The Sado Estuary is one of Portugal’s most important wetlands – a key link in the chain of sites connecting Africa and the Arctic, on the East Atlantic Flyway. In a paper in Waterbirds, João Belo and colleagues analyse changes in numbers of waders wintering in this estuary over the period 2010 to 2019, with a focus on roost sites. These results are interpreted in regional and flyway contexts. The team find serious declines in numbers of Avocet, Dunlin and Ringed Plover.
Lost roost sites
The Sado Estuary became a nature reserve in 1980 and has since been classified as a Ramsar Site, a Special Protection Area (SPA – Natura 2000) and an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area. The Estuary lies about 30 km south of the much larger and more famous Tagus (or Tejo) Estuary, which is threatened by a new international airport (see Tagus Estuary: for birds or planes?). A suggestion that the Sado could provide mitigation habitat for damage done to the Tagus prompted scientists from the Universities of Aveiro and Lisbon to review the current state of the estuary.
João Belo and his colleagues used monthly data from a programme of wader surveys, conducted largely by volunteer birdwatchers. These took place between January 2010 and December 2019. Roosting birds were counted at high tide along the northern shores of the Sado estuary and any habitat changes were noted.
During the ten-year survey period, 21% of the available high-tide roost area was lost. These changes were associated with the commercial abandonment of saltpans (with consequent increases in vegetation) and the conversion of others for fish farming (often with netting, to keep out fish-eating birds).
Results of the survey
In their paper, João Belo and colleagues focused on total numbers of waders and counts of the six most commonly-encountered species: Avocet, Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Ringed Plover and Grey Plover. They compared winter (Dec, Jan and Feb) counts in 2019 with those from 2010. This is when peak numbers of Avocet, Redshank and Grey Plover occur. Higher counts of Dunlin are made in spring, as schinzii birds returned from Africa, with peak counts of Black-tailed Godwit and Ringed Plover occurring in autumn.
The key findings are:
- There was a strong decrease in the overall number of waders wintering in the Sado Estuary. This trend is mostly driven by steep declines in three of the six most abundant species: Avocet, Dunlin and Ringed Plover.
- Avocet numbers were 42% lower in 2019 than they had been in 2010.
- Dunlin numbers dropped by over half, with 2019 counts being only 47% of those in 2010. These are mostly dunlin of the alpina subspeciesthat breed between Northern Scandinavia and Siberia.
- Ringed Plover numbers dropped by 23% between 2010 and 2019.
- Redshank increased significantly between 2010 and 2019, while the population of Grey Plover was relatively stable, and it was not possible to derive a population trend for Black-tailed Godwit.
It is interesting to look at these patterns alongside data collected in Britain & Ireland, over the same period. As discussed in Do population estimates matter? and Ireland’s wintering waders, there have been major changes in wader numbers, with most species currently in decline.
- Winter Avocet numbers have increased massively in Britain & Ireland. It is possible that young birds are more easily able to settle in these northern areas, now that winter temperatures are generally warmer. Declines in Portugal may reflect a northwards shift of the winter population, driven by new generations of birds.
- Numbers of Ringed Plovers in Britain & Ireland did not change over the period 2010 to 2019 but had dropped a lot in the preceding twenty years.
- For Dunlin, the size of the declines in Britain & Ireland are consistent with those on the Sado. It has been suggested that more young birds might be settling in areas such as the Wadden Sea, closer to Siberian breeding areas, something that may have become more possible given the reduced intensity and occurrence of freezing conditions along the east coast of the North Sea.
Regional and Flyway patterns
As discussed in the blog Interpreting changing wader counts, based on research led by Verónica Méndez, local changes in numbers are usually reflective of broader changes in population levels. Individual waders are unlikely to seek alternative wintering sites unless habitat is removed, so birds do not re-assort themselves into the ‘best’ areas when population levels decrease. Instead, there is general thinning out across all sites as populations decline. In this context, it is unsurprising that the trends in the Sado Estuary are similar to those found elsewhere in Portugal and in other Western European wintering areas.
Looking forwards
The survey data collected between 2010 and 2019 form a useful backdrop against which to monitor what might happen when (or perhaps if) a new international airport is constructed within the nearby Tagus Estuary. If some birds are displaced to the Sado, increases in numbers might be expected.
Displacement is not cost-free, as has been shown in a well-studied population of Redshanks on the Severn Estuary in Wales. When Cardiff Bay was permanently flooded, as part of a major redevelopment, colour-marked Redshank dispersed to sites up to 19 km away. Adult birds that moved to new sites had difficulty maintaining body condition in the first winter following the closure of Cardiff Bay, unlike the Redshank that were already living in these sites. Their survival rates in subsequent winters continued to be lower than for ‘local’ birds, indicating longer-term effects than might have been predicted.
