Hooded Cranes (Grus monacha), South Korea
The Hooded Crane breeds in south-central and south-eastern Siberia. Breeding is also suspected to occur in Mongolia. Over 80% of its population winters at Izumi, southern Japan. There are also wintering grounds in South Korea and China. There are about 100 hooded cranes wintering in Chongming Dongtan, Shanghai every year. Dongtan Nature reserve is the largest natural wintering site in the world. The estimated population of the species is 9,500 birds. The major threats to its survival are wetland loss and degradation in its wintering grounds in China and South Korea as a result of reclamation for development and dam building.
Year: 2012
From album: The Tidal Flats of the Yellow Sea within the East Asia Pacific Flyway of Coastal Birds
Photographer: Peter Prokosch