Editor's note: At present, the "old friend" - the red-billed gull is coming, in order to better explore the "human gull love" between the red-billed gull and Kunming, so that more people can understand the indissoluble relationship between the red-billed gull and Kunming, starting from October 22, 2021, the Kunming Information Harbor Cailong Community launched the "China Spring City • People's Gull Affection - 'I and the Kunming Red-billed Gull'" essay campaign, inviting the general public, friends at home and abroad to participate together and share their story with the Kunming red-billed gull. Kunming Information Harbor will select outstanding works from netizen submissions.
Today's selection is the colorful dragon netizen @ flowing "Winter, Kunming and seagull dating, has become a love in the heart".
Sunny days always tempt people to go out of their homes and into nature. By its winter, warm and sunny, outdoor sun, cold gradually dissipated, the body is warm, and then look at the winter like spring scenery, naturally it is a comfortable thing.
On November 21st, the same is a good weather with blue skies, wind and sunshine, and it is a weekend, I didn't think about it, I couldn't help myself, and stepped out of the house.
I am used to seeing seagulls in winter. Because in this season, seagulls must come to Kunming from Siberia thousands of miles away to overwinter and spend a warm winter with Kunming people. The hospitality and friendliness of Kunming people also allow them to relax and get along with people in close proximity without guarding, and play and have fun.
Usually, I like to go to Green Lake, Haigeng and other places close to the city to see seagulls. But that day, I wanted to go to Xihua Village to pick strawberries, just passing through Gaohai Road, passing a temple on the edge of Dianchi Lake, there was a forest and a vacant lot, I could stop, so I drove in. Here at the water's edge, there are not many people, there are not many seagulls, the elves are very leisurely stopped on the surface of the water, with the waves, from time to time there are a few flying, love to eat and not eat a few pecks at the food that people have thrown over, it seems that they are full to rest on this quiet water.
Speaking of which, watching seagulls in winter has also been around for decades. I remember the first time I saw a seagull in the winter of 1985, it was still by chance. At that time, I had just arrived at the unit and participated in the organizational activities of the members of the regiment, and the location was in Haigeng. When I reached the water's edge, I saw a large group of white birds in the distance lightly paddling across the water, flying into the air, flying up and down, and some stopped in the middle of the water. Everyone was happy and excited, because they had never seen this bird, they didn't know what kind of bird it was, and they didn't know where it came from. Just guess it must be a kind of water bird.
They looked timidly at us strangers by the water, did not dare to come closer, and from time to time they made a few noises, as if they wanted to say something, and their expectant eyes also looked at us. A colleague seemed to understand these elves: "They may be hungry", so to speak, suddenly reminded everyone, they took out their own dry food for lunch, thrown into the water, at first the seagulls just watched from a distance, did not dare to go close, and then one or two bold, at high speed, flew to the water where we threw food, picked up a piece and ran to the water in the distance, quickly swallowed, saw that people did not have malicious intentions, and quickly came back to take a piece, other seagulls also began to boldly join the scramble, but our excited cries frightened them. After a while, the bold (and possibly the hungriest) flew back to the shore to eat, and the others also had the courage to follow, so a dozen of them went back and forth, and we left only a small amount of food to fill the hunger, most of them were fed to the seagulls, and seeing that there was nothing to eat, they all flew back into the water in the distance, keeping a sufficient distance from us, wary. Later, I saw from the newspaper that after the study of bird experts, it was said that this was called a red-billed gull, which flew from the cold Siberia to spend the winter, and it was also the first time to winter in Kunming. However, after seeing the seagulls, after a few days of excitement and nagging, I slowly forgot about it, thinking that the group of seagulls I saw was purely a chance encounter. At that time, the media did not pay much attention to them. However, in the winter of the following year, in the news, it was said that there were red-billed gulls flying to Kunming for the winter, and they were excited, and their figures instantly appeared in their minds, because they were extremely impressed by the first time they were white and beautiful and light. And I heard that there are also red-billed gulls in the city, just in the Panlong River Victory Bridge, South Taiqiao area, there are many. Wow, it's not too convenient to look at them that way. Go to Nanping Street, Jinbi Road and other commercial streets (the most lively street in Kunming at that time) to see the elves along the way, killing two birds with one stone, great!
They flew into the city along the Panlong River during the day, stopping at the eaves roofs on both sides of the Panlong River (at that time, most of them were low three-story tile houses) and unoccupied shores or bridge piers, waiting for passers-by to feed them, or find food in their own water, not afraid of people at all. Some also went to Cuihu Lake, all of them entered the city at eight or nine o'clock in the morning, and flew back to Dianchi Lake at four or five o'clock in the afternoon to rest and sleep. Until now, for decades, the time and place of their departure from all over the city have remained unchanged.
Sometimes people are like this, with one, and with one, they will start to think about things again and again. For the seagulls to come back to Kunming for the winter, I have expectations. Sure enough, in the winter of the third year, the red-billed gull flew to Kunming to overwinter, and the fourth year was still the same. I began to believe that the first time they flew to Kunming for winter, they had become infatuated with the beautiful land of Kunming, determined their love for Kunming, and never forgot it.
Year after year, not far away, all the way frost, all the way rain and snow, all the way to the wind and sand, all the way to the lightning strike, through the dry mountains and rivers, through countless cities, trekking hard, but they can always find the small place of Kunming on the vast land, and the memory of Kunming is passed down from generation to generation. If Kunming does not have a good ecology, continuous environmental optimization and transformation, how can it have such a great attraction for them, overwintering in Spring City every year, and dating Kunming for many years. It can also be said that Kunming is surrounded by mountains and water, has a unique natural environment, warm winter and cool summer, sunny, fragrant flowers in all seasons, clear air, fertile grass and water, people are friendly, is a treasure land identified by seagulls, and it is also the reason why they have long been in love.
The love between the human gulls, the love for each other, the time and space, the weather, the species, when I came into contact with them, became a mutual communication and attachment to them. This attachment will continue with their appointment with Spring City every winter, leaving me with time to tell.
