Remember to look up recently! This life-threatening journey is about to begin

I am a bird-watching enthusiast. However, sometimes I am too busy at work to go bird-watching in the suburbs, so I just watch the birds in the company compound on my way to and from get off work to relieve my boredom. Over time, I even figured out that the blackbird couple living in the old locust tree had four babies. Every day I saw them picking up earthworms on the lawn, and I couldn't help but look forward to seeing some new faces.

It wasn’t until September that I saw a small bird flying up from the roadside when I was leaving work one day. I looked closely and it turned out to be a male northern redstart . I didn’t think much of it at first because it was also a permanent resident of the compound. But when I walked a few more steps, another identical male northern redstart flew up from the ground and stood side by side with the previous one on the power line. Then I suddenly realized that it was its northern relative. The autumn migration of birds has begun.

Northern Redstart, a small bird that is easily encountered in urban green spaces丨Nanchuan Pineapple

Travelers from South to North in Spring and Autumn

Migratory birds refer to birds that migrate between their breeding areas and wintering areas along relatively fixed routes in spring and autumn. This is a definition of bird behavior , not a taxonomic concept.

Some birds are closely related to each other, but some are migratory birds and some are not. For example, the two most common species of turtledoves in eastern China - the spotted dove - have never been too lazy to migrate and are particularly careless about building nests, thus becoming internet celebrities; the mountain dove, which prefers mountains and forests, will migrate from the northeast and north China to the south for the winter.

Spotted dove (left) and mountain dove (right)丨Lip Kee / Flickr; KENPEI / wikimedia

Speaking of migratory birds, the first things that come to mind are probably large birds such as wild geese, swans, and red-crowned cranes. In fact, the majority of migratory birds are small birds of the order Passeriformes, such as various swallows, various warblers, as well as thrushes, robin, flycatcher, bunting, stork, and pipit (come, learn to read with us). The northern redstart I saw was the vanguard of this autumn.

Sure enough, a few days later, a crisp "hiss--hey~" sound came from the treetops again. It was the Yellow-browed Willow Warbler . This small bird, about the size of a palm , likes to jump and fly among the leaves. It is difficult for people to catch its figure. Only the occasional call indicates its identity.

In October 2016, a willow warbler (probably a yellow-browed willow warbler or a yellow-rumped willow warbler) was recorded sucking sap from diseased trees in the park.

After the National Day, there was another small green bird in the compound that liked to fly in groups and chirp. It was the red-flanked white-eye . In summer, they breed in the northeast and Russia. Now they passed by me and looked for some insects on the trees to replenish their energy. Small birds like these generally don't deliberately avoid cities when migrating, so we have a much higher chance of encountering them than those big guys.

Red-flanked White-eye | Jason Thompson / Flickr

Cities are stations for migratory birds

Most birds migrate by flying (penguins swim), which is a high-energy form of exercise. For many migratory birds, getting a rest and replenishing food in time during migration is a matter of life and death.

As humans transform the natural environment, suitable habitats for migratory birds are becoming increasingly scarce, and this has a particularly significant impact on large migratory birds. For example, scientists have discovered through satellite tracking that Oriental white storks that breed in Northeast China and Russia must stop in the wetlands along the Bohai Bay to forage and restore their strength when migrating to their wintering grounds in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River; if the wetlands in the Bohai Bay disappear, Oriental white storks will not be able to fly over extremely long distances directly to their wintering grounds, which is likely to have a serious impact on their survival.

1: Black-tailed waxbill eating Chinese tallow tree seeds; 2: Yellow-throated bunting likes to look for food on the ground; 3: Red-flanked blue-tailed robin overwintering on the university campus; 4: Pintail sandpiper rests by the water in the city wetland park. | Nanchuan Pineapple

Most of the migratory birds of the order Passeriformes are small in size and cannot store much nutrition in their bodies. They need to forage frequently to replenish their energy. Parks and green spaces in the city become their "stations" on the migration route . This is why I can meet some new faces in the company compound even when I go to work every day.

Some city parks and university campuses are large, green and low-density, so they attract many migratory birds to stay during the migration season. At the same time, because these places are convenient for transportation and easy to observe, they have also become holy places for bird-watching enthusiasts to discover new records. The famous "Angel Forest" of Sichuan University once became popular again because a rare purple broad-billed thrush appeared in it. Many "bird lovers" spread the word and rushed to add new records.

A male Purple Thrush | Dibyendu Ash / wikimedia

According to incomplete statistics from the Chengdu Bird Watching Club, since 2005, domestic and foreign bird watching enthusiasts have observed 148 species of wild birds belonging to 8 orders, 22 families, 65 genera and 148 species at Sichuan University, accounting for about 21.5% of the total number of known bird species in Sichuan. Among them are rare species such as the Black-throated Robin and Sichuan Short-winged Warbler, setting many records for bird observation in Sichuan Province.

However, while urban green spaces provide a rare resting place for migratory birds, they also bring some risks. Single-use landscaping and the use of pesticides and herbicides make the seemingly high-quality habitat unable to provide enough food; illegal bird hunters with ulterior motives often take advantage of loopholes and wait for opportunities; photographers who only pursue shooting effects use artificial feeding to attract birds, which often has a negative impact on them; people's domestic garbage and excessive feeding have led to a high number of stray cats and dogs , increasing the risk of migratory birds being preyed upon.

