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Urumqi, 27 May (Xinhua) -- Every day before dawn, Ayimratti Dawuletibek, dressed in overalls, comes to the lake in the wetland park.
In the midst of the reeds, he moored a small boat and set up a telescope and a SLR camera camouflaged with camouflage cloth. Turning his camera lens at a group of white-headed hard-tailed ducks on the surface of the water 100 meters away, he patiently waited for the best time to shoot. After an hour, he began to feel back pain and his legs gradually lost consciousness.
Xinjiang Wulunguhu National Wetland Park photographed on June 18, 2020. (Drone photo) Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shadati
A flock of ducks forages at Xinjiang's Ulungu Lake National Wetland Park on June 19, 2020. (Drone photo) Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shadati
"I can't go up there. Adult birds keep an eye on young birds that are not yet able to fly, and if I get close, they may leave the nest because they feel dangerous. "We shouldn't bother them. ”
On September 23, 2020, white swans flew over Xinjiang's UrunguHu National Wetland Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shadati
Ayimratti DawuletiBek, 36, is a ranger at the UlunguHu National Wetland Park in the Altay region of northern Xinjiang, China, and is also a birdwatcher and bird photography enthusiast.
With a total area of more than 120,000 hectares, Ulungu Lake National Wetland Park has three types of wetlands: lake wetlands, swamp wetlands and river wetlands, which are located in the staggered zone of wetland plants and desert plants, providing rich food and living space for migratory birds.
Xinjiang Wulunguhu National Wetland Park photographed on June 19, 2020. (Drone photo) Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shadati
In 2016, Ayimratti Dawuletibek saw the recruitment notice of the wetland park, immediately applied, and successfully passed the recruitment.
As a novice with no basic knowledge, he found it difficult to deal with birds in the first few years.
"Every time a bird flies by, I quickly photograph it with my phone, flip through the bird encyclopedia with the photo after work, and write down what I learned in a notebook." He said.
On September 23, 2020, several swans foraged in Xinjiang's Wulunguhu National Wetland Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shadati
This is the caretaker of Ulungu Lake National Wetland Park Ayimratti Dawuletibek on February 1, 2021 in the park to prepare to release and rescue kestrels. (Photo courtesy of respondents)
Usually, Ayimratti Dawuletibek spends most of his time patrolling the park, keeping the environment clean, helping tourists in difficulty, and rescuing injured birds. He also offers to share his knowledge about birds with tourists.
In winter, he drives a pickup truck over a frozen lake to monitor birds and sprinkles sun-dried corn kernels at feeding points to help them survive the cold.
"Winter is sometimes very humid, the fog is very heavy, I can't see the road clearly, I can only drive while driving. Although I would insert ice into the ice layer to measure the thickness and ensure driving safety before each departure, I was a little worried at first. He said.
At the end of January, Ayimrati Dawuletibek received a call from a tourist saying that a kestrel had accidentally hit a glass while preying on food and had fallen to the ground. He rushed to the scene and found that the flaming red falcon had been slightly injured.
He took the injured kestrel back to help heal it and replenish its strength. A few days later, after evaluation, he released the bird back into the wild.
On June 19, 2020, water birds foraged in Xinjiang's UlunguHu National Wetland Park. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shadati
In recent years, the wetland park has taken a variety of measures to protect birds. According to Zhang Yihai, director of the Ulunguhu National Wetland Park Administration, the management bureau has set up a patrol team composed of 18 stewards and built 8 management stations.
Since 2015, governments at all levels in Xinjiang have invested about 120 million yuan in the ecological construction of the park, including wetland protection and restoration, and science popularization and education on bird knowledge in Ulungu Lake.
According to statistics, by the end of 2020, a total of 269 species of birds were monitored in this wetland park. The park monitored 162 white-headed hard-tailed ducks last year, an increase of 157 compared to 2017.
"This shows that the environment of the wetland park is favored by more and more birds, and the biodiversity is becoming more and more abundant." Zhang Yihai said.
During his six years of work, the steward Aymurati DawuletiBek has traveled to almost every corner of the wetland park. Today, just by looking at the color of the bird's coat, he can call out the names of more than 130 birds; just by listening to the birds, he can identify more than 50 kinds of birds.
"In addition to doing my job, I will continue to learn about birds and contribute to their conservation." He said. (Video reporters: Shadati, Lu Yifan)