Shutterbug safeguards fowl friends

CHANGSHA－Every winter, Cao Jianjun waits for his "friends" at a national wetland park in central China's Hunan province.

In 2013, he took a photo of a Chinese merganser, an endangered bird species under class-one state protection, for the first time in the province's Shuangpai county. Since then, his camera has captured more and more of the beautiful birds.

"I did not know what they were when I first shot them, but I realized they were different from the other birds that I usually saw," said the 61-year-old photographer. "So I was quite excited when ornithologists told me they were one of the oldest species in the world."

The Chinese merganser, which is known in China as "the giant panda of bird species", has very particular requirements when it comes to selecting its aquatic environment.

Over the past eight years, Cao has taken more than 60,000 photos of the species across the county, which is a major wintering habitat for the merganser and other migratory wildfowl.

"He often squats alone on the riverbank for the whole day, with some food and a tent, to get the best pictures," said Jiang Yanbin, who works at the wetland park.

China has worked hard to address its environmental problems in recent years. Many places have not only become ideal habitats for migratory birds, but also hot destinations for bird watching and related leisure activities.

Nets and other forms of fishing gear once posed a threat to birds along the Yangtze River, but that threat is now diminishing thanks to the 10-year ban on fishing along key areas of the river that was enacted at the beginning of last year.

In addition to photography, Cao is also a volunteer patrolman, protecting the birds and their habitat.

"More volunteers, including villagers and retired teachers, join us in guarding birds," Cao said. "Protecting their habitat also protects our homes."