Wetlands in Tainan County still boast the world's largest number of black-faced spoonbills after 622 of the rare migratory birds were reported to have arrived for the winter so far.
According to the Tainan Black-faced Spoonbills Conservation Association, sightings of spoonbills in the area at the mouth of the Tsengwenchi (曾文溪) River alone has reached 622 so far this season, not including sightings in the nearby Chiku (七股) and Sitsao (四草) wetland areas.
The figure of 622 is the highest in Taiwan in five years, greater than the 601 recorded in 2001 and the 588 in a global black-faced population survey conducted in January this year, wildlife conservationists from the association said.
In the January survey, international wild bird experts said there were roughly 950 black-faced spoonbills worldwide, with 588 found wintering in Taiwan, mainly in the southern wetlands, and the remainder scattered among other Asian areas including Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, China and Vietnam.
According to Tainan bird watchers, the first flock of black-faced spoonbills this year arrived Oct. 7, with the number of arrivals expected to continue to increase over the next few days.
The endangered wild birds migrate from norrthern Asia to the warm wetlands in Taiwan and other lower-latitudinal countries between late September and early December. They spend the winter in the south to avoid their cold northern breeding grounds. The birds then return to the north around April or May of the next year.
The Tainan wetlands are not just an ideal habitat for black-faced spoonbills. There are about 100 other kinds of migratory wild birds staying around area.
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