Jinjiang genuine 128
Starting from late September, migratory birds have traveled long distances from the far north, even along the coastline of Siberia. After many days of traveling, they are hungry, exhausted and in urgent need of replenishing energy.
They finally arrived in the warm south and needed to find a suitable habitat to overwinter.
In previous years, large numbers of migratory birds usually headed to wetland nature reserves dozens of kilometers away. However, this year, a group of migratory birds discovered a large area of water during their flight.
From the vast artificial lake, to the Swan Lake where a large number of swans gather, to the Metasequoia forest, some birds are attracted by the good ecology and abundant food here, and finally choose to land on the island in the center of the lake.
The island in the middle of the lake is surrounded by lake water on all sides, forming a closed environment where no one can disturb you.
The island is densely covered with vegetation, with tall trees such as Metasequoia, Pool Cypress, Baldcypress, and conifers standing in rows. Various shrubs, ferns, and mosses fill the entire island. The forest canopy is broad and the vegetation is lush, creating a pristine scene.
There are large tracts of reeds scattered around, which provide excellent concealment and are a favorite place for waterfowl; the lake water is clean and clear, and the environment is natural.
The most important thing is that the aquatic plants are lush and the fish and shrimps are plump, providing plenty of food for them to overwinter.
Just as plants need to store a lot of nutrients to bloom, these migratory birds also need sufficient supplies during the cold winter so that they can fly back to their breeding grounds across thousands of miles and give birth to healthy babies the following year.
In this regard, this water forest has a fatal attraction for them.
This is also the reason why so many birds gather on the island in the middle of the lake.
According to Director Cao's rough observation, there are at least four to five hundred birds gathered in the reeds on the islands and the lake.
In order not to disturb them, two bamboo rafts slowly paddled around the periphery of the lake, and several people used binoculars to observe.
Director Cao observed the flocks of migratory birds in the sky: "They are red-billed gulls and swan geese. They must have just arrived and are getting familiar with the surrounding environment."
Ye Han also picked up the telescope and aimed his gaze upward.
The red-billed gull is about the same size as a pigeon and looks similar, with a light grey back and bright red beak and feet. It is also called the 'water pigeon'.
Dozens of them fly together in the sky, and they are common winter migratory birds in W City.
The other group consisted of nearly a hundred wild geese arranged in an orderly manner.
Hongyan is what we often call wild geese.
Goose is the general name for birds of the subfamily Anseriformes. In addition to the swan goose, other common species include white-fronted geese, bean geese, bar-headed geese and grey geese, etc. They are all called wild geese.
Wild goose, the name sounds very common.
But what people have seen mostly are flocks of them flying high in the sky, and few have observed their appearance up close.
Ye Han just happened to have this opportunity at this time.
The swan goose is larger than she thought, with a body length of up to 80-90 centimeters and a wingspan of nearly 2 meters. It is a large migratory bird.
When they fly, their necks are stretched out and their wings are broad, making them look a bit clumsy, but they are actually good flyers.
Like the whooper swan, it can fly to an altitude of tens of thousands of meters and cross Mount Everest.
Director Cao: "The swan goose is similar in size to the domestic goose and is the ancestor of the domestic goose. Some people also call them wild geese. They are currently a national second-class protected animal.
Due to ecological damage and overhunting, their numbers declined rapidly, and have only gradually recovered in recent years.”
The protective measures are now in place.
Last year, he saw thousands of swan geese migrating in groups in the Luanhu Wetland Reserve, which was a spectacular sight.
Ye Han's gaze moved as they flew.
Just as what was written in the book, they were arranged in a straight line at one moment and a human shape at another, like a grey line extending across the sky, always maintaining a graceful formation.
This formation enables them to continuously obtain updrafts, saving energy for flight.
The purpose of changing the formation is to replace the position of the leading goose.
Because the leader goose is at the front and cannot benefit from the airflow, it needs to bear more pressure and therefore needs to be replaced frequently.
