Lingqiu Black Stork Nature Reserve, where the storks are having fun by the water, Nov 2 [Photo by Guozhong / dtnews.cn]

Migratory fowl face many life threatening situations during their long trip, dealing with the weather and natural enemies, as well as human hunters and environment degradation, so, the forests and marshes along the migration route are indispensable to the birds for a successful journey, and, once damaged, can have a terrible impact on the number of migrating species. In addition, noise, lights, pollution, and electromagnetic waves are all obstacles.

So, the city of Datong, Shanxi province, a major stop along the migration route, is paying more attention to these issues and is doing what it can to provide better bird "accommodations".

Birds migrate twice a year, from the north to south in autumn, then back the other way, in spring. So, the city's forestry bureau has been timing and tracking the migration every year, and has found eight established routes around the globe, three of which pass across China, with the East Africa-West Asia route passing through the Xinjiang autonomous region and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Mid-Asia route going across the center of China, and the East Asia-Australia route passing over China's eastern seaboard.