"In the reeds, the first time I took little locust warbler !" Recently, bird investigator Deng Yu conducted bird observations in the Zhangjiagang Riverside Wetland in Suzhou City. When I arrived near the embankment of Changyinsha, I was delighted to find that a bird that looked like a locust warbler crawled out in the reeds. After confirmation, it was a relatively rare "little locust warbler". It is worth mentioning that Little Locust Warbler is also the second new bird record discovered in 2022 by Suzhou City after the Huangbian Warbler.
Photo/Deng Yu
In the evening, it was getting late. Near the embankment of Changyinsha, Zhangjiagang, more than ten species of birds, including brown fan-tailed warbler, East Asian Shiji, White-bellied Harrier, , etc., have appeared one after another. water bird plays on the water, forest birds look around on the branches, and raptors hovering at a high altitude, giving a vibrant scene.
"Accordingly, in the bushes near the roadside, I found a bird that looked like a little locust warbler jumping around. While it was stopping, I took a few photos quickly." Deng Yu told the reporter of watching Suzhou that the bird was very quick to move, and often disappeared in the reeds for a while. Fortunately, the moment it passed, Deng Yu used the camera to quickly focus and took several shots in a high-speed continuous shooting.
Through the photos taken, it can be seen that this bird is not big, with dense longitudinal lines on the head and almost no stripes on both sides of the ribs. The more common spear-spotted locust warbler can be ruled out, and there are obvious stripes on the back. It is confirmed that it is a relatively rare little locust warbler .
Spike-spotted locust warbler Picture from Suzhou Wetland Natural School
Little locust warbler often lives in swamp areas near lakes, rivers and other waters, in low trees, shrubs, reeds and grasslands, and is also found in wheat fields. They often move alone or in pairs, have a cowardly personality, and are also very hidden. They often walk in low places of bushes, rarely fly, and are difficult to detect, so it is difficult for the photographer to have a certain degree of difficulty.
"Little locust warblers mainly reproduce in the northeast and northwest, migrating through East China, central China and other places. They are migratory birds transiting in Suzhou. In May 2021, there was a record of calling in the Xiajia River in Kunshan. The photos taken this time are the first image record in Suzhou ." Deng Yu introduced.
It is worth mentioning that the little locust warbler is also the second new bird record discovered in Suzhou City in 2022 after the Yellow Belly Mountain Warbler.
Huangben Mountain Whisper Picture from Suzhou Wetland Natural School
So, why did this "distinguished guest" who came from afar choose Changyinsha?
It turns out that the Zhangjiagang River Wetland is located on the East Asia-Australian bird migration route, one of the nine largest bird migration routes in the world. It starts from Zhangjiagang Bay in the west and ends at iron yellow sand in the east. The Yangtze River Wetland has large areas of tidal flats, farmland, grassland, ponds and other habitats.
Zhangjiagang River Wetland
Deng Yu told reporters that This area has sufficient food and water resources, and human activities are less . Birds like the little locust warbler, which feel less threats, so they will stay here.
It is precisely because Zhangjiagang has attached great importance to ecological and environmental protection in recent years that its natural advantages have attracted more and more rare animals to check in. Chinese merganser , spoon-billed sandpiper , green-headed duck , oriental white stork , black-faced spoonbill , white-tailed sea eagle , Zhendan snail , yellow-breasted bun ... More and more first- and second-level protected animals in Zhangjiagang appear along the river, vividly interpreting the achievements of Zhangjiagang's in-depth promotion of comprehensive environmental improvement along the river.
Chinese merganser Photo/Wang Yongxiang
According to the "Zhangjiagang Riverside Wetland Bird Resource Monitoring Report 2020-2022", Zhangjiagang survey found that there were 213 bird species. In addition, of the 51 new bird records discovered in Suzhou City in the past five years, 21 are from Zhangjiagang along the river.
Zhangjiagang, this "golden wetland", is not only a habitat for many rare birds, but also an important node in the migration corridor of endangered migratory birds in the Yangtze River watershed, an important survival and reproduction base for Yangtze River fish, and is also a microcosm of Suzhou's ecological environment.
In recent years, Suzhou City has vigorously promoted the construction and green development of ecological civilization, resolutely fought the battle against pollution prevention and control, the quality of the ecological environment has been significantly improved, and the concept of ecological civilization has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The wild animal protection cause, which is mainly birds, has achieved outstanding results. The bird has the final say whether the environment is good or not! As the environment in Suzhou becomes better and better, I believe that more birds will come to heaven to "visit". Green water and green mountains are gold and silver mountains , Suzhou water is a good bird to prophet!
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At present, the migratory journey of migratory birds is still continuing, and these birds have visited Suzhou as pioneers.
black short-footed squid Photo/Zhou Minjun
black-eyed reed warbler Photo/Zhou Minjun
white spoonbill Photo/Zhou Minjun
gold squid squid Photo/Zhou Minjun
gold squid squid Photo/Deng Yu
yellow guillotine Photo/Deng Yu
white belly harrier Photo/Deng Yu
purple winged starling Photo/Peng Wenxia
red-footed falcon Photo/Deng Yu
Red-footed Falcon Photo/Peng Wenxia
