On January 11, zhou Minjun, an ornithologist at the Suzhou Wetland Nature School, discovered two globally endangered species, the blue-headed diving duck, in Kuncheng Lake, Changshu, Suzhou.
According to reports, at that time, Zhou Minjun was observing with a telescope on the shore and saw a group of wild ducks on the lake surface 1 kilometer away, about 5,000, roughly belonging to more than 10 populations. And when he looked back at the videos and pictures taken with the telephoto lens, he was pleasantly surprised.
Zhou Minjun: I found that there are two diving ducks that look different from other ducks, and a closer look revealed that its flanks have white stripes, its head is turquoise, and there are brown patches on the chest, which determines that it is two blue-headed diving ducks.
The blue-headed diving duck is an omnivorous deep-water bird of the genus Diving Duck of the family Pharyaceae, which rarely chirps, is good at folding its wings and diving, mainly feeds on aquatic plants and fish, shrimp and shellfish, and is timid. The wings are strong and powerful, and they are more flexible in taking off on the surface of the water, and can immediately rise from the surface of the water when frightened.
Listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2013, the Blue-headed Diving Duck is currently less than 1,000 and is a globally endangered species. As a migratory bird, the blue-headed diving duck begins to migrate to the south for wintering in mid-October and migrates from the south to the north in mid-March of the following year to breed, usually choosing a safe and comfortable place as a wintering place. The appearance of the blue-headed diving duck in Suzhou Kuncheng Lake shows that the wetland environment on this side of Kuncheng Lake is particularly good, and there is a wealth of food, which is suitable for the habitat of the blue-headed diving duck. (CCTV reporter Wu Rui)
(Editing by Li Mingyi)