Lipo village, an accidental home of migratory birds

Tens of thousands of migratory birds fly in the sunset. [Photo/Zhanjiang Daily]

In Wuchuan, a county-level city of Zhanjiang, lies a small tranquil village that is known by few. What makes this village unique is that tens of thousands of birds have come here to roost every winter since 2005.

The village of Lipo, like many other places in the city, has a rather flat terrain featuring vast fields that stretch as far the eyes can see. It is however, still a very luxuriously green area due to the abundance of trees that have been planted around the village.

In 2005, Yi Chenglin, a local farmer successfully cultivated a plantation of royal palm trees, but bad luck soon struck. The price for the trees reached rock bottom due to an increase in supply by that time, and his overstocked royal palm samplings grew into a small forest of more than 1,000 square meters.

Then things got better as time went on, when in September flocks of birds migrating from the north showed up in Lipo. Since then, the birds have returned to the village every year to enjoy its greenery and warmer climates.

The sky is almost blocked out by the migratory birds. [Photo/Zhanjiang Daily]

The main reason behind this is due to the royal palm grove, which provides a temporary nesting area for the migratory birds. This combined with some luck of having most of the area's buildings just north of the grove, allows the trees to be shield from the bitter cold winds, creating a warm habitat for the birds to thrive, said village official Wu Jiangrong.

According to a villager, most of the migratory birds are red-billed starlings. They are a state-protected species of important ecological, scientific and social value. At the age of 73, he said that he can't remember a time in his younger years of seeing so many birds.

To protect the migratory birds and the surrounding areas, the village has stipulated a fine of 100 yuan ($15.9) for tree injury and 200 yuan for tree cutting. It is also now strictly forbidden to set off firecrackers from 5.30 pm to 7.30 am in areas where the migratory birds gather.