Confirmed Collective Breeding of Egrets and Grey Herons on Remote Islands of 1004 Islands Shinan

Playing a Vital Role as a Clean Area and Biosphere Reserve Zone

Intermediate Egret in Flight (Photo by Sinan-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] On the 12th, Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Park Woo-ryang) announced that it has been confirmed that the Intermediate Egret and the Grey Heron, summer migratory and resident birds of Korea, are breeding collectively on Amchido, a remote island in Palgeum-myeon.

The Intermediate Egret is distributed across Asia and Australia and is a summer migratory bird that visits Korea for breeding. The Grey Heron is also a summer migratory bird found in wetlands nationwide and a winter migratory bird that visits for overwintering.

Both the Intermediate Egret and the Grey Heron inhabit rice paddies, rivers, reservoirs, and coastal wetlands, breeding together in the same locations. They mainly build nests on branches of pine and oak trees, lay 3 to 4 eggs, incubate them for 25 to 28 days, and feed on fish, amphibians, and reptiles.

Sinan-gun has been conducting monitoring to understand the arrival status of migratory birds targeting tidal flats and uninhabited islands designated as biosphere reserves and migratory bird habitats within its jurisdiction. Through this, a previously unknown collective breeding site of Intermediate Egrets and Grey Herons was newly identified.

Furthermore, the breeding scale was assessed, revealing that at least 500 pairs are breeding, including 200 pairs of Grey Herons and 300 pairs of Intermediate Egrets.

Among the heron species breeding domestically, the Grey Heron is known to start breeding the earliest. In this survey, most Grey Herons were observed with chicks hatched and being reared, while Intermediate Egrets were seen laying eggs and incubating.

In addition, the Sinan tidal flats are a region where numerous migratory birds such as the critically endangered first-class Oriental Stork, second-class Black-faced Spoonbill, Black-headed Gull, and Bar-tailed Godwit come in large numbers for breeding and overwintering.

As such, the Sinan tidal flats have high species diversity, outstanding conservation value, and ecological excellence, and are on the verge of being registered as a World Natural Heritage site.

Governor Park Woo-ryang said, “The clean area of Sinan Amhaedo tidal flats, rich in food for various migratory birds, is designated and managed as a biosphere reserve and East Asian-Australasian Flyway migratory bird habitat, and the number of migratory birds visiting here is increasing every year.” He added, “We will continue to strive for the conservation of diverse biological resources residing in Sinan and the creation of stable habitats, doing our best to achieve UNESCO World Natural Heritage registration.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.