Winged guests arrive in Suzhou, bringing vigor to Taihu Lake

Lately, tens of thousands of migrating birds have flown to Suzhou for winter. Their destination is undoubtedly the Taihu Lake, which is now brimming over with vitality as the winged guests sport in water.

All of these unique and nice creatures can be seen at Suzhou Taihu Hubin National Wetland Park.

Endowed with abundant natural resources, Taihu Hubin National Wetland Park is an important lakeside wetland in Taihu basin and a representative wetland park in Suzhou. Luxuriant reeds, crystal clear water and thick rows of trees make the wetland park a favorable habitat to numerous aquatic birds.

As Suzhou has worked to conserve Taihu Lake over recent years, increasing species of birds fly to Taihu and dwell in the area. Taihu Hubin National Wetland Park has recorded 195 species of birds by December, 2021, including rare birds under state protection in China.

A basic birding equipment checklist 

Binoculars. A pair of binoculars is a must-have. It’s recommended, especially for beginners, to use magnification binoculars that are between 7x and 10x.
 
Field guide. By bringing a field guide with you, you’ll be able to identify different birds and enrich you experience.
 
Journal and pencil. Some avid bird-watchers may want to document their exciting findings, so keeping a journal will be helpful for remembering what birds looked like, the noises they made, and their characteristics and habits, and other important details.

Tips for birding clothes:

Avoid wearing bright colors that don’t match your surroundings or call unnecessary attention to yourself. Clothes in the color of dark green, brown and grey, including camouflage, are recommended. Also, choose clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty so you can take the steps necessary to observe a bird better.

Code of conduct:

No baiting; keeping animals on a wild diet. Keep your distance and move slowly; don’t crowd or chase. Don’t pick up eggs or catch birds. If you discover a bird breeding or building a nest, avoid extra disturbance and leave them alone.

The beauty of Taihu Lake underlies the scenery of Suzhou. Taihu Lake is 2,338 square kilometers in area, 72 percent of which is located within Suzhou. In recent years, Suzhou has attached great value to conservation of Taihu Lake.

Through conservation of Taihu Lake, Suzhou has achieved a win-win of both economic development and ecological conservation and explored a transformation way where man and nature coexist in harmony.

Suzhou has removed the purse seine on the surface of Taihu Lake and made proper arrangements for the placement of around 10,000 fishermen to restore the health of the lake.

Suzhou took the initiative to build a “buffer zone for ecological security” to protect the city’s “mother lake” through intensified efforts.

To protect the waters of Taihu Lake, Suzhou launched projects to beautify its shoreline and built a 5.5-kilometer-long wetland belt around the lake.

Suzhou has unveiled a set of supporting policies and programs to attract talent and investment to Taihu area. At present, several homestay clusters, including Jinting Mingyue Bay, Dongshan Luxiang and Guangfu Kanshang, have emerged in the area.

With the aforementioned measures in place, Taihu Lake has been home to lush vegetation, aquatic animals and birds, and become a good example for green development.

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