Volunteers observe black-faced spoonbills in Futian District on Saturday. (Li Jingchuan)
SHENZHEN Bird Watching Society and Shenzhen Mangrove Wetlands Conservation Foundation (MCF) organized over 60 birdwatchers to observe black-faced spoonbills at the Shenzhen Bay area from Friday to Sunday for an annual census.
The annual census on black-faced spoonbills, globally endangered waterbirds, was spontaneously carried out in more than 100 cities around the world from Friday to Sunday. Final census results will be announced by Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, the census organizer, according to Shenzhen Evening News.
According to the first worldwide census conducted in 1994, there were only around 300 black-faced spoonbills recorded. Black-faced spoonbills were thus regarded as endangered birds and claimed as the “giant panda of birds.”
Luckily, the number of the black-faced spoonbills has steadily increased over the past 20 years.
Last year’s census showed that the number of black-faced spoonbills around the world reached 5,222, a new historical record. At the Shenzhen Bay area, the number hit 336 last year, the census suggested.
The good news is, more black-faced spoonbills have been spotted in cities in Guangdong such as Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Huizhou and Shantou in recent years. A provincial nature reserve in Lufeng in Shanwei saw an evident growing number of black-faced spoonbills, from 27 in 2004 to 258 in 2021, according to the report. (Shenzhen Daily)
