Flocks of migratory birds gather at the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Dongying, Shandong province, in November. [Photo by Zhou Guangxue/for China Daily]

In recent years, local governments have been putting protection of the reserve at the top of their priorities and released detailed action plans.

"We are taking water bodies, forests, farmland, lakes, grasslands, wetlands, coastlines and beaches into consideration in building a wetland-themed ecosystem," Chen Bichang, mayor of Dongying, said on Oct 9 at a news conference explaining the effort.

Since 2017, more than 18,800 hectares of wetlands have been restored. The sound environment has enriched biodiversity, Chen said. "Before the improvements, some of the ponds were separated, and water couldn't flow. We called them dead water."

Yang, the photographer, said,"Tremendous changes have taken place in recent years with all of the water systems including ponds being connected to each other so water flows naturally, providing safe food and a living environment for birds."

The wetland is now home to 1,630 animal species and 685 species of plants. Bird species have increased from 187 to 371, according to the management committee of the reserve.

Xu Mingde, the committee's director, said 306 Oriental storks, an endangered species, were born in 2019 alone, a major jump from 2005, when only seven were born there.

The wetland has become the largest breeding ground in the world for Oriental storks and the second-largest for Saunders's gulls, Xu said.

When photographer Yang noticed five eggs in one nest of Oriental storks in May, he couldn't constrain his delight.

"Most chicks can survive," he said. "So more have decided to stay at the reserve."

Protection of the environment and birds has become common sense for residents of Dongying, Yang said, adding that if a photographer encounters an injured bird, he will send it to the city's forestry office for treatment.

"From kids to adults, everybody has a strong sense of protecting the birds," he said.

Randy Wright contributed to this story.