Poisoned black-faced spoonbill released into the wild in Chiayi

Taipei, March 21 (CNA) A black-faced spoonbill poisoned by Clostridium botulinum was recently released back into the wild in Chiayi County, making it the 13th bird to be released into the wild since 2020, the county government announced Thursday.

Shi Hui-ling (石蕙菱), head of the county's Agriculture Department Animal Science and Conservation Section, told CNA that over the past four years, the county government has rescued and rehabilitated 13 black-faced spoonbills, attaching satellite trackers to them before releasing them into the wild.

Shih added that one of the rescued black-faced spoonbills had previously been sighted along the county's coastline.

According to Shih, the most recently released black-faced spoonbill was rescued on March 9 after the Kaohsiung Wild Bird Society reported finding the bird. At the time, the society's birdwatchers were guiding a Korean birdwatching group in Chiayi's Budai Township.

During the event, they discovered a sick bird that was unable to fly, prompting them to report to the county government, which dispatched personnel to rescue the bird.

The bird was subsequently transported to the agriculture ministry's Biodiversity Research Center for treatment.

Shih further mentioned that the Korean birdwatching group assisted in the rescue, while praising relevant agencies for their prompt action.

The poisoned black-faced spoonbill was released back into the wild on Wednesday morning, Shih said.

According to data from the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation, as of November 2023, there were 3,905 black-faced spoonbills in Taiwan, representing 59.2 percent of the global population.

In addition, Chiayi was home to 1,285 of the birds, accounting for 19.5 percent of the population. In December, this number increased to 1,395, as per the data.