Quite an experience

For many participants, the primary motivation for attending the event was likely not education or even competition, but rather the thrill of bird-watching and the pursuit of new records for themselves, if possible, and for the nature reserve and the province.

Yang Zhidong, a participant from Shanghai, embodies this passion. An avid birdwatcher for over 20 years, the retired school teacher has visited Qinghai three times for bird-watching. "I previously watched birds on the southern bank of Qinghai Lake," he said. "This is my first time birding around the entire lake. During the race, we drove just shy of 1,200 km. On our longest day, we spent 14 hours birding in the wild."

The efforts of Yang and his teammates paid off. He spotted the red-necked grebe, a rare water bird, marking a "lifer" — a birdwatching term for a first-time sighting. Besides, they photographed the chestnut-bellied rock thrush, setting a new record for the nature reserve.

Xia Yong, a bird-watcher from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, experienced a thrilling, roller coaster-like adventure during the race. The retiree, accompanied by a birding friend from Xinjiang, teamed up with two other bird-watchers for the event.

"Many birds here are similar to those found in Xinjiang," she said. "So I didn't expect to see many lifers here. But my friend and I had never bird-watched in Qinghai before. We just wanted to enjoy the race."

Perhaps too engrossed in the excitement, her friend lost her footing while trying to climb over a fence at a birding site on the second day of the race. She fell to the ground and was later diagnosed with a fractured sternum at a hospital in Gangca. She had to withdraw from the race and wait in the hospital until Xia completed the event. Together, they would take an ambulance to Xining, the provincial capital, and then board a train back to Xinjiang.

"On May 26, I helped arrange her treatment until 10 pm," Xia said. "It was truly a long day for me."

Despite the setback, she returned to the race with her other teammates the next day and experienced a highlight moment on May 28. A team found a female cotton pygmy goose at a wetland on the eastern bank of Qinghai Lake and shared the sighting with other teams. As a result, three teams, including Xia's, arrived at the site later.

The water surface was vast, and hundreds of ducks, grebes and geese floated on it. Searching for a single bird through telescopes was a time-consuming and challenging task. "When we arrived, a team had failed to find the goose and decided to give up," Xia said. "We scanned the lake again and again. When one of us finally called out, having found the bird, I felt so excited and relieved."

The goose, an extremely rare bird in Qinghai Lake, marked a lifer for Xia.