The small population of the Saunders’s Gull Saundersilarus saundersi is declining due to habitat loss including insufficient nesting area, vegetation change, decreasing feeding area, predation and human disturbance. The population is estimated at 14,400 mature individuals and it is therefore listed as Vulnerable under the IUCN Red List.

Saunders’s Gulls nest on the ground and are restricted to Common Seepweed Suaeda glaucasaltmarsh habitats. They winter on estuarine tidal flats with regular movements between different sites depending on weather and food supply.