Hi Tun Pin
Nice shots and story. I note with interest what appear to be a number of the
Asian race, affinis, of the Gull-billed Tern in the background of one image
taken in January 2006, over-wintering perhaps?
April 26 - the day of the closure of gates on the sea wall of the Saemangeum
"Reclamation" Project - will be a black day for nature. For those who are not
aware of this disaster, visit www.birdskorea.org/saemhome_apr2005_images.asp
(copy and paste the link in your browser if broken). The Mangyeung and Dongjin
Estuaries are signifcant staging posts for a number of migratory shorebirds. In
the case of the northern migration of the Great Knot, more than 120,000
individuals of this species visit these estuaries which will be destroyed on
April 26. This is a significant part of their total population.
As I type, most of these Great Knots are feeding/provisioning on those
mudflats, in preparation for the departure to their breeding grounds in Siberia
in coming weeks. Around 13,000 Great Knots visit these estuaries on their
southerly migration. This is the most important southern migration staging post
for Nordmann's Greenshank, as it is for Black-tailed Godwit. According to Mark
Barter's "Shorebirds of the Yellow Sea" (Published by Wetlands International
and Environment Australia), these sites are the only stop-over locations for
Spoon-billed Sandpipers and Bar-tailed Godwits in the Yellow Sea on their
southern migration. Many other species visit this site (Terek Sandpipers,
Common Greenshank, Lesser Sand Plover, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover, Dunlin,
Red-necked Stint, Eastern Curlew and Eurasian Curlew) and will be affected.
I'm having difficulty getting postings onto Birding-Aus these days but will
attempt to put up a letter of protest to the South Korean Consul General for
all to peruse and perhaps to sign as soon as I can get the posting problem
sorted.
For those who would like to write their own response to the destructive actions
of the South Korean government, here's the South Korean Consul General's
address in Sydney:
Mr Changsoo KIM
Consul General
Level 13, St James Centre
111 Elizabeth Street
Sydney NSW 2000
email:
Discover more at www.birdskorea.org/ .
Happy birding anyway
Ricki Coughlan
Sydney, Australia
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