The island with fluttering red skirts

Xiaoyangshan Bird Watching Notes.1

I have never seen so many Northern Redstarts in one place.

These autumn elves were flying in front of my eyes in little red skirts. What was originally an ordinary island rock suddenly turned into a joyful and busy stage because of their arrival. Who is the protagonist? Who is the walk-on? It’s impossible to tell them apart, they are all so excited that they can’t stop jumping, making noises, and fluttering for a few seconds. The male birds wear a shining silver autumn hat, with two pieces of white jade embedded in their wings. Are they drawing swords and crossbows with each other, or are they imitating Shi Chong and Wang Kai in fighting for wealth? The plainly dressed female bird also participated in the carnival. She changed her habit of looking at her with cold eyes. Her red skirt was like a small flame, igniting the island's autumn.

northern redstart

Fifteen years ago, this small island in the East China Sea, located between the estuary of the Yangtze River and Hangzhou Bay, was unknown. Now giant ships from all over the world are docked here, and containers are piled up as far as the eye can see. The construction of the Yangshan Deepwater Port not only gave Greater Shanghai its own world-class deepwater terminal, making the total container throughput of Shanghai Port rank first in the world, but also due to the construction of the East China Sea Bridge, Xiaoyangshan Island, which was previously difficult to set foot on, Now that we can drive directly there, people like me naturally have a new paradise.

However, there is no need to look at history to conclude that the first people to discover the strategic value of Xiaoyangshan Island were not the decision-makers of large-scale construction, nor even the few local fishermen here, but migratory birds.

The mountains on the island are not high, and the vegetation is not dense. However, as the first island south of the Yangtze River Estuary, it is enough to form a huge temptation for the many forest birds that have just flown over the Yangtze River Estuary area - the coasts of Jiangsu and Shanghai are almost Without decent mountains and forests, I can only keep flying. My fat is almost exhausted and needs to be replenished urgently. Many birds can't wait to fold their wings and fall from the clouds. They need to rest here for a few days to replenish their physical fitness before they can continue their migration journey that is praised as "great" by humans.

Like the northern redstart, the robin is also taking a short rest here. The Flycatcher is a delicate and beautiful bird. I once looked at a female bird for a long time by the stream in front of the Lingyun dormitory building of Xiamen University. I also had a perfect relationship with a male bird in the alpine wetland forest of Siguniang Mountain. We met by chance, but this time I visited their entire family.

Wild flowers on Xiaoyangshan Island

The perennial strong winds on the island usually make it difficult for trees to grow tall, and the situation on Xiaoyangshan Island is no exception. However, in some undisturbed leeward places, trees can still grow prosperously. People with good taste like me have taken a fancy to this place and regard it as a treasure place to let their moods go. They actually learned to play hide-and-seek with me without any teachers, but their curious nature always made them unable to help but run out from the depths of the woods and stand on the branches in front of me to see why I was still there. Didn't find it. Maybe it's because I'm too proud, maybe because I feel dissatisfied with my poor level. In short, its orange-red breasts stand high, like pieces of autumn leaves that can fly freely, but they are reluctant to fall to the ground. superior.

There was a White's tiger thrush on the ground. As soon as it heard my footsteps, it jumped forward, like a thief who was discovered, and it was so panicked that it made people laugh. A Red-throated Flycatcher was originally on the ground, and its brown coat almost blended in with the fallen leaves and dead grass on the ground. I didn't notice it at all, but I couldn't stop the White's Tiger Thrush, its pig mate, from running around, and I was so surprised that it flew to the ground. On the branch. Then it can't be hidden from my eyes. "Hello, little one!"

northern gray flycatcher

But before the Red-throated Flycatcher could stand firm on the branch, the furious Northern Gray Flycatcher rushed over - this is its territory and an important foraging lookout, how can it allow other birds to stain the "branch"? Although the Northern Gray Flycatcher is small, he is also traveling with a large family at this moment, and his power is not small. The Red-throated Flycatcher can only lament that the world is difficult, so just hide away if you can't afford to offend him. With a spread of wings, I really flew to "an unknown part of the forest".

Not all birds on the ground are as fearful of people as White's Tiger Thrush, nor are they as easy to surrender as the Red-throated Flycatcher. The male Japanese Songbird is not only beautiful, but also famous for his courage. It was not that it had no grudge against my sudden appearance, but it gently dodged into a small ditch, just enough to avoid my sight but not far away from the temporary "restaurant" it had chosen. I have to admire how powerful this move is. The Japanese songbird doesn't make a sound, but I know it is there at this moment, and the insects under the fallen leaves are afraid that they will resent me.

