Peninsula All Media reporter Sun Zhaohui
"Why are there so many seagulls on the trestle now?" On April 12, there were still flocks of seagulls hovering in the air near the Qingdao trestle bridge, and despite the foggy weather, the enthusiasm of citizens and tourists to watch and feed was still undiminished. A citizen who feeds seagulls at the pier speaks out the question on most people's minds.
Is it because the seagulls left late this year, or because of the large number of seagulls this year, there are still many seagulls that have not left? On the same day, the reporter went to the pier to find out what was going on and interviewed experts to reveal the reason.
Citizens and tourists:
There were more seagulls in April this year than in December in previous years
At 10 o'clock in the morning, the reporter came to the trestle bridge, only to see that the trestle was shrouded in fog, and before it approached, the familiar sound of seagulls came from a distance. If you look closely, flocks of seagulls are hovering at low altitude, and there are dense seagulls "resting" on the surface of the sea and on the reef.
There are still plenty of seagulls next to the pier
"There must be thousands of them. Mr. Zhang, a citizen who lives nearby, exclaimed. He told reporters that because he likes photography, he will come to the pier every year to take pictures of seagulls.
"In the past, there were fewer and fewer seagulls in April, but at this time there were basically not many, and by May Day there were almost none. But this year, the number of seagulls feels much higher than in previous years, and I don't know if there are more seagulls flying over the winter, or if the seagulls are flying away later. Mr. Zhang speculated that it might be related to the weather, "It may be because the weather is relatively cold this year, and the temperature rises slowly, so the seagulls stay in Qingdao for a long time, and as soon as the weather is hot, they fly away." ”
Some citizens feel that there are more seagulls now than in December of previous years. "I thought the seagulls were almost gone by this time, but when I came over today, the sea on the right side of the pier was full of seagulls, and I felt that there were more seagulls than in December last year, and I wondered what was going on. Zhang Xiufen, who lives in Shinan District, said.
Take the last chance to feed the seagulls
Zhanqiao Seagull has become a tourist card of Qingdao, attracting many tourists to come for it. As we all know, the best time to see seagulls at the pier is from November to the end of April. And into April, the trestle seagull also entered the "countdown" of flying away. On April 12th, visitors from far and wide seized the last chance to catch a glimpse.
Seagulls hover over the sea
"We came by the tail of the seagull. We are senior students, and we have no time because we have been busy with our dissertations, but now we are almost ready for our dissertations, and we have always wanted to come to Qingdao to see seagulls, and we have been planning for a long time. Looking at the ridicule on the Internet, there are more people on the trestle than seagulls during the Qingming holiday, so we deliberately avoided the holidays and came before the seagulls left the green. Despite the foggy day, Chen Youjia, a senior from Hefei, felt that it did not affect her mood to feed the seagulls. "I didn't expect there to be so many seagulls, in fact, different weather has different atmospheres, and seagulls in the clouds and mist also have a different kind of beauty. She said.
"If you want to feed the seagulls, you have to hurry up!" said Chen Jiuxu, a tourist from Shenyang, holding his daughter in his arms. "When you travel to Qingdao, feeding the seagulls on the pier is a must-see item, and it is also a 'seasonal limited', so it's a pity to miss it. Before we came, we checked the time when the seagulls stayed green, so that we could catch a glimpse. Knowing that she came to feed the seagulls this morning, my daughter couldn't sleep last night with excitement. But I felt that the seagulls were all full, and my hands were sore, and I didn't come to eat. It's not that the seagulls will fly away at the end of April, so if you want to see the seagulls, you have to hurry. He said.
Seagulls gather on the surface of the sea
There are also many netizens who shared what they saw on the trestle in the past two days on social platforms, with the text "There are still many seagulls on the trestle now, come if you want to see the seagulls feed the seagulls!"
