Black swan is one of the common birds in Yangzhou. However, it is not a summer migratory bird, not a winter migratory bird, not a transit bird, not a lost bird (a bird that gets lost during migration), nor a resident bird (a "permanent resident" in Yangzhou all year round). So, what kind of bird is a black swan? Where do they come from? Black swans have appeared briefly in many parts of Yangzhou, where will they go?
Black Swan (file image)
Where are the black swans?
More than 100, with the most in Jurong Bay and Slender West Lake
The black swans in Yangzhou, the most common places, are the Yangzhou Zoo, Slender West Lake and Songjia City in the Zhuyi Bay Scenic Area, of which the Heming Lake and Slender West Lake Scenic Area have the largest number. In addition, there are also black swans in the Canal Sanwan Scenic Area, Dongguan Street Changle Inn, Yangzhou University Yangzijin Campus, Phoenix Island National Wetland Park, Yizheng Guanyue Lake, JiangduYi Horticultural Company and other places.
In fact, most of the existing black swans in Yangzhou are Yangzhou Zoo, and some are imported from other places. The history of black swan breeding in Yangzhou Zoo has been 25 years.
"I started working in 1997, when the zoo was still in Slender West Lake, and the next year I introduced black swans, which I introduced." Talking about the breeding history of black swans, Li Wenbin, director of the Zhuying Bay Scenic Area, still remembers it vividly, "At that time, it was introduced from Shenzhen, and a total of two pairs (4) were introduced, which were airlifted from Shenzhen to Nanjing, and then went to Nanjing to pick up." ”
25 years ago, black swans were rare in other zoos in the country and belonged to rare birds. That is to say, since these two pairs of black swans came to Yangzhou 25 years ago, they have become "immigrants" who have settled in Yangzhou. Later, the Yangzhou Zoo moved from Slender West Lake to the Zhuying Bay Scenic Area, and the black swans moved to a new home.
Now the black swans in Yangzhou are almost all descendants of these two pairs of black swans. From the current point of view, the number of black swans in Yangzhou's scenic spots has exceeded 100.
The Black Swan of Songjia City (file photo)
Scattered in many places, where will they go?
Abundant waters with abundant aquatic grasses may become "footholds"
Black swans are "settled residents" in the above places, and in many places in Yangzhou, there have been black swans. The places we have only reported are Yizheng Sports Park, Lippo Plaza, Tangzicheng Moat, Gaoyou Sanduo, Gaoyou Lake, Yangtze River Jiajiang, Sanjiangying Wetland Park, Yizheng Puxi, and Jiangdu Zhaoguan.
It can be said that in recent years, the footprints of black swans have been a bit extensive. Sometimes they also "fall into distress" to the homes of residents, and in May this year, the black swans became the "uninvited guests" of the residents of a residential community in Jiangdu.
In late October of last year, when the fishery administration of Gaobao Shaobo Lake Fishery Management Office was patrolling the lake, they accidentally found 7 black swans swimming in the lake area.
From the current point of view, it is really difficult to say where the black swans will go, and all the waters with abundant water and grass may become their "foothold".
Black Swan Family (File Photo)
Why can they "make the world home"?
Strong reproductive ability, strong flight ability
Black swans have appeared in so many places in Yangzhou, giving people the feeling that they are "home from all over the world".
In fact, the main reason is that the number of black swans is larger. It is understood that there are black swan farms in some parts of the country, and the number is large. The black swans that haunt Yangzhou are likely to have been "jailbroken" from the farm. Of course, there are also some places where black swans are "migrating" from scenic spots for short distances (note that they are not migrating).
Black swans are abundant because they reproduce easily. Usually a pair of black swan parent birds can hatch 4-8 black swans at a time.
In Yangzhou, black swans usually breed in autumn and winter, but there are also breeding phenomena in spring and summer.
The time for black swans to grow into geese is 18-36 months, that is to say, it only takes one and a half years at the shortest, and the next generation of black swans can "marry" and reproduce.
For newly introduced black swans, the wing feathers are usually cut to prevent them from "leaving". However, their next generation generally does not deliberately prune their wing feathers, and black swans are born with strong flying ability, which is why they can "make a home in all parts of the world".
The black swan of Jurong Bay xiangfu photo
Can they survive naturally?
feel relieved! Can survive in the wild in Yangzhou
Gu Lei, a member of the Jiangsu Wild Bird Society, introduced that the black swan is native to Australia and is a very ornamental rare bird, so it has gradually been introduced by many countries in the world.
In Australia, they are also "nomadic" (nomadic birds) and migrate according to climatic conditions. However, there is no record of natural groups migrating elsewhere. Therefore, it can be determined that the black swans in Yangzhou, whether found in captivity conditions or in the wild, belong to artificially farmed black swans, rather than natural migration from Australia.
In fact, the black swans that have appeared in many places in Yangzhou also illustrate their "nomadic" side. The "nomadic" of black swans is naturally for food. And when they are "nomadic" to Gaoyou Lake, Jiajiang and other places, there should be no problem in survival, because these places are rich in water and grass.
Black swans are easy to reproduce, which will allow this population to grow faster. However, no effects have been observed on wild birds, after all, they are not so numerous.
As a world-famous ornamental bird, the most attractive thing about black swans is that during the breeding period, the long necks of male and female black swans will bend into a heart shape. Black swan chicks that have just come out of their shells have a world of difference in feather color (gray) from black swans. Only when they grow up will they change into their iconic "black dresses". Reporter Xiang Jiafu text/photo
Editor-in-Charge: Yu Jie
Source: Yangzhou Network
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