A flock of Baer's pochards are seen in Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in East China's Jiangsu province, on Jan 10. [Photo by Deng Yu/WeChat account: zjgtvnews]

Baer's pochards, a critically endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, were spotted in Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in East China's Jiangsu province, for the first time on Jan 10 by a photographer, according to a local news report on Jan 15.

The Baer's pochard, with a body length of about 45 centimeters, mainly lives in Northeast China and spends winter in the country's southern regions. Due to habitat destruction and excessive hunting, it has witnessed a sharp decline in population.

In recent years, Zhangjiagang has been rolling out an array of measures to protect its environment, including lakes, rivers, mountains, and forests, and the improved environment has attracted more than 250 species of birds to its wetlands, including reed parrotbills.