Northwest China's Qinghai Province has counted over 93,000 waterfowl from 58 species during the annual migratory bird survey, providing a solid data support for waterfowl conservation in the region.
Last year, Qinghai conducted its first survey of autumn migratory waterbird populations, identifying 61 species across 13 families. Led by the provincial and Grassland Bureau, this year's survey started on Sept 24 and has been conducted at 57 designated locations across the province.
"Last year, we conducted our first autumn migratory waterbird survey in 66 points across 18 areas. This year, we refined our selection by removing sites with few migratory birds, such as certain riverine wetlands, reducing the total to 57 survey points," said Zhang Yu, director of Wildlife Protection Department of Qinghai Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau.
Covering a vast area of around 720,000 square kilometers, Qinghai boasts numerous well-preserved freshwater wetlands that host a large variety of migratory birds. However, due to the animals' unpredictable movements, along with the province's high altitude and complex terrain, it has always been a challenging task to accurately monitor waterbirds in the field.
To enhance survey quality, this year's duration has been extended from a week to a month this year. Additionally, for the first time, grassroots forest rangers have been engaged and trained to support this extensive survey.
As of Thursday, the Qinghai 2024 autumn migratory bird survey has detected 58 species, totaling over 93,000 birds. The survey is expected to continue until the end of October. The collected data will provide scientific support for analyzing migratory patterns and population changes as well as conservation efforts in Qinghai.
"Next year, our autumn waterbird survey will commence as early as August and last until October. It will be further lengthened by over a month to enable us a comprehensive understanding of the species diversity, population numbers, and key factors affecting migratory waterbirds in Qinghai," said Zhang.
Qinghai records over 90,000 migratory waterbirds in annual survey
