Workers install transmission lines on a tower that was home to three white stork chicks in Gaoyou, Yangzhou, on July 11. CHINA DAILY
They later started searching for new locations for the artificial nests, and found the marshland around Gaoyou Lake, with fewer human disturbances, ample food and a considerable distance to transmission lines, to be a better site. They decided to build four upgraded artificial nesting stands around the wetland.
The stands are steel structures built like transmission towers, and consist of a steel pipe base and a cylindrical steel frame with a diameter of 1.2 meters.
On the morning of Oct 8, construction of the four artificial stands was completed, ready for storks to "check-in".
"We've already found some tree branches and grass on one of the stands," Wang said. "It's a positive sign that some birds are building a nest on it."
Using surveillance cameras, Wang and his colleagues can take care of the birds online.
"Once storks settle into their new home, we will provide them with round-the-clock protection," Wang said.
Zhu Jie, a young employee of the Yangzhou branch, has conducted research with the bird conservation team to try to understand the living habits of the white storks and find ways to decrease disturbances caused by storks nesting to transmission towers.
Initially, they used bird-prevention measures such as bird spikes to prevent the storks from nesting on the towers. However, such methods did not stop some of them from nesting on the towers and, to some extent, increased the risks of injuring the birds.
