Tiny nature reserve for rare birds in downtown

XIAMEN, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Xiamen, a coastal eastern Chinese metropolis, may have one of the world's smallest nature reserves for one single endangered bird species, which is even hidden among skyscrapers in its downtown.

The distinguished visitor to the reserve is called Merops philippinus, or Blue-tailed Bee-eater, whose Chinese name sounds confusing to almost anyone as the phrase literally means a tiger-like hunter of bees with a chestnut-colored neck without any hint of its actual identity as a bird species.

Duan Daoqing, 44, has been attending the wildlife's seasonal stopover at Wuyuan Bay Nature Reserve in Huli District for about three years.

He enjoys seeing people turn to one another with the same expression of dawning comprehension, surprise, and relief after hearing his explanation of the bird's name: The bird is such a talented animal "pilot" that it catches meals, mostly bees, butterflies, and dragonflies while flying. True to its name, the species is a ferocious predator, just like tigers in the jungle, that easily gives insects the creeps.

Surrounded by over-10-story buildings just 200 to 300 meters across the streets, the tiny reserve where Duan patrols daily is equipped with all it needs to protect the habitats where the endangered bird can reproduce safely and sound yearly.

"You have no idea of how much the reserve cost. Though merely 3 hectares in area, it would have been worth tens of billions of yuan if ever being developed into residential communities or office buildings," said the stationed patroller from Xiamen's nature resource and planning bureau.

Set up in 2011 by the municipal government, the Wuyuan Bay Nature Reserve for the Blue-tailed Bee-eater welcomes its big moment every April to late October when the birds stop by during migration and dig caves on the cliffs to lay and hatch their eggs.

Admired by many as one of the most beautiful birds in the world for its fancy feathers, the species is under Class II state protection in China. Mainly living in Southeast Asia, the bird only appears in parts of Yunnan, Hainan, Hong Kong, Guangdong, and Fujian in the south of the country.

It is Xiamen's first nature reserve in the city proper, and the rare bird guests chose the place purely by accident.

"When Xiamen was building its airport about four to five minutes' drive from the spot, the construction crews dug away some soil of the hills here, leaving today's cliff-like, huge mounds at the reserve," Duan recalled, adding that surprisingly, such a landscape just hit the spot for the picky birds, as they always carve their home, which is often 60 to 100 cm deep, on cliffs by their beaks to secure their eggs and nestlings.

The smart bird is used to digging more than just one hole on the cliff to confuse possible predators, and each bird couple would like to have a new home every year rather than sticking to the old hole, leading to their huge demand for suitable soil.

After some birdwatchers spotted the unexpected visitors and reported them to the local government, researchers were sent to design and protect the location into an ideal stopover for the birds. They use sticks to tamp down the earth around the previous holes and clean up nearby weeds and ponds months ahead of the bird guests' arrival, which is also part of Duan's work routine for every new year.

Xiamen, also dubbed as a coastal garden city for its well-preserved ecosystems and biodiversity, is surely a perfect match for the bee-eater, with abundant insects on offer. Besides the tiny reserve as the bird's reproduction base, the city has also established a 37-hectare wetland park as their food source.

"Some may wonder: With such a close distance to nearby residents, would it be noisy and too disturbing for the birds to inhabit here? In fact, in December 2017, the municipal government released a tailored document specifying protection measures in the reserve's surrounding areas," Duan said, adding that possible noise and light pollution are also taken into consideration thoroughly after rounds of research and discussions, making sure that only the researchers can enter the reserve if necessary to minimize disturbance to the sensitive bird parents.

Businesses like catering and entertainment, automobile maintenance, or hardware processing, which may cause waste gas, strong light, noise, and vibrations, are banned in the surrounding area, which has been defined as the "outer protection strip" for the reserve. Relevant government departments are all engaged in protecting the outer protection strip from illegal deforestation, bird poaching, and waste dumping.

The tailored services and preservation efforts have proven to satisfy the bird guests well. During 2022 and 2023, Duan monitored a total of 3,000 to 4,000 Blue-tailed Bee-eaters in the reserve. Last year alone, about 200 Blue-tailed Bee-eaters nestled on its cliff, of which 93 pairs of bird parents gave birth to their offspring.

As the birds are so keen to dig safer holes -- some holes may be up to nearly 3 meters deep, Duan and local researchers have also prepared a new cliff along the natural one.

About six meters high and 60 to 70 meters long, the cliffs will be tested again and again in the following months to make sure the bird guests have a cozy spring and summer stay in Xiamen, Duan added.