Protected wetlands in Ningxia sees increasing number, variety of migratory birds

Thousands of grey cranes have been seen in a county in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in recent days, with the increasing number of migratory birds in Ningxia epitomizing improvements to the local ecological environment.

Thousands of grey cranes fly over a wetland in Hongyazi township, Pingluo county, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Photo/Yue Changhong)

The birds were spotted in the wetlands at the Ningxia section of the Yellow River in Pingluo county. According to a staff member at a wetland conservation and management center in Ningxia, there are usually over 5,000 grey cranes that winter here for six months starting from October every year, accounting for about a quarter of the total population of the species in the world.

Ningxia, whose wetlands serve as a transfer station and breeding ground for migratory birds, is now home to over 320 species of birds. It has witnessed the appearance of a larger variety of species, such as Haliaeetus albicilla and bean geese, as well as larger flocks in these past years. According to Li Zhijun, head of a bird watching association in Ningxia, flocks of green sandpipers and black-tailed godwits arriving here are estimated to have added up to about 100 to 150 birds in 2019, compared to less than 20 in one flock in the past.

Ningxia has established several nature reserves in past years, as part of its efforts to improve the local ecological environment. The one situated in Qingtongxia that was built in 2002, for example, is the largest in the region. “Herons and egrets used to make stopovers here, but now they settle down in the reeds here in winter,” said Li Huimin, deputy head of the management bureau of the reserve. Li added that the reserve is home to 12 bird species under the strictest level-one protection, up from nine in the past, which reflects a better ecological environment and reduced human activities.