Fuzhou Changting: Ecological Restoration Enables Raptors to Become Resident Birds
Fuzhou Changting: Ecological Restoration Allows Raptors to Become Resident Birds
Recently, wildlife photographer Zhu Yousen and his companion Liu Hui once again came to Datong Town, Shifuku Village, Changting County, to use the lens to check and record the habitat and breeding of the endangered Hainan Jay.
Wildlife Photographer Zhu Yousen: We found that this Hainan Jay was on April 20th of last year, so we calculated it, because at that time it was its nesting and mating period, and we didn't record the early nesting and mating, so we came to observe in advance. Today we went to the same place last year to see if it could breed there again.
On April 20, 2019, Zhu Yousen and Forestry Bureau officer Qiu Jiarui and Liu Hui discovered two juvenile Hainan Jays and a nest with two recently hatched chicks and one egg while conducting bird surveys in Datong Town, Shifuku Village. Subsequently, they set up an observation point about 100 meters away from the nest and insisted on shooting and recording from dawn to dusk every day, with video and image data exceeding 400G, finally understanding the breeding process of the Hainan Jay and completing the breeding information of the Hainan Jay, which is extremely rare in the world. Currently, the Hainan Jay is in danger of extinction, belonging to one of the 30 most endangered birds in the world, and is a second-level protected animal.
Wildlife Photographer Zhu Yousen: We have been tracking it continuously for 48 days, observing its every move every morning and evening, recording its different changes from nesting to chicks flying away, it's a rare group of footage.
Talking about the opportunity to become a wildlife photographer, Zhu Yousen told us that he was fascinated by seeing many people photographing birds in the Three-Lake Park six years ago, so he joined the ranks of bird photography. According to Zhu Yousen and his companion Liu Hui, they have photographed nearly 300 bird species in Changting County since 2014, including summer migrants, winter migrants, resident birds, and seasonal birds, which is about 290 species, close to 300 species. There are also two national level protected animals, one endangered animal, and possibly 20 more second-level protected birds, and 200 more third-level protected birds.
Birds are the guardians of the forest, an important part of the natural ecosystem, playing an indispensable role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. In recent years, Changting County has continuously increased the protection of wild animals and birds by strengthening measures such as ‘Birdwatching Week’ to widely publicize bird, wildlife, and plant protection knowledge, related laws and regulations, and guide the public to continuously improve their awareness of wildlife protection, strengthen their legal awareness, and consciously become protectors of wildlife and disseminators of socialist ecological civilization values.
Deputy Director Liu Hui of Tingjiang National Wetland Park: In terms of protecting birds, there has been a wide consensus in society, and our forestry department has also established specific contacts with relevant schools, and we have entered schools to carry out parent-child activities and popularize the knowledge of loving birds, protecting birds, and protecting wildlife, with many schools carrying out these parent-child activities.
In recent years, Changting County has continuously promoted soil erosion control work, actively promoted ecological civilization construction, and achieved significant results in ecological protection and restoration. The former ‘Flame Mountain’ has now become ‘Fruit and Flower Mountain’, providing a good habitat for wild birds.
Deputy Director Liu Hui of Tingjiang National Wetland Park: When the ecological environment is good, the habitat environment for birds is good, and the ecological environment is not good, the habitat environment of birds is damaged. Love birds, take care of birds together, build a community of people and birds, birds and people live in the same village on Earth, I hope that the general public loves birds, abolish the bad habit of eating wild animals.
(Fu Fangbin, intern: Guo Meng)
