Early to mid-May sees peak passage of Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica 蓝喉歌鸲 Lán hóu gē qú) through Beijing. In suitable habitat it’s not unusual to see multiple birds at a single site during this time. On 6 May I visited ShaCheng wetlands, west of Guanting Reservoir, just over the border in Hebei Province. That morning, in one 500m stretch of reedbed and wet grassland, there were over 20 Bluethroats, the majority males, with a few singing.
One of the male Bluethroats (Luscinia svecica 蓝喉歌鸲 Lán hóu gē qú) at ShaCheng Wetlands, Hebei Province, on 6 May 2025.
It’s a long time since I have heard a Bluethroat singing and I was immediately struck by the incredible mimicry. Several times I thought I had heard a Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus 鹤鹬 Hè yù) and looked around frantically to see it only to realise it was a Bluethroat! I began to listen carefully to one male that was singing close by and logged the mimicry of other species I could recognise:
I recorded a few minutes of song – three bursts of around four minutes in total (with a background chorus of Dark-spotted Frogs) – have a listen and let me know what species you can hear!
In Bent, A. C. (1949)’s “Life histories of North American thrushes, kinglets, and their allies”, published in the U. S. National Museum Bulletin 196, the species account for Bluethroat reads: “The delightful song of the bluethroat has charmed all naturalists who have heard it in its northern haunts and has earned for it among the Lapps of its native country a name meaning “a hundred tongues.”
Header image: a singing male Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica 蓝喉歌鸲 Lán hóu gē qú) at ShaCheng Wetlands, Hebei Province, 6 May 2025.
The most recent confirmed Beijing sighting of the North China Leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis), a subspecies of leopard endemic to China, was in the 1970s. A combination of persecution, habitat loss and hunting of the leopard’s prey meant that this magnificent animal was forced to retreat to its stronghold deep in the inaccessible Taihang mountains of Shanxi Province.
For some time there has been a dream to ‘bring home the leopard’ to Beijing and, following greater protection and awareness, habitat restoration and the recovery of populations of prey species, such as Siberian Roe Deer (Capreolus pygargus) and Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), it seems that this dream now seems to be a genuine possibility and most conservationists say it is a matter of when, and not if, the North China Leopard will again be recorded in the capital.
At the end of April, to help accelerate the leopard’s return, a collaborative conservation project titled “Oaks for Leopards” was launched in Beijing. The capital is joining forces with Hebei and Shanxi provinces to restore habitat and provide greater protection for the wilderness of North China, with a view to providing food and habitat for the endangered North China leopard.
The project is jointly initiated by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Chinese Society of Forestry, the Beijing Forestry and Parks Bureau, and the forestry and grassland authorities of Hebei and Shanxi.
The article below appeared in the China Daily on 30 April.
I suspect that the first modern record of leopard in Beijing will be a roaming young male looking for a territory and it may take many more years to establish a viable population.
It’s refreshing to see a positive attitude towards the potential return of an apex predator and it will be fascinating to see how the public reacts if and when this magnificent animal reappears in China’s capital.
It’s heartwarming to be able to report some good news about a critically endangered species! On 19th April 2025, the National Forest and Grassland Administration (NFGA) published the results of the first comprehensive and synchronous winter survey of Baer’s Pochard (Aythya baeri 青头潜鸭 Qīng tóu qián yā) in China.
The survey, undertaken by recorded that the population of the Baer’s Pochard in China reached 2,555, a significant increase from the approximately 1,000 reported in 2012.
The survey was led and organized by the China Baer’s Pochard Conservation and Monitoring Working Group at Beijing Forestry University, under the guidance of NFGA, and involved over 400 individual surveyors at 212 sites in 21 Provinces that hold wintering populations of this species.
According to Professor Ding Changqing, Chair of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership and the China Baer’s Pochard Task Force, this is the first comprehensive wintering population census of Baer’s Pochard based and provides a strong scientific basis for formulating targeted conservation measures. It also provides important data support for the IUCN Red List to update the global population change trend.
Among the sites covered by the survey, there are 16 sites with a population of over 30 individuals (see Table 1 below), involving a total of 2,136 individuals, accounting for 83.6% of the total. Monitoring and protection of these sites must be a priority. Among the wintering habitats, freshwater lakes dominate, accounting for 71.51% of all habitats, followed by rivers and ponds. The investigation also discovered that wintering Baer’s Pochard prefer small abandoned fish ponds and medium to small-sized lakes with rich vegetation.
