Projects
The International Wader Study Group maintains contacts with many regional, national and international bodies interested in shorebird research and conservation. IWSG Projects are co-operative studies of mutual interest and include intensive studies on individual species and large-scale colour-marking studies. Below is a list of current and recent projects. If you are interested in running an IWSG Project, please contact the Projects Coordinator, Jannik Hansen (email).
Around the globe a "eureka" moment happened in 2009, when the New York Times
[1] reported the success of Prof. Bridget Stuchbury
[2] in Canada. Her successful deployment of lighter-than-ever geolocators on purple martins broadcast that finally there was an instrument small enough for waders.
These maps were donated by researchers using various analysis methods. The project name, description, and principal contact information are listed by Species. For methods information refer to their published works in the bibliography. Each map title is coded to identify Species, Project, Bird Identification and Years covered by the track.
Many species of shorebirds have been investigated using geolocators. Here is a list of some of them, where the project was located, and the contact information for someone familiar with the geolocation project.
Global Wader is intended to work as a directory and a collection of tracking studies. We record the details of the study, from the field (which species, sexes and ages; where and when) to aspects of the data, using a uniform data format across contributing studies. We encourage users to store their data in a repository, via a partnership with Movebank, and can help with uploading historical data.
Since 2016, the International Wader Study Group annually funds small projects.
The IWSG Colour-mark Register is the definitive database of all colour-marking schemes for waders in Europe and the East Atlantic flyway.
Sanderlings (Calidris alba) are long-distance migrating shorebirds that occur in intertidal areas, and particularly on sandy beaches, worldwide. They are well known as the clock-work-toy shorebird that runs in and out of the surf, but there are still many unknowns about the life of this enigmatic wader. We intend to answer those questions about the life of Sanderlings, and anyone can help us with this.
The aim of the Project was to coordinate counting of European Golden Plovers in October 2008 whilst relatively concentrated in northwest Europe. This survey followed a previous survey in 2003, plus earlier coordinated counts in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
The Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) is a common migrant at inland wetlands of Europe and Africa, yet prior to this IWSG Project, its movements had not been comprehensively studied.
