Migratory birds are returning to Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, as autumn deepens. Wild ducks and cormorants have arrived at Xianshan Lake in Changxing county, while green sandpipers feed by the lake at Xishanyang Wetland Park.

Local birdwatchers have also spotted seasonal visitors. Sun Hui, who has photographed 280 bird species in Huzhou, captured a large flock of crested honey buzzards passing through the city in late September. It was the first time such a large passage of the raptors had been recorded in Huzhou.

Shao Fuchen, who settled in Huzhou after retirement and has watched birds for more than a decade, photographed a lesser coucal in Anji county on Oct 6. The bird is a Class II nationally protected wild animal in China.

Dunlins wade in shallow water. [Photo/Shao Fuchen]

According to the China Bird Report Center, 354 bird species have been recorded in Huzhou. The city lies along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and a migratory route along the western Pacific, making it an important stopover for birds heading south from Siberia and Northeast China.

More winter visitors, including Eurasian spoonbills, pied avocets, tundra swans, and Chinese mergansers, are expected to arrive in November and stay through March or April.

Huzhou is among Zhejiang's cities with the widest variety of wetland types. Local authorities continue joint enforcement efforts to crack down on illegal bird trapping and carry out regular patrols along migration routes and in areas where birds gather.