Migration of Western Sandpipers: Links between their Alaskan stopover areas and breeding grounds

Thirty-two radiomarked Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri), tagged in Calif ornia and Washington, were relocated at stopover and breeding sites north a nd west of the Copper River Delta, Alaska. At Cook Inlet, Alaska, seven of the nine relocated birds were at Redoubt and Kachemak bays. Only 1 of the 1 7 birds relocated on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta had been previously detected at Cook Inlet. Detections of birds in western Alaska provide evidence that the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is the final breeding destination for many of th e birds migrating through San Francisco and other Pacific Coast areas. The Mulchatna River area, 325 km southeast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, may su pport a breeding population of Western Sandpipers.