Nesting and Disturbance of the Black-faced Spoonbill in Liaoning Province, China

Abstract

The Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), breeding on Xing-Ren Tuo, arrived from late March to April and left from mid-July to August. The summer group included breeding pairs, non-breeding adults and sub-adults, while some transient individuals were observed irregularly. After arrival, the birds slept and rested on bare rock on the seashore or cliff top. They departed before dusk to feed, returning in the early morning. Pairs formed 15 days before the first egg was laid. The copulation frequency averaged 0.38±0.18 times per hour after pairs formed, and the highest frequency occurred in the early morning. The clutch size was two or three eggs, and the incubation period lasted 26.2±1.5 days (range 25-29, N = 6). Juveniles left their nest after 30 days and could fly freely after 36 days. From 1999 to 2003, the hatching rate of 29 eggs was 86% and the survival rate to fledging of nestlings amounted to 84% of 25 hatched chicks.