Pioneer search for Oriental stork nests is carried out in the Amur River basin
The Year of the Oriental stork, announced by WWF Russia and the Amur Coalition of NGOs, is held in the Amur basin. The main event is the census of this rare bird in the entire breeding range, on both sides of the Amur River in Russia and in China.
While the birds are still at their wintering grounds in warm regions, in the Yangtze River valley in China, specialists of the Directorate for Protected Areas and Wildlife Management of Evreiskaya province, Khingansky Nature Reserve in Amurskaya province, the Khanka Nature Reserve in Primorsky province and the Institute of Water and Environmental Problems in Khabarovsky province are in the field for the pioneer search of stork nests.
Yamaha snowmobile and Mitsubishi L 200 SUV help to inspectors moving along open fields to record and count Oriental storks nesting sites. This equipment was handed over this year to the Directorate for Protected Areas and Wildlife Management of Evreiskaya province as part of joint project of WWF Russia and VTB Bank. Like the Amur tiger, Oriental stork is a rare flag species preserved in Evreiskaya province.
This NGO has been actively participating in the "Stork Nest Keepers" movement for many years, initiated by WWF Russia, as well as in other conservation activities And, of course, this year "AmurSEU" became one of the key partners of WWF in the Year of the Oriental stork.
It should also be noted that Primorye's PrimDiscouvery crew, with the support of WWF Russia began filming a documentary dedicated to Oriental stork during the monitoring of the nests in Evreiskaya province. This documentary and beautiful photos taken in remote areas by a famous animal photographer Alexander Khitrov, will tell you about the Year of the Oriental stork in the Amur River basin.