The number of black-faced spoonbills migrating to Taiwan during winter decreased by 23.39 percent last year, most likely because of shrinking food sources, officials of the Chinese Wild Bird Federation said on Saturday.
The black-faced spoonbill, classified as an endangered bird species by the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法), is found in East Asia and Southeast Asia. The spoonbills typically migrate to Taiwan in October, where they winter until March.
The number of black-faced spoonbills migrating to the mouth of the Tsengwen River (曾文溪) in Greater Tainan steadily increased from 2005 to 2009, but it dipped sharply last year, from 1,671 to 1,280, the federation said.
Taijiang National Park has speculated that the drop in spoonbill migration might be caused by a waning milkfish population, Chinese Wild Bird Federation president Cheng Chien-Chung (程建中) said.
However, further observation is needed to determine the cause of the declining populations, Cheng added.
Milkfish farming has been shrinking as farmers choose to focus more on the production of grouper because of its higher economic value, Cheng said.
Cheng said subsidies for milkfish farms should be used to provide an additional source of food for the black-faced spoonbills.
For example, he said the Taijiang National Park has set up a milkfish farm on National Tainan University’s Cigu (七股) campus to help provide food for the spoonbills, which feed mainly on small fish and shrimp.
Last year, all global surveys of black-faced spoonbill populations recorded declines, Cheng said.
Reports from Vietnam and China indicate that economic development has significantly reduced the areas of mudflats in coastal regions, making it difficult for the birds to survive, since their natural habitat is in intertidal regions, Cheng added.
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