Published on: 2026-08-20
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Jinan, August 20 /Xinhua/ — In summer, bird voices never cease on Hailuidao Island in Rongcheng City, Shandong Province /East China/. The island, covering an area of about 0.11 square kilometers, is located on the migration route of migratory birds “East Asia – Australasian” and serves as an important nesting site for migratory seabirds such as the black-tailed gull and the yellow-billed egret.
Thanks to its picturesque landscapes and abundance of birds, Hailuidao Island is very popular with tourists. In previous years, the flow of visitors never stopped, and the local authorities invested tens of millions of yuan in developing the tourist infrastructure on the island, which was then open to visitors.
However, the constant flow of tourists created increasingly high risks of disturbance for the birds nesting on it. To reduce the impact of human activity on the breeding and habitation of the birds, local authorities completely banned tourist landings on the island in 2018, returning Hailu Island to the birds.
The “uninhabited island” mode has yielded quite tangible results. A rare bird species – the yellow-billed egret – is extremely sensitive to water quality, food resources, and anthropogenic factors, and therefore is considered an indicator of the state of coastal ecosystems. Currently, the global population of the yellow-billed egret numbers only about 3,000 individuals; the species is listed as vulnerable in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and in China is included in the list of wild animals under the highest category of state protection.
As Yu Chao, head of the Wildlife Protection Department at the Forestry Development Center of the city of Rongcheng, explained, Hailuidao Island is of great significance for the population of yellow-billed egrets. This island is not a random stopover during migration, but a place for annual nesting, egg-laying, and chick-rearing.
In this regard, the local authorities have established a provincial permanent biodiversity observation station on Hailuidao Island for the protection of the yellow-billed egret, where monitoring of population changes and habitat conditions is conducted, as well as enhanced protection of coastal waters and reduced impact of tourist activities on breeding areas.
According to monitoring conducted in 2024 by the Natural Resources Bureau of Zuncheng City, 113 nests of the yellow-billed egret have been recorded on the island. Currently, Hailyu Island has become the largest breeding site for this species in northern China.
Yu Chao also reported that, according to the information he has, there is another habitat of the yellow-billed egret about 900 kilometers northeast of Hailuidao, on the island of Furugelma in Russia.
According to the official website of the Far Eastern Marine Reserve, this southernmost island of Russia is the only place in the country where the nesting of the yellow-billed egret has been confirmed.
In the summer of 1998, Russian scientists recorded a breeding colony of 30-40 pairs of yellow-billed herons on Furugelma Island. This discovery expanded the known breeding range of the species by more than 600 kilometers to the northeast of the Sea of Japan.
This species is listed in the Red Book in Russia. During the breeding season, specialists require maintaining a safe distance from the colonies and conduct constant monitoring of the population’s status. The Furugelm Island is also home to black-tailed gulls, marine cormorants, and many other sea birds. The reserve, by limiting activity zones and controlling tourist impact, preserves a relatively calm space for various bird species to breed.
The Haiyuidao and Furugelma islands are located within the extensive area covered by the “East Asia–Australasia” migration route and are important nodes in the distribution network of the same rare species. China and Russia apply different approaches, but all are based on a single simple principle of nature conservation: to leave enough space for the birds. Humans take a step back – and the bird nests on the islands gain more peace. -0-
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It is an accurate report of what the source asserts and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.