Project Objectives
- In this study, biologists will study the migration of two species of sandpipers – the Western Sandpiper and the Dowitcher - from Sinaloa, Mexico to Alaska, USA.
- This study will help scientists find out how many individuals there are of each species, how important each wetland staging area is and how to best conserve the species.
In order to get this information, they must ask the following questions:
Why Study Migration?
Which wetland staging areas do these sandpipers use during migration?
How long do sandpipers spend at a staging area?
Do different sandpipers use just one or many staging areas during migration?
- One of the best ways to find the answers to these questions is to follow individual birds electronically.
- In spring 2002, PRBO biologists applied radio-tags to 60 Western Sandpipers and 30 Dowitchers, at coastal wetlands in Bahia Santa Maria, Sinaloa, Mexico.
- Sandpipers were safely captured using lightweight nets, called ‘mist nets’, which are set along the shoreline.
- Each bird was given a radio transmitter, weighing 1.1 g, that was glued to the feathers on the lower back.
- As the birds flew north to their arctic nesting grounds, other scientists listening from airplanes were able to hear a series of beeps, indicating the presence of a bird with a transmitter.
View photos from the field...
Expanded page for kids
Project Partners:
Sr. Xico Vega, PRONATURA
USGS San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station
USFWS Shorebird Sister Schools Program
