Since this September, the primary chicken survey within the Kashgar Reclaimed Water Utilization and Ecological Afforestation Base, led by the Kashgar City Forestry Bureau and undertaken by organizations together with the Shenzhen Mangrove Wetland Conservation Foundation (MCF), Shenzhen Evening News, and Shenzhen University’s College of Marine and Life Sciences, has achieved important new findings. The survey recorded 95 chicken species, together with three first-class state-protected species and 17 second-class state-protected species. The survey revealed the most important autumn inhabitants in China of an endangered species often known as the white-headed duck. Additionally, a record-breaking 105 black storks have been noticed, marking the most important inhabitants of black storks found in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in over a decade.
White-headed geese within the lake of Kashgar Reclaimed Water Utilization and Ecological Afforestation Base. /Photo courtesy to Li Jingchuan
White-headed geese within the lake of Kashgar Reclaimed Water Utilization and Ecological Afforestation Base. /Photo courtesy to Li Jingchuan
The base covers an space of 54,000 mu (roughly 36 sq. kilometers). It was initiated in 2018 with 50 million yuan in help, which have been supplied by cities and provinces together with Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangdong. The base makes use of handled city wastewater for ecological afforestation on beforehand barren and saline-alkali land. Currently, it has reworked 38,000 mu (over 2530 hectares）of land into forests and created 10,000 mu (some 667 hectares) of wetlands. This former wasteland has develop into one of the crucial consultant areas for biodiversity in Kashgar City, internet hosting a various vary of chicken species and forming a wonderful wetland panorama.
Aerial shot of the Kashgar Reclaimed Water Utilization and Ecological Afforestation Base. /Photo courtesy to Li Jingchuan
Aerial shot of the Kashgar Reclaimed Water Utilization and Ecological Afforestation Base. /Photo courtesy to Li Jingchuan
Sun Lili, the Co-founder and Vice President of the MCF says the ecological afforestation base is positioned on the western fringe of the Taklimakan Desert, which is a vital node on the worldwide migratory routes for Central Asia, and on the Asian–East African Flyway. It serves as an vital resting place and vitality replenishment station for migratory birds and is a big wintering floor for migratory birds.
The present survey outcomes present that the birds wintering within the base primarily embrace shorebirds, gulls, and herons, in addition to different birds together with raptors and songbirds. The variety of winter migratory and migratory stopover birds exceeds 20,000, rating on the forefront by way of species and amount within the Kashgar area. The survey will proceed till 2024, overlaying the 2023 winter chicken survey and the 2024 spring migratory chicken survey. A report titled “Bird Baseline Survey of Kashgar City Reclaimed Water Utilization and Ecological Afforestation Base” will then be compiled.
Black storks forage within the wetland of the bottom. /Photo courtesy to Li Jingchuan
Black storks forage within the wetland of the bottom. /Photo courtesy to Li Jingchuan
The survey additionally highlighted the area’s distinctive traits by discovering 13 species of raptors among the many 20 state-protected animals, proving Xinjiang to be one of many advantageous areas for learning the migration patterns of raptors in China.
(Story supplied by Li Jingchuan and Yang Feng.)