Swan geese are very sociable birds.
They always move in groups, encourage each other when flying, and spend the migration period of more than one month together.
Ye Han watched them fly towards the artificial lake, circled a long circle above Huajianji, and flew back in groups a few minutes later, making loud "ga ga" sounds, as if they were inspecting and discussing the environment.
When they return, they flap their wings and land in large numbers in the waters at the edge of the island in the middle of the lake.
Nearly a hundred large migratory birds landed, creating a spectacular scene. As they glided, water splashed everywhere, reeds swayed, and all the birds in the bushes were startled.
It was really a huge group, almost occupying most of the lakeside area.
They either swim near the reeds, pecking at the water plants with their heads down; or find a place to rest on the shore, with a few of them standing guard in high places, working in perfect harmony.
It seems that they are preparing to spend the winter here.
Director Cao said to the observer next to him, "This group of swan geese is not small. Pay attention and record the number."
Observer: “Yes, Director.”
Another batch of national protected animals have arrived.
It is urgent to establish a bird observation station in Huajianji.
Director Cao couldn't help but sigh.
Before he came, he never expected such a scene.
According to Director Ye, the island in the middle of the lake is only about 2,000 square meters in area, but it has become a habitat for migratory birds.
If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, it would have been hard to believe.
It is also thought-provoking.
Why do migratory birds travel thousands of kilometers to the south?
There are many different opinions in the scientific community on this topic.
However, in Director Cao's opinion, cold is not the main reason.
Swans have thick fat in their bodies, which allows them to withstand the severe cold of -30 degrees Celsius and move freely even in the north.
The most fundamental reason is that the lakes in the north freeze in winter, food is scarce, and it is difficult to survive.
It's all about survival.
He thought of the shiny cormorant that had just landed on the bamboo raft.
He had studied wild birds for several years and had never seen one with such brightly coloured feathers and such a large size.
You can imagine how comfortable life is.
When the courtship season comes next year, he will definitely overpower all the males and successfully attract the attention of the females.
For birds, survival and reproduction are precisely the most important things.
And those swans, all of which prove that the environment here is suitable for birds to live.
This investigation in Huajianji is very meaningful.
Not only did we discover many kinds of wild protected birds, but we also proved the importance of protecting the ecological environment.
As long as the ecological environment is good enough, birds will naturally make their home here.
No further human intervention is required.
In the following time, the group observed many duck birds among the reeds and Metasequoia forests, such as spot-billed duck, green-winged teal, ruddy duck, red-winged duck, mallard, etc.
There are not many of them, most of them gather together in groups of a few. They are agile and nimble and disappear in the blink of an eye.
Spot-billed duck is what we commonly call wild duck.
They can also be seen in the artificial lake and Swan Lake, but wild spot-billed ducks usually stay away from people, mostly shuttling through the reeds. Even if they are discovered, they will swim away quickly, and tourists can only see a circle of ripples on the lake.
It is a migratory bird, but several of them have already settled in Huajianji, and it is expected that cute ducklings will be born next year.
In addition, under the guidance of Director Yuan, Ye Han also observed four precious white-necked teals.
They happened to be in the same parallel area as the group of ruddy ducks, but were blocked by seven or eight ruddy ducks and were swimming under two adjacent Metasequoia trees. They could not be seen clearly without careful observation.
Fortunately, there is a telescope.
Ye Han adjusted it several times before he observed it.
It was the first time she saw this cute duck, it looked so unique.
The male bird is black and white, with a white head and black areas around its eyes, as if it is wearing a black eye patch.
Its color is the same as that of the giant panda, and it is very cute, so people also call it "Panda Duck".
The white merganser looks very clean, with pure white body color and only a few stripes on the back and abdomen. It looks like it is wearing black overalls, very cool.
The chest is bulging, forming an S-shape with the head, and the body is graceful, elegant and beautiful.
