The Old Yellow River Bird's Paradise

Beautiful and elegant little egrets

Birds resting on the "floating island"

Flocks of birds playing in the water, feeding, or just strolling around

Egrets flying together on the water

Wen/our reporter Wu Yun

Photo/reporter Zhou Jie

In Xuzhou in summer, water and grass are abundant and gulls and herons fly together. Recently, a fish pond in Dingchang Village, Tongshan District, along the Yellow River, has become a bird's paradise and a photography destination. Thousands of birds come here to roost, egrets, herons, shallow gulls and a dozen other birds overwhelming, spectacular. Fish pond owner Cao Chuanxiang said, "I've been raising fish for more than 40 years, but I've never seen so many birds."

On the afternoon of August 1, the old Yellow River in Dingchang Village, Liuji Town, Tongshan District, there are several fish ponds connected to the north of the road, clear pond water reflecting the blue sky and white clouds and green grass and trees, adding a few cool to the hot weather. One of the fish ponds near the road was empty of birds because of the traffic, but further in, I saw flocks of birds limbering on the water, sometimes flying into the air with their wings outstretched, and sometimes diving skillfully into the water to feed. The white wings and graceful posture of the egrets were especially pleasing to the eye, and the birdsong was like heavenly music. The piles of cattails on the water form a natural "floating island" on which the birds rest when they are tired of flying. On the floating island, there is a cute chick waiting to be fed, and when the bird's father or mother comes with the fish, they open their mouths wide from afar. On the poles by the fish pond, there were four rows of bearded floating gulls standing neatly, like trained soldiers, maintaining the exact same posture.

"I've been shooting here for a week, and the birds have been significantly less these past two days." Bird shooting enthusiast Xu Biao said that about ten days ago he heard a photographer say that this fish pond has a lot of birds, so he inquired all the way to find over. The first three days only he came to shoot birds, when the birds are particularly large. In addition to Xuzhou's common herons, black water fowl and shallow gulls, there are kingfishers, crowned fish dogs and black herons. The Wild Bird Club's Ma Navy came here and counted that there were more than 100 egrets and three to four hundred gulls. Later, people came more, and the pond owner was trying to drive the birds away, the birds flew away some.

With the sun shining on the fish pond for a week, Xu Biao captured the precious picture of the adult gulls mating and the big birds feeding their young. Some other bird shooting enthusiasts also brought professional equipment to keep watch at the fish pond. Xu Biao advised the pond owner to protect these wild birds and not to drive them away, "As long as the birds are no longer intimidated, they may be able to return in two or three days."

Pond owner Cao Chuanxiang contracted here two fish ponds, two months ago just scattered fish fry attracted a group of birds, I do not know how these birds are passing information, within a few days flew thousands, the water is densely packed with birds. They all gathered in the north of the fish pond, the south of the fish pond fry large, not suitable for birds to feed. "I am the first time to see so many birds, and excited and worried. Excited is Xuzhou's ecological environment is so good, bird lovers and more people, there will be so many wild birds; worried is more than 400,000 fry were eaten nearly half, but in addition to drive a few times, I have not hurt a bird. The future will not be driven away, the fish grow up they will not eat." Some pictures provided by Xu Biao