Serious contractions in wintering distribution and decline in abundance of Baer's Pochard Aythya baeri

Observed maximum numbers of Baer's Pochard Aythya baeri in China, the traditional core wintering range, declined from 16,792 during 1987-1993 to 2,131 during 2003-2011, accompanied by a dramatic contraction in range. Coordinated coverage of the most important sites in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain in January 2011 found only 194 Baer's Pochard. The reported wintering population outside China declined from 719 in 2000-2005 to 48 in 2006-2010. The world population in 2011 apparently did not exceed 1,000 individuals, and the true number was most likely many fewer. The species seems to have ceased wintering regularly outside mainland China, where none had been found by mid-February 2012 despite coverage of favoured sites. Urgent, coordinated actions are needed to protect this species which may soon be on the verge of extinction in the wild.