Chinese Egrets flew 1,215 km for 1 night from Korea to Taiwan

노랑부리백로, 1박2일 1천215㎞ 날아 대만 갔다

송고시간 | 2019-11-11 09:47

국립문화재연구소, 위치추적기로 두 마리 월동지 이동 경로 확인

"평균 시속 50여㎞…한 마리는 대만 거쳐 필리핀으로"

Chinese Egrets flew 1,215 km for 2 days and 1 night form Korea to Taiwan

National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage confirms two wintering routes by location tracker

"Average 50 kilometers per hour… a bird goes through Taiwan to the Philippines" 

Traveling Route of Chinese egrets

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Two migratory Chinese Egrets were fed on the southwestern coast of the Korean peninsula and flew an average of 50 kilometers per hour to settle in Taiwan and the Philippines respectively to spend winter there. 

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage unveiled the winter route confirmed through a location tracking device attached to two egrets born in Chilsan-do Island, Yeonggwang-gun County, Jeollanam-do Province last May. 

The bird, whose identification number is 'nhc1902', left the tidal flat near Haenam,  Jeollanam-do, on January 29, traveled 1,215 km after passing over Jeju Island at an average speed of 54 km to arrive at a coastal wetland of New Taipei City in northeast Taiwan the next day. 

The other egret (number nhc1904) departed from a tidal flat at Gochang, Jeonbuk Province on the 30th of last month, and flew 1,477 kilometers at an average speed of 51 kilometers per hour to reach Tainan, Taiwan the next day. Afterwards, it flew another 1,340 km on the 1st and reached the estuary of the Santo Tomas River in the Philippines on the 2nd.

It is widely known that in winter, egrets migrate to the warmer southern regions, but it is the first time that the exact route and speed are known.

The device used to track the birds is domestically developed WT-300, a GPS-mobile communication system based wildlife tracking device. The solar charging system tells the birds' location every four hours. 

Chilsan-do

Only 2,600 to 3,400 Yellow-billed Egrets are known to have survived in the world and they are a species that needs protection.

The body is about 55cm long and the whole body is white. In April-June, the bird nests with dry branches on dry bare ground and lays 2-4 eggs. 

In Korea, Chilsan-do and Ongjin Shindo Islands are their breeding grounds. However, Chilsan-do suffered from bad weather such as sea breezes and 30,000 black-tailed gulls, which caused plants to die and soil lost. 

Chilsan-do

Afterwards, the Institute plans to release the egret dml migration route through the natural monument ecological guidance service' (gis-heritage.go.kr). 

Kang Jung-hoon, a researcher from the Institute, said, “The birds that have traveled to Taiwan and the Philippines are still young and are unlikely to come back next year.” "We will establish efficient management plans for the breeding and wintering sites at Chilsan-do. "