Pavel writes: The Red Knot breeding population in Meinypil’gyno, only 10-12 pairs, is unique in that the birds breed on the coastal plain rather in the mountains and higher ground, as does the rest of the known population. It is likely the southernmost breeding site for this species i

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Liz Brown writes: As we approach the time when the first spoon-billed sandpipers will begin to nest, it is becoming increasingly important to test all the equipment that we will use with their eggs.  This led the WWT team to conduct a field test of the three different portable incubat

Christoph writes: The nice weather that allowed Sayam to join our team did not last. We are back to fog and cold wind and the snow piles in the village have still not melted. But all this does not seem to deter our SbS. We encounter daily displaying pairs and singing males all over th

Richard Smith writes: After the fog of the day before, on 6 June the sun quickly burned through the clouds and turned the day into a real scorcher. Most people headed into the hills in small groups to try a pin down some more SbS territories. But it was so warm most creatures were in

Sayam writes: I was sitting on a boat under the full moon in the mudflats of Myanmar when Christoph invited me to join the 2012 Spoon-billed Sandpiper expedition to Chukotka. Saying ‘yes’ immediately was the easy part, as the Spoon-billed Sandpiper has a precious place in my heart. Th

Karin writes: After several straight days of fog, frost, flurries and snow, which dusted the hills yesterday morning, today was like the first day of spring. The skies turned blue, clear, sunny, and warm – that is, until the sea fog rolled in an hour ago. In the moraine hills, t

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Waking to freezing fog, nobody wanted to go out. By noon I needed fresh air so I worked my way along the hills overlooking the lake. By 16.30, I had walked 9km and seen nothing. A calling Spoon-billed Sandpiper broke my duck but the walk home seemed destined to be long and cold. After

Christoph writes: It is always fascinating to see a pair of Spoon-billed Sandpiper displaying and chasing each other across the sparse tundra vegetation, despite a very reluctant spring and conditions that are still very cold. It is also reassuring to see these fragile little creature