Spoon-billed
Sandpiper
Teaching Kit
for school teachers and education leaders

Pubished by:

Supported by:

Contents
PrefaceP4

How to use this book

P5

Foreword

P6

Part C. Suggested Activities

Part A. Getting to Know Wetlands
A1. What are Wetlands? ..........................................................................

P9

C1. Suggested Activities Table ........................................................... P58

1.1 Types of Wetlands ................................................................................................................... P10

Activity 1. Nature Hunt ......................................................................................................................... P59

1.2 Coastal and Marine Wetlands ................................................................................................ P10

Activity 2. Going to the Wetlands (Map of Life in the Mudflat) ...................................................................

1.3 Inland Wetlands ....................................................................................................................... P12

Activity 3. Wetland Game (The Importance of Wetlands) ................................................................ P61

1.4 Wetlands Made by People ....................................................................................................... P13

Activity 4. Food Chain Game (Paper, Stone and Scissors) ................................................................ P62

A2. Importance of Wetlands ............................................................. P14

Activity 5. Food Chain Game ................................................................................................................ P63

A3. Life in Wetlands .......................................................................... P16

Activity 6. Game of Energy Flow .......................................................................................................... P64
Activity 7. Food Web Worksheet ........................................................................................................... P65

3.1 Different Types of Life Forms ................................................................................................. P16

Activity 8. The Wader Beak Race .......................................................................................................... P66

3.2 Food Chain and Food Web ..................................................................................................... P18

Activity 9. Food Adaptation Observation ............................................................................................ P67

3.3 Adaptation of Life in Intertidal Mudflats- Mangrove Plants ............................................. P20

Activity 10. Predator-Prey Game (Safety in Numbers)........................................................................ P68

3.4 Adaptation of life in Intertidal Mudflats - Birds ................................................................ P22

Activity 11. Colour of Spoon-billed Sandpiper ................................................................................... P69
Activity 12. Journey of Spoon-billed Sandpiper ("Sugoroku" board game)..................................... P70

Part B. About Spoon-billed Sandpiper
B1. Information of Spoon-billed Sandpiper ...................................... P26

Activity 13. Storytelling Paper Flips (Make your own story of Spoon-billed Sandpiper) ........... P71
Activity 14. Discussion Worksheet ....................................................................................................... P72

Appendix

1.1 Taxonomy of Spoon-billed Sandpiper .................................................................................. P26
1.2 Features of Spoon-billled Sandpiper .................................................................................... P27
1.3 Distribution Map of Spoon-billed Sandpiper ....................................................................... P28
1.4 Habitat of Spoon-billed Sandpiper ....................................................................................... P29
1.5 Food of Spoon-billed Sandpiper ........................................................................................... P29
1.6 Life Cycle of Spoon-billed Sandpiper .................................................................................... P30

B2. Story of "Spoon-billed Sandpiper 05"......................................... P32
2.1 Profile of Spoon-billed Sandpiper "Light Green 05 (L)" ....................................................... P33

B3. Threats and Conservation ........................................................... P44

Activity 1. Nature Hunt Worksheet ..................................................................................................... P74
Activity 11. Colour of Spoon-billed Sandpiper Worksheet ............................................................... P75
Activity 5. Food Chain Game Materials ............................................................................................... P76
Activity 7. Food Web Worksheet & Answer ......................................................................................... P78
Activity 9. Food Adaptation Observation Worksheet & Answer ..................................................... P80
Activity 12. Spoon-billed Sandpiper Life "Sugoroku" Material ............................................................. P82
Activity 13. Storytelling Paper Flips Wheetsheet 1 & 2...................................................................

Activity 14. Discussion Worksheet ...................................................................................................... P86

B4. Conservation Actions for Spoon-billed Sandpipers ................... P46
in Different Places

2

P84

3

P60

Foreword
According to the United Nations, about 40% of the world’s population lives in coastal
areas. When the human population increases, the pressure to the coastal ecosystems
increases. Intertidal mudflats are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems in the world.
The rate of habitat loss of intertidal mudflats is particularly worrying in Asia. Thousandsof waterbirds and wetland-dependent species rely on this important habitat. Many of themeven migrate thousands of kilometers every year to complete their life cycles. The loss of
wetland habitats is threatening the lives of these waterbirds.
One of these threatened species is the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper,
endemic to the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Because of concerns for the possible
extinction of this small bird a Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force was launched under the
East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership. We are using the Spoon-billed Sandpiper asa flagship species, because taking action for this bird will also benefit the other birds that
use the flyway and its habitats.
While conservation actions are carried out by government agencies and non-governmentorganizations, awareness by the public is also very important. An effective way ofraising awareness is through is environmental education. Educating young people
about nature is an essential tool for long-term conservation. It can guide them to be intouch with nature, appreciate the beauty, learn about the nature and then join us to takeconservation actions.
I am happy to see the publication of the “Spoon-billed Sandpiper Teaching Kit- for school
teachers and education leaders. The kit starts with information of wetlands and goes
deeper for students to learn about Spoon-billed Sandpiper. It also provides various indoor
and outdoor activities and teaching materials for teachers and educators to design theirlesson. I believe this is a useful tool for developing understanding of the importance ofconserving nature and, in particular, the actions required to ensure the future survival of
the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and the other birds that use the habitats of the flyway.

Preface
Water is one of the most important resources of ourplanet. It is as vital for our lives as the air we breathe.
Without water, you and other people cannot survive.
Without water, the amazing variety of life on planet
Earth cannot survive. Yet water is something that is often
taken for granted, we do not do enough to conserve thisimportant resource. Water is stored in wetlands and in
this chapter we will explore the types of wetlands, theirimportance for people and wildlife, and the threats totheir conservation. We shall focus on coastal wetlands
that are so essential for the survival of Spoon-billed
Sandpiper and many other species of birds and wildlife.

Dr. Evgeny Syroyechkovsky

Chairman of East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership
Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force

45

Spoon-billed
Sandpiper
Teaching Kit
How to use
this teaching kit

for school teachers and education leadersThis teaching kit aims to provide information on
wetlands and the living creatures in it, using a
critically endangered species along the East AsianAustralasian Flyway. The target audience is forchildren in primary schools. Part A of the teaching
kit is general information about wetlands, and basic
information about the ecology of wetlands. Part B
focuses on stories and information of Spoon-billed
Sandpiper, an iconic species in wetlands. It includes
a story of a real Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Children canalso read and understand the story on their own. We
understand that sometimes it is not easy for teachers
to bring students out of classrooms to learn about
nature, so in Part C, there are suggestions for children
to understand wetlands and nature through interesting
indoor or outdoor games and activities in relation to
the previous sessions. You can print out the materials
in the appendix or project them on a screen to carryout your activities.

6

Part A.

Getting To Know Wetlands

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Part A.

Getting to Know Wetlands
Concept of Ecosystems and Habitats
Ecosystems and habitats are two different components ofecology. A habitat is the natural environment for a plant orPart B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

animal and it can be used to determine the distributionof a particular species. A habitat provides the basic
needs for a species. An ecosystem can include
several different habitats providing homes for avariety of wildlife. To use a human analogy – ahouse or home may be where a person lives(habitat), the person’s house or home may bepart of a village or city (ecosystem). Wetlands
are usually ecosystems composed of different
habitats. At least one habitat has water withinPart C. Activities

a wetland ecosystem.

A1. What are Wetlands?
Wetlands are places where lands and water meet.
Ramsar Convention defined wetland as ‘"areas ofmarsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial,

Appendix

permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing,
fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth ofwhich at low tide does not exceed six metres". These are some of themost productive and important ecosystems on Earth that provide a hugevariety of food for people and wildlife.

8

9Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

1.1 Types of Wetland
It is simpler to begin by classifying three main types of wetland:
1. Marine and coastal wetlands, 2. Inland wetlands, 3. Wetlands made by people.

1.1 Coastal and Marine Wetlands
These are very important wetlands where the land meets the sea. Examples include:

Mangroves

Coastal Wetlands
They include sand or rocky shores, estuarine

They are wetlands located within coastallakes and lagoons, coastal floodplain forest, dune

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

watersheds. The sea covers these habitats twice

swamps, mudflats, coastal lakes, coastal floodplains,a day due to the tidal effect of the moon, and thismangrove and saltmarsh swamps.

regular rhythm of coverage by the sea and exposure

Rocky Shore

to dry air is what contributes to the large amount ofMangroves

life found in the mud and marshes.

Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs adapted
to life in coastal saline or brackish water in the tropics
and subtropics. Mangrove is one of the ecosystems
that supports the highest biodiversity in the world.
Sandy Shore

LagoonPart C. Activities

The partially submerged roots of mangrove trees

Marine Wetlands

trap sediment and help to prevent it from being

Marine Wetlands are saltwater wetlands exposed towashed out to sea and can provide nurseries for fishwaves, currents and tides in an oceanic setting. They

to sustain the foodchains that benefit people andinclude coral reefs, and aquatic subtidal beds withwildlife.

sea grass and kelps.

Mudflats
Mudflats are coastal wetland habitats created

These organic contents in the mud support highby deposition of sediment in low energy coastal

biodiversity. This is the habitat that Spoon-billedenvironments, particularly estuaries and other

Sandpiper and many other shorebirds use during

sheltered areas. The sediment consists of mainly silt

non-breeding seasons. Coastal mudflats are some ofand clay with high organic contents.

the richest habitats in the world.

