Today was our only scheduled attempt for Chinese Crested Tern on Shanyutan Island to the north or Changle. Chinese Crested Tern is thought to have a total population of fewer than 100 birds. For many years it was only known from a few specimens collected prior to 1937, and a small number of, mainly unconfirmed, […]
Tag: Black-faced Spoonbill
South-East China – 24th April (Day 3)
Our first full birding day and we were raring to go, we were up at 05:00 and into the bus by 05:30 we were on site at the Dongtai seawall by 05:45 where we had breakfast of banana, Snicker’s bars and various bread with hot sweet coffee on the seawall. Scanning during our breakfast produced […]
One in 8 Bird Species Is Threatened by Extinction
A new report finds one out of every eight bird species is now facing the threat of extinction. What led to this and, crucially, how can we save our birds? The organization BirdLife International authored the comprehensive analysis, called the 2018 State of the World’s Birds report. The report uses population data from many of […]
Land reclamation threatens extremely rare spoon-billed sandpipers in China
One of the world’s rarest birds — the tiny spoon-billed sandpiper— could soon lose a critical habitat to land reclamation projects, warns a new report by Greenpeace. Every year, the reddish-brown spoon-billed sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) makes a 5,000-mile long journey, flying from its breeding grounds in Arctic Russia to its wintering sites in places like southern […]
Record Black-faced Spoonbill count, despite deteriorating habitat
The annual International Black-faced Spoonbill Census recorded 3,356 individuals in January 2016, an increase of 2.6% from the last year’s 3,272 individuals, and a record recent count for this Endangered Asian waterbird. An annual census of Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor has been ongoing since 2003. This year’s census was held on 15-17 January, with the […]
August Migrant Shorebirds
I visited Daijyugarami, Saga prefecture, last Friday to see what birds had started migrating through. The highlights were a solitary juvenile Asian Dowitcher, a Long-billed Dowitcher in breeding plumage, a Red Knot also in breeding plumage, a Broad-billed Sandpiper, a Long-toed Stint, four Black-faced Spoonbill, one Saunders’s Gull, a few Black-tailed Godwit and plenty of […]
Saunders’s Gull (Chroicocephalus saundersi)
Yesterday morning I visited Daijyugarami for the first time this year. A little early for the rarer migrant waders, but there were plenty of Grey Plover, Red-necked Stint, Dunlin, Kentish Plover and Greater Sand Plover. There were also quite a few Black-faced Spoonbill slowly coming into breeding plumage, along with a sprinkling of Far Easter […]
Winter Visitors to Isahaya
December has seen the arrival of the final phase of wintering visitors to the Isahaya area. This winter has seen a drop in the number of raptors, however there appears to be an increase in the density and diversity of other species.