More and more migratory birds have flown to Jiangsu to overspend the winter as the weather is getting cold. Let’s take a close look.
Many Oriental white storks have recently flown to the Linhong River Estuary Wetland in Lianyungang. The Oriental white stork in its foraging displays a graceful posture. In the past two years, the coastal wetlands of Lianyungang have become one of the important habitats for the Oriental white stork.
In the Yancheng National Rare Bird Nature Reserve, groups of overwintering birds were flying in the air or foraging, presenting a beautiful scene of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
With over 20 million birds coming here every year for wintering and migration, this nature reserve has become an important wintering and migration hub for birds worldwide.
“The Reserve will lower the high water level in the wetland to ensure that the water level on the mudflat drops to about 10 cm, so that birds who come here for winter can have a suitable living environment. The reserve is mainly patrolled by high-altitude video surveillance, sea patrols, and land patrols, as well as by drones to ensure that birds that come to the reserve for wintering can safely overwinter,” said Chen Guoyuan, Deputy Director of Resource Management and Protection, Yancheng National Rare Bird Nature Reserve Administration.
At Junshan in Nantong, photography enthusiasts captured the footage of two sika deer. Unlike the sika deer we usually see, these two sika deer do not have "spots" on their bodies, but instead appear dark brown. In fact, these are the limited "skins" that sika deer wear in winter.
“The skin color of the sika deer in winter is closer to the color of the environment, not so bright, for the sake of keeping warm and making it more suitable to blend with the surrounding winter environment so as to better protect itself. In spring, the sika deer will change into bright fur with plum blossom dots, which looks even more vibrant,” said Wu Weimin, Secretary General of Nantong Bird Enthusiast Photography Association.
The wild sika deer, an endangered animal, is placed under level-A protection on the national list. Years ago, there was a sika deer breeding base near Junshan. During the relocation of the breeding base, three sika deer escaped. Nowadays, these three sika deer have naturally bred in the wild, forming a large family of about six or seven deer. In China, if the sika deer breeds in the wild for more than three generations, it can be recognized as a wild species.
