Storks of Huangshan
Asian

by

I.M. Spadecaller

Storks of Huangshan
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Storks of Huangshan
In years past, the Oriental stork populated Japan, Manchuria, Korea and Siberia. It is now extinct in Japan and the Korean peninsula. However, for the first time in 40 years a wild hatchling was reported in Japan (2008). Since then, efforts to reintroduce the storks to the wild have commenced. The offspring of two storks who were bred in captivity triggered new hope for their return. Due to habitat loss and overhunting, the Oriental stork is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Changes to the environment must first occur to enable restoration of the storks. The use of pesticides by the rice industry harshly impacted the stork’s survival. Currently, rice farmers are being urged to grow their plants organically so that the storks may breed and grow safely in their environments. After breeding, the storks migrate to eastern China in September and return in March. Huangshan literally means the Yellow Mountain(s), which is a mountain range in southern Anhui Province in eastern China. While Huangshan is a frequent subject of traditional Chinese paintings and literature, Spadecaller introduced his hand-painted digital background of the Yellow Mountains to augment the journey of the Oriental storks. This is a hand-painted digital image and photo composite created in Spadecaller’s Florida Studio on 12/11/2020.
PaulCoco
PaulCoco ::
December 13, 2020
Awesome and amazing! Took my breath away. As always, your description adds to your already wonderful images.

spadecaller
spadecaller ::
December 14, 2020
Thanks so much for your enthusiastic commentary; much appreciated.