Marjorie joined the expedition primarily to study the breeding goose population in Meinypil’gyno, in particular Pacific White fronted Geese which are the most common species in the area and therefore most important to the local community as a food source during the brief spring huntin

Matthias was born in Berlin where he graduated from the Academy of Graphics, Print and Advertisement as a graphic designer. He works freelance for exhibitions, publications, graphics and thematic projects mostly for museums and NGOs. His work is often connected with the issues of natu

Thomas Noah has had his dream job for over 20 years already—working in the Spreewald National Biosphere Reserve, which covers 470 km sq in the riverine wetland where he grew up. His duties as Park Ranger include visitor education, scientific surveys and habitat management. When the fo

Roman and Sveta have been married for over thirty years and as well as also being a member of the “Friends of the spoon-billed sandpiper” in Meinypil’gyno, he, like Sveta, is crucial to the annual expeditions, organising all of the logistical transport and collection of ex

Sveta supported the expedition team ‘engine rooms’ by cooking breakfast and evening meals in her and her husband Romans’ home and prepared snacks for their lunches. She provided a home from home, even washing their dusty clothes. The team’s quad bikes and fuel were stored in container

Elena has been part of spoon-billed sandpiper conservation work since 2000 – her first year in Chukotka. She works for the Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Science and runs the database for spoon-billed sandpiper breeding records. Elena’s main area of expertise is the

Tong joined the expedition team in Chukotka to track red-necked stint migration with geolocators and study their breeding ecology, hoping some information on stint biology may benefit research and conservation of spoon-billed sandpipers as well. He also helps with survey and monitorin

This is Slava’s second year in Chukotka helping with the spoon-billed sandpiper project. Between these years, in 2015, at Northeastern Federal University in Yakutsk he defended his undergraduate thesis, entitled “The Biology of the Reproduction and Development of the Ringed Plover in

Ivan joined the project in 2014, taking over from Juriy Bragin as Bird’s Russia’s avicultural representative, forming part of the team responsible for all aspects of the husbandry of headstarted spoon-billed sandpipers. Before becoming an aviculturist, Ivan studied at the Department o

2011 was the eighth summer Egor Loktionov spent in the Arctic region participating in biodiversity conservation projects and breeding conditions surveys.