Patroller takes rare birds under his wing

A black-faced spoonbill forages in Panshan Village of Xinzhou Town in Danzhou City, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 19, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

HAIKOU, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of migratory birds stride closely behind as a fisher picks up shells and crabs with a scoop over a swamp, waiting for the mollusks left behind in the muddy waters.

Overjoyed to see the harmonious scene, Chen Zhengping records the moment with his camera.

Chen, 45, is a forest patroller in the city of Danzhou, south China's Hainan Province. He is also the leader of a bird protection team consisting of 17 members, including forest patrollers, villagers and college students.

"Protecting endangered birds is conducive to environmental protection in the Danzhou Bay area," Chen said.

Last month, Chen and his friend Shen You spotted a spoon-billed sandpiper in Danzhou. The sandpiper is a member of a rare and endangered species. Spoon-billed sandpipers are listed as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are under state protection in China.

"The finding shows that the biodiversity in Danzhou is becoming increasingly better," said Shen, a bird expert.

The rare bird was artificially bred in Russia on July 6 this year. It was released into the wild on July 26, and experts last recorded it on August 2.

Chen was excited to find the rare bird. He calls the little bird "C2 Prince," as it carries on its foot a tag inked "C2." He soon spread the word among local villagers, calling on them to help protect the bird.

"C2 Prince from Russia has come to our home! If we see the bird, we should only observe it from a long distance," Chen said to locals in a village tour promoting environmental protection.

A spoon-billed sandpiper forages at Xinyingwan mangrove nature reserve in Danzhou, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 19, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

FROM SELLING SEAFOOD TO PATROLING FORESTS

In the early days, Chen ran a seafood business with his wife in Danzhou and it brought them handsome profits.

But he gradually noticed some changes: The area of mangrove forests, a signature plantation in the area, was dwindling.

"More and more people were artificially raising fish in village ponds, and the mangrove forests declined," he said. "It broke my heart because I grew up here, and mangrove forests were always a part of our lives."

In 2010, Chen became a forest patroller in Danzhou Bay, and his daily work was taking care of mangrove trees.

ENDANGERED BIRDS UNDER THE WING

Danzhou is located along the route of migratory birds from East Asia to Australia. Hundreds of thousands of migratory birds flock in droves to Danzhou every winter.

Six years ago, authorities in Haikou, the provincial capital, launched a quiz show about bird observation. Chen participated in the contest at the recommendation of the local forestry department. The event ignited his passion to observe migratory birds. In 2019, Chen became the first migratory bird observer in his village.

Taking a camera and telescope along, Chen starts his daily work early in the morning by counting bird types and population, inspecting the conditions of bird habitats and introducing bird protection knowledge to local villagers.

At the very beginning, his wife could not understand his choice and would often complain about the toilsome job. However, Chen's persistence and passion for migratory birds persuaded his family.

Chen's most memorable experience was saving four young owlets.

"I remember finding a night owl had lost her newborn owlets. I was worried and looked for them everywhere in the village," he recalled.

He later used a loudspeaker to spread information about the missing birds and went door to door to inform villagers about bird protection. "I told them that these were endangered birds, not pets, and that people needed to put the birds back in their nest," Chen said.

In the next few days, one by one, all the owlets were returned secretly and safely by villagers.

So far, Chen has recorded more than 180 types of birds in his patrolling area, including state-protected birds like eastern imperial eagles and black-faced spoonbills.

"I hope more people will join us in bird protection," he said. "Together we can create a fair habitat for them."