Great cormorants, black-faced spoonbills and other migratory birds have returned to Shenzhen Bay as the annual migration season gets underway. They soar over the water, skim the waves and forage along the mudflats, bringing life to the coastal landscape.

Shenzhen Bay, an important wintering and stopover site on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, has recorded 273 bird species, 60 of them under national protection. Nearly 100,000 migratory birds stop here each year during their long journeys.

Behind this thriving birdlife is the city's ongoing conservation work, including preserving green spaces, applying bird-safe stickers on building facades and turning down proposals for streetlights near bird habitats. On November 5, Shenzhen's new regulations on mangrove wetland protection took effect, restricting construction, drone use and other activities that could disturb birds, and requiring better management of nighttime lighting in and around migratory bird habitats.

Author | Huang Xinying

Photos | Nanfang Plus, "Go! Shenzhen Bay", CCTV News