Saline Lakes & Shorebirds: Meet Max Malmquist
Meet one of our extraordinary partners on our Wetlands and Waterbirds project, Max Malmquist!
Over his past four years working as Outreach Associate with National Audubon Society’s Saline Lakes Program, Max says his personal interest in shorebirds has grown exponentially. “While I love all birds, shorebirds and their diversity never cease to amaze me and have a special place in my heart. Shorebirds have adapted in so many unique ways, from unbelievable migration strategies to incredible diversity in physical attributes.”
Of the dazzling array of bird species at Great Salt Lake, Max has a particular love for the Pectoral Sandpiper. “Although they are only about 9 inches long,” Max says, “Pectoral Sandpipers are true juggernauts of migration with annual flights of up to 19,000 miles, from their wintering grounds as far south as the southern tip of South America, and their breeding grounds in the coastal arctic tundra.”
Pectoral Sandpipers are uncommon in the spring, but Max says his team sees them every fall during their southward migration at Great Salt Lake. “It is always a treat to see these amazing fliers during their long journey.”
While he loves seeing the birds themselves, Max is also passionate about inspiring this wonder in others. “The best part of this work,” he says, “is getting to share my passion for birds with others.”
Unfortunately, populations of the birds Max is dedicated to have declined by about 70% since the 1970s and are facing an array of threats as Great Salt Lake habitat rapidly disappears. These realities are part of what fuels his passion for what he does. “Understanding how shorebird distribution and populations have changed in the region,” he says, “and what habitat needs will help them thrive, is important to me both on a personal level. But it’s also vital to our work moving forward.”
Sageland Collaborative is grateful to work in with partners like Max to monitor and conserve shorebirds in Utah and beyond. "Partnerships are vital to my work and the work of our program,” says Max. Working across vast and diverse ecosystems, watersheds, and landscapes, he says that strategic coordination with partners and stakeholders is key to success.
In his position, Max has the unique opportunity to collaborate with diverse organizations, state and federal agencies, and communities. “While we all look at the world through a different lens,” he says, “protecting birds and their habitats brings us all together.”
Despite the difficulties of a shrinking Great Salt Lake and the looming loss of brine shrimp and brine flies for birds who depend on the lake, Max takes solace in getting to interact with the species he loves so much while he can. “In July of 2020,” he reflects, “I was doing a survey on Great Salt Lake and saw a single flock of over 100,000 murmurating Wilson’s Phalaropes. It turns out that the reason they were all flying was that they were being hunted by a Peregrine Falcon! The Peregrine was able to catch a phalarope in mid-air, but seeing such an incredible congregation of one species of shorebird was something I will never forget, and something you can only really see at places like Great Salt Lake.”
Thank you, Max, for all you do for Great Salt Lake and for shorebirds!
Max is the Outreach Associate for National Audubon Society’s Saline Lakes Program, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He works closely with partners in Utah, Nevada, Oregon and California to help conserve and protect terminal or saline lake ecosystems that are invaluable to the health of both birds and people.