WADER STUDIES OF THE WATERBIRDRESEARCH GROUP "KULING" IN 1983-1998 Wlodzimierz Meissner, Magdalena Remisiewicz W. Meissner, M. Remisiewicz, Dept. of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, Univ. of Gdansk, al. Legionów 9, 80-441 Gdansk, Poland; E-mail: biowm@univ.gda.pl. INTRODUCTION The Waterbird Research Group KULING was 1aunchedin 1983, as a group ofringers working within the frames ofthe Ornitho1ogica1Section ofthe Bio1ogyStudents' Circle at the University of Gdansk. From the very beginning our field activity has concentrated on waders migration and wintering of waterfow1in the western part of the Gu1f of Gdansk (Fig. 1).The first period ofthe research conducted by the group was based on students' ac- tivity, with an occasiona1 but important support of groups from Universities in Lódz, Wroclaw and Olsztyn. WRG KULING has a1waysbeen closely cooperating with the De- partment of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology of the University of Gdansk, with the main activists being students and a few - staff ofthis department. In 1996 KULING was regis- tered as a non-govemmenta1 organisation with its own constitution and a democratically elected Board. At present, in the group there are professional ornitho1ogists,students and birdwatchers from the who1eof Poland. Scientific research is our main activity. Besides studies on waders, which will be de- scribed in detai1in this paper, from 1984 onwards we have carried out month1y counts of waterfowl and ofbeached oiled birds along the coast of the Gulf of Gdansk. Since 1997we have been leading an international research programme "Tringa glareo1a2000" affiliated by the Wader Study Group. Since the registration, alongside the scientific activity, we un- dertake also some educational projects. We have prepared educational paths and popular booklets about the main naturaI clues of the area of our activity. We have also established a close cooperation with coastal Community Offices and with the Nadmorski Lanscape Park, regarding the conservational aspects of our studies. STUDY AREAS The Waterbird Research Group KULING has organised research stations in five sites on the Gulf ofGdansk (Fig. l). The Reda mouth region The fieldwork was continuously conducted in the Reda river mouth in autumn seasons of 1983-1986, 1990, 1996-1998. In the remaining seasons temporarily catching expedi- tions were undertaken (including the spring of 1984), with the exception of years