Eagle City Elf, how much do you know?
"In 2016, our city first discovered red-billed gull in Baigui Lake. There were only a few dozen at that time, and more than 5,000 in 2021, and more are expected this year." On December 2, when talking about the overwintering of the Red-billed gull in Baigui Lake in our city, Zhang Lifeng, director of the Baiguishan Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve Management Center, knew it well.
The reason why red-billed gulls overwinter in our city is that the water environment and food factors are very important. Zhang Lifeng introduced that red-billed gulls often live in open waters because they do not know how to dive and like to move and prey in waters with more fish and shrimps in shallow aquariums. In recent years, with the establishment of the Baiguishan Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve, our city has carried out ecological water replenishment to Baigui Lake many times, and multiple departments have strengthened coordination and linkage, and carried out special actions such as controlling pollution, cracking down on illegal fishing and logging, protecting wetland ecology, and controlling the "four chaos" of rivers and lakes. The ecological environment of Baigui Lake is getting better and better, and the number of small fish and shrimps has increased year by year, providing rich food for red-billed gulls, which is the main reason for attracting red-billed gulls to come to our city for wintering.
Red-billed gull flew to our city in October every year from Siberia and other places, and then flew back to Siberia to breed at the end of March of the following year. Citizens spent about 6 months with the Red-billed gull. The red-billed gull is a bird of the genus gull of the genus 5 Gull family. Its body shape and fur color are similar to pigeons, commonly known as " Water Pigeon ". The red-billed gull has a body length of 37-43 cm, a wingspan of 94-105 cm, a weight of 225-350 grams, and an average life span of 32 years. Its mouth and feet are red, most of its feathers are white, and its tail feathers are black, making it the most common gull in China. Red-billed gulls are numerous and like to cluster. They often live in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, estuaries, fish ponds, seashores and coastal swamps in plains and low-mountain and hilly areas. They also appear in forests, rivers, lakes and other waters in deserts and semi-deserts, feeding on fish, shrimps, insects, etc.
"The red-billed gull is lively and natural, and with its beautiful 'red lips', it is very likable." Zhang Lifeng said, "The best viewing time for the red-billed gulls in Baitu Lake is eight or nine in the morning and three or four in the afternoon. This is the active predation period for the red-billed gulls. In addition, when there is a breeze on the lake, the red-billed gulls like to fly against the wind." The red-billed gulls especially like cluster activities. On the shimmering white turtle lake, groups of red-billed gulls may flutter their wings and soar over the water surface, or live on the water surface, which is suitable for movement and stillness, attracting many citizens to watch and take photos. In 2021 alone, more than 200,000 citizens check in at Baitu Lake.
Zhang Lifeng told reporters that the breeding period of red-billed gulls is from April to June, and the camping group will breed from several pairs, dozens of pairs to nearly a thousand pairs. They usually nest on the shores of lakes, ponds, rivers and other water areas or on small islands in the water. The nests are mostly placed in grass or reeds on shores, and are also placed on piles of reeds or other objects floating in the water, or on mounds in the swamp and on sandy beaches on the shore. The nests are mainly composed of dead grass. Red-billed gulls usually lay 3 eggs per litter, and the incubation period is 20-26 days.
(Pingdingshan Daily reporter Zhu Jiangmiao) How to feed
more scientifically?
Red-billed gull comes to Eagle City to spend the winter, attracting many citizens to check in, take photos and feed.
So, how to feed it scientifically? Will it not cause harm to the Red-billed Gull?
What to feed
According to the initiator of the volunteer team of Ai Bird Guarding Guarding Guarding, the red-billed gull mainly feeds on small fish, shrimp, aquatic insects, crustaceans, mollusks and other aquatic animals.
Many citizens always feed bread and steamed buns to the red-billed gull, be careful not to let the good intentions do bad things. Because bread and steamed buns are mainly carbohydrate , and the protein content is low, it does not meet the dietary and nutritional needs of the red-billed gull, which is not good for its health. As the number of red-billed gulls coming to our city for wintering increases year by year, the small fish in the Baigui Lake can no longer meet the needs of red-billed gulls, so they need to purchase special gull grain for supplemental feeding. Gull grain is made of fish bone meal and a variety of grains. It can provide the red-billed gull with the variety of nutrients needed to meet the needs of wintering and migration. Even if it falls into the water, it can still be eaten by small fish and is not easy to cause pollution. At the same time, feeding rotten and spoiled food is prohibited, as these things can easily lead to infection with red-billed gulls.
