Spoon-billed Sandpiper is the ‘Shorebird of the Year’. This beautiful artwork was made by Szabolcs Kókay, an award winning wildlife artist. © Szabolcs Kókay
It was somehow predictable, which species would be nominated for the ‘Shorebird of the Year’ in 2014. As a result of a public online poll, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper was selected as the ‘Shorebird of the Year’. What does this mean for this enigmatic species? I hope we all can add something into the efforts to save this unique shorebird from extinction.
Of course, this is just the beginning of the journey, but our community can affect the outcome of the fundraising efforts. The plan is to redirect every donated penny to a selected project at the end of the nomination period. The next poll will be opened later today, on 18 August 2014 and will be closed at midnight on 16 August 2015. But now, we are focusing on the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, and I hope that many of us will add something to be able to save this beautiful bird from peril. More information about the actions will be published on the blog in a later phase.
Some details of the actual poll. A total of 286 polls has been submitted with 38 different species included. Top 5 species of the closed poll: Spoon-billed Sandpiper (87), Red Knot (33), Northern Lapwing (25), Piping Plover (11) and Broad-billed Sandpiper/Eurasian Stone Curlew/Sanderling (8-8). In the next poll we narrow the options and Spoon-billed Sandpiper will be excluded, giving chances for other shorebird species in peril.
Commentaires