Chinese park halts island renovation project to protect migrant bird

A park in eastern China’s city of Wenzhou recently halted the ongoing renovation of its lake island, in a bid to maintain the ecology for a wild bird that has flew there for the winter.

The bird is a Schrenck’s bittern, a migrant species rarely seen in Wenzhou. It was firstly spotted on Nov. 4 in the park by a bird observer.

Its appearance attracted huge attention among local bird observers that many of them waited around the island with telescopes and cameras. But the cautious bird would always hide in the bushes, as if playing hide-and-seek with the people.

However, the bird observers learnt that the park was planning to renovate the island, which would damage the ecology of the bird’s habitat.

So they contacted the management office of the park, hoping the construction could be halted and then restarted after the winter.

Fortunately, the park immediately decided to stop the renovation work, leaving this wetland to the migrant bird. In addition, the management office has also decided to turn off the surrounding lights, offering a better habitat for the bird.

“Now more than 40 kinds of birds can be observed in the park, covering most of the species in the city,” said Wang Xiaoning, secretary of a local wild bird association.

He said that he appreciates the cooperation of the park, and the association will enhance collaboration with each park and call on more people to protect wild animals.