(CFP Photo)

The first simultaneous survey on wintering waterfowl in the Yangtze River Delta region has recorded 109 species with a total population of over 1.15 million.

The delta consists of Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. The survey was supported by the Department of Wetlands Management at the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Led by the Shanghai Forestry Bureau, the survey was held simultaneously in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. In the survey, 19 teams conducted studies in the region's 118 coastal and inland wetlands, namely 13 in Shanghai, 64 in Jiangsu, 22 in Zhejiang and 19 in Anhui.

More than 100,000 birds of 65 species were spotted in Shanghai, 430,000 birds of 82 species recorded in Jiangsu, 130,000 birds of 79 species in Zhejiang and 470,000 birds of 66 species in Anhui.

Notably, the survey recorded 13 species of birds under national first-class protection and 16 species of birds under national second-class protection. In addition, they included two IUCN critically endangered and five endangered species.

This survey provides a scientific basis for strengthening the protection of waterfowl and habitats in the key areas of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, one of the world's great flyways of migratory birds. It will also contribute to biodiversity conservation in the delta region, one of the most populated and urbanized city clusters in China.