Updates from the Field

Attention Teachers: Click here for a suggested activity relating to this week's field update Download this week's location data for the banded Siberian Cranes that we are tracking this fall Week 9 Birding in China Wang Ximin, Graduate Student, College of Natural Resources, UW-Steven's Point This week our field update focuses on the growing interest in bird watching, or birding, in China. As in the United States, more and more people in China are learning about birds and becoming interested in their conservation. How do you think this will effect the future of the Siberian Crane and other threatened birds along the east Asia flyway in China? Wang Ximin, who is from Zhejiang Province in eastern China, is completing his Master's degree in Environmental Education at UW-Steven's Point in central Wisconsin. This summer Ximin (right) completed an internship with the International Crane Foundation's (ICF's) Conservation Education Department. After he returns home, Ximin plans on starting a non-profit organization to educate people about birds and their conservation in China. Following is Ximin's description of how he became interested in birds and was introduced to bird watching in China: "I became a middle school teacher in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province in eastern China, after receiving my Bachelor’s degree in Chinese Literature from Beijing Normal University in 1998. At that time, a local newspaper published a series of colorful pictures of birds that were common in that area. I thought it was interesting, so I spent 100 Yuan (13 U.S. dollars) to buy a pair of binoculars and headed out to find those birds - although I did not have any ornithological or biological training. I did it alone and without any instruction. I only found several birds that were in the newspaper. But I also found some birds that did not appear in the newspaper. I still vividly remember that the first bird I could identify using the newspaper was a Light-vented Bulbul (left) -- a very common bird in the east of China. I observed them bathing in a small pit for more than 30 minutes until they were scared away by visitors. Several years later, birding gradually became popular in China. We founded Zhejiang Wild Bird Society. The president has a Ph.D. in ornithology and works in the Zhejiang Natural History Museum. I was elected as the vice president. I told the president that I began to watch birds because of these articles and pictures. He was so excited to tell me that he was the author! I was the first and only person who told him that I began birding because of his articles. What a small world! In 2000, I went to Shanghai Normal University to pursue my first Master’s degree in Children’s Literature. I liked children’s literature so much that I decided to be a writer of children’s literature at that time. I also paid attention to environmental issues and attended many volunteer activities focusing on environmental protection and advocacy. One of the other volunteers was a biology graduate student. He guided us outside to watch birds. I was so moved by these wild birds, I spent a lot of time on birding, reading bird guide books and communicating with others about birds through internet chat rooms and forums. So I became one of the first birders in China. Birds changed my life. I still don’t know how to explain the reason why I was attracted by birds. But I am so happy when I see any bird flying freely in the wild."

Field Updates Student Activities Yakutian Birds Geography: Taiga and Tundra Ecoregions Field Work in the Tundra Science: Studying Animal Behavior Environmental Camps Team Building: Crane Egg Game Fall Migration Geography: Tracking Cranes Waterbird Lead Poisoning in Yakutia Social Studies: Raising Awareness Northeast China Discussion: Changing Landscapes Songnen Plain Science: Wetlands as Filters Student Exchanges Writing: School News Birding in China Science: Classroom Bird Feeders Bohai Bay Math: Waterbird Populations Poyang Lake Basin