Four hundred sixty-eight black-faced spoonbills were counted at Tainan’s Chiku wildlife refuge on Monday. This ecological surprise greeted travelers taking advantage of Taiwan’s National Day to see the rare migratory waterbird in its natural habitat.
The president of the Tainan Ecological Conservation Association says that only a few dozen members of the distinctive species were recorded on Sunday, while the remaining 400 birds came overnight. They seem to be taking advantage of the national holiday too to begin wintering in the conservation area.
Black-faced spoonbills are one of the most famous bird species in Taiwan and one of the most endangered birds in the world. Only about 5000 birds currently remain in the wild, with about 60 % of the population wintering in Taiwan.