Published on: 2026-08-18
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
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Jinan, August 18 /Xinhua/ — In August, the wetlands of the Yellow River Delta are immersed in greenery, with lively scenes everywhere: chicks searching for food, adult birds feeding their offspring.
Being a key node on the migratory route of migratory birds “East Asia – Australasia,” the Yellow River delta rightly carries the title of “international airport for birds,” providing a home for 406 bird species.
According to the latest monitoring data, by 2026, 235 nests of the Far Eastern stork have been recorded in the Yellow River delta, while the number of new nests of the white crane in natural conditions this year reached 16. The number of successfully hatched chicks reached 543, and the total number of chicks raised here over all the years has exceeded 4,800. Both figures set new historical observation records.
Zhao Yajie, Deputy Director of the Environmental Monitoring Center of the Yellow River Delta, reported that the Amur stork, as an endangered species, mainly nests in the Russian Far East and on Chinese territory, migrating annually along an extensive corridor between the two countries. Currently, some Amur storks have become “resident birds” in the Yellow River estuary, settling here permanently.
Zhao Yajie also noted that the white crane was previously mainly distributed in the northeast of China and the Russian Far East, but in recent years it has gradually expanded its breeding range southward, and now the mouth of the Yellow River has become its southernmost natural breeding boundary.
Birds are a barometer of the environmental condition. An increasing number of bird species are choosing the estuary of the Yellow River as their home — this is the result of active comprehensive environmental rehabilitation measures carried out at the local level.
In 1992, the state nature reserve “Delta of the Yellow River” was established in Shandong Province /Eastern China/. At that time, many areas here were vast white saline wastelands.
Subsequently, local authorities invested a total of 1.56 billion yuan in carrying out comprehensive works to restore and protect terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Last month, ahead of the main flood season, as part of regulating the water and sediment levels of the Yellow River, the task of ecological water replenishment of the Yellow River Delta Reserve was successfully completed – 153 million cubic meters of water were diverted to the wetlands. Since 2013, the total volume of ecological water replenishment here has exceeded 1.39 billion cubic meters.
According to the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, China is among the countries with the richest bird diversity in the world and is also an important corridor for the cross-border migration of migratory birds. The preservation of habitats and migration routes is critical for the survival and reproduction of birds worldwide. There are 9 main migratory routes of migratory birds in the world, 4 of which pass through the territory of China.
In recent years, China has consistently demonstrated a global commitment to the protection of migratory birds. Currently, China has ratified and implemented more than 30 multilateral conventions related to environmental protection.
“This year, the relevant departments of China and Russia plan to cooperate in crane protection in areas such as scientific research cooperation and monitoring, population conservation and restoration, education, and advocacy,” said Wang Andong, senior engineer at the Scientific Research Center of the Yellow River Delta Reserve.
He also noted that the migration corridor connecting China and Russia has become not only a common concern but also a bridge for communication between people protecting birds in both countries, allowing them to combine efforts to protect each migratory bird.
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