On May 12, the Forest Protection Department of Region IX (Quang Ngai province) said that at about 10 am on May 8, the unit received a report from people in Dinh Cuong commune about a flock of migratory birds suspected to be black-necked cranes appearing in La Bang lagoon foraging.
This is a rare bird belonging to group IB, listed in the Red Book of Vietnam and the world, which needs to be strictly protected due to the increasing decline in the wild.
After receiving information, at 1:00 PM on the same day, the Forest Protection Department sent forces to the scene to verify. However, at the time of inspection, functional forces did not detect the above-mentioned flock of birds.
Through working with local people, the Forest Protection Department collected some remote photos taken with phones, but the images were not clear. Based on the preliminary description and these images, the unit initially determined that the flock of birds could be black-necked crane.
To accurately identify the bird species and estimate the number of individuals, at 5:00 AM on May 12, 2026, the Forest Protection Department continued to inspect the scene at La Bang lagoon. Here, functional forces used flycams to take photos and video footage of the flock of birds while they were foraging.
From the collected images and videos, combined with comparing identification characteristics with specialized documents and consulting experts, the Forest Protection Department determined that the bird species appearing in the area was not a black-necked cranes but a stork (also known as a snail stork), belonging to the common animal group.
The forest protection agency requests units and localities to unify the use of accurate information about the above-mentioned bird species, which is civet.
