Common sandpiper
| Common sandpiper | ||||||||
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Common sandpiper ( Actitis hypoleucos ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||
| Actitis hypoleucos | ||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
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The common sandpiper ( Actitis hypoleucos ) is a monotypical species of bird from the family of snipe birds (Scolopacidae), which breeds exclusively in the Palearctic . In Central Europe the common sandpiper is a widespread but not very common breeding and summer bird.
description
A fully grown sandpiper can grow up to 22 centimeters and a wingspan of up to 40 centimeters. It weighs 40 to 80 grams. This makes the sandpiper smaller than the wood sandpiper and also differs from this species in the characteristic white wedge markings under the white breasts. There is no sexual dimorphism .
The belly is white and the top is patterned in splendid brown with a fine dark brown scribble and arrowhead drawing as well as irregular banding. In the resting dress, the top of the body is more uniformly olive brown. The eyes are black and the relatively short legs are pale yellow. It has a medium-long beak, which is dark brown in all clothes with a light orange-brown root and a dark eye stripe.
The sandpiper flies fairly fast, steadily and low over the water. The wing beats are quick and short and the wings are bent downwards. The flight is usually accompanied by high-pitched calls that sound like hi-di-di . In flight, the brown rump, the white banded tail sides, a striking white wing band and the whitish arm wings are clearly visible. Just like flying, it can swim and dive up to a meter deep for up to 20 seconds. On the floor he bobbles and kinks up and down with his elongated rear body.
habitat
The distribution area of the sandpiper stretches from southern and western Europe across all of Eurasia to Japan and the islands of Southeast Asia.
From April to October the long-distance migrant spends his time in almost all of Europe (except Iceland ). It winters from the Mediterranean to South Africa .
The common sandpiper occurs in a breeding area that ranges from the steppe and desert zone to the temperate zone to the boreal and mountain forests to almost the snow line and the arctic tundra. Its height distribution ranges from the lowlands to altitudes of 4,000 meters. It often lives on rivers and streams , but still waters are used. It breeds on loosely overgrown river gravel banks but also in steep mountain rivers. It prefers a firm, sandy subsoil with a well-developed herbaceous layer and small open gravelly areas. But it can be found on loose driftwood alluvium. As a migrant, he can be found in inland waters of all kinds. For a short time it can then be observed in the smallest of pools and puddles. Artificial waters such as fish ponds, reservoirs or quarry ponds are also used by him. He also uses rocky and gravel coasts by the sea.
nutrition
The common sandpiper feeds on insects and spiders . In addition, small crustaceans and molluscs are still on the menu and are pecked out of the shallow water with their beak . It primarily locates its prey visually. It wades in shallow water less often than the similar species of the genus Tringa , but prefers to stay on the damp bank.
Reproduction
Common sandpipers reach sexual maturity in their second year of life. They lead predominantly a monogamous seasonal marriage. In Germany they reach their breeding grounds at the earliest in the beginning of April.
There is some evidence that the breeding ground is established by the female. The nest is a hollow in the ground that is padded with parts of plants . The hollow is scratched by both parent birds. It is built on islands or close to the shore, well hidden in the thick vegetation. It is usually located on completely dry ground and is a maximum of fifty meters from the water. As a rule, however, it is much closer to the water. Laying begins in Central Europe at the beginning of April at the earliest, the main laying time falls in May. New clutches are observed until the beginning of June. The female usually lays four, 35 mm eggs . The eggs are relatively large and have a pointed top shape. The base color of the shell is pale brownish with brown spots and small to medium-sized red-brown spots. Both parent birds are involved in the breeding, the breeding period is between 21 and 22 days. Like many other snipe birds, common sandpipers show a temptation , mostly this behavior can be observed in the female. The young birds can fly up from their 15th day of life and are fully capable of flying from the 21st day of life. The breeding success is relatively low. Studies in Great Britain have shown that only between 24 and 35 percent of the hatched young fledge.
