Bird-watching festival in Pu'er unveils new avian discoveries
Silver-breasted broadbill. [Photo by Mo Guowei/for chinadaily.com.cn]
Over the course of 60 hours, a bird-watching event in Lancang Lahu autonomous county in Southwest China's Yunnan province documented 273 bird species, setting new records for the area.
The second Yunnan Lancang Bird-watching Festival concluded with the announcement that seven bird species were newly recorded in the area, including the spot-winged starling, which marked a new record for Pu'er city, the jurisdiction that administers Lancang.
The festival attracted 10 teams of 40 bird-watchers from across the country. Participants braved intermittent rain and worked tirelessly day and night across three sections of the Lancang National Forest Park and the Lancang section of the Nuozhadu Provincial Nature Reserve. Their efforts exceeded expectations, breaking the previous festival's record of 231 bird species.
Bird-watchers search spot-winged starling at a farmland in Lancang county, Yunnan province, on Nov 4, during the 2nd Yunnan Lancang Bird-watching Festival. Chen Liang / China Daily
The festival is a key component of the "Our Lancang" biodiversity conservation project. Since its inception in 2022, the initiative — supported by the Lancang county government, Huatai Futures Co, and the Huatai Foundation — has focused on biodiversity monitoring in the area. By filling data gaps and enhancing wildlife surveys, the project aims to provide scientific guidance for future conservation efforts. It also explores sustainable forest resource management and biodiversity conservation practices, benefiting local communities and paving the way for eco-tourism development.
The festival was organized by the Shan Shui Conservation Center, a Chinese NGO dedicated to species and ecosystem conservation and to resolving issues related to human-nature coexistence, and the Rosefinch Center, a nonprofit organization promoting bird-watching and bird conservation. It was held under the guidance of the Lancang County Forestry and Grassland Bureau and the Nuozhadu reserve management bureau, with support from the Global Environment Facility's project on improving the sustainability of China's nature reserves.
Brown-throated sunbird. [Photo by Mo Guowei/for chinadaily.com.cn]
During the festival, the teams navigated the complex terrain of southern Yunnan, leveraging their expertise to document the area's avian diversity. Notably, they recorded one national first-class protected bird species and 49 national second-class protected species.
The rapid survey provided an in-depth snapshot of the local avian diversity. Among the newly recorded species are the spot-winged starling, rufous-backed sibia, black-necked grebe, Von Schrenck's bittern, white-tailed nuthatch, and thick-billed warbler. Several newly discovered species will require further observation and documentation to confirm their presence.