Chinese Bullfrog
Chinese Bullfrog is named as “Tinkai”in Chinese,whichwasused to be a delicious food for farmers in the past. Surprisingly, it is now listed as “Class II Protected Species” in China.
Chinese Bullfrogs prefer deep water marshy environment. Long Valley was a paddy field in the past, which providedideal habitats for Chinese Bullfrogs. Catching bullfrogs on farmland with friends was ajoyful childhood activityfor old farmers. Someeven maketheir toydrums with bullfrog skin and metal bucket. However, it is no longer easy to spot a bullfrog on farmland as they now become more and more rare.
The decline of Chinese Bullfrog’s population has a close relationship with the deteriorating environment. Applying chemical fertilizer and pesticide are common farming practices in Long Valley, but the overuse of such chemicals can cause serious water pollution. Bullfrogs are sensitive to chemicals which couldinhibit the growth of the young tadpoles andevencause death. In fact, bullfrogs help control the number of pests. Pests boom when their natural enemies decline and hence the higher the dose of pesticide, the more serious the vicious circleis.
Over-catching isanotherkey factor leading tothe decline, but most bullfrogs currently in the market comefrom captive breeding. These individuals may bear fatal disease and further threaten the wild population once they escape orarereleased for religious reason.
A stable environment hinges on frogs and many other organisms. Our environment deteriorates rapidly once they disappear and humans will eventually bearthe loss. Therefore we are now encouraging our friends to shift to organic farming. Wetland created by CA and Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS) are all chemical-free, providingstable habitatsfor breeding frogs in Long Valley.
Wild Chinese Bullfrog
Frogs in captivity may bear fatal disease, threatening the population of wild amphibians.
Yellow-breasted Bunting
As told in its name, Yellow-breasted Bunting is a member of Bunting which possessesa sharp yellow belly. The obvious white marking on its shoulder makes male Yellow-breasted Bunting easy to be distinguished fromthefemalecounterpart. Indeed, Long Valley has records of many species in the Bunting family these years, including common Little Bunting and Chestnut-eared Bunting. Recently, Long Valley has regular records of the scarce Yellow-browed Bunting, Pallas’ Reed Bunting and Crested Bunting. Crested Bunting haddisappeared locally for more than a decade. Thereturn indicates the success of the paddy rice reintroduction program in restoring local ecosystem.
Some bird watchers mistake Munia for Yellow-breasted Bunting. Yellow-breasted Bunting is larger in size and its number is far fewer than Munia.In each migratory season, Long Valley records only around 20-30 Yellow-breasted Bunting. Yellow-breasted Bunting is now close to extinction due to overhunting as food sources. Last year, Yellow-breasted Bunting has been officially up-listed from “Vulnerable” to “Endangered” globally. Thus, immediate action has to be taken to save the species.
In 2014, abird-watcher reported a record of more than 100 Yellow-breasted Buntings in Long Valley. Thisis a very encouraging new record! The paddy rice reintroduction program in Long Valley is a successful model in conserving the species.However, we believe more and more farmland areas should be conserved in both Hong Kong and mainland China in order to protect their foraging habitat. Conservation could be start from ourselves, I will not considerYellow-breasted Buntingas a dish. How about you?
Yellow-breasted Bunting
