Guardians of migratory birds in Zhengzhou overwinter
photo/ Zhang Yanfeng
It's the annual bird migration season again. On the open fields at the junction of Zhongmou and Kaifeng, , a five-star red flag fluttering in the wind in the square courtyard with red brick and blue tiles.
On Jan. 11, the reporter followed the police into the base for the Migratory Bird Protection Base of Zhongmu County to see how the guards spend their Spring Festival.
When approaching the base, the spring festival scrolls at the gate are the first to come into view. Tian Hongwei, the captain of the patrol team, stroked the couplets and all sorts of feelings well up in his minds. He said ”from a tent to a board house, and then to a barracks, every year in the winter since the winter of 2012 we have settled in the vast Yellow River Beach, to shelter the migratory birds. Even during the Spring Festival, we take turns standing guard for the migratory birds.
The 60 square kilometers of Zhongmu Yellow River Wetland in Zhengzhou is one of the most biodiverse wetlands in central China. All kinds of birds roost and breed here in winter. It is literally a "paradise for migratory birds", Tian said.
The reporters saw, a few members of the patrol come back, covered with dirt on their body, and there was frost between their eyes and brows.Since 2012, the number of bird species recorded in the area has increased from 169 to 251, which thanks to the migratory bird protection team. Among them, 10 species of birds and more than 30 species of animals are under state protection.
Every autumn and winter, bean geese and gray cranes have become frequent visitors to the Yellow River wetland. At present, the great bustard, a bird under first-class state protection has been observed at most 100 at a time in the reserve. Black stork, a national first-class protected bird, has been observed continuously since 2020 and 8 are founded. Gray crane, a national second-class protected animal, has a population of 1000 to 2000. The number of bean goose population is the largest, at most one observation has reached more than 4000.
