Currently a total of 404,000 water birds are spending winter on the Dongting Lake, according to the Hunan Provincial Forestry Bureau on February 15. The number of winter migratory birds has hit a record high, the bureau said.

In January 2022, the Hunan Provincial Forestry Bureau organized a survey of water birds wintering on the Dongting Lake from 2021 to 2022. A total of 150 survey sites were set up in the area around the lake, of which 52 were set up in the East, West and South Dongting Lake Nature Reserves and Hengling Lake Nature Reserve, and 98 were set up in counties, cities, and districts and protected areas near the above-said four nature reserves.

A total of 404,000 water birds of 74 species were observed during the survey, including 447 water birds of five species under first-class state protection and 25,000 water birds of 12 species under second-class state protection. A total of 140 endangered black storks were spotted at the Yueyang Jicheng Elk Nature Reserve. The black stork, sometimes called the "panda of the birds," is under first-class state protection in China. Experts have confirmed that this is the largest black stork population found in China.

Most water birds spend winter in the East, West and South Dongting Lake Nature Reserves and Hengling Lake Nature Reserve. A total of 298,000 water birds of 54 species were observed in these areas during the survey, accounting for 73.9% of the total number of water birds on the Dongting Lake. Compared with the same period of the previous year, the number of water birds increased by 10,000, up 3.4%.

The Hunan Provincial Forestry Bureau said that compared with the previous years, the survey this year has a wider and more comprehensive scope. Hunan Province will continue to carry out the survey, and gradually establish a network and a database for water birds survey and monitoring in the ecological economic zone around the Dongting Lake. These efforts will provide a basis for studying and evaluating habitat conditions of migratory birds in the Dongting Lake. These will also give support for preventing water bird from being damaged and studying habitat protection and restoration.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn