Good news came from Yangpu Park during the 42nd Shanghai Bird Loving Week. The “star couple” of crested goshawks in the park returned, and bird watchers observed a third crested goshawk. According to professionals, it was likely to be their baby. Let’s check out how the crested goshawks are doing.

“Raptors nest inside. Please pass quickly.” The warning sign, the cordon and the green nets tied between the trunks over tourists are just some of the protective measures taken by Yangpu Park. In June, 2022, two crested goshawks, a type of wildlife under second class protection, nested and brooded in the camphor woods in the park. The afforestation authorities of Yangpu District took comprehensive measures to keep the baby safe till it learned to fly and left its nest.

In early March this year, according to photos provided by bird watchers, the couple returned to their nest and began to hunt and mate here. “At this time last year, they flew into the woods in Yangpu Park and found a good nesting spot, which might be accidental. Their return was a survival strategy for birds. It’ll be great if there are ways to determine that,” said Wang Fang, a researcher with the School of Life Sciences, Fudan University.

A small head was turning around. The feathers on its chest were grayish brown, and its feet were firmly hooked on the branches. The crested goshawk was enjoying an afternoon rest. According to Wang, it was a female. She went out to hunt at dusk and dawn, and rested at a spot she favored during the day. As for the male bird, the team thought that he might have gone out for a walk in the woods. “As wildlife under second class protection, crested goshawks receive a lot of attention. We can see the differences between the male and the female from a distance. For example, the female bird is bigger, and the vertical stripes and the horizontal spots on her abdomen and her chest are all brown. On the whole, her feathers are white and brown, and the colors are light. The male bird has black and white feathers,” said Wang.

After two hours of observation, the reporter did not capture the third crested goshawk mentioned by bird watchers. Everyone was wondering whether it was the “child” in the family.

 “There’s such a doubt, because crested goshawks are quite territorial. When they’re hatching, they’ll drive away birds of the same kind or other dangerous competitors that enter their territory. But as we saw, when the third crested goshawk approached the nest, the couple didn’t drive it away, so it might be their young that came back to its birthplace for a visit. Although it may not breed here, there’s still a bond between it and its parents, so there wasn’t a big fight. The young crested goshawk stayed here for a while and then left,” said Wang.

There are tall trees in Yangpu Park, with shrubs and grass under them, so Wang believes that the composition of tree species is quite rich. Crested goshawks are top predators in ecology. They obtain living space by preying on other types of birds. In this event, we could tell that the ecosystem of this urban park is quite complete. Green land is sufficient here, and people are friendly to wild animals.

 “Wildlife’s entering the city is a big trend, because the urban ecology is getting better, and wild animals have many active adaptations. When the city provides them with water, food and living space, they’re willing to use the space. We believe in the next ten to twenty years, many wild animals will be less afraid of humans and get used to living with us. Their aggressive behavior, nervousness and sensitivity may all drop. In this case, it’ll be easier to promote the coexistence of humans and wild animals in the city,” Wang told the reporter.

In fact, crested goshawks are very common in Shanghai. There are stable and covert breeding records of crested goshawks, but the crested goshawks’ nest in Yangpu Park is located along the main road in the park. In order to provide a good breeding environment for them, the Afforestation Affairs Administration Center of Yangpu District has taken isolation measures in relevant areas of the park to reduce the pressure on crested goshawks from tourists and their disturbance to tourists.

Pei Bei, head of the Management and Instruction Division of the Afforestation Affairs Administration Center of Yangpu District, said, “We adopted some of the practices of last year and immediately tied green nets, hoping that the couple will return to their home, build a new nest and have more babies. As a manager of the park and a department working on wildlife protection, we hope that both tourists and wild animals are safe in the park downtown. We’ll continue to make efforts to achieve ecological balance so that biodiversity can be reproduced in the city’s parks.”

In recent years, Yangpu District has implemented the forest chief scheme, focused on strengthening the protection and management of afforestation resources such as green land, wetlands, wild animals, wild plants and ancient trees, and made continuous efforts to realize balance and harmony between humans and nature in the process of urban construction and development. During the 42nd Shanghai Bird Loving Week, citizens can observe the activities of crested goshawks in Yangpu Park. In the future, Yangpu Park and wildlife conservation professionals will pay close attention to the family of crested goshawks.