Building on the successful censuses carried out since 2015 by Beijing Forestry University and the China Birdwatching Association (CBA), in January 2022 the CBA will undertake the latest China-wide census of wintering Baer’s Pochard. With crucial funding support from the Changjiang Conservation Foundation, the SEE Foundation and the Zall Foundation, this important census will provide a much-needed update on our knowledge of the status of this Critically Endangered migratory waterbird.
Taking place during 8th to 23rd January, 2022, as part of the Joint-action Platform of China Birdwatching agencies, around 170 sites and sub-sites in 18 provinces will be surveyed by local birdwatching societies and nature reserve managers. In addition to information on the numbers and distribution of the wintering population of Baer’s Pochard, surveyors will also collect information to improve our knowledge of the population structure and the status of key sites.
In order to ensure that a comprehensive update of the conservation status of Baer’s Pochard can be made following this census, counts are also sought from all other countries in the flyway that hold birds during the winter, particularly Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand and regions of northeast India.
If you are able to support this census by undertaking counts or providing other relevant information, please contact the Baer’s Pochard Task Force coordinator, Richard Hearn, on richard.hearn(at)wwt.org.uk.
Prepared by EAAFP Baer’s Pochard Task Force.
Further reading:
2020 Baer’s Pochard Census Results (in Chinese): https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/hdG02oV6wuW9W8sbXwG42w