The "Angel Forest" of Sichuan University is known by many as a "holy place" for bird watching. Many people are waiting here with their guns and cannons. Of course, bird watching is still better in a scientific and "non-disturbing" way. It is not advisable to clear the surrounding vegetation for the sake of shooting effect, or even "snatch" (take photos by holding the birds in your hands). 丨 West China Metropolis Daily

A Fairy Pitta. Previously, a Fairy Pitta on the Sun Yat-sen University campus was captured by a stray cat. Fortunately, it was rescued by a passing student, but its subsequent survival is unknown. | Jason Thompson / Flickr

Daytime flight or red-eye flight?

Perhaps different from what we think, most migratory birds migrate at night , especially small insectivorous birds, finches and rails, etc. Migrating at night helps to free up daytime time for foraging and accumulating energy, and also avoid attacks by birds of prey.

Migrating birds at sunset | erry Segraves / fhwa.dot.gov

When the weather is bad and visibility is low, many migratory birds at night will be attracted by bright lights and run into the house. There are long-standing "queshan" on some migratory bird routes in the southwest region, where local people use the light-attracting nature of migratory birds at night to trap them. Now some scientific research institutions also use this habit to capture and ring migratory birds.

People capture wild birds, attach unique numbered tags to them, and release them back into the wild to record and analyze information such as migration routes, population size, mortality, and territory status. This yellow-throated thrush has a numbered metal leg ring on its left foot. Umeshsrinivasan / wikimedia

Large migratory birds and raptors such as cranes and storks are less threatened by predators, and their larger bodies also require the updrafts created by sunlight to fly, so most of them choose to migrate during the day . Swans, geese, ducks, and shorebirds, which have stronger flying abilities, do not care much about the time of migration and can migrate at any time of day or night depending on the specific situation.

On the evening of March 9, 2017, I was working overtime in the office when I suddenly heard the sound of geese outside the window. When I rushed to the rooftop, I could only hear them gradually flying north. In 2018, I heard the sound of geese when I went downstairs to throw away the garbage on the afternoon of March 10. I looked up and saw two groups of geese flying north over the community. There was only one day difference in the two years, but the first year was at night and the second year was during the day.

Migration is a gamble

During the National Day holiday in 2018, I went to Laotie Mountain in Lushun, Dalian. This is the corner of the Liaodong Peninsula and an important passage for migratory birds in East Asia. Countless migratory birds gather here to fly across the Bohai Bay. I went there originally to see various birds of prey, but the various small birds gave me a greater shock.

A dark-colored Crested Honey Buzzard at Laotie Mountain in Dalian | Nanchuan Pineapple

On the second day of our arrival, we happened to see a large gathering of Gray Pepperbirds and Red-flanked White-eyes. However, the wind was too strong that day, and most of the birds did not dare to venture across the sea. I thought it was a good opportunity to observe and maybe take a few clear photos of these two small birds that are used to hiding in the tree canopy. However, the flocks of birds rose and fell, without any rest at all.

As time went by, I discovered the reason for their constant movement - the birds of prey were waiting for the weather to improve before hitting the road , and the waiting time was just enough time to hunt and fill their stomachs. Sparrowhawks and Japanese sparrowhawks rushed back and forth in the mountains and forests, and these small birds did not dare to stop to rest .

The migrating sparrowhawk is looking for prey丨Nanchuan jackfruit

The only thing we were able to take a good picture of was a lone red-flanked white-eye . It landed on the treetop in front of us and kept chirping until its flock flew by, then it took off to catch up. We couldn't help but suspect that this little guy was using the power of humans to avoid birds of prey . After all, no matter how hungry a sparrowhawk is, it is unlikely to dare to rush to a group of people to prey. When we were going down the mountain in the evening, we picked up the remains of a grasshopper warbler on the mountain road. It had been eaten by birds of prey, leaving only its head and a few feathers. The journey of this little bird came to an abrupt end.

The red-flanked white-eye that fell behind during migration seems to be calling its companions丨Nanchuan Pineapple

After the holiday, I returned to work and found that the red-flanked white-eyes had come to the company compound. I wondered if I had seen them before at Laotie Mountain. Unfortunately, I found a dead red-flanked white-eye downstairs that afternoon. It might have hit the glass upstairs, while its compatriots were still flying and calling on the treetops nearby.

Migration of migratory birds is a gamble. In summer, the northern breeding grounds have abundant food, fewer natural enemies, and more possibilities for raising offspring. However, on the migration route, there are many threats from birds of prey, wild animals, traps, bird nets, baits mixed with poison, glass curtain walls, wires, and stray cats and dogs. The reduction of habitats has caused them to lose places where they could rest and forage, making it more difficult for them to compete with bad weather.

Some migratory birds even migrate across continents丨L. Shyamal / wikimedia; Chinese translation: Species Calendar

At Beidagang, Tianjin, the non-migrating hoopoes, magpies and sparrows seem very leisurely | Nanchuan Pineapple

My classmates who have been on a farm-farming boat told me that every day, exhausted willow warblers, red-throated robins, blue-throated robins, pipits, wagtails, and other small birds would land on the boat . After landing, they would desperately look for food, but most of them would die of hunger and cold during the long night. There were no boats on the sea, and the final fate of these birds might be to fall into the sea after exhausting their last bit of strength.

Laotie Mountain in Dalian, Common Buzzard flying over a ship during migration | Nanchuan Pineapple

Looking at the tiny corpse of the red-flanked white-eye in my hand, I recalled the day when I left Laotie Mountain. It was a sunny day and the Yellow Sea-Bohai Sea Divide Scenic Area at the foot of the mountain was crowded with tourists.

Most people don’t realize that in the sky above their heads, flocks of birds are flying towards the sea without hesitation, continuing their life journey along the route passed down from generation to generation. All of this is clearly visible in my telescope, comparable to the Masai Mara.

Author: Nanchuan Pineapple

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)