National park’s sound ecological environment in Sanya attracts a rare feathered visitor from afar

A yellow-billed stork frolics and forages at the Sanya Paddy Field National Park, a major scenic area featuring the integration of agriculture and tourism in Sanya city, south China’s Hainan Province. (Photo/Mai Dubin)

Endowed with abundant pristine natural resources and a sound ecology and environment, Sanya Paddy Field National Park, a major scenic area featuring the integration of agriculture and tourism in Sanya city, south China’s Hainan Province, recently attracted a rare “visitor” – a yellow-billed stork.

The bird’s population is mainly distributed on the African continent and the island of Madagascar, according to Lu Gang, head of a wetland research institute in Haikou, Hainan Province, and counselor with the Hainan Bird Watching Society.

Judging by the band attached to its leg, the bird flew to the park from a local zoo, Lu said, explaining that since Africa is so far away from China, it’s impossible for such a bird to migrate from that part of the world all the way to Sanya.

The bird species usually dwells near rivers, lakes and in intertidal zones, and feeds on fish, frogs, reptiles, shellfish, and insects.