In the evening, Ms. Chen, a resident of Futian Mangrove Ecological Park, raised her phone to capture a surprising scene beneath a warm yellow streetlight: a great tit, carrying a piece of dry grass, deftly slipped into the small window of the lamppost. "It's so heartwarming that the streetlight can serve as a bird's nest!" she said to reporters with a smile.
Recently, after citizens captured the scene of the "bird flying into the lamp" and uploaded it online, this "special facility" has become a popular online photo-op. Shenzhen's ingenious integration of technology and ecology is gaining recognition and praise.
The birth of the "Bird's Nest Streetlight" stems from an unexpected discovery in the spring of 2020.
Rong Canzhong, a conservationist at Futian Mangrove Ecological Park, was on patrol when he saw a great tit circling a streetlight and finally slipping into the ventilation vent. Wondering if it was trying to build a nest there, he and volunteers from the Mangrove Foundation (MCF) checked all 190 streetlights in the park and, sure enough, found great tit nests inside 14 of them.
"Great tits are secondary cavity-nesters, unable to peck their own holes, relying on natural tree cavities for their nests," Rong Canzhong told reporters. Natural tree holes are scarce in urban parks, so streetlight vents have become their temporary refuge. However, the hollow interiors of park streetlights often cause nests to collapse due to structural instability, resulting in a low breeding success rate for great tits. Even more dangerous, nesting in live lamps can cause short circuits.
Rather than expel the birds, the park team decided to retrofit the streetlights. Starting in 2023, they conducted research on the reproductive ecology of great tits through field surveys and literature review. They ultimately proposed an optimized solution: using amber light with a wavelength of 590 nanometers (a color with successful ecological conservation practices in Japan, Taiwan, and Macau) to reduce impacts on insects and the nighttime light environment; rationally positioning streetlights based on historical great tit nesting patterns; and installing starlight-level cameras in streetlight nest boxes, allowing staff to easily check nests using their mobile phones, improving efficiency while also collecting more reproductive data.
Currently, 100 "bird nest streetlights" have been installed in the park, 40 of which feature nesting boxes and are highly sought-after by great tits and magpie robins. "We're also collaborating with the School of Ecology at Sun Yat-sen University to monitor the temperature and humidity inside the nest boxes to understand the microclimate in which cavity-nesting birds breed, providing data for further research," said Rong Canzhong.
The "bird nest streetlights" are just a microcosm of Shenzhen's ecological conservation efforts. As a key node along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway for migratory birds, Shenzhen has consistently made space for birds through its urban details.
From October to February each year, nearly 100 species of migratory birds stop and feed in Shenzhen Bay. During this period, most parks in Shenzhen turn off their lights after closing at 11:00 PM, ensuring darkness at night. This not only protects birds from resting but also is friendly to nocturnal mammals. Polka-dot stickers are affixed to the glass curtain walls of some buildings to prevent bird strikes, and China's first noise barrier for migratory bird protection has also been installed in Shenzhen. To avoid the core mangrove zone, Binhai Avenue was deliberately relocated 260 meters north during construction, trading road retreat for ecological safety.
When the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone launched in 2018, ecological protection was incorporated into its planning, and systematic research on the construction of bird-friendly parks was conducted. In May 2021, the zone became the first in the city to publish a study on the ecological impact of bird protection. Through measures such as controlling building heights, installing green roofs, creating bird-friendly facades, and reducing light pollution, migratory pathways are being cleared for migratory birds.
Civilian initiatives are also actively participating. This year, my country's first "International Dark Sky Community" was established in Xichong Community, Dapeng New District. By controlling nighttime lighting and reducing light pollution, it not only ensures the well-being of residents, but also protects the nocturnal habitats of animals and plants and achieves energy conservation.
Shenzhen is also focusing on ecological education. Recently, at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (COP15), the Shenzhen Bay Park Nature Education Center was awarded the second "Wetland Education Center Star Award" and the "Star Wetland Center People Award," becoming one of 16 institutions worldwide to receive this honor.
Established in 2015, the Shenzhen Bay Park Nature Education Center is the first nature education center within a municipal park in Shenzhen and is operated by the Mangrove Foundation (MCF). Leveraging the migratory bird resources and mangrove ecology of Shenzhen Bay, the center has developed and designed educational activities such as "Migratory Bird Observation Classes" and "Mangrove Ecological Explorations." Professional volunteers guide citizens in identifying birds and understanding the functions of wetlands, making ecological conservation more tangible than an abstract concept. Today, along with OCT National Wetland Park and Futian Mangrove Ecological Park, it has become the third nature education center in Shenzhen to receive this international award. Several institutions in the Shenzhen Bay area have also been recognized as "Star Wetland Centers," earning international recognition for their wetland conservation achievements.
Today in Shenzhen, from the "Bird's Nest" streetlight protecting a great tit's home, to the Shenzhen Bay "Dark Lights for Birds" program protecting the sleep of tens of thousands of migratory birds, to the Nature Education Center educating citizens about the beauty of wetlands, ecological protection has evolved from a single initiative into a citywide consensus. More and more citizens are actively participating in birdwatching activities, learning about conservation, running around bird habitats, and taking photos without disturbing the creatures. These subtle changes are integrating the concept of "harmonious coexistence between man and nature" into daily urban life, and ensuring that Shenzhen, a city of science and technology, maintains a gentle undertone of protecting life.
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