Endangered Black-faced Spoonbill Seen in the Philippines

[dolina]

Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) by alabang, on Flickr

This is the Black-faced Spoonbill, a very rare bird reported in the news last week.

Read more about it in the link below.

Rare Black-faced Spoonbills spotted in Candaba swamp | SciTech | GMA News Online

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The Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) has the most restricted distribution of all spoonbills, and it is the only one regarded as endangered. Spoonbills are large water birds with dorso-ventrally flattened, spatulate bills.[2] These birds use a tactile method of feeding, wading in the water and sweeping their beaks from side-to-side to detect prey.[3] Confined to the coastal areas of eastern Asia, it seems that it was once common throughout its area of distribution. It has a niche existence on only a few small rocky islands off the west coast of North Korea, with four wintering sites at Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as other places where they have been observed in migration. Wintering also occurs in Cheju, South Korea, Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan, and Red River, Delta Vietnam. More recently, sightings of Black-Faced Spoonbill birds were noted in Thailand, the Philippines, mainland China, and Macau[4] They were classified as an endangered species through IUCN in 2005.[5] Declines in their population are predicted in the future, mainly due to the amount of deforestation, pollution, and other man-made industries.

The Black-Faced Spoonbill population as of 2012 census was recorded at 2,693 birds, with an estimation of 1,600 mature birds. Breeding colonies occur between March and August, on small islands. These birds are known to be crepuscular eaters, using intertidal mudflats.[4]

Conservation efforts have been made, and surveys were taken in order to determine the opinions and awareness of the local residents, residing close to the Black-Faced Spoonbill’s natural habitats.

Source: Black-faced Spoonbill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Location: Candaba, Pampanga - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Settings: 1/500 ƒ/9 ISO 100 800mm

[Grandpaw]

Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) by alabang, on Flickr

This is the Black-faced Spoonbill, a very rare bird reported in the news last week.

Read more about it in the link below.

Rare Black-faced Spoonbills spotted in Candaba swamp | SciTech | GMA News Online

===========================

The Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) has the most restricted distribution of all spoonbills, and it is the only one regarded as endangered. Spoonbills are large water birds with dorso-ventrally flattened, spatulate bills.[2] These birds use a tactile method of feeding, wading in the water and sweeping their beaks from side-to-side to detect prey.[3] Confined to the coastal areas of eastern Asia, it seems that it was once common throughout its area of distribution. It has a niche existence on only a few small rocky islands off the west coast of North Korea, with four wintering sites at Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as other places where they have been observed in migration. Wintering also occurs in Cheju, South Korea, Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan, and Red River, Delta Vietnam. More recently, sightings of Black-Faced Spoonbill birds were noted in Thailand, the Philippines, mainland China, and Macau[4] They were classified as an endangered species through IUCN in 2005.[5] Declines in their population are predicted in the future, mainly due to the amount of deforestation, pollution, and other man-made industries.

The Black-Faced Spoonbill population as of 2012 census was recorded at 2,693 birds, with an estimation of 1,600 mature birds. Breeding colonies occur between March and August, on small islands. These birds are known to be crepuscular eaters, using intertidal mudflats.[4]

Conservation efforts have been made, and surveys were taken in order to determine the opinions and awareness of the local residents, residing close to the Black-Faced Spoonbill’s natural habitats.

Source: Black-faced Spoonbill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Location: Candaba, Pampanga - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Settings: 1/500 ƒ/9 ISO 100 800mm

Are you sure this is a spoonbill? The bill doesn't look like any spoonbill I have ever seen. This one looks like it's bill is pointed.

[dolina]

Thanks Grandpaw. Yup I am sure of it. It was verified by half a dozen professional hornithologists.

[DennisT]

Rare Black-faced Spoonbills spotted in Candaba swamp | SciTech | GMA News Online.
This link describes a recent sighting in Canada.
Grandpa on close observation it appears that the angle of view in the posting does make the bill look "pointy" whilst in fact it truly is a spoonbill.

[DennisT]

Oops - predictive text error Canada should read Candaba.