Isolated boreal populations of Temminck’s Stint and eastern Broad-billed Sandpiper in central East Siberia

Small stable populations of Temminck’s Stint and eastern Broad-billed Sandpiper were found in the southern part of the Central Yakutian Plain, in the Lena River catchment, E Siberia. This area comprises about 400 km2 and is 800–1,000 km from the nearest known breeding sites of both species’ arctic ranges. The principal wader habitats in this area are steppe-like wetlands scattered among the boreal woodlands of the mid-taiga subzone. The climatic conditions as well as both the plant and animal communities of the wetlands are very different from those in the species’ typical arctic breeding ranges though the topography is similar. Current knowledge of the geographical distribution of the species and landscapes suggests that the populations on Central Yakutian Plain are isolated from the main breeding ranges, a situation that may have existed since the last glaciation.