The willow warblers on the branches are not only much more active than the Japanese songbirds on the ground, but also more vocal. Fortunately, they are born wheat bullies and have a character that does not cry out or make them unhappy. Otherwise, how could I clearly distinguish the Kamchatka warbler from the Arctic warbler, which looks almost exactly the same as it? When ornithologists separated the Kamchatka Warbler from a subspecies of the Far North Warbler into a separate species, I tried to study the key points of field distinction mentioned in the literature, and the result was nothing but confusion. One end of water. Fortunately, the difference in the calls is just a little bit different. The syllable description in the literature is not very clear, but when I heard it in person: the call of the extreme northern warbler is pure, as if it has the crispness and crispness of the north wind; survey There is a bit of euphemism in the call of the Orioles, like a hint of panic brought about by a cold rain. As a result, I have a new record of observing bird species in the wild. Confucius said: "What a joy!"

Alone Better Together.

I came to Xiaoyangshan for bird watching with the little owl from Shanghai. To be precise, it was the little owl who brought me to Xiaoyangshan for bird watching. To be more precise, it was me who asked the little owl to take me to Xiaoyangshan for bird watching. Bird's. Going even further, the little owl heard that I was in Shanghai recently and asked me: "Mountain Eagle, do you want to give a lecture to Shanghai bird friends to talk about 'Winter Birding in Fujian'?"

Of course I am happy. To have a group of bird lovers like the little owl in Shanghai who have never forgotten their original intention and insisted on promoting bird watching for public welfare is something that I feel is great from the bottom of my heart. It is my duty to provide a little help. But I am also very selfish, so I asked Little Owl when we met: "Do you want to go to Xiaoyang Mountain recently? I haven't been there yet! " "Ah, then at five o'clock tomorrow morning you Wait for me at the door and I will pick you up."

At five o'clock, I don't know where the sun is yet. It seems that the sunscreen I prepared is no longer needed.

Not long after I started bird watching when Yangshan Port was built in 2005, fifteen years later, I came to Xiaoyangshan for the first time. Affected by the water from the Yangtze River and Qiantang River, the water in the sea area where Xiaoyangshan Island is located is not blue. At first glance, it is only a dark yellow color. The scenery cannot be compared with many islands along the coast of Fujian, but Xiaoyangshan Island belongs to The importance of the Shengsi Islands to coastal migratory birds is unmatched by many islands in Fujian.

There are many blue sandpipers on the island. This is the only baby born this year.

The many islands of the Shengsi Islands not only provide resting places for forest birds migrating along the eastern coastline of China, but also become the choice of many coastal waterbirds. The seawater around the Shengsi Islands is affected by ocean currents and has a large amount of intersection of cold and warm water, and is rich in nutrients. Attracting large numbers of fish, it provides ample food sources for seabirds. For example, the main breeding ground for China's rarest bird species, the Chinese Crested Tern, is in this area. Many people who care about birds in Zhejiang have been engaged in arduous and fruitful bird breeding monitoring activities on uninhabited islands every year in recent years. Every time I see them posting their "daily life" in their WeChat Moments, I really admire and envy them.

Yes, Xiaoyangshan Island belongs to Zhejiang. The investment, construction and management of Yangshan Port belong to Shanghai, but the land is leased by Shanghai from Zhejiang. After I got to the island, I saw the ecological red line sign posted by Zhejiang Province and felt confused, so I asked Little Owl to find out.

Donghai Bridge

As a supporting facility of Yangshan Port, the completion and opening of the Donghai Bridge with a main bridge of more than 25 kilometers makes it much more convenient for bird lovers in Shanghai to go to Xiaoyangshan Island than in Zhejiang. Less than five minutes after I uploaded my birding records to the China Bird Recording Center, a WeChat reminder came. When I saw it, it was Qixing Jian, a bird friend from Hangzhou who is responsible for sorting out birding records in Zhejiang Province. He saw my records and asked carefully about the Japanese Songbird, the Kamchatka Warbler, and the two green herons that I had not yet had time to ink, and then told me that these would be included in this year's Zhejiang birding records. .

Cooperation always makes the world a little simpler, right?