Migratory birds flying freely under the wings of its guardians

THE BAJA POST
NEWSROOM
SOURCE: PR NEWSMEDIA

A news report by China.org.cn on the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China:

The East Asian–Australasian Flyway is one of the world’s busiest flyways, with tens of millions of birds migrating via this route every year. On this flyway, the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China, boasting a diverse ecological system, has been an important resting habitat for the migratory birds.

Two decades ago, the Oriental storks were rare to be seen in the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Dongying, Shandong province. Oriental storks are peculiar about their living environments. To satisfy these storks, staff at the nature reserve considerately placed safe bowl-shaped crowns on the tips of utility poles, to attract the Oriental storks to build their nest there, since the birds tend to nest at high spots. While, what really got the Oriental storks to stay was the restoration of the wetlands. In recent years, 17 wetland restoration projects have been launched in Dongying, with the total restoration area covering about 300, 000 mu (over 49,400 acres). In the past, the total number of Oriental storks worldwide was less than 3,000, but now, more than 3,000 Oriental storks have already been born here at the nature. Such an ecological-friendly spectacle makes it hard to link Dongying with its nickname – «the city of petroleum.»

Another hard-to-believe truth comes from Shanghai: This Metropolis with soaring land prices has set aside a «fairyland» for the migratory birds measuring more than 7,500 acres –  the Chongming Dongtan Birds National Nature Reserve. Here, a special guardian for the birds, Jin Weiguo, can whistle in the pitches of dozens of bird species, dialoguing with them. He is special because he was once a bird captor. In 1998, the Chongming Dongtan Birds National Nature Reserve was founded, and since then invasive species have been eliminated and poaching cracked down upon. That’s also when Jin Weiguo’s whistling tricks became a great enabler in the scientific research and protection of birds. Jin also talked other former bird captors into joining the bird protection teams, and they have kept up the efforts for several decades. At present, 300 bird species have been recorded in the nature reserve; bird-watching festivals have been held for years, and the nature reserve has become a public education base for birds.