Spaans A.L. (1975) The status of the Wood Stork, Jabiru, and Maguari Stork along the Surinam coast, South America. ARDEA 63 (3-4): 116-130

During a study on the distribution and ecology of some aquatic birds along the Surinam coast in 1970-1973, the coastal area was surveyed regularly from a small aircraft. This paper deals with the distribution and abundance of the three New World species of the Ciconiidae along this coast (Fig. 1). Of the three species, only the Wood Stork and Jabiru proved to occur regularly along this coast. The Maguari Stork was observed only twice. The distribution of the Wood Stork and the Jabiru proved to be quite discontinuous (Fig. 2 and Fig. 4). Of the Wood Stork two groups could be distinguished, a western in the Coronie Swamp between Bladholopan and Burnside, and an eastern in the coastal swamps between Katkreek and Motkreek. Both swamps are characterized by large areas of open water. In the long dry season of 1970 a breeding colony of about 400 pairs was located near the Tapoeripakanaal (see Fig. 1). In 1971 and 1972 the eastern population failed to breed. Instead, nearly the whole population left the area at the beginning of the long dry season. The same held for the western population in all three years of the study. The distribution of the Jabiru resembles that of the Wood Stork to a certain extent. For this species the best areas are the Coronie Swamp in the western part of the country and the swamps between Matapicakanaal and Krofajapasi in the east. The species was also seen regularly, albeit in small numbers, in the coastal swamps between the Coppename and Suriname Rivers and in the swamps east of Motkreek. Like the Wood Stork, the Jabiru proved to breed in the long dry season; three nests of this species were located, all in tall Silk-cotton Trees. Some comments are made about nature conservation aspects.