Black-faced Spoonbill was recorded for the first time outside Dongzhai Port in Haikou

Recently, black-faced spoonbill appeared in the west coast area of Haikou. Photo by correspondent Chen Song.

Recently, the black-faced Spoonbill, a national Class I protected animal that has the same status as the giant panda among birds, appeared in a wetland in Longtouxia Village, Xixiu Town, Xiuying District, Haikou City. According to industry experts, this is the first time that black-faced Spoonbills have been recorded in an area outside Dongzhai Port in Haikou, and it is also the first batch of black-faced Spoonbills to winter in Haikou this year.

The black-faced Spoonbill is a globally endangered species, and its most distinctive external feature is a long, flat, spoon-like beak resembling a lute. According to the results of the 2024 Global Simultaneous Census of black-faced Spoonbills released by the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, a total of 6,988 black-faced Spoonbills were recorded, an increase of 5.4% over last year. In Haikou, black-faced Spoonbills have been found wintering in Dongzhai Port for seven consecutive years since 2017.

The black-faced Spoonbill was discovered at noon on November 16 by Yuan Yuan, a bird-watching enthusiast in Haikou. Yuan Yuan introduced that Longtouxia Village has a wide wetland with abundant water and grass, which is an important migration transit station and wintering resting place for migratory birds in the west coast area of Haikou, so it is also a popular bird-watching spot favored by bird watchers. At noon on the 16th, there were two black-faced Spoonbills in the wetland, and the young black-faced Spoonbills were bathing in the water.

Lu Gang, director of Haikou's Duotan Wetland Research Institute, said it is the best season for black-faced Spoonbills to relocate. According to previous monitoring, black-faced Spoonbills would migrate between Dongzhai Port in Haikou, Lingao Xinying Wetland, Danzhou Bay and Dongfang Black-faced Spoonbills Reserve, that is, on the west coast of Hainan, that is, the route to the west of Dongzhai Port. If there is a suitable habitat for them, black-faced Spoonbills are likely to stay. (Reporter Xi Jihong)