Skip to content

Vietnamese Commune Issued Protection Notice After Officials Counted More Than 1,000 Asian Openbills

Flock of Asian openbills flying in Vietnam
Conservation · Management

Authorities in Tuy Phước Đông Commune, Gia Lai Province, Vietnam, issued a protection notice on 13 May 2026 after an official evening check recorded more than 1,000 Asian openbills (Anastomus oscitans) returning to the Cồn Chim ecological area in Thị Nại Lagoon.

The inter-agency inspection took place on 11 May at Khoảnh 2, subzone 299. Between 17:30 and 18:45, officials recorded a flock of more than 1,000 birds arriving from several directions.

Local residents reported a rapid increase since late 2025

The commune notice states that people living around Cồn Chim began seeing Asian openbills after Typhoon No. 13 in 2025, initially in groups of about five to ten birds. Residents reported that numbers subsequently increased to more than 1,000. This earlier figure comes from local observations rather than from the same standardized count used on 11 May.

The birds were described feeding on tidal flats exposed at low tide and roosting on power lines and mangrove trees. The notice highlights the area’s mangrove forest, brackish lagoon and abundance of snails, crabs and other aquatic organisms as features that provide feeding and resting habitat.

The 13 May notice prohibited disturbance and exploitation

The People’s Committee called on residents and organizations not to chase, disturb, hunt, capture, buy, sell, slaughter, keep, store or transport the storks. The notice linked the large gathering to the suitability of the restored Cồn Chim–Thị Nại wetland for wild birds.

A follow-up conservation campaign reported several days later broadened the response beyond the flock itself. Local authorities called for stronger protection of mangroves, wetlands and natural bird habitat, encouraged residents to report illegal hunting and wildlife trade, and increased inspections aimed at preventing bird hunting and mangrove destruction.

Thị Nại Lagoon covers about 5,060 hectares, while the Cồn Chim–Thị Nại ecological restoration area covers roughly 480 hectares. The authorities therefore framed protection of the Asian openbills as part of a wider effort to safeguard the lagoon’s wetland and mangrove ecosystem rather than as a measure directed only at the birds.

Sources and image credit

  1. People's Committee of Tuy Phước Đông Commune. (2026, May 13). Notice No. 169/TB-UBND on mobilising the community to protect Asian Openbill storks (Anastomus oscitans) and prohibit disturbance, hunting, trade, slaughter, captivity, storage and transport.Primary official notice. An inter-agency check on 11 May verified more than 1,000 Asian openbills returning in the evening to Khoảnh 2, subzone 299, Cồn Chim–Thị Nại Lagoon. The notice called on the community to protect the birds and prohibited disturbance, hunting, capture, trade, slaughter, captivity, storage and transport.
  2. Gia Lai Newspaper, Radio and Television. (2026, May 17). Asian Openbill storks spur conservation push in East Tuy Phuoc wetlands.Supporting local source describing the follow-up campaign to protect Cồn Chim wetlands, mangroves and wild birds, including awareness work, reporting of illegal hunting and increased inspections.

Image: Hungda — two groups of Asian openbills in flight at Tràm Chim National Park, Đồng Tháp Province, Vietnam, 23 October 2012; Wikimedia Commons; representative Vietnamese flock image; cropped to 16:9 · CC BY-SA 3.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Management

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.