For nearly thirteen years, thousands of storks have considered a two-hectare riverside area in Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province as their shelter. What makes this storks’ shelter so special is that it is not deserted but taken good care of by a farmer couple.

Nguyen Thi Luyen and her husband were successful bidders of a 10-hectare area by a river in Gia Lac commune, Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province. At first, she used the land for farming. Her 🐼evergreen garden has gradually attracted flocks of birds𝄹, especially storks. Seeing those storks living peacefully in the garden, the couple decided to mark out two hectares just for them. They even planted many tall trees as shelters for stork families.

There are now some 4,000 to 5,000 storks from various species residing in Luyen’s garden. Taking care of storks is the couple’s daily routine and also their hobby. Every day, Luyen and her husband trim trees, clean the garden and take care of stork chicks to make sure the birds live a comfortable life in their garden. Many bird admirers have visited the garden to see those birds in eyes. The local authorities also consider Lam and Luyen’s stork garden a promising eco-tourism site which may both improve local livelihood and protect the biodiversity here.-VNA