Come, count how many birds are there in this picture?

Not long ago, Guokr held a Youth Forum with the theme of urban animals , and invited four guests to tell their stories about urban animals. We will review the guests' sharing content in the form of video + pictures and texts.

This issue comes from Weibo science blogger @鸟窝里的猫妖 (due to limited space, the content shared has been slightly deleted):

Are there wild animals in cities?

People think that Beijing is such a modern metropolis that there must be few wild animals, but in fact there are only 700 to 800 species of birds in Beijing. For example, there are 45 to 6 species of raptors in Beijing in spring, summer, autumn and winter . There are more than 10,000 species in the world, and more than 1,400 species in China.

We live among many wild animals, but we don't notice them. I always treat these guys as neighbors. These neighbors may become my patients sometimes, and each of them is a medical troublemaker. The doctor-patient relationship is extremely bad, but I still hope to be friends with them. However, I don't want them to treat me as a friend. I hope they will always remain wild and not be interfered with by human behavior .

Look at the picture below. How many birds are there? Mostly magpies, and some doves and sparrows with good camouflage hiding in the dirt. If you count all the birds, there are about 40.

The following three pictures are the most common "three idiots of corvidae" around us. In the first picture, my friend said that your clothes are so cool and the print on it is so handsome; I said that it is 3D, it is alive, not printed. The action of me holding it in the picture is a professional holding action when rescuing animals, which is a action that makes you and the animal feel comfortable and safe .

Blackbirds are particularly vengeful. Although their bites are not painful, they have a special way of attacking people - throwing feces . A similar experience can be seen on the Internet. A netizen has a cat at home. When a blackbird flew by, the cat curiously rushed to the window to take a look, scaring the bird. After that month, the bird threw feces on his window every day, and the entire window became opaque.

Blackbirds can be seen in some lawns. They like to eat earthworms.

Mandarin ducks are common near the pond in the park

The eagle owl is the largest owl in Beijing, but is it normal for it to appear in the city? It is very normal. Beijing is not only a modern city, but also has very good greenery, with many tall trees with good canopy. In the past decade or so, we have paid more and more attention to the ecological protection in the city. The better the function of the urban ecosystem, the more large birds of prey will enter the city. I have also seen vultures in Beijing, the largest birds of prey in Eurasia.

In autumn, I photographed a hairy-legged buzzard, whose wingspan was about two meters. This is a simple eagle that eats rabbits and mice. In autumn, it migrates from Siberia and even further north to Beijing to spend the winter.

Rough-legged buzzard

What problems do urban animals encounter?

One day the sky was blue and the clouds were white, which was particularly beautiful, so I took a picture and a glass-walled building appeared in the picture.

There are many such buildings in cities, which are a manifestation of modernization. However, reflective glass buildings often cause bird strikes .

The transparent glass curtain wall was wiped too clean, misleading the birds into thinking that the reflected trees were real trees, so they accelerated and flew over.

Not only birds, but people can also bump into them or get startled.

There is also the issue of artificial and natural rivers. After a city is built, in order to reduce the pressure of dredging the river, it will be hardened - the bottom of the river will be paved with cement, and the embankment will be made vertical. However, this will cause many wild animals to lose their habitats, or some animals will fall in and cannot get out, and people will fall in and cannot get out, which is very dangerous.

Can we solve these problems? Many people think that human development will inevitably lead to the decline of nature, as if human development will not be able to take care of animals, and there will be no win-win situation. However, if we do not protect them, it may be a lose-lose situation .

In the 1980s, our country listed sparrows as one of the four pests. But scientists and the general public finally realized that sparrows should not be included in the four pests. They are an important part of maintaining ecological balance . Moreover, their function in controlling pests far outweighs their waste of food.

Afghanistan faces locust plague after overkill of sparrows

Are we protecting the sparrow species? No, we are protecting the ecological balance and biodiversity, because only when the ecological balance and biodiversity reach a stable state can human beings pursue development with peace of mind .

A win-win situation for urban development and nature conservation

Beijing's Liangma River has become very popular on the Internet in the past two years. Some people swim in it, some people paddle board in it, and everyone has a lot of fun in this river.

But in fact, Liangma River was a stinking ditch 10 years ago. The water level was not adequate and there was a lot of siltation. People of all kinds dumped garbage into it, and it was really smelly.

10 years ago, Liangma River was still a stinking ditch

How did the Liangma River change from a stinking ditch to a place where everyone can have fun? People began to pay attention to the problems of this river - cleaning up garbage, discharging sewage, using fish and shrimp for biological treatment, and building an artificial aquatic ecosystem .

Liangma River now has relatively clear water, and many birds live and breed there. " The duck knows first when the river water is warm in spring", which does not mean that the water is warm or not, but that the birds know first whether the ecological environment is good or not. If more and more birds live here, it must be because the environment of this place has begun to improve.

Many organizations have begun to pay attention to the bird strike problem we just mentioned, such as putting anti-bird strike stickers on some particularly transparent places to prevent reflections.

In cities like Zhengzhou and Xi'an, the construction period conflicted with the breeding season of sand martins, so they stopped construction for one to one and a half months during the breeding season, and resumed construction after the chicks left the nest and hatched. Or they simply left a section of the sand bank for the animals. These are all concessions we make for nature conservation.

Electricity towers are used to provide electricity for urban services. Some large birds may build nests on the towers, which may cause short circuits. Both State Grid and Southern Grid have built safe platforms specifically for birds - you give them a safer and better nest, and they won't stay in that dangerous place, so it's a win-win situation.

Power lines are safer, birds have new breeding grounds, and the bird population has begun to grow. It can be seen that the change in the relationship between humans and animals is closely related to the process of urbanization.

