Capital extends helping hand to wildlife

By XIN WEN | CHINA DAILY | Updated: 2021-03-26 07:31
Share
Share - WeChat
A black crane is photographed at the lake. [Photo by Zhang Yan/for China Daily]

Authorities strengthen efforts to protect species

Residents of a city such as Beijing do not often see wild birds and animals, but this is not the case for Fang Chun.

For the past 15 years, he has been observing migratory birds in the capital's northwestern district of Yanqing, where their numbers are continuing to rise.

This year, Fang, 54, telescope in hand, began monitoring the birds at Wild Duck Lake National Wetland Park from the start of last month.

"The first flocks of migratory birds flying north arrived a few days after Spring Festival," he said.

In a log recording his observations, Fang wrote:"On Feb 12, the first whooper swan of the year appeared at the lake, while on Feb 18, five whooper swans, two smews (diving ducks) and nine mallard ducks came. Close to 1,000 common cranes also flew around the lake."

An estimated 100,000 migratory birds rest at the lake every year before moving further north for the summer, Fang said.

"In November and March, Wild Duck Lake becomes a 'swan lake' and there are magnificent views of the birds," he said.

Fang, who used to teach physical education, successfully turned his hobby of observing wild birds into a job by learning about avian species from books and photographs. He also sought help from experts.

He can now identify different species of migratory birds with just a single glance.

1 2 3 4 5 Next   >>|
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US