Appendix

MudflatEstuaires

10

11

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

1.2 Inland Wetlands

1.3 Wetlands Made by People

Inland wetlands, or non-tidal wetlands, are most common on floodplains along rivers and streams (riparian

People make wetlands so that they can use the water stored in them. Examples include:

wetlands). Some of these wetlands are seasonal (they are dry in one or more seasons every year), or may be
wet only periodically. Some examples are:Fishponds

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Rivers and Streams

Ponds are created to farm fish, shrimps or

These can be either per manent or seasonal

other aquatic food for aquacultural purposes.

dependent on the amount of rainfall. Some rivers

These artificial ponds are usually built nearflow through floodplains, which are seasonal areas

water bodies or by the coast. They provide

where the river water overflows onto adjacent land.

temporarily habitat and high-tide roosting

They are an important resource for people and cansites for shorebirds.

provide food, materials, transport and energy.

Part C. Activities

Lakes

Saltpans and Salinas

Lakes are a large body of water (larger and deeper

These are a shallow and flat

than a pond) within a land mass and is separate

expanses of ground covered withfrom the ocean. It can be freshwater or saline. Lakes

sea water in which the water

are usually permanent areas although the water

evaporates to leave a deposit oflevels can fluctuate.

salt.

Marshes and Swamps, Bog
Marshes and swamps form in wet depressions in thelandscape or alongside lakes or slow-flowing rivers.
The water is colonised by specially adapted plants
such as phragmites and water lilies that provide foodand shelter for many different types of animals. Bogs

Appendix

are waterlogged peatlands found in depressions
in the landscape or in old lake basins. Most of theWater Storage Areas

water in a bog may have come from rainfall. Most of

These include reservoirs where water isthe plants found in a bog have evolved to survive instored to be used for drinking, bathing,

the acidic conditions that are low in nutrients. Bogs

industr y and farming. Some reser voirs

are an important store of carbon, and so they help tocan be useful for wildlife such as wintering

reduce the effects of climate change.

wildfowl.

1213Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

A2. Importance of Wetlands

8

There are tremendous values of wetland that people have taken for granted. Wetlands provide important

Wetlands are important for mitigation of hazards of climate change. They can serve as buffers and shelterswater-related ecosystem services. These ecosystem services also provide a range of benefits to the lives ofagainst sea level rises, storm surges, floods and droughts (which can all be the consequences of climate

human and wildlife. For example:

change). Wetlands, such as peat swamps and mangroves, are also effective carbon sinks, which help absorb

Climate Control

extra carbon dioxide (important component of greenhouse gases which drive climate change) from the
1 Water Storage and Groundatmosphere, and store carbon in the soil and vegetation.

Water Recharge
Wetlands help maintain the level of

6 Human Living and Food Supply

water table. Muddy soil holds more

Wetlands directly support a large

water than sand. Vegetation also aids

percentage of the world's population.

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

water storage. For streams, lakes

Over 50% of the world's population

and reservoirs, wetlands contributelive within 3km of a wetland.

to streamflow maintenance.

Wetlands are an important

63

source of food, such as

1
2 Water Purification

fisheries and agriculture
products to us. In addition,

Wetlands are like the Earth's filters,

wetlands yield materials forcleaning up water in a number of ways.

building houses, fibers and

Pollutants such as heavy metals andtoxins are trapped in the sediments of thedyes for textiles, medicines

2from plants of wetlands. Water iswetlands in runoffs like rain or storm water.

Part C. Activities

also a good medium for transportation.

4

Nitrogen compounds were taken up by wetland
plants and transformed into less harmful forms.

7
3 Flood Protectionand Shoreline
Stabilization

7 Recreational, Historical

The world’s 50%

and Cultural Values

population living in

Human civilizations associate

coastal regions are atAppendixrisk from catastrophic

4 Sediment & Nutrient

flooding such as

Retention and Export

hurricanes, cyclones andnutrients

Wetland ecosystem is crucial for natural
cycling of sediments and nutrients in thetsunamis. Wetlands acts asfrontline defense and buffer zone

environment, the plants in wetlands take up andto mitigate such natural hazards. Wetlands also help

store nutrients from water and soil. The nutrientswith wetlands, thus wetlands
5 Vital Habitat

are of high historical, cultural,

It is estimated that freshwater wetlands support

religious value to the history of

more than 40% of all the world’s species, including

human development. Wetlands also

12% of all animal species. Many of them can only

support various recreational activities such as bird

live in wetland habitats.

watching, photography, and water sports such asprotect the shoreline soils from the erosive forces

are then released back to the environment when the

In an intertidal mudflat a lot of the animals areof waves and currents by binding the soils with theplants die. Wetlands can serve as carbon sink too.

hidden in the mud beneath our feet, and thesecanoeing, water skiing and diving.
Sources:benthic organisms provide food for waterbrids.

wetland vegetation roots systems.

14

15

www.un.org
www.ramsar.org

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

A3. Life in Wetlands
3.1 Different Types of Life Forms

Other Vertebrates

Birds
OspreyMongoose

Mudskipper

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Common Carp

Great Egret

Chinese Pond Heron

Part C. Activities

Black-headed Gull

Common Tilapia

Black-faced Spoonbill

Asian Common
Toad
CommonKingfisher

Grey Mullet

Little Grebe

Chinese Bullfrog

Brown Tree
Frog

Gunthers Frog

Northern Pintail
OthersWood Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Appendix

White-breasted Waterhen

Pied Avocet

16

Collared Crow

Little Ringed
PloverGreat ComorantDragonfly

PlanktonDamselfly

Fiddler-CrabInnkeeper Worm

Algae

17

Bivalve

Snail

Mangrove

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

3.2 Food Chain and Food Web

The energy and nutrients flow like this: The Sun

One important trophic level is the decomposer.

passes energy to algae (producer) which make use

They are relying on dead organic matters or wasteof sunlight to produce energy. Then the algae were

products, some examples are fungi, earthworm and

It is a unidirectional path showing how food energy moves from one organism

eaten by a shrimp (primary consumer), which was

crab that break down the dead matters into smaller

to another in a given environment. Food energy moves along the food chain

then eaten by a shorebird (secondary consumer).

pieces and debris. They are critical in an ecosystem

when one organism eats another which is below it in the food chain. The

Each of the organism occupied a trophic level. Thereas they help release nutrients to be recycled andconcept is illustrated as below:

is some energy loss along the food chain.

used by primary producers.

Food Chain

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Food WebIn real life the situation is more complicated, which
can be illustrated by a food web. It shows different
but interconnected food chains in an ecosystem toillustrate consumption relationships. An organism(living creature) can eat or being eaten by another.
Arrows in the food web point from an organism being
eaten to the organism that eats it. Below is what asimplified food web in a mangrove wetland looks like:Part C. Activities
Appendix18

19

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

3.3 Adaptation of Life in Intertidal Mudflats - Mangrove Plants
Mangroves grow in inter-tidal mudflats, they may becovered by tidal water during high tide period. The
soil is soft, saline and low in oxygen. The mangroves
also face the risk of being washed away by tides dueto the unstable substratum. Therefore, mangroves
evolved to adapt to such harsh and dynamic
environment with soft and low oxygen soil andvarying salinity.

2. Coping with Soft Soil with Low Oxygen

3. Reproductive Adaptation

This is mainly carried out by leaves. Salt glands

Aerial roots are roots that are above ground andMany mangrove species are viviparous (embryo

can be found in leaves of some mangrove species,

exposed to air. This is to cope with soft soil and low

developed inside the body of the parent). The seed

which excrete the absorbed salts. Some may have

oxygen level. Prop roots are laterally spread and not

retains in the parent plant until it germinates into asalt accumulate in old leaves which will be shed. This

deep in soil, which allows stability of a mangrove tolong propagule. After that it will drop from its parent

way helps to regulate the salt concentration insidegrow in soft soil. While Pneumatophores (Erect Aerial

plant and when it is in touch with soil, it will rapidly

the mangroves.

Roots) allows oxygen to transfer in the anaerobic (lowgrow. The seedling can then better adapt to the harsh

oxygen) soil.

inter-tidal mudflat environment.

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

1. Cope with Salinity

1

Extra salt accumulates
in old leaves which are shed
Coping with Salinity

Part C. Activities

1

Salt glandexcrete salts on leaves
Coping with Salinity
Prop roots
Laterally spreading roots toincrease support of the tree

Coping with soft soil

2

3 Droppers
Seeds germinate on the parent plant into a longpropagule, which allows better establishment of
seedlings

Reproductive adaptation

Appendix

Pneumatophores
A special type of aerial roots which
has a lot of small pores to increase
the intake of oxygen2

Coping with anaerobic soil

20

21

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

3.4 Adaptation of life in Intertidal Mudflats - Birds
In Asia, there are over 500 species of waterbirds and wetland-dependent bird species relying on wetlands fora living. Many of them are migratory species. They fly to the breeding grounds and move on to their wintering
ground after breeding every year. The main flyway they travel is called the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.

