GPS aids monitors putting rare birds under caring eye

During a bird survey conducted in the reserve last year, a total of 627 black storks, a species under first-class State protection, were sighted, a number rarely seen for a single observation of black storks in China.

In recent years, the reserve's administration has initiated monitoring and study efforts involving black storks to gain more firsthand knowledge about the rare species.

Shan and his colleagues conduct daily monitoring during the birds' breeding and migratory seasons. As adult black storks are extremely vigilant, researchers can only observe their nests from a distance of approximately 60 meters using binoculars and other equipment. To ensure nothing is missed, cameras have been installed at four nests.

Before attaching the trackers, the researchers also measured the height and weight of the two baby birds. The measurement, taken while the parent bird was away from the nest, is for ensuring free and safe movement of the birds while wearing the tracker, which weighs around 40 grams, or about 1 percent of a young bird's weight.

"The parent bird will go out foraging at 6 am and fly back in two to three hours, so we had to hurry," Shan says.

With GPS devices, cameras and manual monitoring, the reserve has obtained a large quantity of data and established a partnership with relevant research institutes to jointly study black storks.

"I enjoyed my time with these black storks, and hope we can better protect them through systematic research," Shan says.