Population status of shorebirds nesting at Churchill, Manitoba

Abstract

We present a quantitative assessment of shorebird populations breeding in the vicinity of Churchill, Manitoba, in 1997 and compare it with qualitative data amassed since 1930. Our study was based on extensive ground surveys, supplemented by data from long-term studies of several individual species. Over the past seven decades the status of most local shorebirds has changed importantly, and species that were once abundant (Semipalmated Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope) have almost vanished. Currently, American Golden-Plover, Whimbrel, Semipalmated Plover, and Dunlin predominate. Future surveys at approximately 10-year intervals are warranted to maintain this exceptional long term record of birdlife in the subarctic.