Sichuan's ecological restoration attracts record number of migratory birds

Southwest China's Sichuan province is attracting a growing number of migratory bird species as wintering stopovers or habitats, thanks to enduring ecological restoration efforts, local authorities said.

As of the end of last year, the province had recorded 798 species of migratory birds, according to the Sichuan Forestry and Grassland Administration. The administration expects the number to exceed 800 this year.

Large flocks of birds migrate southward through Sichuan each autumn and winter, as the province lies at the intersection of two of the world's nine major migratory bird flyways, the administration said.

Some travel as far as the tidal flats of the Bay of Bengal, the coastal wetlands of northwestern Australia, and the coastal marshes of southern New Zealand, while others remain in the Sichuan Basin or fly further south to overwinter.

In recent years, Sichuan has made comprehensive efforts to protect and restore its mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, and grasslands, making it an ideal habitat for migratory birds and other wild animals.

A decade-long restoration project at Qionghai Lake in southern Sichuan has recovered 1,300 hectares of lakeside wetland and over 30 kilometers of shoreline. As a result, the number of bird species recorded there has surged from just over 20 to a record high of 310 in 2025.

Notably, seven migratory species — including the Eurasian coot and Asian openbill — have stopped migrating and become permanent residents.

On the Chengdu Plain, five new migratory bird species were recorded last year. In Yibin, Sichuan, residents now regularly stroll along the Yangtze River to watch black-headed gulls migrating from Siberia in winter.