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在线翻译:
szdaily -> News -> 
Injured migratory bird in need of help
    2022-01-20  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

Wang Haolan

Holly_cn@163.com

AN injured juvenile black-tailed gull with a fragment of a plastic fishing net tied to its head and neck was spotted by birdwatchers at Shenzhen Bay recently.

A member of Shenzhen Bird Watching Society, who goes by his nature name “Kent,” filmed a video of the injured bird Tuesday. The gull was seen perching on the rocks and sometimes flying for a very short distance. It appeared in low spirits and had difficulties eating due to the fishing net on its head and neck.

“Some birdwatchers found the gull while looking for the Baikal teal at the bay. When I arrived at the spot, I noticed that its behavior was weird compared with other gulls,” Kent said. “It was very inactive, sleeping much and not making any attempt to hunt.”

Some birdwatchers contacted Shenzhen Wildlife Conservation Association on Tuesday night, calling for the association to rescue the gull. “We are carefully considering how to rescue the gull,” said a staffer surnamed Lu from the association.

“The gull is suffering from the fishing net but can still move around, and the place it likes to stay is near the sea, making the rescue more difficult,” Lu said. “If you make some bold attempts to rescue the bird, it will show signs of distress, which may cause secondary harm to its health. We suggest that birdwatchers keep their eyes on the bird if it remains staying at the bay, catch it once it gets too weak to stay on the water or comes to the shore, and then contact us at 2373-7770 as soon as possible.”

Black-tailed gulls are commonly seen in the coastal areas of North and Southeast China and yet have only a few spotting records in Shenzhen. Individuals of the species are often seen among large flocks of black-headed gulls at the bay during the migratory season.

It is not the first time for birdwatchers to find a bird suffering from plastic litter in Shenzhen, according to Kent. An adult black-tailed gull with a plastic ring stuck around its beak was also spotted at Shenzhen Bay by another member from the birdwatching society on Feb. 6, 2020.

“The gulls are opportunists and are prone to approach humans for food, which make them more likely to be exposed to the harms of plastic litter,” he said. Gulls may easily get choked by fishing nets or swallow plastic packaging and disposable tableware while grabbing food from humans.

Shenzhen Bay Park’s management office has set up fences at the estuary near Exit D2 of Shenzhen Bay Park Metro Station and assigned more security guards to patrol the area in order to stop citizens from feeding birds and littering in the water.

“I also hope our city can protect the habitats of birds while forging ahead with urban construction, and citizens can do their bit to protect them,” Kent said. “Feeding the birds and baiting them to take photos are both harmful to their health.”

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