Small Village in Inner Mongolia: Migratory Birds Don't Migrate South
Red mandarin ducks take flight. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Yunping
Xinhua News Agency, Hohhot, February 6th (Xinhua reporter Li Yunping) During the Spring Festival, over ten thousand red mandarin ducks were found sheltering through the winter in a village in Urataguren Banner, Inner Mongolia, presenting a scene of 'flying birds gathering, myriad calls'
Red mandarin ducks were listed as an endangered species on the Red List of the World Conservation Union in 2012, and like to live in lakes in the plains.
Local staff are feeding the red mandarin ducks. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Yunping
There are 3 migratory routes of importance globally that pass through Inner Mongolia. In the largeTai town of Shenkan Village, there is Ershantun Hot Spring. Because the water temperature is always maintained at around 25℃, and the surrounding environment is suitable for the nesting of migratory birds, it has attracted red mandarin ducks to spend the winter since 2016, and the number has increased year by year.
The reporter saw that a large number of red mandarin ducks were staying and playing in a mist, they were wearing 'colorful clothes' in red and yellow brown, or staying on the water surface to feed, or spreading their wings to soar in the sky, making the quiet village full of vitality.
Red mandarin ducks take flight. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Yunping
'In the past few years, when it comes to winter, there are several thousand red mandarin ducks staying here, I didn't expect this year to increase to over ten thousand,' said Yang Laiwen, secretary of the Shenkan Village Party Branch.
According to Xinhua News Agency reporter Fan Shuran, with the increase of red mandarin ducks and other nesting birds, the local area has established a bird protection station and a public wall, and has set up a protection area of more than 3000 acres around the hot spring, and has contacted loving people and enterprises to donate feed to help a large number of red mandarin ducks spend the winter.
Since the beginning of the winter, affected by snowfall and cold weather, these red mandarin ducks have difficulty finding food. The town government is helping the red ducks spend the winter by artificial feeding and raising. Now, every noon, Yang Laiwen and the forest ranger Yang Jinshan will bring a few bags of corn kernels and evenly scatter them around the hot spring to provide the red mandarin ducks with a 'free lunch'.
A large number of red mandarin ducks are staying and playing in the mist. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Yunping
Yang Laiwen said, 'Now it is freezing and snowy, even though the red mandarin ducks have the hot spring to keep them warm, they can't find food, and they need at least 250 kilograms of feed per day. If they stay here for 100 days, their total feed needs 25 tons. We villagers often feed them spontaneously, but the amount is limited, and we need help from all sectors of society.'
As of now, the town government has received donations of 350,000 yuan in cash and 100,000 tons of corn, and the lack of feed for red mandarin ducks has been significantly alleviated. Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Shu said, 'After learning about the shortage of red mandarin duck feed on WeChat, we immediately raised 50,000 tons of corn feed and donated a little love to help them spend the winter.'