How can ordinary people help injured birds?

We often receive many calls for help. Most people want to save the animal, but some people mean well but end up doing something bad.

An example of good intentions leading to bad results

In fact, sometimes the feathers of young birds are not as long, and their flying ability is not as good as that of adult birds, but it is not injured or sick. You see it jumping around, in good spirits, and can still flap its wings, which means it is fine.

At this time, we should not intervene rashly , but stay away and observe . If its parents come back to take care of it, we don't need to worry about it anymore. If it really fell from a tree that was too high and broke its leg or injured its wing, we should place it somewhere else and contact the rescue center immediately.

A mind map for judging whether a bird needs rescue. Save it quickly

I also made a mind map for judging whether a bird needs rescue. When rescuing a bird, first determine whether it is a juvenile bird ; if it is a juvenile bird, then you need to see whether it is a precocial or altricial bird.

The precocial bird that just hatched and runs behind its mother is a precocial bird . If you find a precocial bird, most of the time it just got lost. You can watch it for a while, and then its mother will come back to find it, so you don't have to worry about it.

The chicks of altricial birds are completely bald and naked. If they fall, put them back in the nest; if you can't put them back, contact the rescue center because they really need someone to take care of them.

If anyone is injured, whether it has been bitten by a cat, hit by a car, or crashed into a building, or has obvious blood on their body - contact the rescue center .

If you are interested in animal protection, you are welcome to pay attention to the protection work at all levels. If you are more interested, you are welcome to join us!

Beijing Raptor Rescue Center: 62205666

Beijing Wildlife Rescue Center: 89496118

The following is the audience question session:

Q

I like bird watching and bird photography, but I am actually conflicted. We also know that many elderly people, or young people now, also like bird watching and bird photography. Will this be a disturbance to birds?

Bird watching is an activity with a long history and is an important way to record, observe and learn about birds.

Photographer of bird photography｜TuChong Creative

We are not against people watching birds or taking photos of them, but we are against bad photography . For example, some people chase birds to fly in order to get good-looking photos. There have been cases where birds died of exhaustion after being chased away repeatedly. Some people catch birds and take photos of them in the face. Some people take small birds out of their nests and glue them to paper to show the warmth of parent-child relationships, and then take photos of the big birds coming back to feed them... These are very uncivilized behaviors. Bird watching itself is not wrong, but there are good and bad ways of bird watching. We must resist uncivilized bird watching.

Q

If I need to place the injured bird myself, is there anything I should pay attention to?

First of all, don't use a cage . I've seen very kind grandpas buy cages specifically, but the bird's feathers and beaks were all broken. The bird will keep hitting the cage, and the head will be exposed. The cheapest express box or cardboard box is the safest container for wild birds . The bird can turn around and jump inside, but it can't spread its wings and fly. This size is the best.

If the bird is weak and must lie prone, it is best to put a thick towel underneath to prevent its keel from protruding or its feet from touching a hard surface.

Then, feed water. Many birds suffer from heatstroke and dehydration in summer. At this time, they are in urgent need of water, but don't feed them ice water. Boiled water at room temperature will do. If conditions permit, buy some oral rehydration salts and feed them with saline according to the instructions. It can save lives. The same is true for people. If you suffer from heatstroke, drinking some saline can quickly relieve the symptoms of heatstroke.

Q

What do you think about stray cats preying on birds? Especially when cats are preying, should we intervene?

Of course we need to intervene. Birds preyed on by stray cats are basically protected. Stray cats cannot even be called a wild population, they are called a fugitive population. For example, in Beijing, these stray cats are not native wild animals here, they are escaped domestic animals, and they should return to their families. But if stray cats harm wild birds in their native distribution, it is equivalent to harming the ecosystem , so we actually need to intervene and save the birds.

As for what to do with the cats, I am very opposed to harming cats because of this. I support controlling the number of stray cats in the city . We can use the TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) method, or encourage people to rescue and shelter them; but we must not kill stray cats just because they may prey on wild animals, causing unnecessary pain to the animals.

Q

Regarding the bird strike issue, do we need to put some stickers on the windows of our own homes?

During the bird migration season, you can put up some window paper or sandpaper to let the birds know that the window is not transparent. These are some small things we can do.

Q

In addition to bird strikes, light pollution is also a problem in cities, and it poses a great danger to humans. Do you think it is difficult to avoid the potential safety hazards it brings during urban construction? You just mentioned posting signs, which I think is more of a helpless move to make up for the potential safety hazards it causes. Do we have a better way?

Many people think, what does this have to do with me? No matter whether the city is well built or not, I am just passively enduring everything. But in fact, the voices of each of us and our appeals are a kind of power . I believe that if we continue to popularize science and appeal, there will be managers who will pay attention to these things.

Some people say that urban and economic development is contradictory to animal protection. In fact, it is not. When the economy develops, the country is stable, and everyone's education, medical care and welfare levels are improved, we will have the energy to pay attention to other things. Rescue centers and protected areas need money and need to be based on the economy ; at the same time, compensation measures are inevitable in our development. Development can definitely have good places, but it will definitely bring impacts.

Only when enough people start to pay attention, will there be a gradual change. Dr. Jane Goodall said, " Only when we understand, can we care; only when we care, can we act; only when we act, can there be hope in life. " To let everyone understand and care is the meaning of our sharing today. I also believe that we will definitely do better and better.

Shared by: Cat demon in the bird's nest

Arrangement: Bowls

Source of title image: Cat demon in the bird's nest

Unless otherwise noted, all pictures in this article are from Maoyao

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)