The spoonbilled sandpiper in Russia is facing quick extinction by Corina Ciubotaru

The spoonbilled sandpiper is a small bird that faces extinction. It may sound unimpressive to most of us, but as all the animals of the world, it's important to the habitat and it would be really sad to see it disappear. Only 200 to 300 pairs remain in the wild and their numbers have declined by 70% during the last two years. Their main problem is loss of habitat in Russia's Kamchatcka and Chukchi peninsulas, but also in its wintering areas in South Asia, where marsh areas have been transformed into farmland. While their breeding space is becoming ever more limited, there is also the danger of foxes eating their eggs, so one option would be to create patrols that would guard nesting places. Another one would be to allow Mother Nature to reclaim some of the marshland in Asia, especially South Korea. Sandpiper spoonbills apparently mate monogamously for one season, but they are still a mystery to many researchers. It has a bill shaped like a spatula and a red-brown head; it most likely belongs to the calidrid sandpipers, but researchers aren't quite sure. Non-breeding adults aren't as lively colored and they are more of a brown-gray hue. Animal extinction is the most obvious proof that our impact on nature isn't always the best one. Whether scientists have been able to prove global warming is caused by man is still a widely disputed topic, but animals disappearing forever are a fact and it is always sad to see them go.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071012/ap_on_sc/russia_threatened_spoonbills;_ylt=Agp0ENGk4jBiHGzeSJZvqKys0NUE

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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