Wildlife AnimalsNumber of Migratory Birds Passing Through Hunan South Mountain National Park Sets Historic High
Migratory birds returning, photographed by Tang Cheng Yuan
Shaoyang City, Shanxi Province, Hunan Autonomous County, the Forestry Bureau of Hunan South Mountain National Park revealed on March 26th that, as of now, in the Golden Mountain National Nature Reserve and Baiyun Lake National Wetland Protection Zone within the park, 104 species of migratory birds and 907,000 individuals have been monitored in less than two months, an increase of more than 90,000 individuals compared to the same period in 2019, setting a historic high.
Hunan South Mountain National Park is located at the convergence of Yezhongling Mountain Range and Snow Peak Mountain Range in southwest Hunan, with a forest area of 3.29 million acres. The park has two ancient migratory routes for birds, which have been used by migratory birds every autumn and winter to fly south and return in spring when flowers bloom next year.
A scenic view of Hunan South Mountain National Park, photographed by Tang Cheng Yuan
In recent years, to provide safe habitats and migration environments for migratory birds, Hunan South Mountain National Park Administration and Chengyuan County People's Government have strengthened supervision and severely cracked down on illegal netting, hunting, poisoning, disturbance of migratory birds and other illegal crimes, providing escort for the migration of migratory birds.
At the same time, Hunan South Mountain National Park also actively carries out migratory bird protection tour exhibitions and public education, attracting volunteers and bird lovers to participate in wild patrols; more than 10,000 kilograms of crucian carp, carp, bighead carp and other fish seedlings have been released to restore and improve the wetland ecological system, and the diversity of the bird food chain has significantly increased.
Migratory birds soaring into the sky, photographed by Tang Cheng Yuan
Currently, the number of migratory birds residing in Hunan South Mountain National Park is more than 8,000 individuals compared to the park's first scientific investigation when it was being set up, and the number of bird species has increased from the original 97 species to 123 species, including national rare and endangered animals such as swans, grey cranes, dunks and Chinese fall ducks, and more than 20 national secondary protected bird species such as white swans, red hawks, grey cranes, egrets and mandarin ducks.
