Record Numbers of Protected Geese Wintering at Lake Biwa

The numbers of Middendorf's bean geese, a protected species in Japan, hit record highs since 1979 on December 22, 2002, in the northern part of Lake Biwa. Thousands of Middendorf's bean geese migrate from the Kamchatka Peninsula to Japan every year, and this area is the southern limit of their wintering range in Japan.

The Middendorf's bean goose has a wingspan of approximately 1.6 meters and weighs about 5 kilograms. The Ministry of the Environment classifies it as near-threatened (NT) species.

On January 18, 2003, there were also 413 Bewick's swans wintering in the same area, the largest number since counting started in 1971. The Bewick's swan is born in May or June in northern Siberia, starts flying two months later and migrates to Lake Biwa in late October.

The Biwako Waterfowl & Wetland Center and the Kohoku Wild Bird Center conduct ecological surveys to help protect these waterfowl and conserve wetlands. The Biwako Waterfowl & Wetland Center was inaugurated in 1997, after Lake Biwa became a Ramsar site in 1993. Under the plan of the Environment Agency (now the Ministry of the Environment), the town of Kohoku is entrusted with its management. The town is also in charge of the Kohoku Wild Bird Center, established in 1988 by Shiga Prefecture.



Posted: 2003/03/03 10:23:35 AM
Japanese version