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No abstract

A survey of numerical data from regional sources suggests that the British wintering population of Purple Sandpipers is between 14,500 and 23,000 birds, mainly concentrated in the north-east.THE PURPLE SANDPIPER Calidris maritima will winter in more northern latitudes than any other species of wader. It has an almost circumpolar Holarctic breeding distribution, and is present all year in those coastal parts of this range which remain ice-free in winter. Elsewhere it is migratory, and the wintering range extends south to 45°N (Voous 1960). It is a strictly maritime species in winter and occurs mainly on rocky shores. Because it is seldom found on muddy estuaries, its winter population in Britain has remained largely undocumented by the Birds of Estuaries Enquiry being sponsored by the British Trust for Ornithology, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Wildfowl Trust (see Prater 1977). In an attempt to fill this gap in our knowledge, an investigation was made into the distribution of Purple Sandpipers in Britain, and the results are reported here. The main aims were to estimate the size of the wintering population and to identify the more important stretches of coastline in Britain for this species.