Of the birds recorded in Taiwan, 2,114 were spotted in Tainan, up 275 from last year; 539 in Yunlin and Chiayi, down 113 year-on-year; and 408 in Kaohsiung, a year-on-year rise of 223, according to the survey.
The global population of the endangered migratory water bird species hit a record high of 5,222 this year, a 7.4 percent increase compared with last year and the first time the number has breached the 5,000-mark since the society began the black-faced spoonbill census in 2003.
The 2021 census conducted from Jan. 15-17 found that aside from those wintering in Taiwan, 336 were spotted in Hong Kong, 1,022 in China, 570 in Japan, 82 in Vietnam, 45 in Macau, 34 in South Korea and one in the Philippines.
When the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society published its first black-faced spoonbill report in 1989, among the global total of 288, 150 were spotted in Taiwan.
From 2015 to 2021, the population of the species recorded in Taiwan has breached the 2,000-mark for seven straight years, showing that the country is a major wintering area for the species.