These three papers are essential reading for anyone interested in the consequences of displacements caused by development projects.
- Burton, N.H.K. 2000. Winter site-fidelity and survival of Redshank at Cardiff, South Wales. Bird Study 47: 102–112.
- Burton, N.H.K. & Armitage, M.J.S. 2005. Differences in the diurnal and nocturnal use of intertidal feeding grounds by Redshank. Bird Study 52: 120-128.
- Burton, N.H.K., Rehfisch, M.M., Clark, N.A. & Dodd, S.G. 2006. Impacts of sudden winter habitat loss on the body condition and survival of Redshank. Journal of Applied Ecology 43: 464-473
Given that the Sado has multiple conservation designations, including as a Ramsar site, and that this study has shown a clear loss of available roosting areas, perhaps it is time to identify a high-tide refuge that can be fully protected and managed in ways which create a range of suitable habitats for use by long-legged and short-legged waders. A nature reserve such as this has a potential to attract birdwatchers too, with prospective increased income from tourism.
Sado International
Curlews don’t get a mention in this paper but the The Sado provides a neat link to a 2022 blog, A Norfolk Curlew’s Summer. This tale focuses on ‘Bowie’, a male Curlew that breeds in Breckland (Eastern England) and has been tracked to The Sado Estuary. In the blog, Bowie’s story stops in The Tagus but he subsequently headed further south to The Sado, where he spent the winter. At the time of writing (13 Feb 2023) he is still there but hopefully he will heading north soon.
The Sado is not only important in the winter, of course. As mentioned earlier, it is a spring stop-over for birds such as schinzii Dunlin, heading north from Africa to Siberia, and a moulting/staging site for waders heading south in late summer. Tracking and colour-ringing are telling more of these stories, with links to countries as far north as Canada and Siberia and as far south as South Africa.
Keep counting
The Sado story could not have been written without the work of volunteer counters who collect monthly data during the winter months, on the Sado Estuary, across Portugal and on the wider East Atlantic Flyway. These monitoring efforts are essential when attempting to track changes in wader populations, especially when extra information can indicate links to habitat changes, as is the case in the Sado. The international picture is painted using Flyway information generated using January counts that are developed by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF).
Here is a link to the paper:
Synchronous declines of wintering waders and high-tide roost area in a temperate estuary: results of a 10-year monitoring programme. João R. Belo, Maria P. Dias, João Jara, Amélia Almeida, Frederico Morais, Carlos Silva, Joaquim Valadeiro & José A. Alves. Waterbirds. doi.org/10.1675/063.045.0204
WaderTales blogs are written by Graham Appleton (@GrahamFAppleton) to celebrate waders and wader research. Many of the articles are based on published papers, with the aim of making shorebird science available to a broader audience.
There is nothing more obvious than an Oystercatcher sitting on his or her nest, but a brooding Snipe can be invisible until almost trodden upon. Which strategy works better: nesting in plain view but laying cryptically camouflaged eggs or hiding yourself and your nest in a clump of grass? Which species is most likely to hatch a successful brood of chicks and in what circumstances? In a 
As discussed in previous WaderTales blogs, particularly 
As a volunteer taking part in the Breeding Bird Survey (BTO/JNCC/RSPB) in the UK, I feel that I do my bit to monitor what is happening to local bird population – providing counts that build into national trends. The work involved in delivering indices for breeding waders across the area of Fennoscandia shown in the map is in a different league. Here, counters visit habitats as diverse as forests, wetlands, mires and tundra, within the boreal and arctic areas of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Some survey sites are so remote that access requires the use of helicopters.
Looking at the results from across Norway, Sweden & Finland:
Lapwing. The trends within the three Fennoscandian countries are very different. In Norway, there has been a dramatic decline (-15.2% per year during 2006–2018) and the Lapwing is now nearly extinct in many areas. The trend in Sweden is also significantly negative (-5.8% per year). In Finland, however, where the species is more widespread and numerous, there has been a strong increase (+5.9% per year) during the same period. See figure alongside.
Ruff. There were major declines in the period immediately prior to this review (
The map alongside clearly demonstrates the strong link between the Wash and Norway. Other interesting things that have been discovered about Oystercatchers:
In the early days of the WWRG, Grey Plovers occurred in much smaller numbers than they do now. Writing in an article about the first 40 years of the Group, Clive Minton told the story of the first catch of 100, made in 1963, that was celebrated with three bottles of champagne provided by the late Hugh Boyd, delivering on an incentive that he had promised.
