Xingkai Lake National Nature Reserve Records First Photograph of Great White Pelican
Heilongjiang Net (Zhang Dabei, reporter Wang Tianhong) On March 16th, monitoring personnel of the Xingkai Lake National Nature Reserve conducted spring migratory bird monitoring when they discovered and for the first time photographed a rare and endangered national first-class protected bird, the Great White Pelican, residing near the only outflow river of Xingkai Lake – the Song'acha River. This is the second time Xingkai Lake National Nature Reserve has monitored and first photographed the Great White Pelican, following the first time in 1998. The Great White Pelican is a subadult, and it was impossible to determine its age due to its distance.
Xingkai Lake's unique geographical location and diverse wetland ecosystem provide a 'base' for countless migratory birds crossing over and settling, recognized as an extremely important 'rest stop' in the East Asia-Australia migratory route.
In recent years, the Xingkai Lake National Nature Reserve Administration has gradually increased the intensity of protection for wild flora and fauna, while strengthening scientific research, it has also carried out a series of ecological remediation actions such as stepped cultivation cessation, demolition of illegal buildings, clearing of graves, lake restoration, fishing, hunting, and grazing bans, which has resulted in significant improvement of the ecological environment of Xingkai Lake.
Further reading:
The Great White Pelican belongs to the Class Aves, the Falconidae family, the Haliaeetus genus, and the order of seabirds. It has a body length of 90-100 cm, a wingspan of 203-250 cm, and a weight of 5-10 kg. Due to the dark brown pattern resembling a tiger's markings, it is named after its head, which is dark brown and has gray-brown longitudinal stripes. Its body plumage is mainly dark brown, with yellow eyes, beak and feet, and black claws. Its forecrown, shoulder, waist, upper tail coverts and the underside of the tail are all white.
It mainly resides in coastal areas and river valleys, sometimes entering inland areas relatively distant from the sea. Its calls are deep and guttural. It flies slowly, often gliding, circling or standing for a long time on rock shores, tree branches or sand dunes. It is active in flocks in winter. It is the largest raptor in bays in the air. Its main food is fish, and it also eats other food. It is distributed in China, Japan, Korea, North Korea, South Korea and the Russian Federation.
