Four crested ibis fly with three cattle egrets above a paddy field in Hanzhong, Shaanxi province, in September. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

A crested ibis was spotted recently at the Danjiang River Wetland National Nature Reserve in Nanyang, Henan province, the first of its kind to be seen at the wetland in almost 70 years.

"The last time a crested ibis was spotted here was back in the mid-20th century," said Deng Tianpeng, an ornithologist in the reserve's wetland protection department.

"The crested Ibis was listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. It is also under first-class State protection," he said. "Following long-term conservation and breeding, their endangered status has been alleviated."

The Danjiang River wetland, which covers about 640 square kilometers, is located in Xichuan county in Nanyang.

On Feb 27, during a spring bird monitoring survey, reserve workers discovered a rare bird with red cheeks and legs. After checking carefully, Deng was able to identify it.

"This ibis was spotted among flocks of red-billed gulls, white spoonbills, egrets and herons. During monitoring, it leisurely foraged on the wetland shoals," he said.

He believes that the discovery of the ibis provides evidence that the wetland environment is improving, since the crested ibis is finicky about its habitat. According to Wang Zhibin, a member of the Party leadership group of the Xichuan government and director of the nature reserve's management office, Danjiang's wetland is the most important environmental barrier in the core water source area along the middle route of the national south-to-north water diversion project.

He said that Xichuan has made determined efforts to improve the wetland's environment in recent years. More than 1,666 hectares of degraded wetland have been restored, and the number of wild animal species in the area has increased from 342 in 2007 to 512.

"The arrival of the crested ibis has added another species to the list, bringing the number of bird species under first-class State protection to be sighted at the wetland to nine, including the great bustard, the golden eagle and the Chinese merganser," Wang said.

Contact the writers at shibaoyin@chinadaily.com.cn