(By Liang Yong)

I am a recorder who chases after birds with my camera lens. Over the past 20 years, I have photographed and documented images of 442 bird species in Xinjiang, and in this region, there are hundreds of "bird chasers" like me. We often carry our heavy cameras (nicknamed "long guns and short cannons" referring to big telephoto lenses and smaller ones) as we wander through green mountains and clear waters, using one image after another to tell the stories of ecological changes in this land.

Photo taken in June, 2025 shows Liang Yong shoots birds in Fuhai County of Altay Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo provided by Liang Yong)

My journey in bird photography began on a summer day in Altay 20 years ago. At that time, I was still a landscape photographer. While on a photographic excursion in the urban area with my fellow bird enthusiast Qin Yunfeng, I was captivated by a small bird catching fish in a lake. It was about the size of a sparrow but had a relatively long beak, and its plumage was a blend of emerald green, indigo blue, and orange-red. When hunting for fish, it would dive into the water like a lightning bolt and instantly emerge with a fish in its beak. Qin Yunfeng told me it was a kingfisher, and from that moment on, I was deeply moved by these exquisite creatures and embarked on the path of chasing after birds.

Photo taken in June, 2005 shows Liang Yong shoots a kingfisher in Altay, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo provided by Liang Yong)

At the beginning, I didn't know much about birds or their habits and could only rely on my camera lens to record them. Fortunately, under the guidance of Gou Jun, Wang Chuanbo, and others from the Xinjiang Bird Watching Society, I learned as I shot and gradually got a grasp of the characteristics of birds. During those years, every weekend, I would drive with my family or fellow bird enthusiasts to the wetlands and mountainous areas around Urumqi City, capital city of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to search for and photograph birds. We would set off with food before dawn and wouldn't return home until it was dark. As time went on, I had explored all the bird habitats around Urumqi City. Later, whenever a bird flew past me, I could instantly identify its species, tell whether it was a migratory bird or a resident bird, and understand its living environment and migration patterns.

Photo taken in 2013 shows Liang Yong shoots white-tailed ground jay in the Gobi area of Yuli County, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo provided by Liang Yong)

After retiring in 2015, I devoted myself even more wholeheartedly to bird photography. In 2018, I spent 267 days trekking in the wild, capturing images of 337 bird species within a single year and setting a record for the annual number of bird species photographed within the Xinjiang Bird Watching Society. I had once planned to photograph all the bird species in Xinjiang before I turned 65. Later, I came to realize that the more I photographed, the more difficult it became. Some birds are so rare that they are hardly seen for decades, making it almost a pipe dream to photograph every single species in the region.

Xinjiang is located between the breeding grounds of birds in Siberia and the wintering areas of birds on the Indian subcontinent in South Asia, serving as an important corridor for migratory birds. Every spring and autumn, hundreds of species of migratory birds make stopovers here. When the migration season arrives, we will wait at places like the Ili River, Ulungur Lake, and the Manas Wetland, welcoming them with our camera lenses.

Photo taken in 2011 shows Liang Yong shoots a willow ptarmigan in Altay, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo provided by Liang Yong)

Through the camera lens, many rare birds have gradually come into the public eye. In the mountainous areas above an altitude of 2,000 meters in Altay, there are rock ptarmigans and willow ptarmigans, both of which are national second-class key protected wild animals and capable of "changing their outfits." The rock ptarmigan is unique to Xinjiang, while the willow ptarmigan has a small population distributed in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. Due to the lack of forest barriers in their habitats, they have evolved the ability to change their plumage with the seasons. To photograph them, we once carried 10 kilograms of equipment and trekked through the mountains for two days before finally finding their traces beneath some rocks.

Deep in the Kurustai Grassland of Tacheng Prefecture, we searched for three days before finally spotting the "giant panda among birds"—the little bustard, a national first-class key protected wild animal. With a narrow distribution range and a small population, the little bustard was rarely recorded in the wild by anyone a decade ago. Now, thanks to the protection efforts of fellow bird enthusiasts, it has gradually begun to make appearances.

Photo taken in 2019 shows Liang Yong photographs the little bustard after three days’ search on the Kurustai Grassland in Tacheng Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo provided by Liang Yong)

The Altai snowcock, known as the "mountain-climbing expert," only inhabits areas near the snowline of the Beita Mountains and the Altai Mountains. In the early hours of the morning, they forage along the mountainside while making their way towards the summit. After reaching the top to rest and preen their feathers, they then fly back down to the mountainside to continue feeding. To capture this "morning ritual," we once spent six or seven hours camping overnight on the snowy mountain before finally obtaining precious footage.

The Baillon's crake, belonging to the Rallidae family, is hailed as the "lesser panda" among birds. It is small in size, with plumage that blends seamlessly into its surroundings, and is both alert and a skilled runner, quickly hiding in reed beds at the slightest disturbance. Starting from 2013, I visited a water area in Habahe County every migration season to search for it, making over a dozen trips without success. It wasn't until the autumn of 2018 that I finally came across a Baillon's crake foraging in a wetland in Toksun.

After 20 years spent in the company of birds, I've come to understand many of their habits quite well: when raising their chicks, the ruddy shelducks will feign injury to lure away predators; when gulls detect someone approaching their territory, they will first sound a warning call and then launch "fecal bombs" to drive away the perceived danger.

What's even more delightful is that our records have not only allowed people to witness the beauty of nature but also served as a testament to the ecological changes in Xinjiang. The South Lake Square in downtown Urumqi was originally a recreational area for citizens, but since 2022, bird enthusiasts have captured images of the great crested grebes breeding and raising their chicks there for three consecutive years. Every summer, the lakeside attracts a significant number of citizens who gather to watch and take photos. In the Shuimogou Park, waterfowl such as wild ducks and fishing gulls can be seen throughout the year, and in recent years, the pygmy cormorant, a newly recorded bird species in China, has also been frequently spotted there.

The grey crane, a national second-class key protected wild animal, could only be seen in places like Tacheng during migration seasons a decade ago. Now, thanks to environmental improvements, flocks of grey cranes can be spotted in various wetlands and farmlands across northern and southern Xinjiang during migration periods. Even in Aksu Prefecture, Hotan Prefecture, Kashi Prefecture, and other regions, scenes of them overwintering have been captured. According to statistics from relevant departments, in Xinjiang, the number of bird species that have transitioned from migratory birds to "permanent residents," such as swans, black-necked cranes, and ruddy shelducks, has reached tens of thousands.

At present, there are 502 wild bird species in Xinjiang. Over the past two decades, bird enthusiasts have discovered 20 new bird species records for China and 66 new records for Xinjiang, uploading over 40,000 bird photographs that cover 95 percent of the bird species in the region. These lives captured through the lens not only showcase the vibrant vitality of Xinjiang but also serve as a beautiful testament to the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets."

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