Participants to visit rare black-faced spoonbills
The Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) yesterday opened its registration drive for next month’s Cotai Ecological (ECO) Protection Zone* series of activities, and places are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis, according to a DSPA statement on Monday.
According to the statement, Public Visiting Days and parent-child “Nature Classroom” workshops will be held next month, while wetland bird-watching activities will take place from next month to next April.
The statement noted that Public Visiting Days will be held on December 6-13, with sessions starting at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.; a total of 120 spots are available. During the two-hour visits, guides will lead participants into the partially accessible Eco Zone 1 and the generally open Eco Zone 2 to observe the plants and birds there.
Meanwhile, parent-child “Nature Classroom” workshops will be held simultaneously at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on December 6; and each session will accommodate 12 groups (each group consisting of one child and one accompanying adult), the statement said, adding that instructors will explain ecological data and guide participants in creating personalised plaster wind chimes**, and set locally sourced plants in plaster and paint them with colours during the activity.
As the migratory bird season begins, the first group of black-faced spoonbills*** returned to the Cotai Ecological Protection Zone for winter last month, the statement said, adding that the season will last until April. Wetland bird-watching sessions will be held monthly, starting from December 13 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., with 50 spots available each time, until April. Instructors will lead participants along bird-watching routes and to observation points, providing telescopes and professional commentary during activities, the statement said.
The statement pointed out that the Environmental Protection Bureau will notify registered participants of updates via SMS on the eve of the activity. Additionally, the public can download the DSPA mobile app to access information about local flora and fauna, in order to advance the visiting experience, adding that participants are encouraged to support environmental protection by taking their own water bottles to refill at water stations.
Anyone interested can enquire and register on the DSPA hotline 2876 2626 or website (https://www.dspa.gov.mo/ecozonevisit.aspx).
* The Cotai Ecological Zones are located near the Macau-Hengqin Lotus Flower Bridge, covering an area of about 55 hectares and consisting of Ecological Zone 1 and Ecological Zone 2. Ecological Zone 1 is a brackish marsh wetland and a limited-access managed area, while Zone 2 is an open-access managed area featuring a coastal mudflat mangrove wetland. – MPD
** Plaster wind chimes are a type of decorative and acoustic outdoor or indoor ornament where the primary chime elements (the tubes or shapes that produce sound) are made from plaster. – DeepSeek
*** Black-faced spoonbills are large, distinctive wading birds and one of the rarest spoonbills in the world. They are easily identified by their spoon-shaped bill and black face. – DeepSeek
This undated handout photo provided by the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) yesterday shows a flock of black-faced spoonbills that have returned to the Cotai Ecological Protection Zone for winter.