Experts Revealed: The number of gulls coming to Qinghai has increased, and now only 20 or 30 percent are left, and the indigenous black-tailed gulls will not leaveIn view of the thousands of seagulls on the sea, many citizens speculated whether this year's seagulls were large in number and left late. Experts believe that the number of seagulls that come to Qingdao for wintering has increased compared to previous years, but the time for seagulls to fly away is not different from usual, and the number of seagulls on the pier is not much different from previous years.
Seagulls spread their wings and fly high
"The number of seagulls on the pier is about the same as in previous years, and there is no obvious difference in numbers. But overall, I observed more seagulls in January this year than in the same period last year. Over the years, Qingdao seagulls have shown a gradual increase trend. The seagulls are at their most spectacular during the three months of the year, from December to February, and there are still 20 or 30 percent left. In mid-to-late April, the seagulls are almost completely gone. At present, most of the red-headed gulls have left, and some black-tailed gulls and silver gulls have not left. Zheng Da, an engineer at the Wildlife Conservation Department of the Integrated Landscape and Forestry Service Center, said that not all seagulls fly away every year, and some seagulls stay. "Relatively speaking, there won't be too many on the pier side, but of course it's a dynamic process, so there's no exact number. ”
Seagulls resting on the reef
Xue Lin, president of the Municipal Bird Watching Association, told reporters, "The black-tailed gull is the indigenous of Qingdao, and it is the only seagull that can be seen all year round in Qingdao City, and there are many of them, even in summer on the seaside in the urban area, you can still see a lot of black-tailed gulls flying around." The tail end of the tail we see is black, and the wings are gray-black, and they are basically black-tailed gulls. ”
has developed a good impression of Qingdao, and will not easily change positions
This winter's continuous heavy snowfall has left the seagulls at the pier at a loss. The trestle bridge, which was temporarily closed due to snowfall, was full of seagulls, and there was no feeding from citizens and tourists, and they even flew on the road in a "hurry". This makes many citizens worry that this will affect the impression of seagulls on Qingdao and the number of seagulls coming to Qingdao next year.
Seagulls gather on the surface of the sea
Zheng Da said no. "Food is the most important factor in attracting seagulls, usually citizens and tourists feed around them, seagulls have formed a habit, suddenly those days do not come, they are also a little 'at a loss', waiting on the pier and looking for new food. He told reporters that there was no need to worry about the seagulls not coming back, because their hometown of Siberia is much colder than here. And the seagulls have reached a very friendly relationship with the citizens, they have developed a good impression of this place, and they will not easily change positions.
At around 11 a.m., the reporter found that there were more seagulls gathered on the west side of the trestle. In the past, there were more seagulls on the east side. Zheng Da explained, "This is because the east side is full of tide, and there is no place for seagulls to land, so the number will be relatively small. And on the west side, there are a lot of reefs to settle on, so there are more of them. ”
There are many citizens and tourists who come to feed the seagulls
There are gradually more birds in Jiaozhou Bay, and there will be a "bird wave" phenomenon
Although the seagulls have flown away from Qingdao one after another, many birds have already arrived in Qingdao during this season.
"Cuckoos and geese all pass by Qingdao this season. Because it was an important supply point on the East Asian-Australasian Migration Route, they had to settle down to replenish food before flying away. There are also other birds, such as the Banwei Godwit, the White Spoonbill, and the Black-billed Gull, a national first-class protected animal, which will also be present this season. There is also a white-fronted shearwater that also comes to Qingdao in April and May, breeds on the island, and when the baby grows up in September and October, it will take the baby back to its hometown. In July and August, Qingdao also came to Qingdao with the Chinese crested tern, a national first-class protected endangered animal. Zheng Da said. And like the seagulls, after replenishing their food and energy in this season, they began to migrate north and leave the green.
"It's the early stage of bird migration, and around April 20, the migratory birds in Qingdao will reach their climax. From then until around May 10, there will be a large number of transiting waterfowl on both sides of the Dagu estuary in Jiaozhou Bay, and there will be a spectacular 'bird wave' phenomenon. Xue Lin said.