Spoon-billed Sandpiper
For three years I was involved with the searches organised by Birds Russia, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Recovery Taskforce and Heritage Expeditions to try and locate new breeding sites for the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper in the Russian Far East. In 2011 we truly 'struck gold' and I was lucky enough to be leading the ground team that stumbled across two pairs of sandpipers at an unknown site. A totally unforgettable and amazing day on the Russian tundra !!!
Sadly since then we have spent many days on the tundra searching other locations but have had no further success. This really is a critically endangered bird.......
Special thanks must, however, go to those who organised the expedition, especially Rodney Russ of Heritage Expeditions who made the searches possible.