1. Colour

2. Shape of Beak

Many shorebirds change the colour of their plumage

Various species of shorebirds forage in different

between breeding and non-breeding seasons. During

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

breeding season, they have bright coloured plumage

3. Body

ways. Some probe the mud, some peck or skim
food from the water. The beaks of birds are

In order to attract mates. While in non-breeding
season, they change to dull colours (e.g. brown,

adapted to feed in specific ways and on specifictypes of food. Shorebirds have different lengthsgrey) which provide camouflage that helps them hideof beaks with some species able to feed in the

mud while others with shorter beaks feed on

Shorebirds usually have long wings compared tothe surface of the mud. The food in the mud

their body sizes, as many of them migrates. They

enables shorebirds to put on fat which thenusually have short tails so they will not get wet whengives them energy to fly long distances during

staying in shallow water. Their legs are often long,

their migration. Look below for what type ofallowing them to wade through water or mud without

food each bird feeds on?

getting their bodies wet. Their long toes provide
stability when walking on soft mud.

in the background.

Part C. Activities
Ruddy Turnstone
Little Ringed
PloverPacific Golden
PloverAsian
Dowitcher

Eurasian
Curlew

Appendix

Pied Avocet
MallardGreat Egret

Many animals are hidden in the mud of intertidal mudflats. So, even though it looks like an empty desert, it
is full of life. They supports lives like these waterbirds which have to migrate long distance between theirbreeding and non-breeding grounds.

22

23

Spoon-billed
Sandpiper
Teaching Kit
Publication information

Acknowledgement

Publisher: The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society

The completion of the teaching kit is impossible without help
from different people. We would like to give our special thanks
to colleagues and friends from different non-governmentorganizations (NGOs) from different places, especially partners
along the migratory route of Spoon-billed Sandpiper, including
Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force under East Asian-AustralasianFlyway Partnership, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), Birds
Russia, Nanjing Normal University, British Trust for Ornithology(BTO), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Ramsar
Network Japan (RNJ), Spoon-billed Sandpiper in China (Spoonbilled SandpipersC), Biodiversity And Nature Conservation
Association (BANCA), Bangladesh Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Conservation Project (BSCP), Zhanjiang Bird Watching Society, as
well as Cornell Ornithology Lab.

Address: 7C, V Ga Building, 532 Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Phone: +852 2377 4387
Fax: +852 2314 3687
Email: hkbws@hkbws.org.hk

Authors:
Vivian Wing Kan Fu(The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society)Hiroko Okamoto(Wild Bird Society of Japan)
Barrie Cooper

Illustrator and designer:
Lam Pei (Sugar Ink) and Ivan Wong

Date of Publish: September, 2018.
All right reserved. All photographs used by permission.
Copy right: This resource may be copied for educational use only.
It may not be copied for any other purposes without prior written
permission by Hong Kong Bird Watching Society

About Hong Kong Bird Watching Society -- HKBWS is alocal civil society organization established in 1957, aiming at
promoting appreciation, research and conservation of birds andnatural environment of Hong Kong and within the region. It
was recognized as an approved charitable institution of a publiccharacter in 2002. In 2013, HKBWS became the partner of BirdLife
International.

About Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ) -- WBSJ is a conservation
NGO and BirdLife partner in Japan founded in 1934. WBSJ has over
50,000 members and donors, and 89 chapters throughout Japan.
Its purpose is to protect birds and their habitat, to encourage
more people to enjoy bird watching, and to carry on researchconcerning the status and habitat of birds.

We are grateful to have supports from many people who
contributed to this teaching kit: Dr. Evgeny Syroechkovskiy, Dr.
Christoph Zöckler, Dr. Baz Hughes, Ms. Rebecca Lee, Dr. Nigel
Clark, Minoru Kashiwagi, Sayam U. Chowdhury, Pyaephyo Aung,
Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok, Jonathan Martinez, Jing Li, Ziyou Yang,
Janice Lo, Gerrit Vyn, Jessica Wong, Karly Lau, George Jor, Yee Lai
and Alvin Hui.

for school teachers and education leadersPart B.

About Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Part B.

About Spoon-billed Sandpiper
1.2 Features of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

B1. Information of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Appearance:
A palm-sized (15cm/6 inch) wader with an unique
spoon-shaped bill, but it is a bit difficult to see fromthe side view of the beak. Dark streaks on its cap

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

and back of the neck. During the breeding season,
the bird is reddish brown, particularly on the head.
Dark spots on the breast extending toward belly.
While in non-breeding plumage, the bird turns togreyish brown. On its head, the throat, foreheadand cheek are white, with greyish brown eye-line.
The chicks of Spoon-billed Sandpiper have perfectcamouflage to the breeding habitat. Their bodies areyellowish brown with white and black spots.

Part C. Activities

Spoon-billed Sandpiper in breeding plumage © Gerrit Vyn/Cornell

Spoon-billed Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage © Gerrit Vyn/Cornell

1.1 Taxonomy of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Appendix

Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Scientific name: Calidris pygmaea
Spoon-billed Sandpiper chicks © Pavel Tomkovich

26

27

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

1.3 Distribution Map of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

1.4 Habitat of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

When seasons change birds migrate. Spoon-billed Sandpiper can only be found in the East Asian-Spoon-billed Sandpiper has specialized breeding

Australasian Flyway. This flyway virtually illustrates the migratory routes of many waterbird species, which

habitats. They only breed in lagoon spilts which havefrom breeding grounds in northern Asia and Alaska to non-breeding grounds in Southeast Asia andcrowberry-lichen vegetation or dwarf birch and willow

Australasia.

sedges. Their breeding sites are mainly within 5 km
from the coast and very close to estuary or mudflat
habitats where they feed. They are very site-faithful tothe breeding site (i.e. returning to the same place everyyear). For wintering ground, Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Non-breeding habitat © Gerrit Vyn/Cornell

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

relies on intertidal mudflat with higher sand content withthin layer of mud on top. The bird usually stays in outerreaches of river estuaries and outer islands, sometimes
occupies artificial wetlands such as saltpans, where
there is shallow water.

Part C. Activities

Breeding habitat © Sayam Chowdhury

1.5 Food of Spoon-billed Sandpiper
On the breeding grounds, Spoon-billed

Map of Spoon-billed Sandpiper distribution

Sandpipers feed on inver tebrates such as

Appendix

Breeding Range

Winter Range and Migration

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper breeds near the Arctic

Spoon-billed Sandpipers migrates down the western

in far northeastern Russia along the Bering Sea

Pacific coast through Russia, Japan, North Korea

coast of the Chukotka Peninsula and southwards toand South Korea, Northern China, and Vietnam

the Kamchatka Peninsula. The breeding range of the

before reaching their main wintering grounds inbird has shrunken a lot from their historical breedingcoastal wetlands in South China, Thailand, Myanmar

range. The bird has disappeared from Belaya Spit,and Bangladesh. They rely heavily on Yellow Sea

formerly the largest core breeding area for thisinter tidal areas as stop-over sites during their

species.

migration. There are rare records of the bird wintering

mosquitoes and flies, occasionally plant seeds
or small berries. These food sources are mostabundant during summer time. In wintering
grounds and during migration, due to thedifferent habitat, they use their specialized billto probe and feed on different food sources — avariety of marine invertebrates including worms andshrimps.

in India and Sri Lanka. Their migratory route is over
8000km!

28

29

Summer• Spoon-billed Sandpiper makes nest on tundra, and female lays a clutch of 4 eggs.

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

1.6 Life Cycle of Spoon-billed Sandpiper• Both parents incubate the eggs and the chicks hatch in 19-23 days.
• Chicks can feed on invertebrates such as midges, mosquitoes, and fly on their own• Only fathers take care of the chicks until they fledge.

Spring• Spoon-billed Sandpiper migrates northwards andarrive on the breeding round in late May to early June.
• The male defends the territories and attracts a mate.
The couple would perform courtship flights until they

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

pair up.

Part C. Activities
Appendix

AutumnSpring•Females start to migrate south once the chicks hatch

mudflats of South China and Southeast Asia as•

Males migrate soon after the young are about to fledge

wintering grounds•

Young birds migrate on their own a few weeks later•

Many will stop-over at Rudong, China for moulting• Spoon-billed Sandpiper reaches coastal intertidal• They feed on invertebrates like polychaete worms
and shrimp.

30

31Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

B2. Story of"Spoon-billed Sandpiper 05"

2.1 Profile of Spoon-billed Sandpiper "Light Green 05 (L)"Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Part C. Activities© Kanit Kanikul at Khok Kham

GenderFemaleYear of flagging

2013

Mate

Light green 10 (L) since 2014

Total number of sonsand daughters

21

Appendix

To safeguard this critically endangered bird, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Breeding - Meinypil’gyno, Chukotka, Russia

conservation breeding programme was launched in 2011, and Spoon-

Stop-over - Tiaozini, Dongtai County, Jiangsu
Province, China

billed Sandpiper "Light Green 05(L)" (label on the leg flag) is one of thebirds included in the programme. Here is the true story of this little bird.

Recorded sites visited

Wintering - Khok Kham, Samut Sakhon
Province, Thailand
The information of Light green 05 (L) is from the The Spoon-billed Sandpiper Individual Re-sightings
Database (Spoon-billed Sandpipers-IDB) which is maintained by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)and Birds Russia on behalf of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force

32

33

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

I was born on a tundra in the northeast
Russian.
There are lots of food, and my father taught us
how to get food and how to fly.

