Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Yukon Species of Conservation Concern Guide)

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Calidris subruficollis

Conservation Concern ³

The Canadian Arctic supports about 87% of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper’s North American breeding range, and about 75% of this shorebird’s global population. The species was once common and historically perhaps even abundant, but it suffered severe declines from intensive market hunting in the late 1800s and early 1900s. By the 1920s, it was thought to be on the brink of extinction. Its population has grown since hunting of the species was banned in North America, but numbers have never fully recovered. There is evidence for population decline in recent decades, and many conservation organizations consider the species to be of concern throughout its range. However, this species is dif cult to monitor effectively, and population trend information is currently lacking.

Description ³

The Buff-breasted Sandpiper is a medium-sized shorebird with a buff-coloured face and underparts, and brown to black speckling on its wings and back.

Typical Habitat ³

In Yukon, Buff-breasted Sandpipers breed on the tundra on the North Slope. On migration and during the winter, they occur primarily in grasslands. Nowadays, they use a variety of human-altered sites for stopovers, such as crop elds, golf courses, airport runways, sod farms, and pastures. Buff-breasted Sandpipers winter mainly on the South American Pampas, where livestock grazing maintains their preferred short-grass habitat structure.

Potential Threats ³

Climate change may impact Buff- breasted Sandpipers in several ways. Northward advancement of shrub cover will dramatically alter its tundra breeding habitat. Rising sea levels and increased rainfall could ood the birds’ coastal habitat on both breeding and wintering grounds. More frequent and intense storms could increase mortality of juveniles migrating along the Atlantic coast. Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are likely the primary threats to the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, particularly within its specialized grassland habitat, both on its wintering grounds in South America and along its migration routes. Throughout much of the migration and winter range, native grasslands have largely disappeared, and the species have been forced to switch to using human-altered habitats. In the Arctic, breeding habitat overlaps areas of mineral and energy extraction although in Yukon these activities have not taken place in the species’ known breeding area.

Did You Know? ³

This is the only North American shorebird with a lek mating system (similar to Sage and Sharp- tailed grouse), in which males congregate to display to females during courtship. Buff-breasted Sandpipers are known to be extremely tame, and to return to wounded ock members.

Sources and Credits

More Info

iNaturalist.ca Map

Animal	Bird
Bird	Shore Birds (Charadriiformes)
Color	brown, grey

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