Bird preservationist on a mission

Shen You shares pictures of birds he took with a young bird lover in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Along with two other bird lovers, Shen took a telescope to visit all places in the city where birds could be observed. At first, he could only recognize sparrows and crows. Later, with the help of reference books, he could identify rare birds like firethroats and red-breasted geese.

In 2004, Shen and his friends launched the Chengdu Bird Watching Society. Shen quit his managerial job to work full time for the society.

The society has since hosted two major events, each involving more than 10,000 bird lovers who have counted birds across the city's major parks. It has sponsored bird-watching festivals around eight times, promoting knowledge of birds among children and young people, who observe birds with telescopes and take their photographs.

Shen and members of the society give lectures on birds in primary schools in Chengdu and take students to observe birds in forests and parks.

"They help students understand nature through birds so that they can love birds and protect them in their habitats," says Chen Tinggeng, a teacher in the Chengdu Paotong Primary School.