Source: People's Daily
Migratory birds in the striped mud wetlands. Photo by Sun Jialu (People's Vision)
Migratory birds in the striped mud wetlands. Photo by Sun Jialu (People's Vision)
Migratory birds in the striped mud wetlands. Photo by Sun Jialu (People's Vision)
Core reading
It was early spring, in the Tiaozi muddy wetland in Dongtai City, Yancheng, Jiangsu, the spring migratory birds came to report, and the wintering birds prepared to fly north. In recent years, the local area has promoted wetland restoration, continuously improved the quality of coastal ecosystems, restored the habitat of rare and endangered migratory birds, and continuously enriched biodiversity.
"There are more Oriental white storks these days, yesterday I observed more than 100, today it has increased by about 20; Curly-feathered pelicans have also begun to enter the field of vision these days, and the number is gradually increasing, and spring is really here! "A few days ago, in the Tiaozi muddy wetland in Dongtai City, Yancheng, Jiangsu, photography enthusiast Li Dongming gained a lot, opened the camera, and was full of magnificent pictures of thousands of birds flying.
Chasing the spring breeze, the birds stop here
At this moment, tens of thousands of birds are staying in this wetland. Among them are common cormorants, gray plovers, oystercatchers, egrets, herons, curly-feathered pelicans, etc., which stop here briefly on their spring migration to replenish energy; There are also national first-class key protected wild animals such as the Oriental White Stork, which wintered here and waited for the opportunity to fly north after a winter stay. In March and April, a large number of plovers pass through the area, transiting and embarking on a long migration journey.
"The coniferous forests, wetlands, and grasslands in the north are breeding grounds for most migratory birds. In winter, when the temperature drops and the water freezes, they fly south to feed. In spring, as temperatures rise and sunshine lasts longer, the birds fly to the north. Jia Yifei, associate professor of the College of Ecology and Nature Conservation of Beijing Forestry University, introduced. Now is the time for all things to recover, and many birds that migrate in spring stay in the Tiaozi muddy wetland to replenish food, recuperate, and prepare to continue flying north.
"Birds are very intelligent, and their experience shows that the north is still cold at the moment, so they are not in a hurry and migrate step by step." Jia Yifei introduced. For example, the main wintering ground of the curly-feathered pelicans is in the estuaries of southern regions such as Zhejiang and Fujian, and their northward migration has its own rules - chasing the green and chasing the spring breeze. "When the spring breeze blows, the vegetation from south to north has a gradual greening process. Now, the Huai River Valley has been dressed in green, and the curly-feathered pelicans have come; In March, when the North China Plain is green, they fly to North China to rest, and then fly further north in April and May. Jia Yifei said.
The fish and shrimp are delicious and the plants are luxuriant, attracting a large number of migratory birds
"On the one hand, migratory birds fly along the coastline, which is the main landmark where they identify their location, and the Dongtai coast is right on the main migration route; On the other hand, the food here is relatively abundant, and the wetland environment is well protected, so that there are delicious fish and shrimp and lush plants. Jia Yifei introduced that Dongtai is located on the coast of the Yellow Sea, with nearly 85 kilometers of coastline, 2.1 million mu of tidal wetlands and 68,000 mu of Yellow Sea National Forest Park, the vast sea, tidal wetlands and plain forests together form a characteristic ecological space, attracting more than 50 million waterbirds from south to north every year, and is home to more than 100 species of national key protected wild animals such as spoon-billed sandpipers, curly-feathered pelicans, black-billed gulls, black-faced spoonbills, and oriental white storks.
"At this time, the curly-feathered pelicans have just arrived, usually at most 70, and there are only about 150 in the entire East Asian region. More curly-feathered pelicans arrive in Dongtai in March and then fly further north. In addition to Dongtai, the main wintering grounds of the Oriental White Stork include Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake, Chongming Island and other estuaries of rivers and lakes in the Yangtze River basin. In mid-February, the eastern white stork, which overwintered in the Tiaozi muddy wetland, was preparing to move north, and the southern friends had come to meet one after another, and the number had just reached its peak. Li Dongming, who has many years of experience in bird watching, has become a half-"bird expert" in the minds of many local photography enthusiasts.
"My favorite photo is the Oriental White Stork, which is recognizable at a glance among the flocks of birds." According to Li Dongming's observation, the adult Oriental white stork is about 1.1 meters tall, with a wingspan width of more than 3 meters, pure white throughout, vermilion skin around the eyes and throat, wide wings, long legs and pointed beaks, and a very beautiful body. They generally prefer to live in groups, strolling by the water's edge or stopping at grassy shoals, often pecking as they go. "Standing on one leg with your neck shrunk into an S shape is cute." Li Dongming said.
Li Dongming remembers that in June last year, Dongtai recorded for the first time a pair of Oriental white storks nesting on a telephone pole along the coast and successfully brooded three of them. Since then, the elegant figure of the Oriental White Stork has often been captured by photographers and scientific research teams.
Returning fishing to wetness improves the quality of coastal ecosystems
"The Oriental White Stork is a large wading bird, and according to the synchronous survey in recent years, the population has grown from more than 3,000 to more than 10,000, and the number of people who inhabit the sliver mud wetlands accounts for about 1% of the population." In Li Dongming's view, this shows that the ecological environment of the Tiaozi mud wetland is suitable for large wading birds to feed and inhabit.
How to create an ecological space suitable for migratory birds?
Lv Hongtao, Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the Dongtai Coastal Economic Zone, said: "In recent years, while building the first fixed high-tide habitat for migratory waterbirds in China, the '720 Highland', we have restored degraded and arid coastal wetlands on a large scale, implemented protection projects such as the restoration of 20,000 mu of ecological wetlands in Chuanshui Bay, carried out rectification and reform, and achieved permanent return of fishing to wetlands." ”
Lv Hongtao said that the ultimate goal is to continuously improve the quality, stability and service functions of coastal ecosystems, restore the habitat of rare and endangered migratory birds, and significantly enrich biodiversity. (Reporter Yao Xueqing)
People's Daily(2023.02.27th Edition, 13th Edition)