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About the project
Project Southern dunlin
The southern dunlin is listed as Critically Endangered in Sweden today. The reason for the reduction in numbers is primarily because of landscape drainage which has had severely negative effects on waders and other species.
The projects’ main aim is to save the critically endangered southern dunlin from extinction by strengthening and stabilising the wild population and increasing the public’s knowledge of the southern dunlin, waders and coastal meadows.
The project has four main tasks:
- Monitoring
- Breeding, rearing and releasing
- Field conservation activities
- Raising awareness
Important wetlands
Wetlands and coastal meadows play an important part in the ecosystem for groundwater levels and for reducing the release of greenhouse gases. They are also among the most species-rich environments in Sweden.
Your lottery ticket makes a difference
Thanks to the Swedish Postcode Lottery, and to you who buy tickets, we have the chance to save the critically endangered southern dunlin.
A symbol for a vulnerable ecosystem
Alarming numbers show that biodiversity is reducing in Sweden. The number of red listed species has increased by 11% over the past five years. As a result, Sweden no longer meets the global target for biodiversity and more must be done to save our nature. One group of species that stands out is Swedish birds, where the numbers of several wading bird species have reduced drastically. The situation for the southern dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii, found in only a few small, isolated colonies, is especially acute. This modest and beautiful wader species is a flagship speciesstandard bearer for Swedish coastal meadowland environments. By saving Sweden’s last remaining colonies other coastal meadowland species and biodiversity itself, will benefit.
How we work in the project
Monitoring and surveying
At selected nesting sites, nests will be monitored carefully during the whole of the breeding season and parents will be ringed while brooding. At the same time, we count the number of eggs in the nest and make notes of how many young that hatch and how many that survive until they fledge. Before the young leave the nest, they are ringed so that we can follow them over time, see how many returns from the overwintering sites and thus estimate survival rates for returning individuals. The Southern Dunlin is known to return to the same nesting site each year.
Breeding, rearing and releasing
In the beginning we will be working with a conservation technique known as headstarting. This method has shown to be very effective in halting population decline in other species of wading birds.
Headstarting involves collecting eggs from the nests of birds in the wild, then hatching the eggs and rearing the young in captivity. When the young fledge, they are released in a suitable place. A larger and nearly fledged young bird can protect itself significantly better against predators. This allows a larger number of individuals to reach independence without falling victim to predation or death from other factors such as starvation or accidents.
Field conservation activities
Measures taken must be adapted to local circumstances, as every locale has different conditions and has changed in different ways. Amongst other things, this will mean creating favourable grazing and establishing or restoring shallow water pools by stopping up ditches.
To reduce the pressure of predation, the project will work with predator control. Direct predator control occurs when predators in close proximity to the birds’ nesting sites are removed, either by hunting or capture, in co-operation with local hunters. Indirect predator control occurs by making it more difficult for the predators to get to the birds e.g. by removing tall trees or bushes which can function as lookout spots for raptors or by setting up a fence to keep out ground dwelling predators.
Education and information
The project will work in a variety of ways to spread awareness of the Southern Dunlin and other waders, as well as their living environments and biodiversity.
BirdLife Sweden has ongoing projects which target teachers, children, school classes and families. Within these projects we will create learning materials in the form of interactive digital challenges and traditional educational material.
At Nordens Ark we will create an information site in the park where it will be possible to follow the work in protecting the southern dunlin. Nordens Ark will also organise annual events in the park to spread information and create interest for the southern dunlin and other threatened wading birds.
Surprise visit from the Post Code Lottery
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The last stand for the southern dunlin
With financial support from the Swedish Postcode Lottery
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