Qinghai News Network Damei Qinghai Client News
April 1 is International Bird Love Day. As the ecological environment continues to improve, more and more birds come to our province as guests and settle down, and some rare birds not only appear in nature reserves, but also go to the places where residents live, and stage a vivid picture of harmonious coexistence between humans and animals.
Flocks of black-necked cranes (courtesy of Li Laixing)
Red Storks and Black Storks come to visit the door
The flamingo, also known as the flamingo, is a rare bird that lives in the tropics.
Last winter, in the Yellow River wetland of Hualong Hui Autonomous County, photography enthusiasts photographed a single flamingo. On a cold winter day, this flamingo stayed in the Yellow River wetland of Hualong for more than two months, attracting many bird watchers.
This spring, photography enthusiasts photograph flamingos again in the Yellow River wetlands of Hualong. Unlike the last time, a pair of flamingos was found this time. Flamingos have extremely high habitat requirements, and there have been few monitoring and shooting records in Hualong and even Haidong regions.
Last winter, Wang Jianjian, president of the Qinghai National Park Bird Watching Association, observed the flamingos that appeared in Hualong for some time. Wang said that the flamingo appeared in Hualong a few days ago, and also appeared in the waters of the Golmud wetlands, and they followed all the way, and later saw the flamingo in Hualong.
News reports record: In 2016 and 2018, flamingos were found in the Yellow River wetlands of Guide, up to 3 at most. There are also records of activities in DelingHakluk Lake and Xunhua Yellow River Wetland.
"The flamingo is a relatively large wading bird. Generally living near shallow lakes and wetlands with relatively warm climates, the food is mainly algae in the water, as well as fish and shrimp. Qi Xinzhang, deputy director of Xining Wildlife Park, said that the preliminary judgment is that flamingos appear in the Yellow River wetlands, which may be that there is food suitable for flamingos in local waters.
In 2013, flamingos were listed on the Red List of Threatened Species and are not found in the country, and the few discoveries recorded are mostly discrete and out-of-group solo drifting birds.
Black Stork (Courtesy of Mutual Aid Nanmenxia National Wetland Park Conservation Center)
Flamingo (Photo: Li Yufeng)
The appearance of rare bird species flamingos in the Yellow River wetland shows that the yellow river has a good ecological environment and that man and nature live in harmony. In recent years, the ecological protection along the Yellow River in our province has been continuously strengthened, and the environment has continued to improve, which is the main reason for the gathering of birds.
In recent years, the same stork-shaped black stork has also appeared frequently in Qinghai.
In October 2020, photography enthusiasts photographed three black storks in the Lotus Lake Scenic Area in Huangzhong District, Xining City. According to Wang Ship, these 3 black storks belong to sub-adult birds, which may have been stopped and foraged in the Lotus Lake Scenic Area during the migration process. The black stork has very high requirements for the habitat, especially the water quality and the surrounding wetland environment, so the three black storks use this place as a stopover for a short stay.
In December 2020, photography enthusiasts photographed two black storks in beichuanhe wetland park. This is the second time after many years that the black stork has reappeared in Xining City.
It is worth mentioning that in April 2020, more than 30 black stork populations were photographed in the Mutual Aid Nanmenxia National Wetland Park. This is the largest population of black storks monitored in our province since bird monitoring was carried out. This group of black storks specially chose nanmenxia national wetland park for the night during the migration, which should be to restore physical strength.
As a national first-level protected animal, due to the sharp decline in its population in recent years, the black stork has been listed as an endangered species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and its rarity is no less than that of giant pandas, and it is known as the "giant panda among birds".
Wang Jianjian said that the frequent appearance of rare birds such as red storks and black storks shows that the ecological environment of our province is getting better and better, attracting more and more birds to qinghai to transit and settle down. In 2019, 9 black storks migrating in transit bred young chicks in the Mutual Aid Nanmenxia National Wetland Park, which shows the improvement of the ecological environment in our province.
The "Kingdom of Birds" Qinghai Lake adds new members every year
Grey-necked bunting, small sandpipers, grass herons... Attentive people have noticed that in recent years, more and more new birds have inhabited Qinghai Lake. Qinghai Lake is home to birds, and every year, thousands of birds thrive here. Up to now, the number of birds in Qinghai Lake has increased to 225 species.
Not long ago, in the charming Fairy Bay wetland of Qinghai Lake, a medium-sized bird with a blue-gray head and a pink underparts entered the field of vision of the monitors. Due to the difficulty of identification in the wild, the monitoring personnel initially determined that this particular bird was a bird of the order Finches and buntings, but could not determine the bird species.
Through repeated comparisons in the later stage, it was finally determined that this bird was a gray-necked bunting, which was a newly recorded bird species in Qinghai Lake. Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve Management Bureau monitoring personnel introduced that the gray-necked bunting is mainly distributed in Xinjiang region, there is no distribution and record in our province, with the improvement of the overall ecological environment of Qinghai Lake, the number and variety of birds in Qinghai Lake area continue to increase.
Not long after, when the monitors observed birds in the Wetland of Xiaobo Lake in Qinghai Lake, they found a large gray, chestnut and black wader, which was obviously different from other heron water birds that were usually seen, which attracted the attention of the monitoring personnel.
Finally, after repeated confirmation by taking pictures and carefully comparing the "Handbook of Chinese Wild Birds" and "Chinese Wild Bird Atlas", it was determined that it was a grass heron, which was a new bird species in Qinghai Lake. Previously, there was no distribution and record of grass herons in our province.
