A flock of Baer's pochards – critically endangered wild ducks – are spotted at Dongping Lake in Tai'an, Shandong province. [Photo/dzwww.com]

On May 22, the International Day for Biological Diversity, a conservation observatory station for Baer's pochards - critically endangered wild ducks – was officially created at Dongping Lake in Dongping county, Tai'an, Shandong province, to protect the species.

Because there are less than 5,000 Baer's pochards left in the wild, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has designated them as a "critically endangered" species.

According to specialists, a flock of over 1,500 Baer's pochards was spotted at Dongping Lake in Tai'an in March this year, making it the largest population ever recorded in China.

According to Guan Yanming, deputy director of the provincial department of ecology and environment, this is related to the improvement of Dongping Lake's ecological environment.

Dongping Lake officials and staff have been working hard in recent years to clean up the lake, enhance the water quality, and improve the ecological environment in order to attract a variety of wildlife.

To date, the Dongping Lake nature reserve is home to 679 plant species, 786 wild animal species, three wild animal species under State first-class protection, and 20 under State second-class protection.

The establishment of the conservation observatory station was part of the commemorative event for the International Day for Biological Diversity, which was themed "Building a shared future for all life" this year.

During the event, more than 60,000 silver carp fry were released into Dongping Lake in a fish releasing activity.