Predatory bird - Circaetus gallicus (Photographed by Ma Kaiyu / Vision Chongqing, file photo)

Chinese merganser praised as “giant panda among birds” (Photographed by Li Lili and Qu Mingbin / Vision Chongqing, file photo)

Aythya baeri whose quantity is less than 1000 around the world (Photo provided by Chongqing Bird Watching Society, file photo)

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- For the last few days, a large number of black-headed gulls have gathered in various riverside districts in Chongqing, allowing residents to get a close look at these lovely birds. In fact, in addition to black-headed gulls, the reporter from Chongqing Daily learned from the launching ceremony of the campaign held on November 10 that 502 species of birds have been observed in Chongqing so far, 218 of which are migratory birds.

On the morning of November 10, many black-headed gulls rested in the waters of the National Nature Reserve for Rare and Unique Fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the lower reaches of Jiangjin Jijiang Yangtze River Bridge. They basked in small groups on the cobblestones, or spread their wings to fly, or played in the river, attracting many residents.

With the continuous improvement of the ecological environment of Chongqing in recent years, more and more migratory birds are coming to Chongqing for the winter or stopping there on their way to migrate. In every spring and autumn, east Sichuan ridge and valley areas will meet a large number of raptors transiting; and in every autumn and winter, wild geese and ducks from the north will come to Chongqing’s rivers and lakes on time to spend the winter.

This year, Chongqing has welcomed a large number of black-headed gulls in the riverbanks of Jiangjin, Qijiang, downtown areas and others. In late November, some of the city’s rivers and wetland parks will welcome Chinese merganser, aythya baeri and other rare water birds to live through the winter.

Statistics show that at present 502 species of birds have been observed in Chongqing, accounting for 40% of the total number of birds in China; the 218 species of migratory birds that visit Chongqing, 114 of them are water birds such as black-headed gulls; and water birds mainly include winter birds, passing migrant birds and summer birds, among which there are 64 species of winter birds, 30 species of passing migrant bird, 20 species of summer birds and 12 species of resident birds. (Translated by Liu Hongyan, Fathom Language Limited)