China 2014

16th Symposium, 22-25 November 2015

The 16th Meeting of the Goose Specialist Group was hosted by the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the Chinese capital Beijing from 22nd to 25th November 2014.

The Waterbird Group of the RCEES has been studying waterbirds and wetlands in Eastern China for more than ten years now and has been responsible for considerably extending our knowledge about the numbers, distribution and ecology of waterbirds and wetlands in the region. In cooperation with scientists from other countries, especially from Denmark, Russia and Australia, the group has become increasingly engaged in the serious environmental problems of the Yangtze River floodplain wetlands, which is one of the key freshwater wintering sites for waterbirds of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.

The 16th GSG-Meeting got of to a great start with a welcome reception on the evening of Saturday 22nd November, followed by two and a half days of scientific sessions.

Session of the 16th GSG-Meeting in the RCEES-Building in Beijing.

On Sunday 23rd November after the Opening Sessions, the talks concentrated on the status and monitoring of goose species. The first talk showed that currently, an estimated 22-25 million geese, divided between 59 different flyway populations, are found in the northern hemisphere, of which 68% show stable or increasing trends, 24% show declines and for the remaining 9%, the trends are unknown. Most flyway populations with unknown or decreasing trends occur in East Asia. After status reports from different flyway populations, a number of talks focused on monitoring and tracking methods as well as trends amongst different goose populations. In the evening the participants were invited to a welcome party where they were treated to Chinese culture and food.

On the next day, the meeting continued with talks about the ecology of the Greater and Lesser White-fronted Goose, the Swan Goose as well as the Brent and Barnacle Goose. In the evening the participants could relax during the conference banquet and a bus trip to the Olympic city in Beijing.

Conference picture of the participants of the 16th GSG-meeting in front of the RCEES-building.

On Tuesday 25th November, the Goose Specialist Group met again to hear talks about the ecology of the Bar-headed Goose and the ecology of the Yangtze River Basin. Subsequently the participants elected Petr Glazov as a co-chair of the Goose Specialist Group who will gradually take over the responsibilities from the current chair Bart Ebbinge. Following the proposal of the Russian members of the Goose Specialist Group, it was agreed to organise the next meeting of the GSG as a joint meeting of the Goose Specialist Group and the Russian Goose and Swan Study Group of Eastern Europe and North Asia (RGG) in Salekhard (Russian Federation) in November 2015, as in Elista in 2011. After two and a half days of talks and engaged discussions, the 16th Meeting of the Goose Specialist Group was closed in the early Tuesday afternoon.

A view of the Poyang Lake.

Many participants packed their luggage immediately after the meeting and left Beijing for a field excursion to Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve, situated in the Yangtze River floodplain. Poyang Lake, located in Jiangxi Province, is the largest freshwater lake and one of the most important wintering sites for waterbirds in China. The water level of the lake is regulated by that in the Yangtze River and the flooded area can vary between 3,500 square kilometres in wet periods and less than 1,000 square kilometres in dry periods. During high water level periods in late spring and summer, Poyang Lake is the largest fresh water body in China, but in late summer dropping water levels divides the water body into a mosaic of small and large lakes, mudflats and grassy islands. In such periods, the extended grasslands swamps and mudflats offer ideal conditions for migrating and wintering waterbirds.

During their excursion the participants saw many rare species like Siberian Cranes, White-naped Cranes, Hooded Cranes and Oriental Storks, but also more common birds like the Common Crane, Grey Heron, Night Heron, Bittern, Spoonbill, Tundra Swan, Greater White-fronted Goose, Eastern Tundra Bean Goose, Swan Goose, Little Grebe, Lapwing and Spotted Redshank.

The Goose Specialist Group thanks Cao Lei and her team of the RCEES for organizing an excellent conference and an exciting excursion to the Poyang Lake.

Birdwatching at the Poyang Lake

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