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Part C. Activities

My father also told us to fly away from homewhen winter comes. It is because our home
will be covered by snow and there will be no
food.

Appendix34

35

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Oh! It is so tiring after flying for a few days!! I have to eat
and gain back some energy!
Ah! I see my friends in the mudflat below!

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

While we stay at the stop-over site, wechange some feathers so that we can fly
better when we head to the next stop.

Part C. Activities

Though we cannot fly wellat this moment, we eat a
lot to gain energy!

Appendix3637

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

The journey is long, I really want to rest…
But this site is horrible!!
The water is black because of the factory nearby, and there is
grass covering the mud, I have no place to stand and nothing toeat…

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

But further south, there is a niceplace with lots of food!
I see lots of friends here. I reallyneed a good sleep now so that I
can go further south tomorrow!

Part C. Activities
Appendix38

39

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

When I fly above, I see nets on the mudflat and friends are
hanging on them! I don’t dare to stop here!!

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

At last I arrive at a place called Khok Kham in
Thailand. It is a nice place where I can spend thewhole winter. When spring comes, I will go home!

Part C. Activities
Appendix40

41

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Spring comes and I fly back home in
Russia. I meet some human, and they put
a light green flag on my leg. It says “05”.

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Oh! I meet another boy with a flag
just like me! His flag says “10”. We
become friends and we get alongwell together.

Part C. Activities
Appendix

42

43

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

B3. Threats and Conservation
Threats faced by Spoon-billed Sandpiper
The world population of Spoon-billed Sandpiper in 2009/2010 is 360-600 individuals in total,
i n w h i c h 12 0 - 2 0 0 p a i rs o f b re e d i n g a d u l t s. T h e b i rd wa s l i s te d a s C r i t i c a l ly E n d a n g e re d(CR) by the IUCN in 2008. There are t wo main threats faced by Spoon-billed Sandpiper :1. Habitat loss and degradation; 2. Hunting

Status of Spoon-billed Sandpiper on the IUCN Red List

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

2008

Critically Endangered (CR)2004

Endangered (EN)1994

Vulnerable (VU)

1988

Threatened (T)1. Habitat loss and degradation© Gerrit Vyn/Cornell

Spoon-billed Sandpiper is a long-distance migrant. It

2. Hunting

needs a lot of energy to complete the 8000km. They

Part C. Activities

rely on the food supply at their stop-over sites to

Hunting is another threat to Spoon-billed Sandpiper mainly occurring on their wintering grounds. The birds

restore energy during migration. The stop-over sites

mainly winters in Myanmar, Bangladesh and South China. However, these are also the places where illegal

in the Yellow Sea are especially important. However,hunting is prevalent. The hunters catch shorebirds and unfortunately Spoon-billed Sandpipers are sometimes

many of the intertidal wetlands in this region havecaught and killed. Since the world population of Spoon-billed Sandpipers is very low, even just a small

been lost due to the large-scale reclamation in China

number of the species lost will lead to a great percentage decline in the whole population and draw theand Republic of Korea. For example, the largest

species closer to extinction.
Sources: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: http://www.iucnredlist.org

seawall in the world in Saemangeum of Republic ofKorea destroyed one of the most important sites forwaterbirds along this flyway.

Videos of behaviour of Spoon-billed Sandpiper,

In addition, there is an invasive cordgrass Spartina

produced by Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

alterniflora found in the stop-over sites, mainly inAppendix

Breeding Season

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYsQ1GRIlvc

Foraging

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H26Tl7e3KeU

Courtshiphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NeRF1edFT0

Hatch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Mmd70n36w

Birds of the Yellow-Sea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N74zn7bCpq8

China. This invasive cordgrass grows quickly onintertidal mudflats and thus rapidly covering theopen mudflat where shorebirds feed and roost.
Shorebirds prefer bare mudflats and seldom feed in
the vegetation on the mudflat. The invasive cordgrass
is not suitable for shorebirds so they cannot use that
© Zhang Ming

habitat.

44

45

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

B4. Conservation Actions forSpoon-billed Sandpiper in Different Places

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

2. Conservation breeding programme

1. Coordinating a network of Spoon-

by Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)

billed Sandpiper conservation
activities along the flyway – Spoon-

In response to the dramatic population decline

billed Sandpiper Task Forceobserved in the 2000s, a conservation breeding
programme of Spoon-billed Sandpipers was started

Since 1996, Dr Christoph Zöckler, the coordinatorin 2011 to safeguard the species in captivity whileof Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force (SBS TF),
has travelled with Dr. Evgeny Syroechkovskiy, thethreats in the wild could be addressed. In 2011
Dr Christoph Zöckler

chairman of SBS TF, in the Russian Arctic almost
every summer. In 2000 they discovered that thePart C. Activities

breeding grounds of Spoon-billed Sandpiper in
Chukotka were in trouble. Some areas were vacantmight also occur along the flyway. Over the past 15
years the group established a network of like-mindedpeople and organisations in all flyway regions thatare devoted to the conservation of this charismaticor almost deserted by the species. They raised

species. The Manfred-Hermsen-Foundation (MHS)

the alarm of the decline of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

was the first donor who supported the surveys on

but it was several years before the international
conservation community noticed our pleas for help
and began supporting our activities. In 2004 they
established the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Recovery

the wintering grounds and continued to support thework of Spoon-billed Sandpiper TF. At present MHS
is financing coordination work for the Task Force
activities and its fundraising, as well as supporting

Team with members from Russia, Japan India andactivities to tackle various conservation problems

Bangladesh. The group grew and in 2010 became the

Appendix

SBS Task Force of the EAAFP. When in 2003, none

along the flyway.

established at WWT’s Slimbridge headquarters,
using eggs collected from the breeding grounds
around Meinypil’gyno in Chukotka, Russia. The flockis housed in specially-designed biosecure aviaries
at WWT Slimbridge in the UK. In 2014, the birds
displayed breeding behaviours for the first time.
and releasing the birds back into the wild. This work

And in 2016, eggs were laid! Unfortunately, only
two chicks hatched and both died within days. Aftereight years of hard work, in 2018 the team eventuallyraised the first chick to fledge. In line with this work, aheadstarting programme for Spoon-billed Sandpipers
has been underway since 2012, involving collecting

proves with artificial incubation and a brief period in
captivity, it could be possible to increase the numberof fledgelings produced by pairs at Meinypil’gyno byapproximately five-fold and thus increase the survival
rate of the bird.

eggs from incubating birds in the wild, hatching andof the ringed young birds returned after two years,
they realised that the problems of this rare wader

and 2012, a captive population of the bird was

To learn more:https://eaaflyway.net/project/spoon-billed-sandpipertask-force/46

hand-raising the chicks in captivity to fledging age,

To learn more:https://www.saving-spoon-billed-sandpiper.com/
cons-breeding-news/

47

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands
Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
credit: Jonathan Martinez

Part C. Activities

3. Flagging and Tagging Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Appendix

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper satellite tagging work

get species individuals without leading predators

making sure it is safe to apply these transmittersthe species (See BANCA’s work). The success of theis a collaboration between Birds Russia, Nanjing

to their nests (as they were taking the eggs to rear

onto the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, the team tagged

flagging and tagging of Spoon-billed Sandpipers has

Normal University, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO),

artificially). Every year since then the team hasthese transmitters onto three Spoon-billed Sandpiper

enabled us to understand more about the life cycle

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

marked adults and chicks found on the breedingin Jiangsu, China. Two birds migrated to winteringof these incredible birds and focus our conservationand WWT, with assistance from the Spoon-billed

grounds with leg flags so the team can follow theirsites in southern China and the team immediately

efforts in the most important places and hopefully

Sandpiper Task Force of the East Asian-Australasian

lives. They hoped that these bird could be seen away

asked local birdwatchers to visit the sites. The

save the species from extinction.

Flyway partnership. In 2012 the team realised thatfrom the breeding grounds. To our surprise, over half

local birdwatchers were distraught because there

there is a need to know more about individualof the adult birds survived are seen in the breeding

were so many illegal nets for catching birds. The

Spoon-billed Sandpipers lives, such as how long theygrounds each year and they are very faithful toauthorities were alerted and within a day all the nets

live, where they go and whether they return to thetheir wintering site. However, a large part of theirwere removed and they never appeared again (Seesame area at the same time every year. At the time

migratory route remained unknown. So, when the

HKBWS’s work). The third SBS made a 2,400km

the team was just starting the headstarting program

small satellite transmitters were available, the teamjourney to the gulf of Mottama in Myanmar, which(See WWT’s work) so they had an opportunity tosuccessfully got some of the first transmitters. Afteris known to be the most important wintering site for48

To learn more:https://www.saving-spoon-billed-sandpiper.com/
category/satellite-tracking/https://www.saving-spoon-billed-sandpiper.com/
category/sightings/

49

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands
Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

