Migration and Wintering of Baltic Dunlins Calidris Alpina Schinzii with Known Breeding Origin

The population of Baltic Dunlins Calidris alpina schinzii is very small and is declining rapidly. To optimize conservation efforts, knowledge about the location of staging and wintering sites is crucial. As part of intensive studies on Dunlins in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany during the last 40 years, chicks and breeding adults have been marked, which has resulted in 110 recoveries during migration and winter. The majority of these recoveries are from western and northern Europe during the months immediately before and after the breeding season (21 February to 16 August), whereas there are only ten recoveries outside this period. Five of these ten recoveries, including four of six midwinter recoveries, are from N and NW Africa (Mauritania, Tunisia and Morocco). Given the relatively small probability of obtaining recoveries from these areas, the data indicate that the main wintering areas of the Baltic Dunlin are the estuaries in northern Africa, which it shares with other European and Nearctic popu...