It was particularly sad to hear that the population of Spoon-billed Sandpiper, the original Wader Quest project, is declining at a rate of 8% a year and numbers have halved in the last 5 years to fewer than 250 individuals. The captive breeding programme is no longer operational as there are no females and the likelihood of taking adult birds from the wild seem highly unlikely given the situation with Russia.
All the effort to save this species from extinction seems to have been in vain as Spoon-billed Sandpipers could be extinct in the wild by 2035 if current declines continue, a terrible state of affairs.
On a more positive note, the Chinese government have halted all land-grabs which will help protect vital wetland habitats of Nordmann's Greenshank, one of only three tree-nesting waders and the only one to build its own nest.
The Bird Club continues to sponsor Wader Quest and the excellent work they do and individual membership is available at just £10 a year.
Eurasian Curlew - Dave Jackson
