Three ornithologists from Suzhou Society of Forestry observed migrating grey-headed lapwings in Taicang on August 11.
There were 1,910 grey-headed lapwings, 740 cattle egrets, 66 oriental turtle doves as well as one little curlew and two common kestrels, respectively under the country’s level-two and -one protection, according to the statistics from the bird-watchers.
Why are the grey-headed lapwings appearing on the grassy fields at this point?
▲Grey-headed Lapwing
Bird researchers explain that: Some species of birds are flying south now. Grey-headed lapwings mostly breed in northeast China and Japan and they fly south to India and the Philippines for the winter. The grey-headed lapwing is one of the early migrants, hence their appearance normally marks the beginning of bird migration.
It is no accident that nearly 2,000 grey-headed lapwings stop by Taicang this year, because Suzhou boasts a special geographical location — close to the Yangtze River. As one of the cities that comprise the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, Suzhou is an important “gas station” and habitat for birds.
Countless migratory birds fly over and make a stop in Suzhou for a fill-up every year. Therefore the wetlands and grassy fields along the river mean a lot to those birds, for instance the lapwings come to Suzhou for food and break and then continue flying south for the winter.
In recent years, Suzhou has proactively followed the Central Committee’s principle of “strengthening environmental protection rather than seeking rapid growth at the cost of the environment” and intensified its effort in protecting the ecology of Yangtze River. Through deepening the protection in a scientific approach, Suzhou will be home to more birds in the future.