Hubei Protects Migratory Birds and Boosts Ecotourism with Bird-Watching Economy

At 5 a.m., before dawn breaks, the Jiugong Mountain National Nature Reserve in Tongshan County, Hubei Province, is awakened by chirping birds. Liu Bingsheng, a forest ranger, walks slowly and suddenly stops, picking up binoculars to look at a sweetgum tree in the distance. "Look! A gray-faced buzzard is preening its feathers," he whispers excitedly, introducing the bird that stops at Jiugong Mountain every year during its migration between Siberia, the Mongolian Plateau and Southeast Asia.

Known as the "Province of Thousands of Lakes" on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, Hubei is an important wintering, stopover and breeding ground for migratory birds, with the number of overwintering waterbirds remaining stable at more than one million. In recent years, Hubei has taken multiple measures to protect birds, launched bird-watching study tours and developed a bird-watching economy, making birds a "golden link" connecting nature and economy.

China Green Times reported that Liu Bingsheng has worked as a ranger in Jiugong Mountain for 40 years, and protecting migratory birds has become his new task in recent years. "With a forest coverage rate of 96.6%, our reserve is an important migratory stop in Central China, monitoring tens of thousands of birds every year," he said, recording the gray-faced buzzard in his patrol log. He has also rescued injured birds, including a white-necked long-tailed pheasant that was later released and now frequently appears in monitoring footage.

Hubei combines sincere care with technology to protect migratory birds. State Grid Huangshi Power Supply Company has developed 2,700 sets of bird protection equipment, reducing the risk of bird electric shock by 90%. Wuhan Wetland Protection Center, together with the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has designed "water birth houses" to protect Baer’s pochard nests from flooding. "We have built a three-level protection system to guard the migratory bird passage," said a relevant person in charge of Hubei Provincial Forestry Bureau.

Bird-watching study tours have become popular to enhance public awareness. At Juhe National Wetland Park in Yuan’an County, children observe birds under the guidance of ecological tutor Hu Kai. Hu Weiwei, a relevant person in charge of the park, said the park has built popular science pavilions and observation platforms to turn scientific research data into learning materials for students.

The bird-watching economy has also brought prosperity to rural areas. In Honghe Village, Shennongjia Forestry District, Lu Baokun, once a bird catcher, has turned his home into a homestay with a bird-watching base. "Last year, the base’s revenue reached 1.5 million yuan," he said. Shennongjia now has 18 bird-watching bases, with the local government providing training and subsidies for villagers.

From protecting migratory birds to developing ecotourism, Hubei has blazed a path of ecological development. Various regions in Hubei have built bird observation facilities and held bird-watching competitions, attracting enthusiasts nationwide.