A scaly-sided merganser is spotted in Anji county, Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/hz66.com]

Huzhou's Anji county has emerged as an important wintering habitat for scaly-sided mergansers thanks to its sustained efforts in ecological conservation.

This year, 23 scaly-sided mergansers, also known as the Chinese mergansers, had been spotted in the county as of Oct 22, with more expected to arrive between December and January.

This species of water fowls has been observed in Anji for eight years in a row. Ninety-seven of them were found in the county in 2021 – the largest flock ever spotted in Zhejiang province.

Chinese mergansers are under first-grade State protection and are classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. There are currently only 4,000-plus Chinese mergansers in the world, which explains why they are dubbed the "giant pandas" of birds.

The species is endemic to East Asia and breeds along rivers in the mountainous areas of northeastern China, the Russian Far East, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the summer. They winter mainly in water bodies in eastern and southern China, as well as the Republic of Korea. The birds, mainly found in China, are estimated to number about 2,000.

The rare bird's appearance is indicative of the improvement to Anji natural environment in recent years.

In addition to Chinese mergansers, Anji is also an important stop for other rare and endangered birds, including mandarin duck and eared grebe, during the winter.