'Tough Bird' flies back in town

Writer: Wang Jingli  |  Editor: Zhang Chanwen  |  From: Shenzhen Daily  |  Updated: 2022-09-21

A lesser sand plover (Charadrius mongolus) that lost its left foot was spotted flying back to Shenzhen Talent Park recently, DT News reported.

Luo Shirong from Shenzhen Bird Watching Society spotted the bird again this year after his first discovery in the park last August. The bird is easy to spot because of its jerky and uneven walk. Given its survival without a foot amid the competitiveness in the wild over the past year, Luo nicknamed it “The Tough Bird.”

The lesser sand plover without a left foot spotted in Shenzhen Talent Park in August 2021. Luo Shirong

Like the black-faced spoonbill, lesser sand plovers are also migratory birds. Starting this August, many regular bird visitors were seen returning to Shenzhen to spend the winter.

According to Luo, the earliest time he saw a lesser sand plover this year is Aug. 7 in the waters off Shenzhen Bay.

Shenzhen is an important stopover of the winter birds’ East Asia-Australia migratory route, which is among the nine major flyways for bird migration.

Each year, Shenzhen Bay welcomes many shorebirds during migratory bird season. Other migratory bird species commonly seen in Shenzhen Bay include anatidae, heron, gull and cormorant.

In 2020, a lesser sand plover wearing a ring marked “A1” was spotted at Shenzhen Talent Park. Related data showed the bird had visited Shenzhen six times in the past 10 years.

The best time to watch migratory birds at Shenzhen Bay is from October to April, based on previous monitoring experience. The most active feeding time for birds is when the tidal level reaches 0.5 to 1.2 meters on the sea base surface.

Birds normally look for food from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., as well as at around 5 p.m., so these time periods are perfect for birdwatching. Moreover, two to three days before the arrival of cold air are also the best times for birdwatching, according to the report.

Although Shenzhen is only nearly one-5,000th the size of the country in land area, the number of bird species found in the city is a quarter of that in the country.

Over 189 bird species including the endangered black-faced spoonbills stay at Shenzhen Bay during winter each year.

Shenzhen Bay is the world’s third-largest habitat for black-faced spoonbills with 336 of these birds recorded in a census, according to the census report by Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS).

Citizens are advised to not wear bright-colored clothes when admiring birds and urged to avoid littering and feeding wild water birds. Citizens can call 0755-23737770 when they spot injured birds.