Table 1: the most important wintering sites for Baer’s Pochard in China.
Province
Site name and location
1
Shandong
Dongping lake, Taian
2
Jiangxi
East lake, Jiujiang
3
Henan
Minquan Ancient Yellow-river National Wetland Park
4
Shandong
South Four Lake Provincial Nature Reserve, Jining
5
Hebei
Baiyangdian wetland, Xiongan New District
6
Hubei
Fuhe wetland, Wuhan
7
Anhui
Jiaogang Wetland Park, Huainan
8
Hubei
Baoxiehu park, Wuhan
9
Hubei
Honghu Wetland National Nature Reserve
10
Hubei
Fanwan Lake National Wetland Park
11
Hebei
Hengshui Lake National Nature Reserve
12
Jiangsu
Feng County Ancient Yellow-river National Wetland Park
13
Anhui
Huangpi Lake, Hefei
14
Hubei
Jijia Lake Wetland Park, Dangyang
15
Shandong
Coal mining subsidence wetland, Jining
16
Hubei
Liangzi Lake Provincial Nature Reserve
Source: Baer’s Pochard Task Force, EAAFP
The results of this survey are a key milestone in the protection of Baer’s Pochard in China and build on the work over the last ten years. It was in 2016 that NFGA invited Beijing Forestry University to establish the “China Baer’s Pochard Protection and Monitoring Working Group”, with the responsibility for organising and coordinating the protection and monitoring the species in China. In recent years, the group has been engaged in ecological research on the Baer’s Pochard, established a national conservation and monitoring network, hosted international conferences, compiled the “National Baer’s Pochard Conservation Action Plan”, and collaborated with Beijing Zoo to establish China’s first ex-situ breeding population. Based on the research results, habitat restoration has been carried out in several important distribution areas in China, including at Hengshui Hu in Hebei Province.
It was back in 2018 that I participated in an international meeting on Baer’s Pochard at Hengshui Lake in Hebei Province, working alongside the late Rich Hearn of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and Coordinator of the Baer’s Pochard Task Force. I can’t help thinking Rich would have been over the moon to see the progress on protecting Baer’s Pochard in China since that meeting, and I can think of no better tribute to Rich’s lifelong dedication to waterbirds than seeing Baer’s Pochard come back from the brink. Of course, the future of this species is far from certain but these survey results are hugely encouraging and demonstrate that, with coordination, the involvement of key stakeholders sprinkled with energy and passion, conservation works!
Thank you to Professor Ding Changqing of Beijing Forestry University for providing a summary of the recent survey and for his incredible efforts as Chair of the Baer’s Pochard Task Force to turn around the fortunes of Baer’s Pochard in China. And thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who dedicated time to look for and meticulously count these special waterbirds at wetland sites throughout China last winter.
Title image: a female Baer’s Pochard (Aythya baeri 青头潜鸭 Qīng tóu qián yā) at XiHai in Beijing in January 2025 (Terry Townshend)
The Relict Gull (Ichthyaetus relictus 遗鸥 Yí ōu) is an East Asian speciality. It is always one of the most anticipated spring migrants in Beijing as flocks, with most birds in striking breeding plumage, make their way from wintering grounds in the Bohai Bay to breeding grounds in N China, Mongolia, Russia and Central Asia.
Last week I was fortunate to encounter a flock of around 65 on the shores of Guanting Reservoir and they treated me to a spectacular show. Arriving in the mid-afternoon, they circled and called before settling to rest in a shallow pond, among Pied Avocets and Black-winged Stilts.
After a few minutes, several flew to an adjacent pond – no more than 50m away from my position – where muddy patches provided feeding opportunities. Here, a few started to display, throwing back their heads and almost sounding as if they were in pain!
The recording below includes some courtship calls, followed by some flight calls.
It was an exhilarating experience to spend time with these birds at close quarters in perfect conditions as the wind died and the low sun against the mountains providing a stunning backdrop. Then, at dusk, the whole flock took to the air, calling incessantly as they circled up before heading high northwest.
