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A wader survey of the western coastline of Sarawak
Abstract
Some 34 new species were observed of which black-winged stilt Himantopus himantopus and sharp-tailed sandpiper Calidris acuminata were new records for Sarawak. -from Authors
... Tanjung Jerijeh: 2.1590 111.1580 5 m. References: Edwards et al. (1986a,b), Edwards and Polshek (1987). Edwards and Polshek (1987), Mizutani et al. (2006aMizutani et al. ( , 2007, Bakewell et al. (2017). ...
... References: Edwards et al. (1986a,b), Edwards and Polshek (1987). Edwards and Polshek (1987), Mizutani et al. (2006aMizutani et al. ( , 2007, Bakewell et al. (2017). Remarks: A temporary wader roost west of Muara Tebas town. ...
... Museums: YPM, SMK. References: Harrisson and Medway (1956), Smythies (1963), Edwards and Polshek (1987), Sim and Mizutani (2005). Sharpe (1877bSharpe ( , 1878Sharpe ( , 1892cSharpe ( , 1893b, Everett (1889), Bartlett (1896b), Fogden (1965c), Long and Collar (2002), Laverty (2011). ...
Sarawak is Malaysia’s largest state, covering most of northern Borneo. It has a remarkable history of scientific bird study, starting in the 1840s and growing ever since. To set the stage for the gazetteer, which is the core of this paper, we start with a review of this history and discuss various forces that have influenced the direction of bird research in the state. Following this introduction comes the gazetteer, which is an annotated list of c. 865 sites in Sarawak where birds have been collected, studied, or regularly observed. The gazetteer provides the latitude, longitude, and elevation of each site, and it lists publications, reports, and museum collections associated with each site. The purpose of the gazetteer is to help interested parties locate sites and investigate their research history. It is also intended to help museum curators geolocate specimens for various kinds of studies, including the assessment of bird distributions in relation to habitat change over time. A notable byproduct of the historical review and gazetteer is a bibliography of c. 750 references related to Sarawak ornithology. Another is the identification of areas in Sarawak where birds are better known and areas where they are not.
... The status of wading birds is even more poorly documented. The only systematic survey of the Sarawak coast was carried out in 1985 and that only covered the coast between Santubong and Kuala Igan (Edwards & Polshek 1987). That paper provides a detailed summary of information on wader records in Sarawak up to 1986. ...
... This species breeds in the Arctic during the northern summer and spends their nonbreeding months in the Southern Hemisphere with some over-wintering in Borneo (Smythies 1999). Pacific golden plovers made up only 0.55% of the waders recorded by (Edwards & Polshek 1987). ...
... They were not recorded on the turtle islands and are absent from long stretches of sandy coastline in Sarawak and other parts of Borneo (Smythies 1999). Only four Malaysian plovers were recorded during the extensive wader survey conducted by Edwards & Polshek (1987). They appear to prefer small bays with coraline sand and have been reported from nearly Tanjung Datu (Smythies 1999). ...
Prepared for The Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. This report records observations made during a reconnaissance survey of marine and coastal birds in Bako National Park, Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary, the TalangTalang Islands and certain adjacent coasts in August and September 2001. The objectives for this study were to assess the significance of each site to marine and wading birds, list the bird species present, estimate their numbers and to identify further conservation and research needs for these birds in Sarawak. In addition, while at Bako I made daily observations on the birds seen from the Telok Assam boardwalk and have prepared the text for an educational booklet.
... The status of shorebirds birds is equally poorly documented. The only systematic survey of the Sarawak coast was carried out in 1985 and that only covered the coast between Santubong and Kuala Igan (Edwards & Polshek 1987). That paper provides a useful summary of the little information available on the status of shorebirds in Sarawak up to 1986. ...
... The most comprehensive survey of Sarawak wading birds was carried out between 28 September and 1 November 1985 (Edwards and Polshek 1987). They surveyed the coast between Santubong and Kuala Igan, a different and larger area with a wider variety of habitats than in this survey. ...
... As might be expected they recorded a wider range of species in their survey. All wading bird species recorded in this survey were also recorded by Edwards and Polshek (1987). The only discrepancies in relative abundance were Malaysian plovers and Kentish plovers which they found to be rare in the areas surveyed by them. ...
Mangrove forests are an important feature of tropical coasts and play a crucial role in influencing the ecological health of the inshore marine ecosystem. Like their terrestrial counterparts, mangrove forests are under threat through a variety of destructive human practices. Mangroves in particular, and river mouth habitats in general are strongly influenced by land management practices in the catchments of the rivers they drain. Many fish and other marine species, including some important to commercial and subsistence fishermen are dependent on mangroves or other river mouth habitats for at least part of their life cycle. Management decisions about these ecosystems are often made without adequate knowledge of their ecology, nor are changes in the health of the catchments adequately monitored resulting in an insidious decline in fish stocks and ecosystem health.
