White-rumped sandpipers make one of the longest migrations of any bird, travelling from Arctic Canada to Tierra del Fuego and back, facing habitat threats throughout.
White-rumped sandpipers face welfare challenges from habitat loss at multiple points along their flyway. Degradation of key fattening sites prevents birds from accumulating the fat reserves needed for long migratory flights over open ocean. Birds attempting transoceanic crossings with insufficient fat reserves face exhaustion and death at sea. Industrial shrimp farming expansion is affecting key intertidal foraging areas on both the Atlantic coast of North America and the wintering grounds in South America.