Threatened migratory shorebird habitat mapping

Important feeding habitats and roosting sites for seven species of migratory shorebirds (waders) were plotted on GIS software using air photos as templates. The species are Sanderling, Great Knot, Greater Sand Plover, Lesser Sand Plover, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit and Terek Sandpiper. Data for this process was obtained from a variety of sources to provide numbers of birds recorded at each of the sites. The habitat mapping was done from first hand experience in the field by the author and/or from local ornithologists with particular skills in shorebird identification and local knowledge of habitats used by shorebirds. The accuracy of the data plotted will not always match the topography, such as shoals, sand spits or shorelines because these are constantly changing (and the air photos used are now 20 years old). As far as it is known, this is the most precise shorebird mapping available for this larger area.