BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Common Sandpiper

COMMON SANDPIPER
Actitis hypoleucos

Conservation listings

Europe: SPEC category 3 (declining)
UK: Green

Long-term trend

UK: moderate decline

Distribution maps

Maps and statistics from British and Irish
atlases can be viewed here.

Status summary

WBS provides the best census sample for monitoring the UK's breeding Common Sandpiper population. Its results show a decline from 1985 onwards (after a more gradual increase) that has yet to be explained. The recent decrease appears to be echoed by BBS data from Scotland and from the UK as a whole. Further decline in the last two years has taken the species past the 25% threshold, and it now warrants a BTO alert. Poorer breeding success and poorer survival of first-year birds over winter in West Africa were both suggested as possible reasons for the failure of the Peak District population to recover after a hard-weather event in 1989 (Holland & Yalden 2002). Following declines during the 1990s in the large Swedish and Finnish populations, the European status of this species is no longer considered 'secure'.

Table of population changes for Common Sandpiper

Source	Period (yrs)	Years	Plots (n)	Change (%)	Lower limit	Upper limit	Alert	Comment
WBS waterways	27	1975-2002	26	-29	-45	-13	>25
	25	1977-2002	27	-29	-44	-15	>25
	10	1992-2002	27	-24	-37	-12
	5	1997-2002	23	-17	-28	-9
BBS UK	9	1994-2003	60	-12	-31	12
BBS Scotland	9	1994-2003	34	-8	-35	29

Table of productivity information for Common Sandpiper

Variable Period
(yrs) Years Mean
annual
sample Trend Predicted
in first year Predicted
in last year Change Comment

Clutch size 34 1968-2002 12 Linear decline 3.96 eggs 3.73 eggs -0.23 eggs Small sample

Daily failure rate (eggs) 34 1968-2002 14 None Small sample

Insufficient data on brood size
available for this species

Insufficient data on nestling failure
available for this species

Insufficient data on laying date
available for this species

Insufficient data on CES
available for this species


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Crick, H.Q.P., Noble, D.G., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. (2005) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2004. BTO Research Report No. 385. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 18 January, 2006