One of the birds was wearing a transmitter and, after some inquiries (thanks to Professor Liu Yang), it was revealed that this individual was rescued and rehabilitated in Tianjin this winter and released with a tracking device to establish how it fared and to learn about its movements. It looked in good condition, was active and left with the main flock to the northeast at dusk, so it looks as if it is back to full health.
One of the Relict Gulls was carrying a transmitter. Inquiries revealed that it was rescued and released in Tianjin earlier this year.
It was a special experience to witness these East Asian gulls, albeit briefly, as they make their way to inland breeding grounds. The encounter inspired me to paint a loose watercolour.
Relict Gull is a species entirely dependent on the intertidal mudflats of the Yellow Sea, so it is vulnerable to coastal wetland reclamation and pollution. Thankfully, the most immediate threat of reclamation has been removed thanks to the ban on coastal wetland reclamation issued by the State Council in 2018 and the inscription of some of the most important coastal wetland sites as World Heritage Sites. However, its future is far from secure and will require continued efforts to protect the places it needs, including the wintering grounds in the Yellow Sea, breeding grounds inland and important stopover sites, such as Guanting Reservoir in Beijing.
Title image: The Relict Gull with the transmitter flew in front of the moon as it left with its flock high to the northwest at dusk.
This winter (2024-2025) is a poor one for some species we consider to be staple winter visitors in Beijing. Thrush numbers are well down, waxwings are scarce and there are almost no high-elevation redstarts in their usual mountain haunts. Certainly at Lingshan the sea buckthorn crop, which usually sustains good numbers of thrushes and redstarts, is the worst I have seen. Not only have few shrubs produced berries this year but those fruit that were gleaming orange at the beginning of autumn are now anaemic and shrivelled. This is most likely due to the fact that the autumn was wetter and milder than usual which seems to have resulted in most of the fruit succumbing to rot and fungi.
Sea buckthorn berries at Lingshan this winter (January 2025). Most seem to have rotted in the late autumn period, which was unusually mild and wet.
The best ‘thrush-watching’ this winter has been in the city parks, especially at drinking spots. Beijing is generally cold and very dry in winter, so after any juicy berries have been exhausted, winter birds tend to feed more on the drier fruits of cypress trees or similar, requiring them to drink frequently. Finding a spot close to a food source with running water and some cover is the best way to secure good views.
Of the four regular ‘winter thrushes’ in Beijing, Naumann’s (Turdus naumanni 红尾鸫 Hóng wěi dōng) is the most common in lowland Beijing, followed by Red-throated (Turdus ruficollis 赤颈鸫 Chì jǐng dōng), Dusky (Turdus eunomus 斑鸫 Bān dōng) and the scarce Black-throated (Turdus atrogularis 黑颈鸫 Hēi jǐng dōng) in order of abundance. In the mountains, the top two are reversed, with Red-throated the most abundant, followed by Naumann’s, Dusky and Black-throated.
This winter I have spent a bit of time at two regular spots for winter thrushes – Beihai Park and the Botanical Gardens. Although numbers have been relatively low, there has still been a reasonable variety, with some interesting mixes of genes on display. In Beijing it is common to see intergrades, most often between Naumann’s and Dusky and occasionally with the other species. However, as Beijing is a wintering area for these thrushes, we have no way of knowing the true parentage of any individual bird and thus we can only make educated guesses as to the origins based on visible plumage details.
Here are a few images, mostly from this winter, with some comments. As always, comments and corrections are welcome.
First up, some standard Naumann’s Thrushes (Turdus naumanni 红尾鸫 Hóng wěi dōng)
These birds show the classic strongly marked underparts, including undertail coverts and golden-orange fringes to the wing coverts and mantle. I speculate that the bird in the second image is likely a female based on off-white supercilium and dark spotting on throat sides.
I have very few images of Black-throated Thrush Turdus atrogularis 黑颈鸫 Hēi jǐng dōng from Beijing, reflecting the relative scarcity of this species in the capital.
This one from Peking University campus in January 2013.
Intergrades
The following images are of birds that show signs of intergradation. I have added some comments to each and welcome opinions.
Dusky x Naumann’s
By far the most common intergrade in Beijing.
8 January 2025, Beihai Park
This bird is presumably a Dusky x Naumann’s intergrade, showing a mixture of blackish and reddish underpart markings, a long, broad dusky-like supercilium and Naumann’s-like mantle and scapulars.
