Results of a survey for waterbirds in the lower Yangtze floodplain, China, in January-February 2004

A total of 515,896 waterbirds of 82 species was counted during a comprehensive, simultaneous count in the lower Yangtze River floodplain, conducted during late January to early February 2004. Most of the important wetlands between the Three Gorges Dam and the Yangtze estuary, a distance of 1,850 km, were visited. Ducks, geese and swans were most abundant, comprising 66% of waterbirds counted, followed by shorebirds (17%), gulls (7%), and egrets and herons (5%). The ten commonest species were Bean Goose Anser fabalis (79,758 individuals), Swan Goose Anser cygnoides (60,886), Dunlin Calidris alpina (40,709), Common Teal Anas crecca (36,483), Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus (32,114), Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus (30,925), Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons (25,241), Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha (22,562), Falcated Duck Anas falcata (18,364) and Lesser Whitefronted Goose Anser erythropus (16,937). These ten species comprised 70% of the total waterbird count. Twenty-three species were found in internationally important numbers at one or more sites. Very high proportions of the estimated world populations of six globally threatened species were found (Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana, Swan Goose, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Siberian Crane Grus leucogeranus,White-naped Crane G. vipio and Hooded Crane G. monacha).The numbers of Swan Geese and Lesser White-fronted Geese counted exceeded the current global population estimates for these species. High proportions of the estimated flyway populations were found for Black Stork Ciconia nigra, Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia and Tundra Swan, and for the global population of the Falcated Duck. A total of 33 sites were identified at which at least one waterbird species was recorded in internationally important numbers. Nineteen sites supported at least one species in numbers exceeding 5% of the global or flyway population, and some sites supported several, with Poyang Hu NNR (eight species >5%), Shengjin Hu (five), East Dongting Hu (four), Nanjishan (three) and Cai Zi Hu (three) holding the most.Three important regions within the lower Yangtze River floodplain were identified: (1) Poyang Hu; (2) Dongting Hu; and (3) Shengjin Hu and the lakes of the Anqing Yangtze River Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve. Waterbird populations are reported to have declined in recent decades owing to hunting pressure. It is very important to establish a programme to monitor waterbird numbers within the lower Yangtze River floodplain.