This Spring, Various Rare Migratory Birds Appear in Beijing
Currently, it is the period when migratory birds are passing through Beijing. Reporters from the Beijing Municipal Gardening and Fengshui Bureau learned that as of now, a total of 88 migratory bird monitoring stations have monitored more than 1.4 million migratory birds. Among the vast number of migrating birds, there are also swans, Oriental White Storks, Yellow-billed Ducks, Oriental White Storks, Black Storks and other 'rare' guests, and their appearance has become a vivid footnote to the continuous improvement of the capital's ecological environment.
More and more birds are choosing Beijing, they use their wings to 'give thumbs up' for the continuous improvement of Beijing's ecological environment. According to the data of the Beijing Municipal Gardening and Fengshui Bureau, over the years, the total forest area and wetland area in Beijing have been continuously increasing. In 2019, a total of 280,000 mu of newly planted trees and shrubs and 803 hectares of urban green spaces were created. Currently, Beijing's forest coverage rate has reached 44%, the grassland area forest coverage rate has reached 29.6%, and the urban green coverage rate has reached 48.46%. Beijing's ecological environment is steadily improving.
Red-winged Tern
Thousands of Swans 'Form a Group' to Beijing
Swans are Beijing's 'Regular Guests', they are also 'Rare Guests'. In spring, the number of migratory swans generally does not exceed three or five hundred. This year, they came in a 'herd' of more than 1000, and bird watchers were surprised that this was a 'swan harvest year'. The Duck Pond in Yanqing also transformed into 'Swan Lake'.
Swans are resting in Duck Pond
12 Oriental White Storks arrive, a 'bird-world' event!
Oriental White Storks arriving this spring have 12, as a national level protected animal, the worldwide wild population is only about 3000, and they usually migrate along the coast. It is extremely rare for them to appear in Beijing. In the past, there were occasionally Oriental White Storks found in the Miyun Reservoir, the Guanganting Reservoir, the Ju Ma River, the Sha River and other areas, but they were generally one or two. The appearance of 12 Oriental White Storks in Beijing is a 'bird-world' event!
Critically Endangered Yellow-billed Ducks Appear in Dashiling River
Yellow-billed Ducks are 'Superstars' in 'Bird World'. They are migratory birds, they usually migrate from southern wintering grounds to northern breeding grounds in mid-March and start to migrate to southern wintering grounds in mid-October. Two Yellow-billed Ducks were clearly photographed by Guo Gen, researcher of Beijing Elk Ecological Experiment Center on the banks of Dashiling River and Nanhai Zi. It was once a common migratory bird in China, but with the destruction of habitats and human hunting, the population has decreased dramatically, and it has been listed as 'Critically Endangered' level by the 'World Wildlife Fund Red List of Threatened Species'. There are only about 400 Yellow-billed Ducks globally, which is rarer than Giant Pandas. In 2019, they first visited Jing City and Nan Hai Zi in the spring, and this is their second appearance this spring.
'Bird-World' Panda' Oriental White Stork Also Arrived
This spring, Oriental White Storks appeared in Wanping Lake of the Yangtze River. The first specimen collection was found in Nanjing, China, so this bird was named Oriental White Stork. Oriental White Stork is a rare bird species unique to China. Because its living space is limited to reed beds and the population is very small, it is called 'Bird-World Panda'.
Black Stork 'Settles' in Faguang River, Dashiling River
Black Storks, a national level endangered bird, were attracted to the Faguang River and the Dashiling River area due to good environment. Experts introduced that Black Storks usually start frequent contact and flirting in February; they build nests in early March; they basically complete the construction of nests in mid-March; they start laying eggs in mid-March to early April; they hatch chicks in May; they lose their white feathers in June and July and grow black feathers; by mid-July, the young Black Storks can leave the nest and fly to the river to forage. The number of Black Storks in the Faguang River area peaked at about 70, and after nearly 20 years of protection, the number of Black Storks in this area has stabilized at about 40 to 50 now.
Written by: Wang Bin, Beijing Youth Newspaper
Source: Beijing Headline Client