28 January 2025, Botanical Gardens
This bird looks Dusky-like on first glance but on closer inspection shows prominent reddish markings on the underparts and undertail coverts, most likely evidence of some Naumann’s genes.
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
The two above could easily pass for Dusky Thrushes on first glance but, again, close inspection in particular of the second image, reveals reddish markings on the undertail coverts.
Black-throated x Red-throated
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
With a mixture of red and black feathers on the upper breast, this is presumably a Red-throated x Black-throated.
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
Whilst some dark markings on the throat and upper breast can be indicative of young or female birds, this bird shows some black feathers mixed with red on the lower part of the gorget, suggesting intergradation.
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
This bird shows darker red feathers than usual. Is this an intergrade with Black-throated or just a variation in Red-throated?
5 February 2025
This bird shows predominantly blackish feathers on the gorget but the undertail and undertail coverts are reddish, ruling out a pure Black-throated. The rather heavy marks on the undertail coverts may be indicative of Naumann’s genes.
Black-throated x Naumann’s?
28 January 2025, Botanical Gardens
This striking bird is wintering in the Botanical Gardens and is presumably a Black-throated x Naumann’s intergrade. The obvious black upper breast pattern combined with the Naumann’s like flanks and tail suggest this combination.
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
Two more images of the same bird showing the flank pattern and undertail coverts.
Red-throated x Naumann’s?
25 December 2021, Botanical Gardens
The denisty of red on the upper breast of this bird, combined with the relatively plain head pattern, may indicate Red-throated genes, while the flanks and reddish panel on the wing suggest Naumann’s.
Red-throated x Dusky?
The images below are from Beihai Park in January 2021. If only the head and breast pattern are considered, my best guess would be a Red-throated x Black-throated Thrush but the rufous wings suggest Dusky or Naumann’s influence. A Red-throated x Dusky may make most sense here.
18 January, 2021, Beihai Park
18 January 2021, Beihai Park
First generation intergrades are probably, in most cases, relatively easy to work out but there must be all sorts of combinations of second and third generation birds, and beyond, out there.
Watching winter thrushes in Beijing is always rewarding. Whether pure or intergrades, the majority are striking birds and a joy to spend time with, even if sometimes we can’t know for sure what we are looking at!
With huge gratitude to the speakers from China, Thailand and Vietnam, including the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, there is now a short summary of the special webinar on mist nets in Asia on the Oriental Bird Club website.
In addition to the speakers, the organisers would like to thank the 130 people who joined online from around the world and the interpreters who kindly provided simultaneous English and Mandarin translation.
A snippet of the summary is below. For the full article, please see this link.
“The webinar heard case studies from south and north Vietnam (Trang Nguyen from WildAct Vietnam and Nguyen Hoai Bao of WildTour and BirdLife International), Thailand (Rongrong Angkaew of King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi) and China (Dan Liang of Princeton University). The case studies brought home the scale of illegal mist-net use in Asia for poaching and crop protection and some of the pioneering work to engage with authorities and local communities to try to reduce bird mortality, especially in wetlands and production landscapes in the region.
Representatives from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China – Deputy Director General Qiu Jinghui and Prosecutors Mou Qi and Ding Shu – then gave short presentations on the action being taken in China to tackle this issue. Deputy General Qiu revealed that addressing illegal mist-net use was now a high priority for the Supreme People’s Procuratorate who are focusing on “preventative, systematic and co-ordinated protection of wild birds.” The prosecutors had engaged with e-commerce platforms where mist-nets are cheaply and easily available to flag to anyone searching for mist-nets that their use to catch or kill wild birds is illegal. The national level prosecutors had also instructed provincial level prosecutors to prioritise the control of mist-nets. Case studies were presented in which local officials, after finding wild birds were being killed using mist-nets, had engaged with local communities to raise awareness of the law relating to wild bird protection and to explore alternative crop protection methods that do not involve the killing of wild birds. In 2025 research will take place into identifying a standard for anti-bird nets that protect crops but are more visible to birds, for example nets with a thick cord, and controlling the production and public sale of nets with a thinner cord. The prosecutors also noted that some of the mist-nets being used in Thailand and Vietnam had been imported from China and they will explore the potential to restrict their export from China.”