Duration
Current inventory and inventory development
The European population is estimated at 720,000 to 1,600,000 breeding pairs at the beginning of the 21st century. There are significant breeding stocks in Fennoscandinavia with 300,000 to 575,000 breeding pairs and in Russia with 350,000 to 900,000 breeding pairs. In Central and Southwestern Europe the common sandpiper is only very poorly distributed. The breeding population is a maximum of 2,600 to 4,600 breeding pairs. The main area of distribution is in the Alps, where it occurs up to an altitude of 1,800 meters, in the Sudetes, as well as the Carpathians and parts of the Rhine Valley.
In Central Europe, the stocks have continuously declined since the 19th century, so that in many regions only a few residual deposits have remained. The breeding success of these partially isolated residual populations is too low to ensure continuity without immigration. In comparatively undisturbed and natural water bodies, especially in alpine and sub-alpine areas, the stocks have been largely stable for decades. In some Central European regions there are also increases again. The common sandpiper has resettled in the Netherlands since the 1990s. It breeds in newly created protected areas along rivers. In parts of Hungary and Slovakia, too, it has been shown that, for example, it colonizes newly created opencast mining waters and reservoirs very quickly.
One of the main causes of danger to the river bank walker is the destruction of its habitat through river regulation and canalization, making it navigable or using it for energy purposes with overflows. As a result, it loses its breeding grounds on the gravel banks. Water sports, swimming, anglers and campers also cause disruptions during the reproductive season.
In the Red List of Germany's breeding birds from 2015, the species is listed in Category 2 as critically endangered.
Inventory forecasts
Like many other snipe birds, the common sandpiper is one of the species that will be particularly affected by climate change. A research team that, on behalf of the British Environmental Protection Agency and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, examined the future distribution of European breeding birds on the basis of climate models, assumes that by the end of the 21st century the range of the common sandpiper will increase by around 25 percent will shrink and move north. In contrast to a number of other snipe birds, the species will continue to belong to the breeding bird population of Central Europe . Potential new areas of distribution will arise due to climate change on Iceland, Svalbard and Novaya Zemlya , but they cannot compensate for the loss of area, especially in southern and eastern Europe.
The brood populations on the territory of Germany increased again in 2014 for the first time in at least 25 years, according to reports submitted by the German government in April 2014 on the state of nature.
supporting documents
literature
- Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds. Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 .
- Peter Colston , Philip Burton: Limicolen - All European wader species, identifiers, flight images, biology, distribution. BlV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-405-13647-4
- Simon Delany, Derek Scott, Tim Dodman, David Stroud (Eds.): An Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia. Wetlands International , Wageningen 2009, ISBN 978-90-5882-047-1 .
Web links
- Actitis hypoleucos in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on December 23 of 2008.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Actitis hypoleucos in the Internet Bird Collection
- Entry at the Swiss Ornithological Institute
- Age and gender characteristics (PDF; 5.5 MB) by J. Blasco-Zumeta and G.-M. Heinze (engl.) Hs
- Feathers of the sandpiper
Single receipts
- ↑ Delany et al., P. 346
- ↑ Colston et al., P. 206
- ↑ Delany et al., P. 349
- ↑ Colston et al., P. 207
- ↑ Delany et al., P. 349
- ↑ Bauer et al., P. 495
- ↑ Bauer et al., P. 493
- ↑ Bauer et al., P. 493 and p. 494
- ↑ Bauer et al., P. 494
- ↑ Bauer et al., P. 494
- ↑ Christoph Grüneberg, Hans-Günther Bauer, Heiko Haupt, Ommo Hüppop, Torsten Ryslavy, Peter Südbeck: Red List of Germany's Breeding Birds , 5 version . In: German Council for Bird Protection (Hrsg.): Reports on bird protection . tape 52 , November 30, 2015.
- ^ Brian Huntley, Rhys E. Green, Yvonne C. Collingham, Stephen G. Willis: A Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds , Durham University, The RSPB and Lynx Editions, Barcelona 2007, ISBN 978-84-96553-14-9 , P. 202
- ^ NABU press service, April 2, 2014: NABU number of the month. Positive trend reversal for twelve threatened bird species in Germany. NABU: Nature conservation works - if politically wanted and financed "