Migration routes and important stopover sites of endangered oriental white storks (Ciconia boyciana) as revealed by satellite tracking

From 1998 through 2000, we tracked the autumnal migrations of 13 oriental white storks (Ciconia boyciana) by satellite in order to identify their important stopover sites. The storks were successfully tracked and provided data on partial (n = 4) or complete (n = 9) autumnal migration between the Russian Far East breeding sites and the wintering sites in southeastern China. Twenty-seven stopover sites were identified, the most important of which were in Tonghe Peat Moor (46.095°N, 128.942°E), Momoge Nature Reserve (45.945°N, 123.939°E), and Jiantuozhi Gley Mire (39.221°N, 118.672°E). The connected- ness between each stopover site and its surrounding stay sites was also evaluated; the results suggested that the stopover sites situated on the seashores of Liaodong Bay, Bohai Bay, and Laizhou Bay in eastern China are less connected than the others. We concluded that, among the sites studied, Jiantuozhi Gley Mire on the northern shore of Bohai Bay should have a higher priority for protection for two reasons: it is used by many storks, in common, for rel- atively long periods; and it is at higher risk of being isolated from the migration route net- work.

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