The organisers and speakers agreed to continue this discussion and there will be a meeting shortly after the Spring Festival to discuss next steps.
Thanks again to everyone involved for making the webinar possible and for shining a light on this important issue. For those that missed the webinar, it is expected that the case study presentations will soon be available via the Oriental Bird Club website. Links will be provided as soon as they are live.
Title image: a caged Yellow-breasted Bunting positioned as a lure adjacent to an illegally set mist net in Hebei Province (photo by Terry Townshend)
In early January an important paper was published in the international journal, Biodiversity and Conservation. The paper presented the results of the first large-scale assessment of snow leopard population in China. Led by scientists at ShanShui Conservation Center and Peking University’s College of Life Sciences, in partnership with other Chinese and international organisations, the paper used data from camera traps collected from 12 sites between 2015-2021 to estimate the snow leopard population at 1,002 individuals in an area of 360,000 km2 on the Tibetan Plateau (a density of 0.9 animals per 100km2).
The abstract of the paper is below:
“Abundance estimation of large carnivores is essential for their effective conservation plan- ning, yet estimating population size is challenging due to their elusive and wide-ranging nature. China is estimated to encompass 60% of the snow leopard Panthera uncia habitat, making it a crucial pillar for global snow leopard conservation. However, no large-scale population assessment has been conducted despite scattered survey effort accumulating rapidly in recent years. This study combined and standardized existing camera trap survey data from 12 sites collected by four organizations during 2015 ~ 2021 to estimate snow leopard population in an area of 360,000 km2 on the Tibetan Plateau, China. The representativeness of existing survey was evaluated based on two habitat stratification approaches to achieve less biased population assessment. Spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) models were applied for snow leopard density estimation and the top-ranked model showed a significant positive correlation between conservation priority strata and density. An average snow leopard density of 0.90 /100 km2 (95% CI: 0.68~1.21 /100 km2) and a population size of 1,002 (95% CI: 755~1,341) individuals was estimated for the defined snow leopard habitat. Two more conservative estimates of 971 (95% CI: 732~1,287) and 978 (95% CI: 737~1,267) individuals were generated within two defined survey regions, in which our data had higher representativity. This study presents a practical approach to synthesize existing population survey data for large-scale population assessments of individually identifiable species. The estimated number represents 11~21% of the global snow leopard population, indicating high conservation value of this region.”
The snow leopard is a flagship species in the mountains of Central and South Asia and understanding their population status is crucial for conservation planning. In China’s Sanjiangyuan National Park (similar in size to England), the snow leopard is the jewel in the crown.
Importantly, much of the data used in this population assessment came from infrared cameras set up and maintained by local people, such as the community in the Valley of the Cats.
Setting up an infrared camera in the Valley of the Cats. Footage courtesy of ShanShui Conservation Center.
It is heartening to see how their local knowledge, combined with their collaboration with scientists at ShanShui Conservation Center and Peking University, has played an important part in building the first large-scale picture of the snow leopard population in China.
Huge congratulations to the brilliant authors – it is wonderful to see so many familiar names – and to everyone who has contributed to this study. It is an important milestone in the conservation of this magnificent big cat.
Next Saturday 18 January 2025 at 1800 China time (1000 UK, 1100 CET), BirdLife International and the Oriental Bird Club will host a special joint webinar about the use of mist nets in Asia.
Although precise figures are impossible to find, it is clear from the data available that millions of birds are trapped or killed in mist nets every year, most of them illegally. Controlling the production, sale and illegal use of mist nets would make a major contribution to helping to slow, stop and reverse biodiversity loss while strengthening law enforcement, all at a relatively low cost.
The webinar will include speakers and case studies from Vietnam, Thailand and China. Importantly, representatives from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate will join and present what they are doing to tackle this issue in China. This webinar will be the first time that China’s prosecutors participate in such an international platform and it is part of a major broader effort to tackle illegal poaching. See here for some background.
Anyone can join the webinar by scanning the QR code in the flyer (see header image) or by going to this URL: http://bit.ly/4a30YUM.
