of the global wintering population (33 Zöckler, C., Syroechkovskiy, E.E. and Atkinson, P.W. (2010). Rapid and continued population decline in the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus indicates imminent extinction unless conservation action is taken. Bird Conservation International. 20(2): 95–111. Close ), but surveys indicate a steep decline in these regions (34 Chowdhury, S. U., M. Foysal, and R. E. Green. (2022). Accelerating decline of an important wintering population of the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea at Sonadia Island, Bangladesh. Journal of Ornithology 163(4):891–901. Close ). For instance, Myanmar's population decreased from 244 individuals in 2009 to just 47 by 2021, while Bangladesh experienced a similar sharp deadline, especially at Sonadia Island, Cox’s Bazar (35 Zöckler, C., Chowdhury, S.U., Pyae Phyo Aung, Li, J., Hughes, B., Clark, N., Anderson, G. and Syroechkovskiy, E. (2018). Good progress in 2018 for Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea conservation despite some setbacks. BirdingASIA 30: 21–25. Close , 36 Aung, P. P., S. Moses, N. A. Clark, G. Q. A. Anderson, G. M. Hilton, G. M. Buchanan, C. Zöckler, and R. E. Green. (2020). Recent changes in the number of Spoon-billed Sandpipers Calidris pygmaea wintering on the Upper Gulf of Mottama in Myanmar. Oryx 54(1): 23–29. Close , 34 Chowdhury, S. U., M. Foysal, and R. E. Green. (2022). Accelerating decline of an important wintering population of the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea at Sonadia Island, Bangladesh. Journal of Ornithology 163(4):891–901. Close ). With improved survey effort, China has become increasingly important for wintering Spoon-billed Sandpiper. The coasts of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces in particular, now host a significant portion of the global population. Surveys conducted in 2021 identified 61 individuals across southern China, with the Leizhou Peninsula emerging as a key wintering area (Spoon-billed Sandpiper Conservation Alliance 2021).

Extralimital Records

Vagrant to Alaska (June 1977, May/June 1986, August 1989, June 1993) and Canada (British Columbia, July/August 1978) (37 Howell, S. N. G., I. Lewington, and W. Russell (2014). Rare Birds of North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ). Record from the Philippines (Luzon, May 1996) not accepted (38 Jensen, A. E., T. H. Fisher, and R. O. Hutchinson (2015). Notable new bird records from the Philippines. Forktail 31:24–36. Close ), however a recent record in March 2024 confirmed vagrancy for the archipelago (39 Hutchinson, R. O., A. Bajarias Jr., A. M. Constantino, J. Meren, V. Natural Jr., and M. J. Villa (2024). First record of the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea in the Philippines. BirdingASIA 41:15–18. Close ) and same is true for claimed occurrences on Maldives (40 Ash, J. S., and A. Shafeeg (1994). Birds of the Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean. Forktail 10:3–32. Close ).

Information needed.