4. Conservation of Shorebird Sites in

5. Spoon-billed Sandpiper in China (SBSC)

Kyushu, JapanSBSC is a non-profit organisation dedicated toSince the beginning of this century, Ramsar Network

the conser vation of shorebirds on the Yellow

Japan (RNJ) and partners have contributed towards

Sea mudflats, the most cr ucial staging sites

the conservation of Spoon-billed Sandpiper in manyfor species such as the Critically Endangered

ways from Japan: by supporting surveys in breeding

Spoonbilled Sandpiper and Endangered Nordmann’sand non-breeding sites, surveys in Myanmar inGreenshank. To achieve the goal of protecting

cooperation with local organizations and people,

shorebirds and their precious habitats, SBSC runs asending members to Spoon-billed Sandpipers
Task Force. But there were not many CEPA
activities for Spoon-billed Sandpipers conservationin Japan. However, some conservationists were

wide range of activities including: conducting regular
Mr. Tanaka, fisherman explains roosting dunlins on NORI seaweed
culturing bar

population dynamics, communicating, cooperating
and Bangladesh and from breeding site in Russia toSpoon-billed Sandpipers/Shorebird sites in Kyushu

concerned about the significant decline of Spoonbilled Sandpipers and other shorebirds so RNJPart C. Activities

carried out a three-year project from 2015. The
project is for raising public awareness and linking
people interested in shorebirds. It is organisedby an umbrella project, Shorebird Stepping
Stones(SSS), a group/organisation working forshorebird conservation and Ramsar Network Japan(RNJ). The team invited Spoon-billed Sandpipers

waterbird surveys to monitor bird distribution andarea to help survey. The team also organized talks
which impressed the people and helped to bringattention to the serious plight of the shorebirds since
there was no information about how the species livein other sites, and how serious the situation is. It wasalso a good chance to contact with local fishermen in
the sites and to cooperate with the local governmentand collaborating with local and international
conservation communities to jointly protect migratory
shorebirds, publishing scientific papers in national
and international journals, running birdwatching
tours and nature observation activities to introduce
general public to the unique marine culture of
Yellow Sea, organising talks and other educational
activities to improve conser vation awarenessof local communities (e.g. schools, fishermen,

companies), as well as influencing attitudes anddecisions of conservation policymakers through theabove mentioned activities. Since shorebirds andlocal fishermen rely on the very same mudflats forfood and livelihood, SBSC organised a fishermen’s
wor kshop last year to introduce the idea of
responsible aquaculture. The organisation willcontinue to work on this topic in the coming years,
hoping to achieve a lasting harmony between birds,
fish farms, shellfish farms and people.

on participating in Flyway Site Network.

TF members from non-breeding sites in Myanmar

Appendix

50

51

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands
Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

6. Tackling illegal hunting in South China through capacity building and7. Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) helped toenvironmental education for Spoon-billed Sandpiper – The Hong Kong Bird

establish local conservation group and Ramsar Site in Myanmar

Watching Society (HKBWS)BANCA star ted conser vation of Spoon-billed

LCG team, with the members of active village head,

HKBWS star ted to wor k on conser vation of

Sandpiper in Myanmar since 2008. The team noticed

fishers and community. The LCG team patrol in theSpoonbilled Sandpiper in 2011. Capacity building andthat Gulf of Mottama (GOM) and Nanthar Island areneighboring areas of the villages, report to BANCA

awareness raising are two essential elements forcritical wintering ground for Spoon-billed Sandpiper

and authorities in case of hunting issues. This work

sustaining long-term conservation efforts. Therefore,

and other migratory birds. On average, 50% of thewas successful. Moreover, with advocacy efforts

HKBWS initiated a series of educational activities

global population of Spoon-billed Sandpiper are

from BANCA since 2012, the Central Government

such as mobilizing over 500 children from 12 areas

wintering in GOM every year. Continuous surveys

declared part of the Gulf of Mottama as a Ramsar

and 8 countries along Spoon-billed Sandpiper’s

have identified that the major threat to shorebirds

Site in 2017.

migratory route to create a short animation in 2013.

at both sites is hunting by local people. Therefore,

In 2015, HKBWS initiated a postcards exchange

Volunteers helping to remove the invasive Spartina cordgrass

BANCA team carried out immediate action with asocio-economic approach to the local community

programme to spread the message of conserving

Part C. Activities

Spoon-billed Sandpiper and other waterbirds along

education. In addition, building net works andand hunters to tackle the problem. BANCA provided

the flyway. On the other hand, HKBWS realized

collaboration with government authorities enhanced

alternative livelihoods (Boats,fishing gears, engines

there is a knowledge gap of distribution of Spoon-

efficiency of law enforcement. When more people join

livestock and grocery) for 15 bird hunters who rely on

billed Sandpiper in South China. After conducting

the team, more conservation work can be done. Now

bird hunting income. To ensure effective conservationa preliminary survey along the South China coast,

the threat of illegal hunting is much reduced.

for Spoon-billed Sandpiper, BANCA leads to thethe survey team found a wintering ground of Spoon-

Animation “Journey of Spoon-billed Sandpiper”:

billed Sandpiper, but at the same time, they noticed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INu1Z5xHeWQ

establishment of a Local Conservation Group (LCG)
in GOM. Ex-hunters took the role as leaders of theillegal hunting as the biggest threat to birds there.
Since 2014, HKBWS has recruited local volunteers
and helped to set up a local conservation groupand provide training to the local volunteers to build

Appendix

up capacity on bird monitoring and environmental

52

53

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands
Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

8. Tackling illegal hunting by

9. Restoring salt pans and promoting

Bangladesh Spoon-billed Sandpiper

ecotourism for conservation by Bird

Conservation Project (BSCP)

Conservation Society of Thailand

BSCP conducts research and promotes conservation(BCST)of shorebirds in Bangladesh with a special focus on

BCST has been closely monitoring Spoon-billed

Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Bangladesh has one of the

Sandpipers in Thailand since 1995. The Gulf oflargest wintering grounds for the bird. The project has

Thailand is one of the most important, and probably

been working in an organized manner along the coast

the most accessible wintering ground of Spoon-of Bangladesh especially on Sonadia Island sincebilled Sandpiper. Each winter, approximately 10

2009. While working on Sonadia Island, the BSCP
team encountered shorebird hunting. Since 2010,
surveys have been conducted to identify hunters andPart C. Activities

alternative livelihood options for them. BSCP finally
signed conservation agreements with 25 active
shorebird hunters of the island between Octoberand December 2011. Alternative livelihood options
taken up include seed and fertilizers for watermelon
cultivation, fishing boat, net, livestock, groceryby trapping birds. In 2016 a total of 46 villagers and
17 ex-hunters were individually interviewed in andaround Sonadia. All the respondents said there is
no more hunting in the area. Apart from this, BSCP
continued to look for new sites, and it discovered
a new wintering ground of Spoon-billed Sandpiper
around Sandwip, Chittagong, which may support up
to 100 Spoon-billed Sandpipers.

birds are recorded from several sites around theinclude conducting regular shorebirds monitoring,

gulf, most notably Khok Kham and Pak Thale-Laemparticularly for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, involving

Phak Bia Flyway Network Sites of East Asian-

local communities in conservation actions, promoting

Australasian Flyway. In order to conserve shorebirds

the impor tance of the sites among local andand their habitat, BCST works closely with Thainational audiences and monitor risks to the sites

government agencies, international organizations

and shorebirds. In 2017, BCST began to work withand local communities to promote tourism as agovernment in a project to restore old saltpans andpowerful incentive to conserve shorebird wintering

turn them into a rich and secure habitat for migratory

areas. BCST's main working sites consist of the two

shorebirds at Pak Thale.

and tailoring shops. Among these alternatives, themost important wintering grounds for many globallywatermelon cultivation was the most successful

threatened shorebird species, which are Khok Khamone. Ex-hunters who cultivated watermelons havesalt pans in Samut Sakhon province and Pak Thaleearned almost double the amount they used to makein Phetchaburi province. Main activities at both sites

To learn more:https://www.bcst.or.th/

Appendix

54

55

Spoon-billed
Sandpiper
Teaching Kit
Publication information

Acknowledgement

Publisher: The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society

The completion of the teaching kit is impossible without help
from different people. We would like to give our special thanks
to colleagues and friends from different non-governmentorganizations (NGOs) from different places, especially partners
along the migratory route of Spoon-billed Sandpiper, including
Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force under East Asian-AustralasianFlyway Partnership, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), Birds
Russia, Nanjing Normal University, British Trust for Ornithology(BTO), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Ramsar
Network Japan (RNJ), Spoon-billed Sandpiper in China (Spoonbilled SandpipersC), Biodiversity And Nature Conservation
Association (BANCA), Bangladesh Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Conservation Project (BSCP), Zhanjiang Bird Watching Society, as
well as Cornell Ornithology Lab.

Address: 7C, V Ga Building, 532 Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Phone: +852 2377 4387
Fax: +852 2314 3687
Email: hkbws@hkbws.org.hk

Authors:
Vivian Wing Kan Fu(The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society)Hiroko Okamoto(Wild Bird Society of Japan)
Barrie Cooper

Illustrator and designer:
Lam Pei (Sugar Ink) and Ivan Wong

Date of Publish: September, 2018.
All right reserved. All photographs used by permission.
Copy right: This resource may be copied for educational use only.
It may not be copied for any other purposes without prior written
permission by Hong Kong Bird Watching Society

About Hong Kong Bird Watching Society -- HKBWS is alocal civil society organization established in 1957, aiming at
promoting appreciation, research and conservation of birds andnatural environment of Hong Kong and within the region. It
was recognized as an approved charitable institution of a publiccharacter in 2002. In 2013, HKBWS became the partner of BirdLife
International.

About Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ) -- WBSJ is a conservation
NGO and BirdLife partner in Japan founded in 1934. WBSJ has over
50,000 members and donors, and 89 chapters throughout Japan.
Its purpose is to protect birds and their habitat, to encourage
more people to enjoy bird watching, and to carry on researchconcerning the status and habitat of birds.

We are grateful to have supports from many people who
contributed to this teaching kit: Dr. Evgeny Syroechkovskiy, Dr.
Christoph Zöckler, Dr. Baz Hughes, Ms. Rebecca Lee, Dr. Nigel
Clark, Minoru Kashiwagi, Sayam U. Chowdhury, Pyaephyo Aung,
Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok, Jonathan Martinez, Jing Li, Ziyou Yang,
Janice Lo, Gerrit Vyn, Jessica Wong, Karly Lau, George Jor, Yee Lai
and Alvin Hui.

for school teachers and education leadersPart C.

Suggested Activities

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Part C.

Activity 1. Nature Hunt

Suggested Activities
Name of Activites

Flying Bird

AgePart B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Activity 1

Nature Hunt

Over 5

Activity 2

Going to the Wetland (Map of Life in Mudflat)

Over 10

Activity 3

Wetland Game (The Importance ofWetlands)

Over 5

Food Chain Game (Paper, Stone andScissors)

Over 6

Food Chain GameOver 6

Activity 4

Activity 5

Part C. Activities

Over 6

Activity 7

Food Web Worksheet

Over 10

Over 6

Activity 9

Food Adaptation Observation

Over 10

Activity 10

Predator-Prey Game (Safety in Numbers).

Over 5

Appendix

Activity 11

Colour of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Activity 12

Journey of Spoon-billed Sandpiper("Sugoroku" board game)Over 10

Activity 13

Story Telling Paper Flips (Make your own
story of Spoon-billed Sandpiper)Over 10

Activity 14

Discussion Worksheet

Over 1058

Whte Bird

Fisherman
Mudskipper

A Plant in Wetland

Game of Energy Flow

The Wader Beak Race

Bird more than
one color

RaptorCrab

Activity 6

Activity 8

Indoor / Outdoor

Animal Footprint

A bird eating
Large bird
Small Bird

Learning
Objectives

Encourage observation in nature by the kids, there are diverse creaturesliving in wetland

Target Age

Over 5

Indoor / Outdoor

Outdoor / Indoor

Resources

Printed worksheet (P.74), pencils

Time required

an hour to half day

Organization

Whole class, working individually

Over 5This game is mainly
designed for outdoor
activity to wetlands,
but if outdoor activity is
restricted, teachers canprint the photos out (or findtheir own pictures) andplace it in an indoor area orwithin the allowed area tocarry out this game.

1. Each kid was delivered a printed worksheet and a pencil
2. The whole class go outside the classroom to a wetland
The Activities

Teaching tips:

3. The kids have to tick the box(es) of what they saw during the walk in
the wetland
4. When they finished the work, let children compare each sheet andshare the findings. Let children know that there are many creaturesliving in mudflat.

59

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Activity 2. Going to the Wetlands

Activity 3. Wetland Game

Map of Life in the Mudflat

The Importance of Wetlands

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Part C. Activities

Learning
Objectives

Learning there are diverse creatures living in the mudflat, andunderstand that the mudflat is important habitat for all of them.

Target Age

Over 10

Indoor / Outdoor

OutdoorResources

Pencils, Pens, Coloured pencils, Large paper and board, Digital Cameras,
Printer

Time required

2 hours

Organisation

Whole class /group activity
1. Divide children into small groups. 3 to 5 children per group is apreferable size.
2. Provide a digital camera per group.
* If it is difficult to prepare cameras for each group, provide small
cards and let children draw the pictures of creatures instead of taking
the photos.

Appendix

The Activity

Teaching tips:• This activity can work
as group for kids to go out
to the field, observe andrecord what they see, it canbe modified according to
the situation allowed, e.g.
map of a urban park.
• If cameras are notavailable, use paper cards
and let kids to draw what
they see.
• It can be integrated with
Science lessons

Learning
Objectives

Learn the importance of wetlands to waterbirds. When wetlands aredamaged or disappear, waterbirds relying on these wetlands will die.
The game also suggests different threats which cause wetland loss anddeterioration.

Target Age

Over 5

Indoor / Outdoor

Outdoor (preferable) / indoor

Resources

Hola hoops or ropes (4 – 5, depending on group size and space) as
wetlands

Time required

2 hours

Organisation

Whole class /group activity

3. Observe nature in the mudflat. Let children take photos when theyfind creatures.

1. Deliver name cards of the waterbirds to children

4. After observation, go back to class and draw a map of the mudflat onlarge paper.

3. When the leader says "Fly", all waterbirds have to move from one
wetland to another.

5. Print the photos of any creatures they took in the mudflat.

2. Ask all children to stay in the "wetlands"

The Activity

During next time, the leader will say the "threats" to wetlands andremove one of the "wetlands"

6. Put the photos/pictures the map showing where they found thecreatures.

4. Waterbirds that cannot land inside a "wetland" will die

7. When they have completed the map, ask children what kind ofcreatures they took photos of and where the creatures were found.

5. When there is only one piece of "wetland" left, the waterbirds canonly fly back to the same place.

8. Let children know that there are many creatures living in the mudflat
and how these creatures interact with each other and our lives.

60

61

Teaching tips:• In this game, each kid acts
as a "migratory bird" (canbe waterbird or landbird),
each Hola hoop or rope
circle serves as a piece of"wetland" or "forest". The"animal" and the "habitat"
can change according to
the purpose of the game,they can be• For primary school kids,
teachers can use thefollowing article in thegame. At the end of thegame, the teachers should
ask the kids again to recall
all the threats they, as abird, has encountered.
• For "threats" to wetlands
and birds, refer to pg. 44-45

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Activity 4. Food Chain Game

Activity 5. Food Chain Game

Paper, Stone and Scissors

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Part C. Activities

Learning
Objectives

Learning the basic concepts of food chain

Target Age

Over 6

Indoor / Outdoor

IndoorResources

N.A.

Time required

10 - 20 mins

Organization

Whole class activity• Teachers need to firstly
introduce there aredifferent creatures in ahabitat, so that the kids
knows the creatures before
the game (Use Activities 1&2)

1. Intorduce the 4 typical creatures introduced above "Planktons","Crabs”, "Spoon-billed Sandpipers" , and "Raptors" to demonstrate a
simple food chain on a wetland
2. At the beginning of the game, all children are acting "Planktons".
3. Play "Paper, Stone and Scissors" game and winners will be "Crabs".
4. Winners act like Crabs
5. Play "Paper, Stone and Scissors" game and winners "Crabs" will be"Spoon-billed Sandpipers".
6. Winners act like Spoon-billed Sandpipers. Loser will go back to be"Planktons".
The Activity

Teaching tips:

7. Play "Paper, Stone and Scissors" game and winner "Sandpipers" willbe "Raptors".

Appendix

8. Loser "Spoon-billed Sandpipers" will be "Crabs", loser "Crabs" will be"Planktons".
9. Continue the game for 5 min. Play the part of each creature during
the game.
10. At the end of the game, children have played the part of 4 creatures,"Planktons", "Crabs", "Spoon-billed Sandpipers" and "Raptors". Divide
the children into 4 creature groups, keep playing the part of eachcreature.
11. After the game, explain that the plankton is eaten by the crab; thecrab by the sandpiper; the sandpiper,, by the raptor, and if planktons
disappear, crabs cannot live. If crabs disappear, sandpipers cannot
live. All the creatures are connected by predator and prey relationship,including humans.

62• Plankton: very small
creature, move quickly inthe water• Crab: Eat plankton andsmall creatures using its
claws.
• Spoon-billed Sandpiper:
walking on the mudflat
detecting crabs and small
creatures, using its spoon
shaped bill.

Learning
Objectives

Learning food chain and relationship of each trophic level along the foodchain

Target Age

Over 6

Indoor / Outdoor

IndoorTime required

10 mins

Organization

Whole class activity• Planktons: very small creature, move quickly in the ocean• The teacher can give moredetails of each layer of thefood chain after the game.

• Crabs: Eat planktons and small creatures using a pair of scissor-likeclaws. They usually move sideways.
• Spoon-billed Sandpipers: walk on the mudflat looking for crabs andsmall creatures, using their spoonbills.

• Raptor: Flying over the sky
look for food. They catchsmall birds.
• Food chain is complicated,
and we will be affected if
one of the living creatures
is missing. Everything isconnected.

• Teachers need to firstly
introduce there aredifferent creatures in ahabitat, so that the kids
knows the creatures before
the game

Printed worksheet (P. 76-77). Laminated cards of the 4 creatures.

Resources• Peregrine falcon: a raptor: soars in the sky looking for food. They catchsmall birds.
1. Introduce 4 typical creatures in the worksheet to children,"Planktons", "Crabs", "Spoon-billed Sandpipers", and "Raptors", kids
act like each creature as described above.
2. Ask 4 children to be volunteers and to stand facing the wall
The Activity

Teaching tips:

3. Place the food chain cards randomly on the back of the volunteers(with string or plastic tape)
4. The volunteers has to line up in order of the food chain without
talking to each other or knowing the assigned card on their own back
(They can look at the cards on the others’ back and move the person)
5. Then the volunteers have to guess which part they are in the foodchain and stand in order according to the food chain.

