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Revision of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Population Estimates for 37 listed Migratory Shorebird Species

2016
Hansen et al. prepared for the Department of the Environment
Download
Revision of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Population Estimates for 37 listed Migratory Shorebird Species (PDF 4.5MB)
Revision of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Population Estimates for 37 listed Migratory Shorebird Species ( 29.8MB)

About the document

Migratory shorebirds present a particular conservation challenge because their patterns of movement take them across multiple international boundaries, in some cases almost spanning the globe. They utilise different sites in different countries at different times of the year, and conservation of these species therefore requires the management of the suite of sites that are important to them. To identify important habitat in Australia count data and population estimates are required.

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), ‘important habitat’ is a key concept for migratory species, as identified in EPBC Act Policy Statement 1.1 Significant Impact Guidelines - Matters of National Environmental Significance 2009. Defining this term for migratory shorebirds in Australia is important to ensure that habitat necessary for the ongoing survival of the 37 species is appropriately managed.

Important habitats in Australia for migratory shorebirds under the EPBC Act include those recognised as nationally or internationally important. The widely accepted and applied approach to identifying internationally important shorebird habitat throughout the world has been through the use of criteria adopted under the Ramsar Convention.

According to this approach, wetland habitat should be considered internationally important if it regularly supports:

  • 1 per cent of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird or
  • a total abundance of at least 20,000 waterbirds.

Nationally important habitat for migratory shorebirds can be defined using a similar approach to these international criteria, i.e. if it regularly supports:

  • 0.1 per cent of the flyway population of a single species of migratory shorebird or
  • 2,000 migratory shorebirds or
  • 15 migratory shorebird species.

To determine population thresholds needed to identify important habitat, the Department previously used population estimates published in the Bamford et al., (2008) report. However, given these published figures are now almost 10 years old, they required updating.

The revised flyway population estimates use newly available data and different analytical approaches to those used in previous population estimate assessments. As a result, the numbers reported cannot be compared with previous estimates to draw conclusions about population trends. Dedicated analyses on data that are comparable over time are the only way to make conclusions about population trends. Any differences between the report’s figures and previous estimates reflect an increase in knowledge and information about migratory shorebirds in the EAAF over the past decade. They do not necessarily represent actual increases or decreases in population size and cannot be used to infer trends in this manner.

Latham’s snipe (Gallinago hardwickii)*

Latham’s snipe does not commonly aggregate in large flocks or use the same habitats as many other migratory shorebird species. Consequently, habitat important to Latham’s snipe is not regularly identified using the process outlined above and different criteria are therefore necessary. Threshold criteria are still considered the best way to identify important sites in the absence of data sufficient for more rigorous methods. Important habitat for Latham’s snipe is described as areas that have previously been identified as internationally important for the species, or areas that support at least 18 individuals of the species.

A summary of the revised population estimates for 37 migratory shorebirds. 

Common Name

Flyway population estimate

1% Flyway Population

0.1% Flyway Population

Asian Dowitcher

14,000

140

14

Bar-tailed Godwit

325,000

3250

325

Black-tailed Godwit

160,000

1600

160

Broad-billed Sandpiper

30,000

300

30

Common Greenshank

110,000

1100

110

Common Redshank

75,000-150,000

750

75

Common Sandpiper

190,000

1900

190

Curlew Sandpiper

90,000

900

90

Double-banded Plover

19,000

190

19

Far Eastern Curlew

35,000

350

35

Great Knot

425,000

4250

425

Greater Sand Plover

200,000-300,000

2000

200

Grey Plover

80,000

800

80

Grey-tailed Tattler

70,000

700

70

Latham's Snipe*

30,000

300

18*

Lesser Sand Plover

180,000-275,000

1800

180

Little Curlew

110,000

1100

110

Little Ringed Plover

150,000

1500

150

Long-toed Stint

230,000

2300

230

Marsh Sandpiper

130,000

1300

130

Oriental Plover

230,000

2300

230

Oriental Pratincole

2,880,000

28,800

2880

Pacific Golden Plover

120,000

1200

120

Pectoral Sandpiper

1,220,000-1,930,000

12,200

1220

Pin-tailed Snipe

170,000

1700

170

Red Knot

110,000

1100

110

Red-necked Phalarope

250,000

2500

250

Red-necked Stint

475,000

4750

475

Ruddy Turnstone

30,000

300

30

Ruff

25,000-100,000

250

25

Sanderling

30,000

300

30

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

85,000

850

85

Swinhoe's Snipe

40,000

400

40

Terek Sandpiper

50,000

500

50

Wandering Tattler

10,000-25,000

100

10

Whimbrel

65,000

650

65

Wood Sandpiper

130,000

1300

130

 

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Last updated: 03 October 2021

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