Salindra Kasun Dayananda

DURING a recent short hike to Baguang Heritiera Wetland Park in Dapeng New Area, I had the pleasure of observing a diverse array of wildlife.

Amongst the sightings were 15 bird species, 12 varieties of butterflies (including the rare Lycaenid species, the chocolate royal Remelana jangala), three fiddler crab species, three spider species, and the blue-spotted mudskipper.

I had the delight of witnessing 70 little egrets and 11 greater egrets feeding in the vicinity. Other notable bird species spotted included the Asian/Japanese tit, common tailorbird, pied kingfisher, grey heron, black kite, common kingfisher, spotted dove, Oriental magpie robin, and masked laughing thrush. The area also teemed with red-whiskered bulbuls, light-vented bulbuls, and Swinhoe’s white-eyes.

The butterfly sightings included the Paris peacock, mottled emigrant, lemon emigrant, Indian crow, blue-spotted crow, and common mormon, among others. We were fortunate to observe a giant wood spider.

Later, we visited an ancient Hakka village. The local authorities have relocated 18 other villages to better conserve the silver-foliage forest and the wetland habitat.

This outing provided me with an amazing opportunity to explore Shenzhen’s wilderness. I was impressed by the dedication of the volunteers working tirelessly to preserve the wetland habitat.