In late 2014, a highly pathogenic avian influenza (hereafter HPAI) H5N1 outbreak infected whooper swans Cygnus cygnus wintering at the Sanmenxia Reservoir area, China, and raised concerns about migratory linkages between wintering and breeding grounds of whooper swans. In this study, 61 swans were satellite tracked from 2013 to 2016 to determine the spatial association of their migration routes and H5N1 outbreaks, and 3596 fecal samples were collected along the migration routes for virology testing. Swans departed the wintering grounds and migrated along the Yellow River, and flew over the Yin Mountains in China. The Brownian bridge movement model showed there was a high degree of spatiotemporal overlap between the core use area along the spring migration pathway and historical H5N1 events in China and Mongolia from 2005 to 2015. The H5N1 strain was isolated and phylogenetic analyses confirmed that the HA gene sequence generated is genetically similar to that of the epidemic strain at a previous wintering site (the Sanmenxia Reservoir area) along its flyway. Our results identified a previously unknown migratory link of whooper swans in central China with Mongolia and confirmed that the swans could carry the HPAI H5N1 virus during migration, resulting in long-distance transmission.

The Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) is a species that relies heavily on the plateau wetlands of Asia and whose population was thought to be declining. Over the past decade, south-central Tibet, one of the most important wintering grounds, supported large numbers of Bar-headed Geese, but the population had not been regularly monitored in this area. We surveyed wintering Bar-headed Geese along the Yarlung Zangbo, Lhasa and Nyang Qu rivers, the three major river valleys and their tributaries in south-central Tibet in January 2014 and recorded their location, flock size and habitat utilization. Based on these data and the latest wintering counts elsewhere, we revised the population estimate for this species. We recorded more than 67,000 Bar-headed Geese in south-central Tibet during January 2014. By geographic area, the geese were most abundant in the Lhasa River valley (38.5%) and the Nyang Qu River valley (31.0%), and by administrative division in Lhunzhub (27.2%) and Shigatse (26.7%). Bar-headed Geese were most often observed feeding in winter wheat fields and ploughed fields, resting on pastureland and marshes. The approximate number of 67,000 geese recorded in Tibet is more than four times the estimate of 1993 for the same region and exceeds the most recent world population estimate of 52,000–60,000. Based on our work in Tibet and the latest wintering counts available from other areas, we revised the estimated population size of this species to 97,000–118,000. Our result reveals a remarkable increase in the number of Bar-headed Geese wintering in south-central Tibet. This population increase most likely stems from a proliferation of cropland and especially winter wheat fields in south-central Tibet. This habitat improvement may also cause short-stopping of the Bar-headed Goose and thus reduce mortality of the geese that would otherwise undertake a somewhat daunting trans-Himalayan migration.

The Relict Gull Larus relictus is a globally vulnerable species and one of the least known birds, so understanding its seasonal movements and migration will facilitate the development of effective conservation plans for its protection. We repeatedly satellite-tracked 11 adult Relict Gulls from the Ordos sub-population in Hongjian Nur, China, over 33 migration seasons and conducted extensive ground surveys. Relict Gulls traveled ∼800 km between Hongjian Nur in northern China to the coast of eastern China in a predominantly longitudinal migration, following a clockwise loop migration pattern. The gulls migrated faster in spring (4 ± 2 d) than in autumn (15 ± 13 d) due to a time-minimization strategy for breeding, and they showed considerable between-individual variation in the timing of the autumn migration, probably due to differences in the timing of breeding. Gulls that made at least two round trips exhibited high flexibility in spring migration timing, suggesting a stronger influence of local environment conditions over endogenous controls. There was also high route flexibility among different years, probably due to variations in meteorological or habitat conditions at stopover sites. Relict Gulls stayed for a remarkably long time (234 ± 17 d) on their major wintering grounds in Bohai Bay and Laizhou Bay, between which there were notable dispersals. Pre-breeding dispersals away from the breeding area were distinct, which seemed to be a strategy to cope with the degradation of breeding habitat at Hongjian Nur. Overwhelming lake shrinkage on the breeding ground and at stopover sites and loss of intertidal flats on the wintering grounds are regarded as the main threats to Relict Gulls. It is crucial to make protection administrations aware of the great significance of key sites along migration routes and to promote the establishment of protected areas in these regions.

Migratory birds often follow detours when confronted with ecological barriers, and understanding the extent and the underlying drivers of such detours can provide important insights into the associated cost to the annual energy budget and the migration strategies. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is the most daunting geographical barrier for migratory birds because the partial pressure of oxygen is dramatically reduced and flight costs greatly increase. We analyzed the repeated migration detours and habitat associations of four Pallas’s GullsLarus ichthyaetusacross the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau over 22 migration seasons. Gulls exhibited notable detours, with the maximum distance being more than double that of the expected shortest route, that extended rather than reduced the passage across the plateau. The extent of longitudinal detours significantly increased with latitude, and detours were longer in autumn than in spring. Compared with the expected shortest routes, proximity to water bodies increased along autumn migration routes, but detour-habitat associations were weak along spring migration routes. Thus, habitat availability was likely one, but not the only, factor shaping the extent of detours, and migration routes were determined by different mechanisms between seasons. Significant between-individual variation but high individual consistency in migration timing and routes were revealed in both seasons, indicating a stronger influence of endogenous schedules than local environmental conditions. Gulls may benefit from repeated use of familiar routes and stopover sites, which may be particularly significant in the challenging environment of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Summary: Four of China’s six wintering populations of “grey” geese Anser spp. declined during the last decade. In contrast, the Bar-headed Goose A. indicus wintering population in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region more than doubled. During six surveys in Tibet over a 27-year period (1991/92 to 2017/18 winters) we documented an annual growth rate of 6.8% in the Bar-headed Goose population – an increase from approximately 10,100 to 68,100 birds. We propose that in addition to the cessation of hunting, the population growth of Bar-headed Goose is being driven by changes in agricultural land use patterns in Tibet, the establishment of protected areas on the wintering and breeding grounds, and the impacts of climate change across the Tibetan Plateau. Consistent with this hypothesis, the sown area of winter wheat in Tibet has increased and geese have shifted from primarily feeding in crop stubble to planted winter wheat fields. We also found that the most rapid population growth coincided with a 1998 climate regime shift across the Tibetan Plateau resulting in warmer temperatures, an increase in net precipitation, the appearance of new lakes and changes in the water levels and surface area of historical lakes. We suggest that warmer temperatures and high-quality forage on the south-central Tibet wintering grounds may be enhancing over-winter survival, while on the breeding grounds the expansion of lakes and wet meadows is augmenting breeding and brood-rearing habitat.