Conservation and Management

Shooting And Trapping

Many observers in the early twentieth century believed that market-driven hunting was causing population declines (Forbush 1912, Stone 1937, Kumlien and Hollister 1951). Lesser Yellowlegs were a popular game species at that time and large numbers were harvested regularly at many migration stopover and wintering sites, including Long Island, NY (Nichols and Harper 1916); Cape May, NJ (Stone 1937); Puerto Rico (S. Danforth in Bent 1927); Bermuda (S. Reid in Bent 1927); Barbados (Hutt 1991); Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile (Wetmore 1927). Reports of 20–106 birds killed with single shots (Forbush 1912, Bent 1927). Shorebird hunting declined throughout North America after passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1927. As recently as 1991, however, several thousand Lesser Yellowlegs were still being shot annually for sport in Barbados (Hutt 1991). A few birds were shot illegally each fall (1976–1989) at a site in British Columbia (C. Siddle in litt.). Several recent observations in Alaska and British Columbia of crippled birds or birds missing feet and legs (TLT, C. Siddle in litt.); unclear if attributable to hunting, but decades ago in Argentina, Wetmore (1927) concluded that Lesser Yellowlegs with broken and missing legs were hunting casualties.

Pesticides And Other Contaminants

Birds that use estuaries, flooded agricultural fields, and sewage lagoons may be exposed to contaminants. Several oiled Lesser Yellowlegs, some unable to fly, observed at an inland site in British Columbia between 1976 and 1989 (C. Siddle in litt.). Tissues of fall migrants collected from 1979 to 1985 in Peru (n = 10 birds), Ecuador (n = 3), and Costa Rica (n = 8) contained elevated levels (>1.00 parts per million [ppm] wet weight) of the organochlorine DDE (a metabolite of DDT), whereas 9 birds from Suriname had low levels (0.01 ppm). (Fyfe et al. 1990). Twelve birds were found dead of aldrin-dieldrin poisoning in rice fields on the Texas Gulf coast during a 5-yr (1967–1971) study of effects of rice seed treated with the organochlorine aldrin (Flickinger and King 1972). Tissues from several birds collected at Corpus Christi, TX in the winter of 1976–1977 contained relatively high levels of selenium, a heavy metal known for its deleterious effects on waterbirds, and relatively low levels of other heavy metals and organochlorines (White et al. 1980). Lesser Yellowlegs in Suriname foraged in rice fields where molluscides, insecticides, and herbicides were applied regularly; no immediate effects detected in a recent study (Hicklin and Spaans 1993). More information needed.

Ingestion Of Plastics, Lead, Etc

No information.

Collisions With Stationary/Moving Structures Or Objects

A few young chicks crushed by vehicles as parents led them across busy streets in Anchorage, AK; parents also at risk as they attacked fast-moving vehicles. One downy chick retrieved alive from a storm sewer from which it could not escape (TLT).

Degradation Of Habitat: Breeding And Wintering

Human development can result in either direct loss (e.g., wetland drainage) or alteration (e.g., road construction) of natural breeding habitats. Effects of habitat loss or alteration on breeding have not been studied. However, Lesser Yellowlegs will use roadsides, seismic lines, and agricultural fields as nesting sites, suggesting species can adapt to habitat change (Campbell et al. 1990, TLT). The value of altered habitats to breeding birds likely depends on whether adjacent wetlands remain intact (T. Randall in Bannerman 1961). However, birds using some altered habitats may have lower reproductive potential. For example, a nest in a stubble field near Edmonton, Alberta, was apparently destroyed when the field was plowed (W. Griffee in WFVZ Nest Record data). Many wetlands along migratory routes and in wintering areas were destroyed or manipulated in early 1900s, and many remaining wetlands still vulnerable today (e.g., Weber et al. 1982, Senner and Howe 1984). Effects of habitat change on migrating and wintering Lesser Yellowlegs unknown. Some recent large-scale habitat modifications may have been beneficial for Lesser Yellowlegs. For example, conversion of freshwater cattail (Typha sp.) marshes to rice fields in Suriname has attracted thousands of birds (Hicklin and Spaans 1993). Needs study.

Disturbance At Nest And Roost Sites

Birds nesting in or around towns and farms subject to disturbance by humans and domestic animals.

Human/Research Impacts

Human presence in brood-rearing areas elicits antipredator behavior from adults and, if prolonged, can put broods in danger of exposure (TLT).

Conservation Status

Not threatened or endangered; however, lack of quantitative estimates of population size and trends makes it difficult to determine conservation status of this species. From a study of trends of fall migrants on the Atlantic coast (Howe et al. 1989) and assessment of qualitative information from other areas, Morrison et al. (1994a) considered that the population is probably stable.

Measures Proposed And Taken

Since 1927, protected in U.S. and Canada under Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Numerous sites important to Lesser Yellowlegs in all seasons are protected at some level (e.g., state, federal, private) in their respective countries (Wetlands for the Americas unpubl.). Many of these are designated sites in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network; thus providing international recognition of their value to shorebirds. Several other sites that support relatively high numbers of Lesser Yellowlegs during migration and winter are currently afforded little or no official protection (Morrison et al. 1994b, Harrington and Perry 1995, Morrison et al. 1995).

Shorebirds, including Lesser Yellowlegs, can benefit when appropriate management strategies are applied to managed wetlands. For example, migrating shorebirds are attracted to wetlands that have been manipulated to produce a mosaic of saturated mud and shallow water (<5 cm deep) (e.g., Rundle and Fredrickson 1981, Weber and Haig 1996). Such habitat can be generated through gradual drawdowns of impoundments (water levels decreased by 2–3 cm/wk) or shallow flooding of agricultural fields.

Effectiveness Of Measures: The Species’ Response

No quantitative information on the effect of the North American hunting ban on population size. Lesser Yellowlegs readily use managed impoundments and flooded agricultural fields, suggesting that they can adapt to certain types of altered landscapes (Hicklin and Spaans 1993, Weber and Haig 1996).