A thrill for bird watchers: Rare hooded cranes are spotted at Mazhou Island. [Photo/mytaizhou.net]
Hooded cranes, known formally as the Grus monacha, have been spotted recently at Mazhou Island – located in the county-level city of Jingjiang – administered by Taizhou city in East China's Jiangsu province.
The hooded crane is a large wading bird and a national key protected bird. There are currently estimated to be only 6,000-15,000 of them in the world.
It mainly breeds in northeast China and in the Russian Far East. The birds are monogamous and the relationship between husband and wife is very stable, so they are also called "lovebirds".
Mazhou Island is known as the only pristine oasis in the Yangtze River Delta region that has not been polluted by industrialization and urbanization. [Photo/mytaizhou.net]
Located at the easternmost area of Jingjiang city, Mazhou Island is located in the mainstream of the Yangtze River, covering an area of about 13.5 square kilometers.
In order to better protect the island's biodiversity and promote a harmonious coexistence between man and nature, the city established the Yangtze River Biodiversity Conservation Scientific Observation and Research Station there in 2021.
Over the past year, the scientific research team has recorded a total of 203 species of birds and 34 national key protection species at Mazhou Island.
They comprise four species of national key protection species and 30 national second-class key protected species.