"The flowers fade and the red and green apricots are small. When the swallows fly, the green water surrounds. "In early summer, the swallows fly back and the yellow warblers chirp. In the Yellow River wetland in Mengjin, Henan Province, about 20,000 sand swallows fly back to their breeding grounds and begin to build nests and burrows on the banks of the Yellow River to lay eggs and hatch.
The large number of settlements of the sand swallows, which have strict ecological requirements, also reflects the continuous improvement of the ecological environment of the Yellow River in recent years. The reporter learned from the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve in Henan that up to now, a total of 328 species of birds have been recorded in the reserve, including 14 species of national first-class protected birds, such as black stork, great bustard, and Chinese merganser duck, and the number of birds reached more than 150,000 at the most. Rare birds such as black stork, yellow-breasted bunting, white spoonbill, and mandarin duck all appear in large populations.
Busy cliff sand swallows on the banks of the Yellow River Photo by Guo Zhun
About 20,000 sand swallows flew back to the Yellow River wetland in Henan
"Déjà vu Yan returns. In the beginning of summer, after the "May Day", Luoyang Mengjin, on the bank of the Yellow River, on the cliff slope, a group of familiar swallows flew back and forth under the sun.
The Baihe Town section of Mengjin District of the Yellow River is located in the core area of the Mengjin Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve. On the sandy walls of the banks of the Yellow River, thousands of irregular circular caves are densely distributed. From a distance, these caves look like honeycombs, and when you look closer, gray-brown swallows fly in and out of the caves from time to time.
Busy cliff sand swallows on the banks of the Yellow River Photo by Guo Zhun
A relevant person from the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve in Henan told a reporter from Dahe.com that these are not ordinary swallows, and their scientific name is Yasha Swallow. Sand swallow belongs to the passeriform order and the swallow family, and is a terrestrial wild animal with important ecological, scientific and social value protected by the state ("three haves" protected animals). In addition to Australia, the sand swallow is found all over the world. The females and males of the S. japoyana are not very different, with a grayish-brown upper body, white feathers on the lower body and tail, and a distinctive brown chest band.
In the early summer of 2020, reporters went to Mengjin to cover the activities of the Yellow River at close range. It is understood that the breeding season of the sand swallow is from April to June, and it is currently their breeding season, which is the busiest time of the year. They feed mainly on insects, and often make holes in the soft cliff walls of the shore to build nests, and the depth of the nests ranges from tens of centimeters to more than 1 meter, which is not uniform.
Screenshot of the video of the cliff swallow's nest on the bank of the Mengjin Yellow River wetland
In the Mengjin Yellow River wetland, the soil on the cliff bank is relatively loose, there are few human activities, and the food source is abundant, which is more suitable for the Yasha swallow to live. "According to rough estimates, there are about 20,000 sand swallows here. The person in charge said that at present, the main job of the sand swallow is to build nests, and some of the sand swallows have begun to lay eggs.
The incubation time of the sand swallow is short, generally 12 to 15 days out of the shell. It is expected that in mid to late June, all the cliff sand swallows on the bank of the Yellow River here will come out of the nest, and the landscape of "flying to the river swallows, close to the gulls in the water" will be staged.
Grey-browed Rock Bunting Photo: Shi Yinglin
【Changes】A total of 328 species of birds have been recorded in the Mengjin Yellow River Reserve
It has reached early summer, and in today's Mengjin Yellow River wetland, the winter migratory birds that spend the winter here have already migrated north, and the summer migratory birds that spend summer have returned to their hometowns. There are also some resident birds, which are about to experience a new summer here.
The reporter of Dahe.com learned from the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve in Henan that the Mengjin Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve is located in the transition zone from the middle reaches of the Yellow River to the lower reaches, with a length of 59 kilometers from east to west, and is a nature reserve focusing on the protection of waterfowl and wetland ecosystems.
Strong-legged tree warbler Photo: Shi Yinglin
The total area of the reserve is 17,500 hectares, including 5,100 hectares in the core area, 3,900 hectares in the buffer zone and 8,500 hectares in the experimental area. The reserve has clear water surface, river island and tender beach, etc., with good natural conditions and rich wetland resources, providing habitat and foraging ground for a large number of migratory birds. Today, the reserve has become an important stop on the migration route of migratory birds and an important habitat for birds.
According to the introduction, the reserve has continuously strengthened patrol supervision, increased scientific and technological monitoring methods, scientifically carried out investigation and monitoring, scientifically constructed and protected bird habitats, widely publicized and guided, and actively cooperated and exchanged with Beijing Forestry University, Henan University, Luoyang Normal University and other universities to strengthen the protection of birds and habitats. In recent years, the species and number of birds in the reserve have increased year by year.
"In recent years, the reserve has found a new record of birds in Henan Province, black geese, and seven species of birds in Luoyang City, including grassland eagles, flamingos, and mute swans. The person in charge said that in 2023, 13 new species of birds will be added to the reserve, such as the small sandpiper, the three-toed gull, the red-breasted black goose, and the common red finch, including 4 species of national second-class protected birds. In January 2024, five new species were recorded in the reserve, including the enhanced footed warbler and the spot-breasted hook-billed thrush.
Purple Howling Thrush Photo: Guo Dandan
Up to now, a total of 328 species of birds have been recorded in the reserve, including 14 species of national first-class protected birds, such as black stork, great bustard and Chinese merganser, and 58 species of national second-class protected birds, such as gray cranes, white spoonbills and whooper swans, with a maximum number of more than 150,000 birds. Rare birds such as black stork, yellow-breasted bunting, white spoonbill, and mandarin duck all appear in large populations, and the number of black storks reached 84 at the highest number of national first-class protected birds (only about 3,000 in the world), which is rare in China.
The reserve has monitored 53 national Class I protected birds, such as the Great Bustard, 236 Yellow-breasted Bunting, 305 white spoonbills and 283 mandarin ducks, and tens of thousands of sand swallows nesting on the sandy soil wall along the Yellow River. (Text, video/Liu Ruichao)