Aquaculture ponds provide non-breeding habitat for shorebirds in Banyuasin Peninsula, South Sumatra, Indonesia

To contribute to our understanding of the importance of aquaculture ponds as shorebird habitat in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), we monitored shorebird numbers found in aquaculture ponds in Banyuasin Peninsula of South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. During 2016–2020, 25 species of shorebirds were recorded, representing nearly half of the 52 migratory shorebird species in the EAAF, including eight Near Threatened species and two Endangered species. The total number of shorebirds counted in a section of aquaculture ponds, representing about 30% of all ponds, ranged from 886 in January 2016 to 13,745 in December 2020. Notably, in December 2020 a single square of aquaculture ponds held as many as 5,000 Black-tailed Godwits. With a total of about 250 aquaculture ponds, we estimated that up to 50,000 shorebirds could annually use the aquaculture ponds of Banyuasin Peninsula. With the continuing loss of shorebird habitats in the EAAF, identification of these ponds as non-breeding habitat for shorebirds signifies the importance of their management for shorebird conservation.