IMAGE: Precious cargo: A spoon-billed sandpiper is examined during an Arctic wader expedition. The critically endangered sandpiper winters in Burma.

The Irrawaddy Delta is home to many species of birds, and some of them, such as the spoon-billed sandpiper, are endangered or critically endangered. Freshwater dolphins are also dependent on the Irrawaddy Delta. The Delta is considered a fragile ecosystem, and Cyclone Nargis left further negative impacts on the Delta.

To illustrate the Delta’s importance to endangered species, earlier this year, it was reported that eighty-four critically endangered spoon-billed sandpipers (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) were discovered utilizing there Delta as a previously unknown wintering ground. More from The Irrawaddy News:

Soe Nyunt, chairman of the Myanmar (Burma) Bird and Nature Society, said the Brahminy duck and Sarus crane were already threatened with extinction in Burma.

Burma has more than 1,000 species of bird, many of which inhabit lowlands such as the Irrawaddy delta and the coast.

Forty three threatened species have been registered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Five are listed as “Critically Endangered”—the white-shouldered ibis, white-rumped vulture, slender-billed vulture, pink-headed duck and Gurney’s pitta.

The Irrawaddy delta’s mangrove swamps, inundated by the cyclone, provide a natural habitat for birds, as well as for fish, crabs and prawns.

—
Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.