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Background

The Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) is a globally threatened species, nesting mainly in western Korea with smaller numbers breeding in Liaoning Province, China, and Far East Russia. Recent winter field surveys to estimate the species' population size were almost totally conducted in coastal areas, but tracking studies showed that some individuals now winter inland. To ensure its long-term survival, we need a more comprehensive assessment of the current distribution and abundance of the species.

Methods

We combined the most recent count data and satellite tracking information to update existing information about the population abundance and distribution of the Black-faced Spoonbill at all stages of its annual life cycle, and how these have changed during 2004–2020.

Results

Black-faced Spoonbills mainly breed on the west coast of the Korean peninsula, while immature birds show a wider summer distribution throughout Yellow Sea coastal areas, when a few remain on wintering sites in the south. Combined tracking results and mid-winter counts confirmed known wintering sites on the east and south coasts of China, but showed that the species also winters on wetlands in the Yangtze River floodplain and in Southeast Asia. During 2004–2020, counts of wintering birds in coastal habitats increased from 1198 to 4864, with numbers wintering on the island of Taiwan contributing most to the overall increase. Latest counts found 5222 in 2021. We also identify key wintering and stopover sites as well as their current conservation status.

Conclusions

This study revised the known summering and wintering ranges of the Black-faced Spoonbill and assessed the conservation status of key sites based on a combination of field survey and satellite tracking data. We recommend prioritisation of further field research to identify and survey inland wintering areas in the Yangtze River floodplain and summering areas of immature birds. More tracking of adult individuals and birds during spring migration is necessary to fill these information gaps. We also suggest establishing a Black-faced Spoonbill monitoring platform to store, share and show real-time distribution range and population abundance data.


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Migration routes, population status and important sites used by the globally threatened Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor): a synthesis of surveys and tracking studies

Show Author's information Yiwen Chen1,2,Yat-tung Yu3,Fanjuan Meng2,4Xueqin Deng2,4Lei Cao2,4( )Anthony David Fox5
School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, Hong Kong SAR, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Kalø, Grenåvej 14, 8410, Rønde, Denmark

Yiwen Chen and Yat-tung Yu are co-first authors

Abstract

Background

The Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) is a globally threatened species, nesting mainly in western Korea with smaller numbers breeding in Liaoning Province, China, and Far East Russia. Recent winter field surveys to estimate the species' population size were almost totally conducted in coastal areas, but tracking studies showed that some individuals now winter inland. To ensure its long-term survival, we need a more comprehensive assessment of the current distribution and abundance of the species.

Methods

We combined the most recent count data and satellite tracking information to update existing information about the population abundance and distribution of the Black-faced Spoonbill at all stages of its annual life cycle, and how these have changed during 2004–2020.

Results

Black-faced Spoonbills mainly breed on the west coast of the Korean peninsula, while immature birds show a wider summer distribution throughout Yellow Sea coastal areas, when a few remain on wintering sites in the south. Combined tracking results and mid-winter counts confirmed known wintering sites on the east and south coasts of China, but showed that the species also winters on wetlands in the Yangtze River floodplain and in Southeast Asia. During 2004–2020, counts of wintering birds in coastal habitats increased from 1198 to 4864, with numbers wintering on the island of Taiwan contributing most to the overall increase. Latest counts found 5222 in 2021. We also identify key wintering and stopover sites as well as their current conservation status.

Conclusions

This study revised the known summering and wintering ranges of the Black-faced Spoonbill and assessed the conservation status of key sites based on a combination of field survey and satellite tracking data. We recommend prioritisation of further field research to identify and survey inland wintering areas in the Yangtze River floodplain and summering areas of immature birds. More tracking of adult individuals and birds during spring migration is necessary to fill these information gaps. We also suggest establishing a Black-faced Spoonbill monitoring platform to store, share and show real-time distribution range and population abundance data.

Keywords: Black-faced Spoonbill, Breeding distribution, Coastal mudflats, Conservation status, Platalea minor , Population abundance, Winter distribution, Yangtze River floodplain

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 27 February 2021
Accepted: 28 November 2021
Published: 17 December 2021
Issue date: January 2021

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2021.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Hong Kong Bird Watching Society for the fieldwork and the tracking study teams for their contributions.

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