When will feed
"Long-term flight consumes a lot of physical energy of the red-billed gull."Ma Zengguang said that the best time to feed red-billed gulls is around 8 am and around 4 pm. A red-billed gull needs to eat an average of 79 grams of gull grain every day, but feeding cannot be excessive. Manual feeding alone will make the red-billed gull depend on it. To ensure that their predation ability does not decrease, they need to catch some small fish and shrimps themselves to exercise their physical fitness and maintain their natural habits. How to feed gulls
How to feed gulls
Ma Zengguang reminds that when feeding gulls, throw three or five grains into the air at a time, and within 2 seconds of the gulls falling, they can be quickly taken away by the red-billed gulls. If there are too many gulls thrown into the air, red The gulls will be overwhelmed and cause waste.
, Director of the Management Center of Baiguishan Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve, Zhang Lifeng, advises citizens to feed civilized and scientifically, and keep a certain distance from the gulls to avoid the spread of zoonotic diseases, and also keep them a certain vigilance against humans and avoid being easily captured. In addition, it is recommended that citizens feed small amounts and multiple times, and mainly throw them into the air to reduce food waste and environmental pollution. The harmony between humans and wild animals is far view rather than inbredness, and natural feeding and habitat are their best destination.
(Pingdingshan Daily reporter Wang Yanan) How to take pictures of
?
In winter, the rippling white turtle lake has become the home for red-billed gulls to live in. People and gulls play and live in harmony, and have fun.
So, how can we better freeze the beautiful and wonderful moments? On December 1, the reporter interviewed some photography enthusiasts in our city who focus on bird photography.
Zhang Chunxiao began to focus on wildlife photography 10 years ago. He is currently a member of the Scientific Expedition Committee of the China Wildlife Conservation Association and a member of the Volunteer Committee of the China Wildlife Conservation Association. He is committed to wildlife photography and publicity and protection. He has visited Jiangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang and other places to shoot and record a large number of images of wild animals, especially birds. "I hope to use the power of images to arouse people's love for nature, and pay attention to and care for wildlife. "Zhang Chunxiao said.
Seeing more and more citizens like and protect the eagle city elf red-billed gull, Zhang Chunxiao was very happy: "Due to our effective protection, the red-billed gull has gradually gained trust in the citizens, allowing people to appreciate and photograph them up close. Ordinary photography enthusiasts can use ordinary cameras or even mobile phones to capture the scene of the red-billed gull flying freely and the human gulls having fun together. "
Zhang Chunxiao said that when shooting with a SLR camera, you should pay attention to using wide-angle lens small aperture when shooting large scenes, and using telephoto lens large aperture when shooting close-ups, and also using high frame rate to shoot slow motion of red-billed gulls flying gracefully. When shooting birds flying close to the water, you should use low camera positions as much as possible, and use vegetation or city as the background to express the harmonious scenes of people, birds and natural ecology.
Regarding shooting with mobile phones, Zhang Chunxiao said that mobile phones are more suitable for shooting large scenes of red-billed gulls flying in groups. You can try to choose backlight shooting with sunset as the background, which will have a unique charm. When shooting short videos, you must first keep the picture stable and clear; secondly, the theme expression must be thoughtful, think clearly what you want to express, and then choose far as you want. Scenery, close-up, large scenes and close-ups. The photo with the theme of Red-billed Gull taken by Li Baochen, a member of the Photographer Association of
, won the first prize in the city's "Harmony Symposium between Man and Nature" ecological and environmental protection photography competition. He suggested that for beginners, an entry-level SLR camera is enough. When using a SLR camera, it is best to read the accompanying manual several times to gain a deep understanding of the camera's functions. When taking pictures, if you feel that using the automatic mode can no longer meet the needs, you can adjust to the "AV" or "TV" to adjust the camera shutter speed and aperture size to improve the shooting level.