The biggest catches of Sanderling are generally in the summer, when the Wash is a meeting point for birds from Greenland and Siberia. July can sometimes see catches of 200 or more birds. Traditionally, a Sanderling catch was the curtain-raiser at the start of Wash Week, an opportunity for the whole team to make one catch before splitting into ‘Terrington’ and ‘Lincolnshire’ teams for the rest of the main summer trip.
The latest population estimates suggest that Great Britain has lost 26,000 wintering Redshank in less than a decade, representing a drop of 20%. Perhaps WWRG data can be used to help to explain these declines? Here are some of the things we know:
Winter Turnstone are birds that will head for Greenland and NE Canada in the spring but recoveries of birds in Finland and other Scandinavian countries indicate a passage of continental birds. African recoveries of WWRG-ringed birds probably include birds from Canada/Greenland and Finland/Scandinavia.
Greenshank: The Group supports a colour-ringing project that was initiated by Pete Potts, in Hampshire. 
The Group still aims to maintain its general ringing programme, so that a representative sample of the key species carry rings. 
One or two WaderTales blogs are published each month. The series is UK-based with a global reach. Suggestions of newly-published research on waders that might be of interest to birdwatchers who appreciate waders/shorebirds are welcomed. I am particularly keen to give feedback to colour-ring readers; they provide a huge amount of information that lies at the heart of these stories.
Graham (
Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to turn farmland into a haven for breeding waders. The only tools you have at your disposal are tractors and cows and we will give you permission to pump water out of nearby rivers when conditions allow. That’s how it started. These days the diggers look big enough to use on a motorway construction site!
The marshes of the Norfolk Broads have been drying out for 2000 years. By the 1970s, and after over 400 years of farming, the Halvergate Marsh complex was on the point of being fully drained and by 1985 much of the wet grassland in which waders formerly bred had already been lost and turned into arable fields. At this point, the RSPB made its first purchase of land, as they tried to retain at least some of the threatened habitat which is so important to winter wildfowl and summer waders. At the same time, campaigning by local and national conservationists secured legal protection for the unique Broadland scenery and the species that rely upon the habitats it contains, thereby halting the advance of the combine harvesters.
By creating a hot-spot for nesting birds, within an intensively-farmed landscape, land-managers also produce a food-rich area for predators, attracted in by concentrations of eggs, chicks and sitting adults. Restricting the activities of species such as foxes and crows is an important part of the role of an RSPB warden, carried out through site management and active control measures. By focusing these activities in the winter period, the RSPB’s Halvergate Marshes team are able to stop corvids and foxes from setting up territories within the area that is managed for breeding waders. Electric fencing can help to prevent foxes moving onto the site in spring, while changing the way that core wader areas are managed helps to reduce fox/nest interactions by, for instance:
There is more about these measures in these blogs, with links to papers from the RSPB and University of East Anglia team of conservation researchers:
Redshank: The graph alongside illustrates how Redshank numbers have changed across the decades. At the same time as 
Lapwing: Between 1988 and 1998, the number of pairs of Lapwing rose from 14 to 79, reaching a peak of 157 in 2010. Numbers vary, according to spring weather and water levels, with between 83 and 130 pairs in the years 2011 to 2019. The national decline in England was 28% between 1995 and 2017 (Breeding Bird Survey) – not quite as drastic as for Redshank but still worrying. Intensive studies at Berney have shown that productivity is only high enough to boost numbers in some years. The latest project by UEA and RSPB conservation scientists involves trialling temporary electric fences to provide protection for first clutches and broods. Hopefully Berney can become a net exporter of Lapwings in most years.
Working with his wife, Jen Smart, who is a Principal Conservation Scientist at the RSPB’s centre for Conservation, Mark has added a Dutch dimension to the RSPB’s advice work by co-authoring 
The new scrapes should not only attract wintering and breeding birds but also many passage waders, such as the Wood Sandpiper pictured to the right. The whole scheme has the potential to be another win-win-win-win, for the owners of low-lying properties, for Broadland farmers, for internationally important bird populations and for local and visiting birdwatchers.
Are subsidies that are designed to protect the biodiversity of Britain’s saltmarshes, delivering the planned, conservation benefits? In particular, is this investment supporting populations of amber-listed Redshank?
At the end of this 
To assess grazing levels, the team visited each site up to four times during the core grazing period (April–October), to count cattle. They also assessed the longer-term impact of grazing on saltmarsh habitat, by measuring sward height and heterogeneity. Combining the measurements of site condition and analysing the results produced the following key findings:
In conclusion
The noisy warning calls of a pair Redshank, as they encourage their chicks to hide, have earned the species the title ‘warden of the marshes’. Their calls also appear to be a warning cry about the state of Britain’s saltmarshes, despite the large amount of money being provided through agricultural subsidies and the good intentions of conservation organisations, agricultural advisers and graziers.
wadertales 