TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – More than half the world’s population of black-faced spoonbills spends the winter in Taiwan, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said Friday.

The agency helped out with the annual global census of the birds, conducted on Jan. 18-19, per UDN. The survey found the world population of the spoonbills had exceeded more than 7,000 for the first time, totaling 7,081.

Taiwan is the world’s largest hibernation area for the bird, hosting 4,169 of them during the past winter, or 34 more than the previous year. However, the total was less than the record year of 2023, when 4,288 spoonbills passed through.

More than 100 volunteers from local birder associations did the work of counting the birds. Tainan is by far the most popular area for the birds, with 2,439 registered in January, followed by Chiayi County with 701.

While overall numbers for Taiwan are not changing rapidly, there are regional differences from year to year. The presence of food plays a major role in the location of the birds.

On a global scale, Taiwan with its 58.9% of hibernating spoonbills is followed by China with 23.6%, and Japan with 10.1%. 

The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said it is offering subsidies of up to NT$10,000 (US$305) per hectare per year to fish farmers to keep water levels low. The measure would attract more spoonbills to spend time between October and April, avoiding overpopulation in other areas.