Collaborative effort
The 2011 International Black-faced Spoonbill Census has found a large decrease in the known wintering populations since last year’s census. Overall numbers fell from 2,347 birds in January 2010 to 1,848 in January 2011, a decline of 21%. The black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor) is currently considered as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It was downlisted from Critically Endangered in 2000. The census covered many coastal wetland areas in East Asia, including western Japan, the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, the east and south China coast, including Taiwan and the Hainan islands, the northern part of Vietnam, and scattered sites in Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines. The census was very much a collaborative effort, with help given by BirdLife Partners in Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan and by the BirdLife programme offices of Vietnam and Cambodia.
Historical decrease
As in previous years, the biggest wintering population was recorded in Taiwan, but it was here too that the largest drop in numbers was seen, from 1280 in 2010 to 843 (34%). The second most important wintering area, China’s Deep Bay (including both Hong Kong and Shenzhen) saw numbers fall from 462 to 411. There were small increases in Japan, Macao and Vietnam, and the species was also found at a new census site in Cambodia, but not enough to offset the major falls elsewhere. “This is actually the largest decrease in wintering numbers of this species since the census began in 1993”, said Simba Chan of BirdLife International in Asia. “It may be related to the severe winter in the northern area, and there are hints that some birds have gone further to the south. A large number of birds were seen in Taiwan earlier in the winter, but they somehow disappeared from the scientific radar. Yet no large numbers of dead spoonbills have been found.” He added that breeding success was reported to have been low in 2010.
Threats
Although numbers have improved dramatically from the known global population of 300 in 1993, the abrupt fall in this winter’s counts emphasises that this species is still at risk of extinction. Habitat destruction and degradation are still the main threats to the survival of the black-faced spoonbill.
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