JINAN, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, a group of oriental storks perched atop their nests in the wetlands of the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Dongying City, east China's Shandong Province. Some monitor over their surroundings, while others tend to their hungry chicks.
Unbeknownst to them, smart cameras silently record their every move, transmitting the footage to a backend system.
In front of a large screen at the Yellow River Delta ecological monitoring center, Zhao Yajie, deputy director of the center, carefully observed every move of the stork family. The platform automatically extracts images of bird activity and uses AI algorithms to analyze features such as beak, claw and feather patterns, allowing for real-time species identification and counting.
The Yellow River Delta is a key area for the conservation of migratory waterbirds along international flyways. Of the world's nine major migratory routes, two pass through this region. Millions of birds pass through each year, earning the delta a reputation as an "international airport" for avian travelers.
By 2025, the number of bird species recorded in the reserve had reached 376. The cumulative breeding population of oriental storks has grown to 4,260 individuals, with 536 bred in 2025 alone, setting a record high for a single year. The breeding population of Saunders's gulls has stabilized at over 10,000, making the reserve the species' second-largest breeding place in the world.
Where does all this complex bird data come from? Zhao explained that one of the center's key tasks is to conduct thorough bird surveys -- to track "which birds have arrived, how many there are, and where they are going."
But gathering this information across such an expansive wetland is no easy feat. In the early days of his career, Zhao would wear chest-high, airtight rubber waders, carry more than ten kilograms of equipment-including telescopes, tripods and cameras, and trudge through muddy tidal flats, and spend months stationed in remote field stations.
Although the physical challenge was manageable, the true test came from figuring out how to keep an eye on things without disturbing the birds. Shan Kai, a senior engineer at the reserve, said: "The oriental stork is a rather alert species. In 2003, we recorded the first pair breeding here. With no prior experience, we approached too closely and disturbed them."
Today, bird facial recognition technology has made avian monitoring far more convenient. The reserve has installed over 300 video monitoring points, 18 of which are equipped with AI recognition algorithms.
"What now seems like a smart bird identification system was actually a bit of a 'slow learner' at first, often making mistakes. Some birds change their plumage in different seasons, making them even harder to identify," said Li Jinrui, a staff member at the monitoring center.
But as AI neural network algorithms and deep learning technologies have evolved, and as sample data have accumulated, recognition accuracy has steadily improved. For certain flagship and large bird species, the platform's identification accuracy now exceeds 90 percent.
The ecological balance of the Yellow River estuary is maintained by a complex interplay of organisms, environment and climate. The reserve has built an integrated monitoring network over the area from the sky to the sea, using drone patrols, infrared camera surveillance, and other technologies to precisely track environmental indicators such as hydrology, weather and air quality at the river mouth. The data supports scientific research and conservation efforts.
"By analyzing the data, we can predict bird activity patterns in advance, carry out science-based ecological water replenishment and wetland restoration, as well as create a more suitable habitat for migratory birds," Zhao said.
The use of bird facial recognition in the Yellow River Delta is not an isolated case. Across China, artificial intelligence is playing a central role in a variety of fields, improving the efficiency and convenience of ecological and environmental monitoring.
The Qilihai Wetland in north China's Tianjin has deployed over a hundred sets of front-end devices and drone monitoring points, achieving comprehensive coverage of the wetland core area. The Shuangguihu National Wetland Park in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has installed acoustic sensors to capture the sounds of birds, insects and frogs, building an open and shared soundscape database to support conservation. In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the central wetland park has launched a smart "sky-eye" system that converts bird activity data into real-time, precise digital records.
"We are exploring how technology can help us know about every bird and protect every wetland. More importantly, we are learning to engage with nature in an entirely new way which is more meticulous, more respectful, and more sustainable. AI is bringing us closer to nature, and in greater harmony," Zhao said. ■