Why does this grass heron appear on the shores of Qinghai Lake? Li Laixing, an ornithologist at the Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, believes that the grass heron found on the shores of Qinghai Lake is likely to be lost on the way from India to Central Asia, and this lost bird is also known as the "lost bird". The discovery of this grass heron also provides valuable information for the study of birds in our province.
Subsequently, during a routine patrol of the Bird Island area of Qinghai Lake, the monitors found a group of about 28 small sandpipers in the shallow water near the shore of the lake, and through the detailed identification and observation of the telephoto lens, it was determined that 21 of them were blue-footed sandpipers.
Small sandpiper, widely distributed in the world, is a rare migratory transit bird in China, only seen in some areas of Zhejiang and Hebei, there is no distribution and record in our province, this time in Qinghai Lake is the first observation and record, once again refresh the list of birds in Qinghai Lake.
"More and more birds appear in our province, indicating that the ecological environment in our province is constantly improving, providing a good habitat for birds." Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve Management Bureau staff said.
At the same time as the overall ecological environment of Qinghai Lake has changed, the population structure of waterbirds in Qinghai Lake has also undergone some new changes, and on the basis of the original goose, duck and gull waterbirds as the main body, the species and populations and habitats of wading birds, plovers and sandpipers have shown a trend of growth and expansion, and biodiversity has been continuously enriched.
Many birds frequently brush the sense of presence
Cannabis flounder (jiān), eagle owl (xiāo), white-backed plover (dōng), crested plover (pìtī), yellow-headed owl (jí) owl, long-eared owl... Have you heard of these wild birds and can you accurately call them by name?
In recent years, these wild birds, which are difficult to find on weekdays, have appeared frequently in our province. Although they are not as famous as flamingos and black storks, they are indispensable species in the biological chain. Their existence and discovery also reflect the increasing biodiversity of our province.
In recent years, cannabis flounder has been recorded twice in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Ecological steward Baima Jigami said that she had never seen such a large bird before herding, felt very curious, and used her mobile phone to take pictures and send them to the circle of friends, but no one was famous. Later, experts from the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences identified this bird as a cannabis flounder.
Red-billed diving duck (Photo: Wang Xiaojiong)
Crested ibis (Photo: Wang Xiaojiong)
Long-eared owl (Photo: Wang Xiaojiong)
"It is generally believed that cannabis flounder young birds migrate without purpose. Many birds migrate to fixed wintering grounds and rarely deviate too much. Lian Xinming, an associate researcher at the Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with reporters that the cannabis seabird was lost in the Yushu area during the migration process. The emergence of cannabis flounder in Qinghai is of great significance, filling the gap in the distribution record of this species in Qinghai, and is also a sign of the increasingly good ecological environment in Qinghai.
Cannabis flounder is a large heron, which is mainly concentrated in China near Bohai Bay, and the western region is only distributed in a small part of Xinjiang. In 2012, it was listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Low Risk Level), mainly feeding on fish, shrimp, frogs, crabs, snails, aquatic insects, etc.
Not long ago, the citizens of Haidong picked up a large bird that resembled an owl, which was identified by experts as an eagle owl. Eagle owl, a national second-level protected animal, has a wide range of food, known as "rat catching experts", in addition to feeding on a variety of rats, but also eat rabbits, frogs, hedgehogs, insects, pheasants and other birds. Eagle owl is an important part of the ecosystem's food chain and plays a significant role in maintaining the local ecological balance.
In 2020, in the Qinghai area of Qilian Mountain National Park, the wintering group of long-eared owl and the winter activities of gray berao were recorded for the first time. Through the analysis of the residence type, the monitors found that the southern slope of Qilian Mountain is higher, the winter is extremely cold, and there are fewer species of winter migratory birds and resident birds, but the survey recorded for the first time the wintering population of 18 long-eared owl and the winter activity of the gray berlause in the two regions.
In Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, bird photography enthusiast Wang Xiaojiong photographed birds such as white-backed ibises, crested ibises, yellow-headed partridges, and long-eared owls. Wang Xiaojiong said that similar birds look similar, it is difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, and after observing for a long time, it has the ability to distinguish. In the past 10 years, Wang Xiaojiong has photographed more than 400 species of birds, including rare birds such as Eurasian birds, boot falcons, and black eagles, and recorded many migratory birds in the area around the cliffs.
Yellow-bellied willow warbler (Photo: Wang Guozhong)
Fantail sand cone (Photo: Wang Xiaojiong)
There are three main migratory bird migration routes in China: the west, the central part and the east. Among them, our province is in an important area of the western migration route. In recent years, with the improvement of the ecological environment, wetlands, lakes resources have increased, more and more birds choose to stay and rest in important wetlands and lakes in our province during migration, Qinghai is one of the important places for birds to rest and energy supply.
With the increase of wetlands and woodlands, as well as the improvement of the public's awareness of bird love and bird protection, the living environment of birds in our province has been improved, and the bird population has increased. At present, there are nearly 300 species of birds represented by black-necked cranes in the governor's year or seasonal life, accounting for a quarter of the national bird species, and birds have become an important part of the natural ecosystem of our province.
Bird experts say birds rely on dense forests, lakes, wetlands and marshlands. The habitat must first have enough food, but also have a quiet, safe, and hidden nesting environment. It is not difficult to see that rare birds choose to stay and settle in Qinghai, indicating that the ecological environment of Qinghai has been greatly improved.
In order to weave a tightly woven biodiversity conservation network, our province has incorporated 64% of the plateau's important wetland ecosystems and 30.7% of the forests into the management of natural protected areas. Rich forest resources, wetland resources, and the good management of nature reserves provide a safe and comfortable habitat for many birds.