Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Thanks to the following Cornell Lab eNews article received yesterday on the endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, a rare shorebird that breeds in the Russian Arctic, I discovered this unusual species.  What a beautiful bird with such an unusual shaped beak.  Very cool!  Best wishes to the scientists on their mission to save this species from extinction.  While it is sad to think that wild birds will be put in a captive breeding program and thus be removed from their natural habitat and life ... the greater tragedy would be the loss of this species forever.  Here is the article and beatiful photo of this cool bird ...

Cornell Lab eNews

June 22, 2011

A Rare Chance for the Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper

An unusual shorebird with a one-of-a-kind bill is facing extinction--and a team of scientists from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and Birds Russia are doing all they can to save it. They've mounted an expedition to this species' breeding grounds in arctic Russia, hoping to establish a critically needed captive breeding population. Fewer than 200 breeding pairs remain on earth. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Gerrit Vyn has joined the team to capture rare images and sounds of Spoon-billed Sandpipers on their breeding grounds, including the photo above. Read more.