Tundra Swans Wintering in Daegu

천연기념물 큰고니 200여 마리 대구 안심습지 찾아
손대성 기자  / 기사승인 : 2020-12-12 16:08:38

 

k-odyssey.com/news/newsview.php?ncode=179565017112780

천연기념물 큰고니 200여 마리 대구 안심습지 찾아

 

<map> Daegu Anshim Wetland

 

금호강

 

On the 12th, about 200 tundra Swans, winter migratory birds, were found active at Anshim Wetland along the Geumho River in Daegu, a large city in the central part of the Korean Peninsula. The bird is designated as a natural monument and endangered species in Korea. 

 

This bird breeds in the northern regions of the globe including Siberia and winters in Korea, Japan, and northern India etc.

Since the mid-1990s, the swans has been flying to the wetlands every year, and up to 500 birds stay there until February of the following year. 

 

tundra swans wintering in Korea

 

The Anshim wetland was once damaged by garbage, but recently the condition has improved thanks to the efforts of the administrative authorities and residents.

As avian influenza (AI) has recently appeared all over the country, the administrative authorities are disinfecting the area around the safe wetland using quarantine vehicles.

 

Of the nine species of the swan (Cygnus) family, three are found in Korea, including tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus), whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) and mute swan (Cygnus olor). 

 

tundra swans wintering in Korea

 

These swans arrive in the fall, on the east and south coasts of the Korean peninsula for wintering. 

 

In spring, they fly north to the tundra zone extending from the Kamchatka Peninsula to northeastern Siberia where food is abundantly available to breed there. 

 

The tundra swan, about 120cm in length, is smaller in size than the whooper swan. Both the cob (male) and pen (female) have a white plumage with a yellow-tipped black bill and black legs. Swanlings, meanwhile, have a light grayish-brown plumage and a pink bill. 

 

The young winter together with adult whooper swans, mixed into the flock. Whooper swans are 152cm long, both the cob and the pen. 

 

tundra Swans wintering in Korea

 

The plumage is white in color, while the swanling is dark gray. The bill is slightly bent downward at the tip, which distinguishes the whooper swan from the tundra swan. 

 

The whooper swan holds its neck upright while swimming, another characteristic that distinguishes it from the tundra swan. They main habitats are lakes, marshlands, rivers and coastal areas. 

 

They live in large colonies whose basic units are families consisting of a cob and pen and cygnets. Whooper swans feed on stems and roots of aquatic plants, grasses, seeds as well as aquatic insects. The mute swan is about 152㎝ long, both the cob and pen. 

 

The plumage is almost completely white, while the young have a grayish brown plumage with a black bill. The vivid orange-colored bill with a prominent, black knob above makes it easy to distinguish the mute swan from other members of the swan family. 

 

The mute swan holds its neck bent and the bill pointed downward while swimming. Water reservoirs and lakes are their favorite habitats. 

 

Feeding mainly on waterweeds, mute swans also eat insects and other small animals. The mute swan has the smallest distribution of any swan species. 

 

The only wintering sites of this waterfowl species in Northeast Asia are found in Korea. Swans (tundra, whooper and mute swans), a rare winter fowl that requires international conservation efforts, are currently protected in Korea under designation as a Natural Monument.