Volunteers excel in experience, skills

Zhong Jia, a mainstay of China's bird-watching community for many decades, praised the volunteer participants of a recent survey in Hubei province as being perfect for the task.

Hu Gang is an instructor at a nature education workshop in Wuhan, the provincial capital.

The 34-year-old biology graduate started bird-watching in college. After graduation, he worked as a biology teacher at international schools in Shanghai and Wuxi, Jiangsu province, for several years.

He often guided his students on bird-watching trips during vacations as an extracurricular activity.

In 2017, he joined the workshop and became a professional nature education instructor. Every year, he leads many groups — ranging from kindergarten children to college students — on nature education tours.

"I teach them how to identify wild plants, catch insects and watch birds," Hu said. "It's the perfect job, as I get to combine my interests with my work."

As the largest nature sanctuary in Hubei, the Shennongjia National Park has been the site of many of Hu's tours, so he is very familiar with the national park's roads and birds.

As such, he is an ideal survey member. "I can't remember how many times I have been there," he said.

Chen Siqiao, 27, is an online jewel trader from Kunming, Yunnan province. In 2016, while a university student, she joined the college bird-watching group.

Because she was unable to travel to Hong Kong to purchase jewels from 2020 to last year, she spent a lot of time watching birds in Yunnan, known as the home of 900 avian species, the most among China's provincial-level regions.

To watch birds, she drove to many remote areas and spent weeks on the road. "She is kind of free with her time, very familiar with bird songs and calls, and also a good driver," said Lei Jinyu, secretary-general of the Rosefinch Center, one of the organizers of the survey.

Yao Yi is a retired reserve ranger. Before retirement, he worked at the East Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve in Hunan province, where he oversaw wildlife-monitoring work, with major targets being migratory birds. "Counting birds and taking photos of them was part of my job," the 59-year-old said. "I can't remember how many bird surveys I have taken part in. I love birding: if I didn't, my job would have been a pain."

Li Mingpu, 70, and his wife, Li Yunfei, 69, helped to found the Hubei Bird-watching Society.

In the past 20 years, they have helped provide bird-watching training for many rangers at reserves in the province. Since retiring, they have spent a great deal of time taking part in various bird surveys, including a six-year monitoring project in the Shennongjia area.