Spotted greenshanks are discovered at the wetland of the Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve. [Photo by He Tao/gdzjdaily.com.cn]

Spotted greenshanks, a worldwide endangered bird, were recently photographed by technicians of the Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve Administration in the mangrove wetland of Leizhou Bay. This is the first record of them in 30 years since the establishment of the reserve.

The global population of spotted greenshanks is about 1,000, which is second only to the rare endangered bird the spoon-billed sandpiper. Classified as endangered, the spotted greenshank was listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (INCU), and is a national second-class protected animal.

In recent years, the mangrove wetlands of Leizhou Bay have attracted globally critically endangered birds like spoon-billed sandpipers, Chinese black-headed gulls, oriental white storks, Chinese crested terns, and relict gulls, indicating that the good natural resource endowments of the Leizhou Bay wetlands can provide abundant food for wintering water birds and is an important habitat for rare birds.