The first week of April marks Bird Loving Week in Chongqing, where the theme for 2023 is "Protect Migratory Birds, Maintain Ecological Balance". On April 3, the Chongqing Forestry Bureau reported that over 500 species of wild birds have been recorded in Chongqing, comprising around 60% of the city's wild vertebrate species. Notable wild birds in the region include Chinese mergansers, Baer's pochards, and white-crowned long-tailed pheasants.
Aquila Chrysaetos crossing Chongqing. (Photo/ Chongqing Forestry Bureau)
Chongqing boasts 218 nature reserves of various types and levels, covering a total area of about 1.269 million hectares. These reserves safeguard more than 90% of Chongqing's rare and endangered wildlife species and over 90% of the typical subtropical broad-leaved evergreen forest ecosystems. Additionally, forests occupy 55.04% of the city's land area, providing a favorable habitat for birds.
Halcyon Pileata in Chongqing. (Photo/ Chongqing Forestry Bureau)
As spring brings large-scale migration and clustering of migratory birds, flocks of birds have been seen flying across Chongqing every day recently. "The main urban area of Chongqing is divided by Tongluo Mountain, Zhongliang Mountain, Jinyun Mountain, and Mingyue Mountain. These long and narrow southwest-northeast mountains constitute the Chuandong parallel ridges and valleys, which are important channels for birds to migrate from south to north," said Wei Qian, head of Chongqing Bird Watching Society. The migration of raptors in spring typically lasts from March to June. They fly from Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and other places before arriving in Japan, South Korea, and Russia's Siberia. The updraft in the parallel ridges and valleys makes their migration much easier.
Chongqing's ecological environment has improved, leading to an increase in the number and variety of raptors flying across the city yearly. Over the past decade, Chongqing has recorded a total of 220,000 raptors migrating across the city. In recent years, 27 species of raptors have been observed, including rare and endangered species like Jerdon's baza, short-toed eagles, booted eagles, and Bonelli's eagles.
During this year's Bird Loving Week in Chongqing, the city will focus on "Operation Breeze 2023". Efforts will be made to investigate and rectify nature reserves, bird migration channels, rivers, lakes, and import-export ports, and to crack down on illegal wildlife trade. A volunteer team will be organized under the tenet "Protect Mountains, Guard Birds" to remove bird catchers, build homes for birds, rescue them, and release them back into the wild. These efforts aim to comprehensively eliminate potential safety hazards for migratory birds and further enhance people's awareness of ecological and environmental protection.