Dr. Nial Moores, Birds Korea, May 11th 2015
To mark World Migratory Bird Day 2015, BirdLife Australia has apparently released revised conservation status assessments of seven shorebird species that spend the boreal winter (i.e. our winter) in Australia: WMBD-Species-Profiles-2015.
Because of massive declines in their “wintering” populations caused primarily by tidal-flat destruction in China and Korea during migration, all seven are recommended for uplisting in Australia. This will require uplisting of several of these species at the global level too.
The Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis, for example, is now listed by the IUCN as Globally Vulnerable. The vast majority of the world population spends the boreal winter in Australia, where active research over several decades has detected a staggering 81% decline over three generations, equivalent to 5.8% per year. BirdLife Australia now calls for this species to be Uuplisted to Critically Endangered.
Even the menzbieri subspecies of Bar-tailed Godwit, another “common” shorebird species here in the ROK during migration, is declining in Australia at a rate of more than 6% per year, meaning this taxon too should be uplisted to Endangered.
These species are already included in the Republic of Korea-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement; and their conservation should also already be ensured through fulfillment of the obligations held under the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
As always, Birds Korea continues to offer our support to decision-makers and the conservation community in their efforts to conserve these birds and their habitats.
menzbieri Bar-tailed Godwit, Geum Estuary, Republic of Korea © Richard Chandler