63• After the game, explainthat planktons are eatenby crab,s; crabs, bysandpipers; sandpipers
raptors, and if planktons
disappear, crabs cannot
live. If crabs disappear,
sandpipers cannot live.
All the creatures areconnected by predator andprey relationship, including
humans.
• Food chain is complicated,
and we will be affected if
one of them is missing.
• The teacher can give moredetails of each layer of thefood chain after the game.

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Activity 6. Game of Energy Flow

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Learning
Objectives

Demonstrate how energy flows along the food chain and theconsequences of disturbing the food chain

Target Age

Over 6

Indoor / Outdoor

OutdoorPart C. Activities

For each team: 1 plastic cups with one small hole each, 1 cup with
2 small holes each, 1 cup with 3 small holes each, number of holes
increase with more players

20-30min

Organisation

Whole class activity in teams
1. 5 children in a group and line up. Each child delivera a paper cup (thefirst child takea a cup with one hole. The second child takes a cup
with 2 holes, and so on). Each child represents a player in the foodchain
2. It is a competition for more water transferred to the bucket within thegiven time

Appendix

3. In front of the first child is a bucket with water, and one empty bucket
behind the last child of the line.
The Activity• The cups with holes
makes energy loss,
representing energy loss
along the trophic cascade.
• Be aware that somechildren may use theirfingers to block the hole

Water (to fill one bucket for each group)
Time required

Teaching tips:• The first bucket filled withwater represents the sun
Water means energy

2 buckets/group
Resources

Activity 7. Food Web Worksheet

4. When the game starts, deliver water by the paper cup from the firstchild to the last and the last child pours the water into the empty
bucket and then return the paper cup to the first child to repeat theprocess.

• The teacher can add
incidents to affect the foodchain. E.g. pesticide applied,
some insects will die andbe removed from the foodchain, which will thenbe affected; birds being
trapped, raptors died as
well.

Learning
Objectives

Learning food chain and ecosystem in the intertidal mudflat

Target Age

Over 10

Indoor / Outdoor

Indoor / Outdoor

Resources

Printed worksheet (P. 78), 2 Pencils

Time required

30-45min

Organisation

Whole class activity, working individually.

• There is not just one
answer. Considering
the relationship of eachcreature in the ecosystemand finding several answers
is a key point of in thisprogramme.

1. Provide general information of wildlife in the mudflat.
2. Observe wildlife in the mudflat with children.
The Activity

3. Provide the copy of worksheet (P.78) for each kid.
4. Let the children check the worksheet and note the predator-prey
relationships.

5. The game can be modified with situation, e.g. what if pesticide isemployed to kill the plant-eating insects? What if illegal hunting iscarried out?
6. Discuss with the children the consequences of losing a player in the
chain

64

Teaching tips:

65

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Activity 9. Food Adaptation Observation

Activity 8. The Wader Beak Race

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Part C. Activities

Learning
Objectives

Learning that different beak sizes and shapes are adapted for feeding inwetlands, and to prevent competition between species.

Target Age

Over 6

Indoor / Outdoor

Indoor / Outdoor

Organisation

whole class activity, in teams
6 buckets (adjustable depending on the number of groups)

Resources

artificial "worms" 6 worms for each group
Paper bird beaks for each group (one long and one short). The length ofthe long beak should be longer than the height of the bucket ( so that the"worm can be hooked on the beak from the bottom of the bucket)

Teaching tips:
Discuss with the children
the difficulties of taking
the worms with different
shapes of beaks: which isthe easiest? Why can’t thebird with short beaks takethe food in the third set-up?
Do you think the bird withlong and short beaks willcompete for the same foodin the wild?

Learning
Objectives

Learn about the unique features of birds for adaptation and how the beaks ofdifferent birds relate to the type of food they eat

Target Age

Over 10

Indoor / Outdoor

Indoor / Outdoor

Resources

Binoculars, Telescopes, Pencils, Worksheet(P.80), Can use video for indoor
activity

Organisation

Whole class activity, working individually.
1. Most shorebirds are uniquely adapted to living in open tidal land
which provides an abundant source of invertebrate for their food.
Provide general information of shorebird including Spoon-billed
Sandpipers.
2. Watch shorebirds at mudflats using binocular or telescope, observe theirbeaks and what they eat, how they catch the food.

1. Children are divided into groups of equal numbers per group, eachgroup given one long paper beak and one short paper beak.

Appendix

2. First set-up: let the worms be placed on the bucket which is turned
upside down. The buckets are placed about 5m away from the starting
point of the children.
3. The children line up and take turns to use the short paper beak totake one worm. Finish in 2 mins. See which group takes the highest
number of worms.
The Activity

4. Return the worms to the buckets.
5. Second set-up: Have worms placed at the bottom of the bucket (notturned upside down).
6. The children line up and take turns to use the long paper beak totake one worm. Finish in 2 mins. See which group takes the highest
number of worms.

Use the video clip of Cornell Lab of Ornithology if unable
to do outdoor observation: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=56eU3KLIKZoThe Activity

3. Provide the copy of worksheet1. Let children choose which food they
think the bird is best adapted to eat.
•

Plovers have short stout beaks. They find food on the surface of mudby their eyes and pick them up.

•

Curlews have long curved beaks. They can catch food deep in themud.

•Turnstones feed between rocks, picking out food from cracks orunder stones.

•

Great Egrets catch fish by spearing with their long sharp beaks.

7. Third set-up: now repeat the second set-up for placing the buckets
and worms, but all the teams change to use the short paper beaks.

66

67

Teaching tips:
Let children consider
why birds have different
beaks. Explain that birds
avoid direct competition in
between each species thatis why they have different
beak to catch different
foods.

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Activity 11. Colour of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Activity 10. Predator-Prey Game
Safety in Numbers

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Part C. Activities

Learning
Objectives

To learn the relationship between predators and preys and whywaterbirds like to stay in a flock• What is the differenceof the behavior of the birdwhen the raptor is present?

Target Age

Over 5

Indoor / Outdoor

OutdoorResources

4-5 tennis-size balls(ideally three the same colour and one different)

Time required

30 minOrganisation

Whole class activity• What are the benefits tothe birds in a flock?
• What is the strategy of
the raptor to hunt in a flockof birds?

1. All children stand and form a circle, they represent trees.

Appendix

2. A ball representing a bird is passed to one of the “trees”. When they
heard the organizer says "Fly", the child holding the ball has to throw
the ball towards another "tree". The ball cannot be passed to an
adjacent tree next to the previous tree.
The Activity

Teaching tips:

3. In the second round, ask one of the children to act as a raptor. The
raptor has to try to catch the "bird" in the air before it lands on a tree.
4. If the bird was caught by the raptor, the “tree” that passes out thebird is lost and change to be another raptor. The child who originallyplayed the raptor now changes to take the place of the “tree”.

Learning
Objectives

Observe the appearance of Spoon-billed Sandpipers, size andcharacteristics, colour at different stages and seasons.

Target Age

Over 5

Indoor / Outdoor

IndoorResources

Worksheet (P.75), Coloured pencils, Uncoloured Spoon-billed Sandpipers
pictures, Spoon-billed Sandpipers videos (P.45)

Time required

30 minOrganisation

Individual activity• Link this to the children’s
real life observation.

1. Provide general information of Spoon-billed Sandpipers, colour, size,
characteristics, habit, using the Story of Spoon-billed Sandpipers on
P.28.
The Activity

2. Provide a copy of uncoloured Spoon-billed Sandpipers picture(P.75)
for each children.
3. Paint the sheet using color pencils or any painting materials.

Extension
activity

Let children draw their own Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

5. In the third round, add a few more balls of the same colour to increase
excitement of the game.
6. At the last round, add one ball of a different colour to the group.

68

69

Teaching tips:
The teacher can show
them the non-breeding
and breeding plumage
differences as well as thedifferent habitats of Spoonbilled Sandpiper during thebreeding and non-breeding
seasons.

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Activity 12. Journey of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Activity 13. Storytelling Paper Flips"Sugoroku" board game

Make Your Own Story of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Part C. Activities

Learning
Objectives

Learning about the life cycle and threats of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Learning
Objectives

Learning about the life and threats of Spoon-billed Sandpipers, making story-telling flips to promotes
conservation message of Spoon-billed Sandpipers to the audience.

Target Age

Over 10Target Age

Over 10

Indoor / Outdoor

IndoorIndoor / Outdoor

IndoorResources

Large papers, Pens, Coloured pencils, Markers, Sugoroku Material (P.82-83)

Resources

Pencils, Pens, Coloured pencils, 20-30 thick white papers (size: 30cm x 40cm), worksheet 1& 2 (P.84-85)

Time Required

3 hours

Time Required

3 hours

Organisation

whole class activity

What isSugoroku?

1. Provide general information of Spoon-billed Sandpipers: colour, size, characteristics, habit, using theStory of Spoon-billed Sandpipers on P.26-43.

Sugoroku is one of the Japanese traditional board game. It has a winding track made up of cells on theboard. See example on P.82.

