Experienced birders

The bird-watching festival was co-organized by the Shan Shui center and the Rosefinch Center from Oct 31 to Nov 4. It was held under the guidance of the Lancang County Forestry and Grassland Bureau and the Nuozhadu reserve management bureau, with support from the Global Environment Facility's project on improving the sustainability of China's nature reserves.

Due to limited funds and a focus on conducting a thorough bird survey, the organizers, including Zhong Jia, one of the founders of the Rosefinch Center and a pioneer among the country's first group of birdwatchers, were able to invite only 10 teams comprising 40 bird-watchers to participate in the festival.

"Unlike many of our previous bird races where participants could voluntarily sign up, we chose to invite 10 experienced birders as the team leaders this time," she said. "They could choose their own teammates by themselves."

The team leaders included Yue Weiqiang, a seasoned birder from Guangzhou in Guangdong province who was a judge of a Guangdong bird race earlier this year, and Zhang Xuelian, a professional birdwatching tour leader from Kunming, capital of Yunnan.

"In addition to the 10 invited teams, the organizers and judges also joined forces to participate in the survey," Zhong said. "Although the festival does not offer awards for the winners, the competitive spirit among the birders motivated us to do our best."

As the race got underway, some teams would leave the hotel as early as 5 am and return well after midnight.

The organizers recommended seven survey routes for the participants, encompassing three sections of the Lancang National Forest Park, the Lancang section of the Nuozhadu reserve, and the Jingmai Mountain World Heritage Site. Some of these routes extend over 50 kilometers and require a full day to explore.

As a result, the participating teams often found themselves working independently in the field.

During the three days of the festival, the local weather proved to be quite challenging, with intermittent showers and continuous drizzle throughout the event.

"Autumn is usually our dry season," Lu said. "This year the whole region is exceptionally wet."

Birding in such bad weather can be challenging, said Lei, who served as one of the judges for the festival. On the first day of the festival, he recorded just over 40 species, but surprisingly found that all the teams together had already recorded a total of 200 bird species.