(BAC GIANG) – A unique bird garden located in the sparse forest by the lake of the Bac Giang Agriculture and Forestry University in Viet Yen district is completely separate from the hustle and bustle of the town in the key industrial region. In the evening, in a peaceful space, flocks of birds fly here to rest.
Standing on the high observation platform, the bird garden is a biodiversity complex with rich vegetation. Here there are all kinds of plants growing in the lower layers, mixed with those in the upper layers surrounding the lake.
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Swallow stork (snail stork) – a species listed in the Vietnam Red Data Book lives in the university’s bird garden
As a higher education institution specializing in agriculture and forestry, the school arranges many areas for students to practice and do scientific research, so the campus ecosystem is very diverse, creating favorable conditions for many wild birds to nest.
The bird garden was naturally formed in the 1990s. The environmental landscape is suitable for water birds as the forest becomes a place for them to reside, nest and breed with a large number of individuals, creating a unique water bird population in the campus of the university.
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Tourists watch the bird garden from afar
Nguyen Chi Thanh, head of the university’s Faculty of Forestry said the natural bird garden has 15 species with more than 10,000 individuals. There are three main species: white stork, stork, and cauldron.
These are resident birds that often live and feed in groups of dozens to hundreds of individuals, breeding mainly in the school campus. Of which, swallow stork (snail stork) is a rare bird species listed as endangered in the Vietnam Red Data Book (featuring rare animal and plant species in Vietnam that are decreasing in number and at risk of extinction).
Water birds reside in most of the area with forestry trees distributed on the school campus with a total area of 4.7 hectares, of which the main residence area is about 1.7 hectares, mainly on two islands, at the beginning of the administration house and by the lakeside from the beginning of the library house.
The birds gather in the eastern part of the garden, with many areas housing bird droppings several tens of centimeters thick. This is the only bird garden in the system of colleges and universities across the country, belonging to a national habitat and species conservation area.
Given the potential for developing experiential tourism, in November 2021, the Bac Giang Agriculture and Forestry University was recognized by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism as an ecotourism destination.
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A corner of the bird garden at Bac Giang Agriculture and Forestry University
Dam Thuan Minh Binh, Director of the university’s Center for Educational Services and Environmental Ecology said: “The bird garden is among the destinations of a tour. The school has built a bridge over the lake so that visitors can watch the bird garden from afar and study the living habits of the species through a binocular system. On average, this place attracts about 300-500 visitors every day. On weekends and holidays, there are more visitors.”
Not only visitors from the province, the bird garden also lures many young people from other localities to picnic, camp, and take wedding photos. Currently, the school has a full range of accommodation services (small homestays) to serve visitor needs. This is an ideal destination in the tour of Bo Da pagoda – Tho Ha ancient village – Bac Giang Agriculture and Forestry University ecotourism site – Vinh Nghiem pagoda.