... Asian Waterbird Census -In Sarawak, monitoring work and surveys on waterbirds have been carried out since the 1980s (Howes & NPWO 1986a,b) and interest in waterbird conservation has increased since then, although there are few peer-reviewed studies (Edwards & Polshek 1987, Parish 1987, Mizutani et al. 2006. The AWC, which forms a part of the International Waterbird Census (IWC) has been conducted annually in Asia since 1987 (Wetlands International 2007). ...
Bako-Buntal Bay in Sarawak, Malaysia is among the most important coastal wetlands for migratory shorebirds in Borneo, and in insular Southeast Asia. However, since the multi-year waterbird surveys of the Sarawak coast during 2010–2012, there has been little published work on migratory shorebirds here. Our study assessed the status and populations of migratory waterbirds utilizing two sites within Bako-Buntal Bay: (1) the extensive mud and sand flats of Buntal Bay used as a neap tide roost site, and (2) the man-made (ash) ponds at Sejingkat regularly used as spring tide roost sites. We counted waterbirds twice a month from October 2018 to March 2019, and compiled monitoring data from the Asian Waterbird Census and other surveys starting in either 2006 or 2007. We found a total of 32 waterbird species in Buntal and 31 species in Sejingkat, including globally significant numbers of four threatened species: Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis (EN), Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris (EN), Nordmann’s Greenshank Tringa guttifer (EN), and Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes (VU). Our study showed that the total counts of waterbirds at Buntal, and especially Sejingkat, have increased consistently from 2006–2007 to 2019, particularly with an increasing trend for Far Eastern Curlew and a sudden increase in Great Knot numbers in 2019. Using flag resightings, we established connections between our study sites and sites along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, e.g. Chongming Island in Shanghai, China and Kamchatka in Russia. We are unsure of the factors driving the increase of shorebird numbers, but hypothesize a
possible decline in habitat extent and quality elsewhere on Borneo or in the wider Southeast Asian region. Our work demonstrates the continued importance of Bako-Buntal Bay for shorebirds, especially the Far Eastern Curlew, in Southeast Asia, and the need for sustained conservation measures.
The extensive coastline of Sarawak is one of the most important wintering grounds for waterbirds in Malaysia. Extending for approximately 1,050 km, the Sarawak coastline is the second longest of any State in the country. It stretches from the rugged rocky coastline at the westernmost tip of Tanjung Datu to the mangrove-fringed coast of Lawas at the eastern end; its various coastal habitats supporting a wide variety of waterbirds, some in significant numbers. Sarawak State is uniquely located within the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF).
Sarawak State also contains more coastal Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) than any other in Malaysia. Several of these coastal IBAs also meet the Ramsar criteria as Wetlands of International Importance (or Ramsar Sites). Based on the national-level Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) that is conducted annually, the western Sarawak coast regularly records some of the highest concentrations of migratory waterbirds in the country. The location, geography and productivity of the coastal mudflats and sandflats of western Sarawak are likely strong ‘pull’ factors for migratory waterbirds, several of which are globally threatened.
Parts of the Sarawak coast are among the most comprehensively surveyed for waterbirds in the Malaysia. Waterbird surveys conducted in the 1980s by the Asian Wetland Bureau (AWB) concentrated on the western part of coastal Sarawak (particularly Pulau Bruit) and some sites at the eastern end of the coastline, such as sections of Brunei Bay. In 2006, a smaller scale survey concentrating only on western Sarawak coast (Sungai Buntal to Batang Lassa) was undertaken by the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) and the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV/JICA). The results reiterated a similar message – the western Sarawak coast supports thousands of migratory waterbirds and is a crucial link in the EAAF chain.
In 2010, the MNS-Bird Conservation Council Waterbirds Group (MNS-BCC WG) proposed a comprehensive resurvey of Sarawak’s coast and migratory waterbirds to assess its current status. This proposal soon developed into a partnership between the MNS-BCC WG and SFC with the involvement of volunteers from the MNS Kuching and Miri Branches.
The principal aim of the Waterbird Surveys of the Sarawak Coast (WSSC) was to conduct a comprehensive and systematic survey of the entire coastline during the northern winter months of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, so that the results would provide a baseline account of the state of waterbird populations and coastal habitats in the State. In particular, the most important sites would be identified so that conservation efforts and resources could be designated to these areas accordingly.
