The number of migratory birds in the ecological restoration project area of Dongzhai Port (Sanjiang Bay) in Hainan has increased by two to three times compared with previous years

On the morning of November 8, migratory birds that have come to Hainan ahead of winter are dancing in the ecological restoration project area of Dongzhai Port (Sanjiang Bay) in Hainan. Photo by Wang Kai, reporter of Hainan Daily.

On the morning of November 8, the wind was clear in Haikou, which was a good day for outdoor activities. The same is true of migratory birds from the far north.

In the area of Hainan Dongzhai Port (Sanjiang Bay) ecological restoration project (hereinafter referred to as Sanjiang Bay ecological restoration project), the newly planted red saplings send out buds, and there are other migratory birds of different sizes and looks in the saplings, or pacing, or foraging, or close their eyes to rest.

In the woods nearly a meter high on the shore, a series of "patter" sounds came out suddenly, such as torrential rain pouring on banana leaves.

Feng Erhui, a forestry engineer from Hainan Dongzhai Port National Nature Reserve Administration, hid inside. With a telescope in his right hand and a stopwatch in his left hand, he was counting the migratory birds in the area, where the "pop" sound came from.

This is part of migratory bird monitoring.

Starting in September every year, Feng Erhui's focus of work has turned to migratory birds, and he needs to frequently observe and monitor the habitat of migratory birds, including the types of migratory birds, behavior, and whether there is interference in the habitat. If the number of birds in some areas suddenly increases or decreases, the habitat must have changed. he said.

Since the "migratory bird season" this year, Feng Erhui has observed a big change: the number of migratory birds in the Sanjiang Bay ecological restoration project area has doubled to tripled than in previous years. In terms of species, mainly geese, ducks and charadrippers increased significantly.

"This is related to the Sanjiang Bay ecological restoration project to turn the river pond back into a wetland." Put away the stopwatch, Feng Erhui stressed to the Hainan Daily reporter: "Pay attention, is to let the river pond become wetland again."

He explained that water birds such as herons and charadrippers feed on benthic animals such as small fish and shrimp, which are found only in tidal wetlands. Most of the herons are "big" with "long legs" and can forage in deeper waters, while the small, short-legged water birds such as crakes and charadrippers can only forage in beaches and rarely appear on mangroves.

This also means that the pond should not only return to the forest, but also return to the wetland, in order to be more conducive to the richness of species. "The Sanjiang Bay ecological restoration project has restored 2,680 mu of ponds, planted 1,600 mu of trees, and used the remaining 1,080 mu to improve habitats for birds and aquatic animals," Feng Erhui framed a range on the map.

Just as the voice fell, the water surface suddenly turned a "gray wave", Feng Erhui's thumb also immediately rose and fell quickly on the stopwatch. "Mongolian sand plover, 53 individuals." But just a few seconds, the reporter had not had time to identify their "real body", "gray waves" have gradually fallen on the water, Feng Erhui also wrote this line on his notebook.

"I have a secret." Perhaps seeing the reporter's surprise, Feng Erhui smiled and taught the reporter a set of bird identification formulas: "Small, black mouth, little egret; small, yellow mouth, cattle egret; big, yellow mouth, great egret; big, yellow mouth, short neck, medium egret."

Soon, the restoration area was completely emptied of migratory birds. There are about 500 migratory birds on the 70-acre plot, including black-winged stilt, greenshank, great egret, black-tailed godwit and white-browed duck.

Hainan Dongzhai Port National Nature Reserve is located on the migratory route from East Asia to Australia, with a variety of bird living environments such as rivers, shrimp ponds, mangroves and beaches. Since 2013, Haikou has vigorously carried out mangrove wetland ecological restoration and mangrove afforestation in Dongzhai Port, and migratory birds have gradually changed from "rare visitors" to "frequent visitors", and the number and species of migratory birds have constantly set records. The black-faced spoonbill, known as the "giant panda among birds", has also been seen frequently in recent years.

Putting away the monitoring tools, Feng Erhui is ready to go to the next migratory bird habitat, "I hope that the migratory birds monitored last year can keep appointments this year, even more than in previous years." (Reporter Xi Jihong)