The 36th Bird-loving Week is underway in Guangzhou, calling for focus on the appreciation and protection of wild birds and their habitats from March 20 to 26.

Guangzhou is home to 251 species of birds, accounting for 45.8 percent of the province's total. Every March and November is the best time for people to discover and appreciate birds.

Five sites known as bird paradises have seen increasing the amount of birds staying or stopping at Guangzhou in recent years, as the city continues to attach great attention to protecting its natural environment. They are Nansha Wetland, Liuhua Lake Park, Haizhu Wetland Park, Baiyun Mountain and Wanzuitou Wetland Park.

Among them, Nansha Wetland, migrant birds' heaven in the Pearl River Delta, attracts thousands of birds making the long journey to spend their winter here, taking up more than 50 percent of the city's total bird population. Herons, egrets, oriental white storks and black-winged stilts, as well as white-tailed eagles and black-faced spoonbills under state protection, can be seen gracefully dancing and foraging in the wetland.

To promote wildlife and ecological protection among the public, forestry departments, including the Forestry Department of Guangdong Province and Guangzhou Administration of Forestry and Gardening of Guangzhou Municipality, work alongside volunteer organizations such as Guangdong Wildlife Conservation Association and Liuhua Lake Park to arrange various activities centered on bird protection across the province.

A special contest in bird identification to pass on the knowledge of birds and raise youth awareness of birds and environmental protection was also held during the week.

A light-vented bulbul is gently pecking petals of bauhinia in Liuhua Lake Park, Guangzhou. [Photo by Liao Xueming/Guangzhou Daily]

A little girl takes part in the bird identification contest held for the 36th Bird-loving Week in Guangzhou on March 20-26. [Photo by Huang Weijun/ycwb.com]

The "36th Bird-Loving Week" event attracts children and adults to appreciate and care about birds in Guangzhou, March 20-26. [Photo by Huang Weijun/ycwb.com]