The 25th release of the crested ibis was held on the 17th in the rice terraces in the Noura district of Sado City, Niigata Prefecture. This is the first time a bird has been released in the area. When the five crested ibises flew out of the box, about 40 local residents who participated gave up by applauding.
Three 1-year-old males and two 1- and 2-year-old females trained at the Sado Toki Conservation Center Wildlife Restoration Station were released. In order to expand the habitat of the crested ibis throughout Sado, we adopted a hard release method in which the crested ibis is moved and released in a box.
The Noura district faces the eastern coast of Sado, and terraced rice fields spread out in the mountains. The Maehama area, including Noura, was a habitat until the wild Japanese crested ibis was captured in 1981. We are engaged in agriculture that nurtures living things, such as promoting rice cultivation with reduced pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
For the released birds, a box is installed in the terraced rice fields at an altitude of about 350 meters. When representatives of the locals cut the tape and opened the lid of the box, Toki gently swirled over the golden rice terraces and flew toward the forest. Residents were following Toki with cameras and smartphones.
Hideaki Usuki (64), the priest of Noura, who watched over the release of birds, said, "I had longed to release the crested ibises in Noura. I want them to grow up well and increase the number of crested ibises."
Except for the ceremony, the hard release method has been used in Katanoo in the Maehama area and raw camellia in the Shinho area. According to the Ministry of the Environment, there is information that I saw the crested ibis in the surrounding area, but it has not been established.
Hiroaki Sawaguri, Chief Nature Conservation Officer of the Sado Nature Conservation Office of the Ministry of the Environment, said, "We will proceed with monitoring while collecting sighting information from the region and watch the transition. I talked to him.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, there are 474 wild ibises in Sado City as of the 17th. One bird has been confirmed in Honshu.