By Peng Junjun

On 1 May, Nantong environmental monitoring center published a piece of good news: national first class protected wild life black-faced spoonbill was shot again at Rudong Xiaoyangkou wetland on 4 April. There were about 14 of them. One of them has A42 band label.

According to the search results on black-faced spoonbill record websites in the world, A42 was injured, saved and marked in Hong Kong on 13 April 2019. Up to now, it was observed in total 10 times in the world. The ‘famous’ black-faced spoonbill was last observed in Haifeng, Guangdong on 15 January. Now it has reached breeding place in Korea successfully. Since February, black-faced spoonbill population has been shot in Rudong wetland for continuous 3 months.

In the early 1990s, the total number of black-faced spoonbill was less than 300. Since 1993, black-faced spoonbill global synchronic census was carried out every winter. As local protection and conservation work was improved, global black-faced spoonbill population is restoring. Nantong is located in the middle of East Asia-Australia migration route, is an important stop for migrating birds such as black-faced spoonbill and Spoon-billed Sandpiper. It is also a major breeding place of national first class protected animal Saunders's Gull.

In the past few years, ‘implement protection and avoid large scale development’ idea was practiced in Nantong. Pollution prevention and treatment was implemented. From Yangtze River side to Yellow Sea wetland, ecological environment is improving continuously, and biodiversity is recovered obviously.