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Birding guide Zhang Lin and Shanghai birder Jing Li set up their group 鈥楽poon-billed sandpiper in China鈥� when Mr Zhang made an 鈥榰nbelievable鈥� discovery. It brought birdwatchers and conservation scientists worldwide to the coast of Jiangsu province. Zhang found a previously unrecognised mudflat which sustained more than 100 spoon-billed sandpipers on their gruelling migration between Southeast Asia and Arctic Russia. Much loved by birders, the 鈥榮poonie鈥� is critically endangered with a mere 200 pairs left in the wild. Ann Jones hears about their concerns for the species survival from the RSPB鈥檚 Guy Anderson, and the two Shanghai birders.

Image: A spoon-billed sandpiper in its winter plumage in China. The photo was taken by Zheng Jianping, a winner of the 2008 Rare Birds Yearbook photography competition.

Credit; Zheng Jianping 漏