Wetland destruction on migration routes threatens a breeding population of the endangered black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor)

Abstract

To further protect the breeding population of black-faced spoonbills (Platalea minor), it is important to understand the current conservation status of breeding distribution sites and migration routes, especially for important stopover and wintering sites of black-faced spoonbills. Six individuals were tagged with satellite transmitters at Zhuanghe, Liaoning Province, northeastern China, in July of 2017 and 2018 to identify important distribution sites during the breeding period and detailed migration routes. The results showed that Zhuanghe Bay, Qingduizi Bay and Dayang Estuary were important feeding and roosting sites for black-faced spoonbills from August to October. Jiaozhou Bay, Shandong Province, and Lianyungang and Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, were important stopover sites during fall migration, and the coastal areas of Yancheng, Jiangsu; Hangzhou Bay, Zhejiang Province; and Tainan, Taiwan of China; and the inland areas of Poyang Lake, Jiangxi Province, and Nanyi Lake, Anhui Province, were important wintering sites. This is the first study to report the inland migration routes of black-faced spoonbills in China. Our findings on the key breeding distribution sites, fall migration routes and current threats (such as aquaculture, mudflat reclamation and dam construction) have important implications for the conservation of and global action plan development for the endangered black-faced spoonbill.