I photographed this Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) in South Korea in 2005 (the bird on the right is a Dunlin) but this critically endangered species in now on the very brink of extinction. Their massive decline, and the decline of many other species that use the East Asian-Australasian Flyway is strongly linked to the ecological devastation of major stop-over sites (much more so than to changes on the breeding grounds or wintering grounds) as this post http://www.birdskoreablog.org/?p=16846 and this article http://news.sciencemag.org/environment/2015/10/hostile-shores discuss. This is a compelling example of the need for full life cycle monitoring and conservation planning.
The situation in the Yellow Sea is getting worse and worse: http://www.birdlife.org/asia/news/reclamation-yellow-sea-causing-serious-declines-migratory-shorebirds?utm_source=BirdLife+International+News+Notifications&utm_campaign=aa5831ba41-TOP_notifications_news&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4122f13b8a-aa5831ba41-131688241&goal=0_4122f13b8a-aa5831ba41-131688241
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