" When the shutter is not fast enough, you should check whether the current light is strong enough. If it is not enough, adjust the camera's sensitivity. The higher the sensitivity, the faster the shutter speed. "Li Baochen said that regarding the aperture, it is necessary to choose reasonably based on the subject, shooting time, scene, etc.: the large aperture has a lot of light inlet, the shutter speed is fast, the blurred background is beautiful, and it is mostly used to take close-ups of people; the small aperture has a little light inlet, the shutter speed is slow, and the shooting time is long, which is suitable for shooting scenery and night photos.
Li Baochen said: "Technology is only a means. To take good photos, you must observe and think carefully. For a good photographer, you must learn to observe the surrounding environment patiently and try shooting from multiple angles." No matter what subject you take, you must first learn to observe, like and respect the subject, so that the entire body and mind can blend emotionally with the subject, and express your emotions and ideas through the camera; secondly, you must boldly break the composition rules, be brave to innovate, and make the work more connotation and vitality.
Photography enthusiasts also issued an initiative to the citizens: "The red-billed gull is an animal in the "National Protected Land Wildlife with Important Ecological, Scientific and Social Values" and is a new member of the Eagle City family. We must maintain a safe distance when watching and shooting, do not interfere with their normal life, and do not capture, drive away or scare them."
(Pingdingshan Daily reporter Sun Pengfei)
What should I pay attention to when loving gulls protecting gulls?
At the beginning of early winter, the old friend of the Eagle City people, the red-billed gull flew across thousands of rivers and mountains as promised, and rode on the White Turtle Lake.
Is it fun to have friends coming from afar? Citizens went to the Baigui Lake to take photos and check in, capturing the magnificent landscape with hundreds of birds flying around and picturesque ecology.
The red-billed gull is back, how to correctly protect, feed and rescue these elves from afar?
"Red-billed gulls are not only our old friends, but also a bright business card for the construction of ecological civilization in our city. In addition to not catching and hurting them, we must also respect natural laws, improve the awareness of fishing and hunting bans in accordance with the law, prevent water pollution, reduce human interference, protect small fish and shrimps in shallow water layers, and provide sufficient natural food for red-billed gulls as much as possible. This is the key." Zhang Lifeng, director of the Provincial Nature Reserve Management Center of Baiguishan Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve, introduced that red-billed gulls belong to the national protected animal . They generally live in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and bays. They like to move in open waters and mainly prey on small fish and shrimps on the water surface, and often stay and rest in shallows near the water or islands.
The visit of the red-billed gull attracted many citizens to watch. When interacting with the gull, some citizens would feed them with bread, steamed buns, etc., and some even tried to grab the wings of the red-billed gull to take photos intimately. These behaviors will cause harm to the red-billed gull. Therefore, in addition to striving to create a good habitat for them, people also need to observe the gulls in a civilized manner and feed them scientifically.
"Only by turning protection into a conscious action, treating these old friends with heart, and achieving harmonious coexistence between people and gulls, will they come as promised every year, and more and more." Zhang Lifeng said. At present, the best locations for viewing red-billed gulls are mainly in the Baigui Lake Forest Peninsula Plank Road, China Pingmei Shenma Staff Retreat Home, and the western part of the Baiguishan Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve. The center insists on feeding gulls regularly in the main habitat activity areas of Hongguikou to ensure the red-billed gull's needs for overwintering and re-feeding.
If you encounter an injured red-billed gull, how should you rescue it? According to Wei Chenwei, a staff member of the Natural Reserve and Wildlife Protection Department of the Municipal Forestry Bureau, in recent years, with the increasing publicity efforts and the increasing awareness of people's love for gulls to protect gulls, it is rare to be injured by human-related reasons such as illegal hunting. However, the bones of the red-billed gull are very light and prone to fractures. If you encounter an injured or sick red-billed gull, citizens can contact the forestry competent department for professional treatment in time, and must not take it home for feeding privately.
Wei Chenwei reminds you not to rescue sick or injured birds at will. The injured red-billed gull may become aggressive due to factors such as physical condition. You must not stimulate it, otherwise you may be pecked; try to avoid touching the injured part of the red-billed gull.
(Pingdingshan Daily reporter Cheng Zhaohua)
