Shorebirds of the Yellow Sea

Importance, threats and conservation status
Mark Barter
Wetlands International, 2002
ISBN 90 5882 009 2

5. Internationally important shorebird sites in the Yellow Sea

Complete count of Tianjin Municipality coastline only carried out once in mid-May 2000, with good coverage of intertidal flats but limited coverage of saltpans, fish and shrimp ponds (Barter et al. 2001). Department of Biology, Beijing Normal University, conducted surveys of near-coastal wetlands from 1998-2000 (S.P. Zhang in litt..)

Internationally important species counts for Tianjin Municipality
Northward migration	Count	Ref
Red Knot	14 277	1
Curlew Sandpiper	12 489	1
Grey Plover	6 493	1
Red-necked Stint	4 285	1
Kentish Plover	3 000	2
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper	2 855	1
Marsh Sandpiper	2 425	1
Common Redshank	2 000	2
Eurasian Curlew	2 000	2
Northern Lapwing	2 000	2
Black-winged Stilt	2 000	2
Spotted Redshank	1 000	2
Little Ringed Plover	1 000	2
Asian Dowitcher	966	1

Southward migration
Kentish Plover	3 000	2
Common Redshank	2 000	2
Eurasian Curlew	2 000	2
Northern Lapwing	2 000	2
Common Greenshank	1 000	2
Spotted Redshank	1 000	2
Little Ringed Plover	1 000	2
Pied Avocet	1 000	2

Non-breeding season
Eurasian Curlew	2 000	2

Significance of site

Highest count: NM 73 553.

Supports:

17 species in internationally important numbers (NM 14; SM 8; NB 1; B 1);
>5% of the estimated flyway populations of Red Knot and Grey Plover during NM;
internationally important breeding population of 1 000 Oriental Pratincoles (S.P. Zhang in litt.);
the highest recorded internationally important numbers of Common Redshank, Red Knot, Curlew Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Northern Lapwing and Little Ringed Plover in the Yellow Sea during NM, of Common Redshank during SM and of Eurasian Curlew during the NB season.

This site probably supports >100 000 shorebirds during NM. Additional counts would probably allow additional internationally significant species to be identified and also enable improved estimates to be made of shorebird numbers during the migration and non-breeding periods.

Species count references

Barter et al. 2001
S.P. Zhang in litt.

5.3.7 Shi Jiu Tuo (Happy Island)

Site information

Location: Hebei Province, China. 39º 08' N, 118º 49' E

Area: c. 2 500 ha

Wetland type: Intertidal flats, fish and shrimp ponds.

Protected Area status: None.

Threats: Human disturbance, possible hotel development and oil exploration (J. Hornskov in litt.).

Count information

Information obtained from birdwatchers who have visited the Beidaihe-Shi Jiu Tuo region to observe bird migration.

Internationally important species counts for Shi Jiu Tuo
Northward migration	Count	Ref
Red Knot 5 000		1
Great Knot 4 000		1
Eurasian Curlew 3 400		2
Curlew Sandpiper 2 000		1
Black-tailed Godwit 1 994		2
Kentish Plover 1 838		2
Grey Plover 1 500		1
Asian Dowitcher 1 100		1
Common Redshank 800		3
Terek Sandpiper 700		4

Southward migration
Eurasian Curlew 15 000		5
Kentish Plover 5 500		5
Northern Lapwing 4 035		6
Marsh Sandpiper 3 500		5
Grey Plover 1 800		5
Black-winged Stilt 1 100		7
Grey-headed Lapwing 630		5
Eastern Curlew 500		7
Asian Dowitcher 495		5

Significance of site

Supports:

15 species in internationally important numbers (NM 10; SM 9);
>40% of the estimated flyway population of Eurasian Curlew during SM and almost 10% during NM;
>5% of the estimated flyway populations of Kentish Plover, Black-winged Stilt and Grey-headed Lapwing during SM;
the endangered Spotted Greenshank during NM and SM (maximum counts: NM: 3; SM: 8);
the vulnerable Spoon-billed Sandpiper during NM (maximum count: 2);
the highest recorded internationally important numbers of Asian Dowitcher in the Yellow Sea during NM and of Eurasian Curlew, Black-winged Stilt, Grey-headed Lapwing and Northern Lapwing during SM.

Species count references

Regulus Travel in litt.
RSPB Sabbatical Report 2002
C. Doughty in litt.
G. Carey in litt.
F. Heintzenberg in litt.
J. Hornskov in litt.
J. Kriegs in litt.

5.3.8 Linghekou

Site information

Location: Liaoning Province, China. 40º 45' N, 121º 00' E

Area: Proposed Reserve: 140 000 ha; Intertidal flats: 20 000 ha.

Wetland type: Intertidal flats, shrimp and fish ponds, and saltpans.

Protected Area status: None.

Threats: Reclamation for shrimp ponds and oil extraction, human disturbance, unsustainable fishing and oil industry pollution (Barter et al. 2000b).

Count information

Complete count of coastline carried out once, during NM, with good coverage of intertidal flats but only limited coverage of saltpans, fish and shrimp ponds (Barter et al. 2000b).

Internationally important species counts for Linghekou
Northward migration	Count	Ref
Great Knot	17 540	1
Grey Plover	2 739	1

Significance of site

Highest count: NM 34 445.

Supports:

2 species in internationally important numbers during NM;

This site probably supports >50 000 shorebirds on NM. Additional counts during NM, and counts during SM, would almost certainly allow additional internationally significant species to be identified and also enable improved estimates to be made of shorebird numbers during the migration periods.

Species count reference

Barter et al. 2000b

Before you download

Some documents are available as PDF files. You will need a PDF reader to view PDF files.
List of PDF readers

If you are unable to access a publication, please contact us to organise a suitable alternative format.

Key

Links to another web site
Opens a pop-up window

Migratory species in Australia

Shorebirds of the Yellow Sea

5. Internationally important shorebird sites in the Yellow Sea

On this page

5.3 Site Accounts (continued)

5.3.6 Tianjin Municipality

5.3.7 Shi Jiu Tuo (Happy Island)

5.3.8 Linghekou

Before you download

Key