The biodiversity survey conducted in Qidong, Nantong City in early spring has achieved new findings, including the discovery of familiar species such as Saunders's gull and Eurasian curlew as well as the rare Central Asian gulls.

On April 22, a visit to the river bank in Qidong revealed tens of thousands of mallards, a representative of Yangtze River waterfowl and also under first-class national animal protection.

Noting that the number of bird species and population is influenced by the local natural environment, Professor Lu Changhu of Nanjing Forestry University said Jiangsu stands out for a great variety of water birds. He explained that the province’s flat land and vast network of rivers, lakes and coastal areas contribute to this variety.

Jiangsu marks its annual Bird Week from April 20 to 26. According to the first large-scale survey of wintering waterfowl in Jiangsu this year, the province recorded 420,855 wading birds in 82 species, including 2,304 birds in 11 species under first-class animal protection and 35,400 birds in 14 species under second-class protection. The common shelduck had the largest population of more than 85,000 birds.

In Jiangsu, popular destinations for wintering waterfowl include Qingkou estuary in Lianyungang, Yancheng Wetland Rare Bird Reserve, Dafeng Milu Reserve, Tiaozini in Dongtai, Dongling in Rudong, Hongze Lake Wetland Reserve and Nanjing’s Xinjizhou Wetland.

Data showed the number of bird species in Jiangsu increased significantly and province’s biodiversity structure tends to be stable.

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