On 26 November, the U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, and his wife, Ms. Elizabeth Baylies, hosted the latest Ambassadors for Nature event at their residence. Entitled “Unexpected Biodiversity of Beijing”, the centrepiece was a lecture by Peking University Professor Luo Shu-Jin about Beijing’s leopard cats. The audience, including ambassadors and senior diplomats from eight countries, Chinese academics, and PhD students, were treated to a wonderful presentation about the secret lives of these elusive predators which can be found in healthy numbers in the mountains and wetlands of Beijing, even inside the 6th ring road.
We learned that Beijing is one of only eight G20 capitals to host populations of wild cats and that the leopard cat is one of the “big 10” mammals in China’s capital city, alongside two species of badger, two species of weasel, masked palm civet, raccoon dog, wild boar, siberian roe deer and Chinese goral.
Professor Luo, ably supported by her students, told the story of Beijing’s leopard cats being photographed at the venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics and, at the end of the talk, presented Ambassador Burns with a personalised photograph of a leopard cat walking a trail with the downhill ski slope in the background.
In his remarks, Ambassador Burns highlighted how diplomatic missions can lead by example by incorporating biodiversity and environmental practices into their operations and facilities. The Ambassador underscored the common interest of the United States, China, and other countries to work together on pressing international environmental challenges, including by tackling climate change at the recently concluded COP 29.
The Ambassadors for Nature initiative is an informal group of 37 ambassadors who have developed and committed to the Pledge for Nature with the aim of incorporating biodiversity into the way diplomatic green spaces are managed and promoting biodiversity among staff and in diplomatic exchanges. For more about the initiative, see this link: https://wildbeijing.org/the-ambassadors-for-nature-initiative/
On Monday this week I received a message from the Shunyi Forest and Parks Bureau asking when I had some time to meet. They said they had something to show me.
We arranged to meet on Thursday morning and I was a little intrigued. They collected me from my apartment and drove me to a small park close by, a place that I had highlighted to them some time ago as a good place for dragonflies and that provided a potential opportunity to set up a community dragonfly reserve.
As we parked up and walked in, I could immediately see a new addition to this small green space – a large information board with pictures of 24 dragonfly and damselfly species that have been recorded there, with text about dragonflies’ life-cycle and why they are important. Wow!
The information board with photos of the 24 species of dragonfly and damselfly recorded at the site, including a special emphasis on the critically endangered Libellula angelina, 24 October 2024.
This small green space, about 20 minutes walk from my apartment, is a place I visit every month. Two years ago, I was fortunate to discover a small breeding population of the critically endangered Libellula angelina 低斑蜻 Dī bān qīng. There are only a handful of known sites for this species in the capital and it has clearly declined significantly over the last few decades. Given that the species is on the wing only in April and early May, it is easily overlooked. The following summer I discovered a small population of Brachydiplax chalybea 蓝额疏脉蜻 Lán é shū mài qīng (Oriental Blue Dasher) at the same site, a species that historically was found only to the south of Beijing and with only very few records in the capital. Together with a good variety of more common resident species, it was clear that this site was an exceptionally good place for dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata).
The discoveries inspired me to draft a short proposal to make this small urban wetland a dedicated dragonfly reserve, with suggestions on how to manage the habitat effectively to protect these fantastic insects. I submitted it to the local government with low expectations but I took the view that it was worth the effort to try to raise awareness about the special wildlife we have around us in a relatively urban part of the city.
I am overjoyed that the local government has decided to take up the recommendations.
In the proposal, I listed the species I had recorded, illustrated with photos taken at the site, and highlighted the two rare species, especially the critically endangered Libellula angelina. They used the images to illustrate the information board and have included background about Libellula angelina to help raise awareness that this community has something special in their backyard.
Internationally, there is a lot of emphasis on officially protected areas to help protect biodiversity and, under the new Global Biodiversity Framework, there is a headline global target to protect at least 30 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas, and at least 30 per cent of marine and coastal areas by 2030, but it is arguably equally as important to manage non-protected areas in a way that is more friendly for biodiversity, and I hope that this example from Shunyi District in Beijing will inspire other districts and towns to follow suit. As far as we know, it is the first local dragonfly reserve in Beijing and, possibly, in all of China.
Big thanks to the local government in Houshayu, Shunyi District, and to friends at Shandong University for their help with the habitat recommendations.
8 January 2025, Beihai Park
8 January 2025, Beihai Park
