Migratory birds flying south over the winter, spring is back

Red-billed gulls in Shuanggui Lake. Courtesy of respondents

In November last year, more than 100 red-billed gulls came to Liangping Shuanggui Lake in Chongqing, at the turn of Sichuan and Chongqing, played for half a month, and flew south for the winter. After the warm spring flowers bloomed, the red-billed gull flew north to return home and once again used Shuanggui Lake as a "hotel to stay".

Recently, this group of red-billed gulls that flew south and "returned home" walked into the lens of Yang Xiuyong, a member of the Chongqing Bird Watching Association, and in Yang Xiuyong's 486 bird watching records, the migratory birds from the south to the north have taken the pleasant scenery of Shuanggui Lake as a "star hotel" for resting.

Yang Xiuyong is writing bird watching records.

Yang Xiuyong, 48, is a middle school teacher in Liangping District who enjoys photography as a hobby. On April 1, 2018, Yang Xiuyong photographed a very beautiful bird during the photography process. He took the photo and asked around for the name of the bird, so he came into contact with and got to know the Chongqing Bird Watching Society, and became a member of the association. Since then, Yang Xiuyong has had one more hobby - bird watching!

Every weekend, Yang Xiuyong will take "long guns and short cannons" such as telescopes and cameras to Shuanggui Lake to watch birds. "Saturday went, Sunday went back; morning went, afternoon went, rain or shine, never absent." Yang Xiuyong said proudly.

Every time Yang Xiuyong watches birds, he will write down bird watching records in time. Since 2018, bird watching: 486; bird watching time: 1097 hours.

"The ecological environment has become better, and the variety and number of birds have increased" Speaking of bird watching experience, the introverted Yang Xiuyong is a little excited: "In Shuanggui Lake in 2018, 137 species of birds were observed, 150 species in 2019, and so far, it has increased to 192 species. ”

Water birds are a measure of water quality. In recent years, Shuanggui Lake has restored its ecology through scientific planning, planted trees, flowers and grasses by the lake, and birds have come to have a place to live. Vigorously implement water purification, water replenishment, pollution interception, river and lake connection and other projects, complete a number of environmental protection facilities such as biological floating beds and sewage pipe networks, ensure the water quality of the lake, purify the water environment, and in 2020, Shuanggui Lake National Wetland Park will become a member unit of the National Wetland Park Pioneering Alliance. Nowadays, professionals carry out long-term water quality monitoring, and the water quality of Shuanggui Lake has been maintained in Category III for a long time.

"There is a division of labor within the birds, some are leaders, some are specialized in finding food, some are in charge of guards... There are also birds that take the lead and are responsible for finding 'stop hotels' during long-distance migrations. Yang Xiuyong, who has been watching birds for a long time, has become a recognized bird watching authority in Liangping District through study, and he is the first to say that many birds have a good attitude to life habits.

The birds that took the lead saw such a "star hotel" as Shuanggui Lake, where they were willing to let go, and they lived happily with their companions, and the next year they came more.

Blue-headed diving duck in Shuanggui Lake. Courtesy of respondents

Yang Xiuyong introduced that on October 28, 2018, the blue-headed diving duck, a national first-class protected animal, was observed for the first time on October 13, 2018; the mandarin duck, a national second-level protected animal; on January 4, 2019, the flower-faced duck, a national second-level protected animal; on September 4, 2020, the national second-level protected animal pheasant was observed for the first time; on March 20 this year, the white-browed duck, which has not appeared in Chongqing for 8 years, also appeared in Shuanggui Lake.

The blue-headed diving duck has appeared in Shuanggui Lake for three consecutive years; the number of Mandarin ducks has risen from 9 in 2018 to 18 in 2020, and more Mandarin ducks choose to stay in "hotels" in Shuanggui Lake in winter, not only winter migratory birds, summer migratory birds and pheasants have also joined the "staying" army... Up to now, Yang Xiuyong has recorded 1 species of birds and 19 species of national second-class protected animals in Liangping Shuangguihu National Wetland Park.

White-eyed diving duck in Shuanggui Lake. Courtesy of respondents

"Spot-billed ducks, white-eyed diving ducks, green-headed ducks... For the first time last summer, many birds did not leave. Yang Xiuyong observed birds and found that as the ecological environment of Shuanggui Lake became better and better, some migratory birds became resident birds, treating the hotel as a new home and never leaving Shuanggui Lake.

Upstream News - Chongqing Morning News reporter Zhang Hanxiang correspondent Shi Chuyuan