Talk about their life, food, habitat and migration, and what are the threats of Spoon-billed
Sandpipers are.

Approximately 5 players can play at the same time. The players take turns to roll dice and move theirpieces according to the number shown on the top of the dice. The player who first reaches the Goal
(Finish) first is the winner.

This activity can be carried out in Language lessons or Art lessons
2. Let children consider the story of Spoon-billed Sandpipers, and encourage them to tell people
aboutSpoon-billed Sandpipers.

1. Provide general information of Spoon-billed Sandpiper using the story of Spoon-billed Sandpiper on
P.26-43.

3. Make the story telling paper flips, the story telling paper flips with children.
• Consider the theme(main message), outline of the story, and characters using sheet1.

Talk about their life, food, habitat and migration, and what are the threats to Spoon-billed Sandpiperare.
2. Let children consider the story of Spoon-billed Sandpiper, write the basic story in a simple languageand divide the text into scenes.
3. Make the original Sugoroku board game of journey of Spoon-billed Sandpiper, following the story.

Appendix• Draw a winding track with cells on a large piece of paper.
The Activity

The Activity• Divide the story roughly scene by scene, using sheet2. (* Total number of scenes is dependingon the story, but approx. 15 to 20 scenes are suitable for the class. If the story is too long anddivided into too many scenes, it will takes more than 3 hours.)• Consider the pictures which explain each scene.
• Draw the draft pictures and text, narration and each characters’ line on sheet2.

• Write down “START’ and "GOAL" on the first and the last cell.

• When they have completed sheet2, draw the pictures on white paper flips following the draft
pictures on sheet2.

• Write down the text and picture describing the scene in each cell, from hatched(START) toreturn to the breeding site(GOAL).

• Paint the pictures using coloured pencils or any painting materials.

• Consider what are the essential needs of Spoon-billed Sandpiper and what are the threats toSpoon-billed Sandpiper are, and apply special rules into some cells.
For example,*Nice mudflat with lots of food. Proceed three.

• Write the text, narration and characters’ line on the backside of paper flips.
4. Play the the story-telling paper flips to the audience.
Tell the Spoon-billed Sandpipers story showing the picture flips they made, and promote theconservation message of Spoon-billed Sandpipers.

*Caught by nets on the mudflat. Back to Start.
*Flying over sea uses up most of the bird's energy resources. Lose one turn.
• Design the board with drawings using coloured pencils, markers, and any painting materials.

70

71

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Activity 14. Discussion Worksheet
What can the school group do to help Spoon-billed Sandpiper and otherwetland birds?

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Learning
Objectives

To initiate ideas of what we can do for Spoon-billed Sandpipers and ourenvironment

Target Age

Over 10

Indoor / Outdoor

IndoorResources

Pencils, Worksheet (P.75)

Time required

60 mins

Organisation

whole class activity

Teaching tips:
There are no standard
answers to the discussion
questions. Teachers canencourage more discussion
based on the answers fromthe students.

1. Provide general information of Spoon-billed Sandpipers using theStory of Spoon-billed Sandpipers.
Let the students understand the life of Spoon-billed Sandpipers,
their food and migration in the class.
3. Provide the worksheet (P.86) to each children.
Divide class into small groups. 6 to 8 children per group is apreferable size for this task.
The Activity

4. Following the worksheet,• Talk about the essential needs of Spoon-billed Sandpipers.

Appendix

Worksheets and Materials of Part C.

Part C. Activities• Let children consider whether Spoon-billed Sandpipers
can get their essential needs as mentioned above from theenvironment in your region or not.
• Talk about the most significant threats shorebirds are facing
today.
• Discuss what can the children and school do to help protectconserve wetlands and the wildlife there.
Extension
activity

Let children change each worksheet into a large poster (wallnewspaper) and give presentation to other group.

Appendix72

73

Appendix

74

Mudskipper

A Plant in Wetland

Animal Footprint

Crab

Fisherman

Part C. Activities

Small Bird

RaptorPart B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Large bird

Bird more than
one color

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

A bird eating

Whte Bird

Flying Bird

Activity 1. Nature Hunt Worksheet
Activity 11. Colour of Spoon-billed Sandpiper Worksheet

75

Activity 5. Food Chain Game Materials
Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Part C. Activities

Appendix

77
76

Activity 7. Food Web Worksheet (Answers)
Activity 7. Food Web Worksheet
Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Part C. Activities

Appendix

79
78

Activity 9. Food Adaptation Observation Worksheet

Activity 9. Food Adaptation Observation Worksheeet (Answers)

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands
Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Part C. Activities
Appendix

80

81

Activity 12. Spoon-billed Sandpiper Life "Sugoroku" Material
Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Part C. Activities

Appendix83
82

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Activity 13. Storytelling Paper Flips Wheetsheet 1

Activity 13. Storytelling Paper Flips Wheetsheet 2

Consider the Story of Spoon-billed Sandpiper’s Life

Title of the story (The name of class/group（) group (Picture）Text (narrations and lines)

The name of students:
No .
The theme of the story:

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper*Write down the most important message you want to tell to the audience through the story.
●Title of the Story●Outline of the story
No.

＜Introduction＞

Part C. Activities＜Story line＞

No.

＜Ending＞

Characters and their nameSpoon-billed sandpiper (name: 　　　　)

□□Appendix

No.

□
□
□
□
□
□

84

85

)

）

Part A.
Getting to Know Wetlands

Activity 14. Discussion Worksheet

What can school groups do to help Spoon-billed
Sandpiper and other wetland birds?

Publication information

Acknowledgement

Publisher: The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society

The completion of the teaching kit is impossible without help
from different people. We would like to give our special thanks
to colleagues and friends from different non-governmentorganizations (NGOs) from different places, especially partners
along the migratory route of Spoon-billed Sandpiper, including
Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force under East Asian-AustralasianFlyway Partnership, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), Birds
Russia, Nanjing Normal University, British Trust for Ornithology(BTO), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Ramsar
Network Japan (RNJ), Spoon-billed Sandpiper in China (Spoonbilled SandpipersC), Biodiversity And Nature Conservation
Association (BANCA), Bangladesh Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Conservation Project (BSCP), Zhanjiang Bird Watching Society, as
well as Cornell Ornithology Lab.

Address: 7C, V Ga Building, 532 Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok,
Kowloon, Hong Kong

What can we do for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper?

Phone: +852 2377 4387
Fax: +852 2314 3687

Part B. About
Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Email: hkbws@hkbws.org.hk

What are our daily necessities? What are the essential things for us?

Authors:
Vivian Wing Kan Fu(The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society)Hiroko Okamoto(Wild Bird Society of Japan)

We are grateful to have supports from many people who
contributed to this teaching kit: Dr. Evgeny Syroechkovskiy, Dr.
Christoph Zöckler, Dr. Baz Hughes, Ms. Rebecca Lee, Dr. Nigel
Clark, Minoru Kashiwagi, Sayam U. Chowdhury, Pyaephyo Aung,
Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok, Jonathan Martinez, Jing Li, Ziyou Yang,
Janice Lo, Gerrit Vyn, Jessica Wong, Karly Lau, George Jor, Yee Lai
and Alvin Hui.

Barrie Cooper

What are the essential needs of Spoon-billed Sandpipers?

Illustrator and designer:
Lam Pei (Sugar Ink) and Ivan Wong

Date of Publish: September, 2018.

Part C. Activities

All right reserved. All photographs used by permission.
Copy right: This resource may be copied for educational use only.
It may not be copied for any other purposes without prior written
permission by Hong Kong Bird Watching Society

Can Spoon-billed Sandpipers get the essential needs mentioned above in the habitat in your region?
About Hong Kong Bird Watching Society -- HKBWS is alocal civil society organization established in 1957, aiming at
promoting appreciation, research and conservation of birds andnatural environment of Hong Kong and within the region. It
was recognized as an approved charitable institution of a publiccharacter in 2002. In 2013, HKBWS became the partner of BirdLife
International.

What is the most significant threat to Spoon-billed Sandpipers in your country?

Appendix

About Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ) -- WBSJ is a conservation
NGO and BirdLife partner in Japan founded in 1934. WBSJ has over
50,000 members and donors, and 89 chapters throughout Japan.
Its purpose is to protect birds and their habitat, to encourage
more people to enjoy bird watching, and to carry on researchconcerning the status and habitat of birds.

What can we do for Spoon-billed Sandpipers and other wetland wildlife

8687

Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Teaching Kit
for school teachers and education leaders

References
1. International Crane Foundation Education Resources: https://www.savingcranes.org/education/
2. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species – Spoon-billed Sandpiper:
www.iucnredlist.org/details/22693452/0
3. The Hong Kong Wetland Park: http://www.wetlandpark.gov.hk/tc/index.asp
4. Ramsar Convention: https://www.ramsar.org/
5. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). 2007. Education for BirdLife – Experience sharing (Simplified Chinese Version).
The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society. Hong Kong S.A.R.
6. Saving the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. www.saving-spoon-billed-sandpiper.com/
7. Spoon-billed Sandpiper Fact sheet by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=2536
8. Wild Bird Society of Japan. 2014. Barn Swallows Observation Guide. 							https://www.wbsj.org/activity/event/greenholiday/swallow-guidebook-en/
9. Explore the world with shorebirds (The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)