Video loading...
The world's critically endangered white-headed hard-tailed duck has added a new home in the wetland of Ulungu Lake in Xinjiang. At present, the Xinjiang Bird Watching Association has joined hands with the WulunguHu Wetland Park Management Bureau to monitor and investigate the habitat of the white-headed hard-tailed duck.
A family of white-headed hard-tailed ducks photographed at Lake Ulungu in the summer of 2019. Photo courtesy of Wang Yong
According to Gou Jun, head of the "Ren Bird Fly" project team of the Xinjiang Bird Watching Association, the white-headed hard-tailed duck has been rated as critically endangered by the IUCN, with a global population of about 7,000 to 13,100, mainly distributed in Spain, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Mongolia and other countries. As early as 2017, members of the Xinjiang Bird Watching Association found that there were white-headed hard-tailed ducks roosting in Ulungu Lake, "The number of white-headed hard-tailed ducks found at that time was not very large, and there were a few or more than ten of them in the annual migration season or summer, but the breeding of young birds has not been recorded." In the 2019 migration season, local volunteers found hundreds of white-headed hard-tailed ducks "resting" on the lake surface, and in the summer continuous observation survey, 9 pairs of white-headed hard-tailed ducks "couples" were recorded to stay in the local area to breed, "At that time, the lake area was relatively large, the reeds were dense, and there may be white-headed hard-tailed ducks in the breeding period, which were not found for the time being." Gou Jun said.
Image source: Video screenshot
According to Gou Jun, because the white-headed hard-tailed duck is a breeding bird or a traveling bird in Xinjiang, in recent years, although researchers have found more than ten habitats of white-headed hard-tailed ducks in Xinjiang, these habitats can mostly see the transit of white-headed hard-tailed ducks during the migration season, and rarely find them staying in the local breeding, "Except for the long-term record of young birds breeding in Urumqi White Bird Lake Wetland and Kuitun Wetland, there are very few stable breeding records in other waters." He said.
In order to further understand the population distribution of rare birds such as white-headed hard-tailed ducks in the Ulungu Lake Wetland, the Xinjiang Bird Watching Association has jointly applied for the Alxa SEE Foundation Ren Bird Flying Nongovernmental Protection Network Project in conjunction with the Ulungu Lake Wetland Park Management Bureau, and established the Xinjiang Bird Watching Association "Ren Bird Fly" project team at the beginning of this year, and at the same time launched the "Ulungu Lake Wetland Bird Monitoring and Protection" project, and began to carry out long-term monitoring and investigation of rare birds such as white-headed hard-tailed ducks.
【Further reading】
Image source: Network
The Ulungu Lake Wetland is located in the town of Xiete Ager, more than 20 kilometers west of the county seat of Fuhai in the Altay region, and consists of two parts: Lake Ulungu and Lake Jili. Located in an important stopover for global migratory bird migration, it is home to the richest fish resources in northern Xinjiang. About 245 species of birds inhabit the area each year.
【Extended Reading】
Initiated by the Alxa SEE Foundation in March 2016, the Ren Bird Fly project is a comprehensive ecological protection project to protect China's most endangered waterbird and its habitat. The Alxa SEE Foundation Ren Bird Fly Nongovernmental Conservation Network Project is an ecological protection network project based on scientific research by joining hands with ecological protection organizations, local government departments, enterprises and local residents around the wetland. (Author Zhao Mei Editor Wang Qiang)