When Ye Han was observing it, it would dive underwater to look for food while swimming, and then come out with a small fish or water plant in its mouth.
Very lively personality.
When they float on the water, they reflect the clear blue water of the forest, as if they are elves flying through the forest, vivid and beautiful.
Ye Han couldn't help but sigh, what a beautiful girl.
She is both beautiful and cute.
The female next to it is not as good-looking as the male.
It also has black eye patches, but its body is mostly chestnut, not as distinct as black and white.
However, in nature, male birds are often more beautiful.
In order to successfully court a mate, they have to display their gorgeous feathers, show off their dancing moves, and so on.
Director Cao introduced: "The white-headed merganser, also known as the spotted merganser, is a national second-class protected animal.
Not many birds are observed in W City, but many people like them. Every time they are spotted, a large number of bird-watching enthusiasts come to take pictures.
If you look closely at the crest on its head, you’ll see it moving back and forth as it swims.”
Ye Han immediately picked up the telescope to observe and found that it was indeed true.
When the male bird raises its head and looks around, its white crest is erected; when it lowers its head to dive, the crest is folded up.
Due to frequent diving, its crest stands up, then folds up, and then stands up again, back and forth.
Ye Han couldn't help but laugh. Isn't this too cute?
Are you afraid of getting the fluffy tuft on top of its head wet?
Perhaps for birds, the crest has an extraordinary meaning.
As she was observing, Director Yuan next to her suddenly stood up, causing the bamboo raft to shake a few times. Fortunately, the boatman managed to steady it.
"Lao Yuan, what's wrong?"
"Look, isn't that a Chinese merganser over there?" Director Yuan's tone became visibly excited.
Director Cao was stunned for a moment, and said excitedly: "Where, please show me."
"Behind the two little egrets, near the reeds on the right side of the island in the middle of the lake, there are a dozen common mallards mixed in with the two of them on the left. Do you see them?"
Director Cao focused on observing in that direction for a long time before finally confirming: "Yes, it really is!"
It is actually a national first-class protected animal - the Chinese merganser!
Both of them became uncontrollably excited.
This is the first time that this rare and endangered bird has been discovered in W City, which is of great significance.
Seeing the two fish swimming further and further away, Director Cao hurriedly said, "Xiao Hong, give me the equipment quickly."
He has to preserve the data well, this is definitely the most significant discovery made by the Forestry Bureau’s Bird Observation Station this year!
The Chinese merganser, generally speaking, any bird with the word "Chinese" in its name has a high status.
For example, Isoetes sinensis, a first-class protected plant in China, is a "living fossil" that appeared hundreds of millions of years ago and is known as the 'giant panda of plants'.
The Chinese merganser is endemic to China. It is a remnant species from the Tertiary glacial period. It has been breeding on Earth for more than 10 million years and is the oldest wild duck in my country.
It is a national treasure on par with the giant panda, South China tiger, and Yunnan golden monkey, and is known as the "living fossil in the water" and the "giant panda among birds."①
The number of Chinese mergansers is extremely rare. At the end of the last century, there were less than 1,000 left in the world, and it was extremely endangered. After years of protection, the current number is about 2,500.
The relevant departments attach great importance to this and every discovery will be recorded and reported to the State Forestry Administration and the Wildlife Conservation Department to take corresponding protection measures.
Today, the Chinese merganser was discovered in W City. What an exciting thing!
There has never been any relevant records over the years, but I didn’t expect to see it in Huajianji today.
Director Cao's hands were a little unsteady, but fortunately he managed to take the photos successfully.
This is just a preliminary confirmation. In order to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of the information, they need to confirm it repeatedly many times and obtain enough information for reporting.
After all, this is a big deal.
This is the most important task of all this year!
Because the two "national treasure ducks" were too far away, Ye Han did not observe them, but she saw the photos taken by Director Cao.
They are a pair, but the head colors are different.
The male bird has a black head and neck, while the female bird has a brown head. The most prominent feature is the long crest on their heads.
Director Yuan also came closer and said, "This is the unique mark of the Chinese merganser, a double-crested feather that looks like a phoenix head."
To Ye Han, the two clusters of feathers looked fluffy after being washed, cut and blown, which was very distinctive.
Kind of cute.
Director Yuan: "There is another way to identify them. Look here. The feathers above their abdomens have black scales. They look like a 'lucky cloud' pattern, which has a very good meaning."
Ye Han nodded. These characteristics were indeed not seen in other birds.
That's enough to prove it's special.
The Chinese merganser is a large duck that can reach 60 cm in length.
It is said that they have strong flying and diving abilities and are very alert, but habitat destruction has made them endangered species.
Fortunately, relevant national departments have established nature reserves in both breeding areas, and also protected the wintering areas, studying their living habits and helping them reproduce. Now their numbers are recovering.
The discovery of the Chinese merganser lifted the spirits of the group.
It felt like winning the lottery, the excitement kept spreading from the inside out.
For the people at their bird observatory, there is nothing more exciting than spotting rare and endangered birds.
Director Cao immediately decided to take a few observers to the back of the Metasequoia forest to observe and continue recording data.
Director Yuan and his two companions, together with Ye Han, continued to observe the wild birds on the island in the middle of the lake.
After one morning, they had observed more than 50 species of birds and more than 500 birds.
Among them is the Chinese merganser, a first-class national protected animal.
There are more than ten species of national second-class protected animals: little swan, mute swan, whooper swan; little egret, intermediate egret, great egret; blue-throated robin, swan goose, white merganser, etc.
The richness of bird life in this water forest is astonishing.
Migratory birds generally migrate from October to December. Those that have arrived now can only be considered the first batch. There will be a large number of migratory birds arriving in November and December. I wonder if there will be more species by then.
But now there are quite a lot of them, and there are birds living on almost every tree.
Several people found a more open place to continue observing.
The most common birds on the island are still egrets, with pure white feathers. The large ones are very noticeable. Together with the egrets distributed in the Metasequoia forest, the number must exceed 200.
Some small finches hide in bushes or low branches and are not easy to find.
Ye Han saw a small bird looking around on a reed. It was bigger than a sparrow and a bit chubby.
It has a very long tail, a black "eye patch" around its eyes, a brown-red back and a white belly. It looks cute and beautiful, and is opening its mouth to sing.
Probably all passerines are fat, fluffy and very cute and quite harmless.
However this one is completely different.
Ye Han recognized it.
This cute little bird is the brown-backed shrike, also known as the "butcher bird", a small bird of prey among sparrows.
Just as he was thinking about it, the brown-backed shrike standing on the reeds suddenly swooped down and quickly caught a palm-sized frog between the rocks.
The frog was an adult and quite large in size. It struggled desperately at first, but was pierced through the neck by the animal's hooked beak.
It picked up the frog and shook its head repeatedly, and the frog became completely motionless, with its two legs stretched out long.
It's dead.
Ye Han watched the brown-backed shrike bite its prey, fly back to the thorny bushes, pierce the frog on one of the branches, and tear the frog's legs apart fiercely.
The scene was a bit bloody, so Ye Han shifted his gaze.
This thorny bush is its storage room. She saw that not far away there seemed to be a half-eaten sparrow pierced?
In short, it has changed beyond recognition.
There were also prey on the other two branches, a bird of unknown species, and a small lizard that was about to dry up hanging on the other branch.
So cruel.
As expected, he is the Butcher Bird, the Master of Piercing.
It is said that it will also imitate the calls of other birds to attract them to hunt.
Ye Han looked at it again. It looked so cute, a big, furry, fat bird, but it was so fierce.
You can't judge a book by its cover.
Today's stars: Swan Goose, White Merganser, Scaly Merganser, and Brown-backed Shrike.
Note ①: The Chinese merganser is taken from the Internet
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