The 1,050 km long Sarawak coastline was divided into 40 sectors to facilitate surveys and comparison with earlier surveys done in the 1980s. The Sectors were grouped into the West Coast (Sectors 1-18), the Central Coast (Sectors 19-36), and the East Coast (Sectors 37-40). Sectors 5 to 18 corresponded with the survey area of Edwards et al. (1986b) and Mizutani et al. (2006). Similarly, Sectors 37 and 38 largely corresponded to the areas studied by Howes et al. (1986b). Generally, only the coastal intertidal zone was included in the survey area by land, boat and/or air. However, some of the man-made wetlands such as aquaculture and ash ponds, and banks of major rivers were covered as well.
A total of 153 sites in 37 Sectors was surveyed. Sectors 6 and 26 were not visited, and Sector 40 was surveyed by air, but no waterbirds were recorded. In total, 71 sites were surveyed by land (using a 4WD vehicle or on foot), 66 by air and 29 by sea. Some sites were surveyed more than once using different methods (e.g. by sea and air). A minimum total of 71,347 birds of 63 species was recorded. These included a duck species, one stork, 11 herons and egrets, a darter, two rallids, 30 waders (i.e. stilts, plovers, sandpipers and allies), a gull and seven terns. Other non-waterbird species include five raptor species and four kingfishers.
The surveys provide evidence that the west coast of Sarawak is even more important for migratory waterbirds than was previously realised. The total count for Sectors 5-18 was 53,350 individuals, an increase of 44% compared to numbers counted in the same area in 2006 surveyed by Mizutani et al. (2006) and of 33% compared to the total counted in 1985 surveys (Edwards et al. 1986b). The East Coast (Brunei Bay) was also found to be regionally important, and previously unknown internationally significant concentrations of Great Egret and Whiskered Tern were discovered there.
In the context of more extensive coverage and increased overall numbers recorded compared to previous surveys, species showing a decline in numbers are generally of more significance than species showing increases. Black-tailed Godwit and Asian Dowitcher numbers in particular and tern numbers in general require further research to ascertain their current status.
Despite the apparently healthy state of waterbird populations and the coastal wetlands they depend on in the State, there is some cause for concern. The combination of coastal development from the landward side and erosion from the seaward has led to a decline in the quality and quantity of high tide roost areas, as well as, in some cases, the obliteration of low tide feeding areas.
Based on the findings of this State-wide waterbird surveys, 10 RECOMMENDATIONS at Species, Site and State levels are outlined below:
STATE LEVEL
RECOMMENDATION 1: Develop guidelines for coastal development in Sarawak that take account of Important Bird Areas and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) and make provision for maintaining safe feeding and roost areas for waterbirds.
RECOMMENDATION 2: Enhance and expand the network of IBAs and Flyway Site network in the State.
RECOMMENDATION 3: Identify sites where high roosts can be maintained, created and protected.
RECOMMENDATION 4: Explore options to provide incentives for existing aquaculture farms to manage their operations to provide roosting areas.
RECOMMENDATION 5: Focus resources in key Sector(s) for future annual Asian Waterbird Counts (AWC) surveys rather than trying to cover large areas with few birds.
RECOMMENDATION 6: Follow-up surveys on potentially important Sectors with incomplete coverage (i.e. 13-17). Sectors 13-15 could be potential new IBAs for the State.
RECOMMENDATION 7: Develop state-level CEPA programme for waterbird conservation.
SITE LEVEL
RECOMMENDATION 8: Concentrate conservation efforts in the Bako-Buntal Bay IBA (linked to Recommendations 3 and 4).
The loss or lack of high tide roosts across the East Asian-Australasian Flyway is of serious concern. This situation is also relevant to Malaysia especially along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and western Sarawak coast due to land development for various purposes. The Bako-Buntal Bay is the most important site for migratory waders and ardeids. The bay is a fertile feeding ground for these birds, however, there is a need to also provide suitable high tide roost site(s) for them. Five options have been identified as possible solutions. However, each of them would require a separate, more thorough investigation into its feasibility and suitability. The creation of high tide roost site(s) could also provide valuable CEPA and research opportunities if planned and managed well. There are five potential options in creating high tide roosts in Bako-Buntal Bay.
OPTION 1: Identify a suitable abandoned aquaculture pond and manage it accordingly.
OPTION 2: Work with an owner or community to manage their existing ponds for birds during the migration season. This could involve compensation payments to them for temporary loss of income when the birds utilize the ponds.
OPTION 3: Create a new ‘pond’ at a suitable site.
OPTION 4: Create an intertidal roost by making a raised area at the top end of the mudlfats.
OPTION 5: Create a platform-type roost using easily available local resources.
SPECIES LEVEL
RECOMMENDATION 9: Conduct targetted searches for the Black-tailed Godwit and Asian Dowitcher in former wintering areas.
RECOMMENDATION 10: Develop of a Chinese Egret Conservation Action Plan for the State with a focus on priority Sectors identified in this report for this species and mitigating and/or eliminating its threats.
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