Essay on Heron Flying to Jiangcheng in Spring

In the early morning, a few faint rays of sunshine have not penetrated the morning fog on the river, and several herons took the lead in jumping into the river from the sky. They had to cross the thin river fog to find breakfast for a day before the sun rose. This is the first time I have seen heron preying this spring. Egrets fly in front of Mount Cisse, peach blossoms flow, and mandarin fish are fat. Zhang's beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is fortunate to be staged once a year in my hometown of Jilin City, adding a touch of bright spring to this silent northern river city for a winter.

Jilin City is located in the east of Jilin Province, in the transition zone between Changbai Mountain Range and Songnen Plain. The east, south and north of the city are all rolling mountains, and only the west faces the vast Songnen Plain, which originates from the Songhua River in Changbai Mountain and passes through the city center in an S-shape. It is a typical landscape city. Clear rivers and dense forests are not only suitable for human habitation, but also for the survival of wild animals. Various wild animals such as sika deer, roe deer and pheasant often appear in people's field of vision, and the scene of waterfowl foraging and frolicking on the river is even more common. Among many waterfowl, I like one kind of waterfowl best, that is heron. Wings with a wingspan of nearly one meter fly in the air, like a gray elf, agile and fast, standing upright on one leg by the river, like a still statue, which is amazing. Only herons can master the skills of movement so skillfully.

Heron, a kind of water bird, is not common in the north. First, it is sparsely populated, and second, it is very alert and far away from the crowd. I think the heron is also on the hillside of Beishan Park, watching from a distance. Every year after Tomb-Sweeping Day, when the willows by the river turn from yellow to light green and the wild apricots on the mountain are in bud, herons migrate from the south. They are not like flocks of wild ducks and geese, but a few of them quietly come to the habitat, just like a silent passer-by, coming quietly and walking gently without disturbing anyone. After several days of observation, only two herons have settled in this water area this year. They are undoubtedly a couple. This couple are like office workers in the city. Except sleeping in the nest at night, I am very busy during the day and don't bother each other. Even they are far apart from each other in foraging by the river, just like two strangers, each waiting for the fish to take the bait, unlike wild ducks and mandarin ducks sticking together all day and foraging together inseparable. They are probably the most popular quiet waterfowl in the world.

The waters where herons are located are not only wide, but also barren on both sides. Especially in Jiangwan, there is a small strip island, which is the habitat of many waterfowl. Every spring, many waterfowl stop here or settle down here to have children, so it becomes an ideal place for people to watch birds and take pictures in summer. I don't know much about birds. A bird photographer I know is a bird expert, so to speak. According to him, there are more than a dozen waterfowl in this water area, of which red ducks are the most, with more than 30 species in a group, followed by long-legged snipes, storks, seagulls and mandarin ducks. The heron I saw was just one of them. In recent years, due to the strengthening of the government's environmental protection efforts and the improvement of people's environmental awareness, more and more waterfowl live here, and some small islands are almost unbearable. He came here to take photos, not only to take some good works, but also to count the number and species of birds, and report these basic data to the forestry department as the basic basis for bird distribution statistics. There are more than 30 volunteers like him. After listening to his introduction, I not only increased my knowledge, but also filled my heart with respect for him.

Although environmental protection is related to government decision-making, it is also closely related to everyone's life. Everyone wants to live between green mountains and green waters. Twenty years ago, Jilin Province started the first national bird protection campaign. It was initiated by one person and touched the whole city. This is Ren Jianguo. 1996 Ren Jianguo was laid off, bought a boat at his own expense and made a living by ferrying by the river. From then on, it was convenient for waterfowl to form an indissoluble bond. When he saw someone hunting waterfowl, he immediately stopped it. When he met an injured waterfowl, he took it home for treatment. As time goes by, there are more and more waterfowl in his area. In a blink of an eye, it entered winter. Most waterfowl migrated to the south, but some wild ducks had to stay in place for the winter. In Jilin City, the river surface tens of kilometers from Fengman Hydropower Station to the urban area does not freeze in winter, which provides conditions for waterfowl to inhabit, especially the wild ducks who are not afraid of cold, and regard it as an ideal habitat. Lack of food and difficulty in foraging are the biggest problems of wild ducks in winter, so few waterfowl can stay for the winter, and even if they stay, they may not be able to survive the severe winter in the north. Master Ren was very distressed to see the shivering waterfowl in the snow and made up his mind to help these wild ducks tide over the difficulties. He bought corn from the market and rowed it to Jiang Xindao to feed them. From the first dozen to the later hundreds, wild ducks wandered around every day, waiting for the arrival of Master Ren. Master Ren, who has no fixed income, just squeezes some food through his teeth every day and feeds the wild ducks regularly. After learning about this, friends took out their own money to help each other, but they still couldn't solve the fundamental problem, which made Master Ren very worried. After the TV reporter learned about this incident, he made a special report on bird people in Jiangcheng. A stone stirs up a thousand waves, and the whole city knows the deeds and difficulties of Master Ren. All walks of life have donated money to help each other, and even primary school students have volunteered to join the ranks of donations. Through everyone's efforts, the problem of food shortage of wild ducks has been solved. Although the food problem has been solved, the task of protecting and feeding ducks firmly falls on the task master. This persistence is 20 years, and the number of wild ducks who come here for the winter has grown from the initial dozens to more than 5,000 now. It has really become another golden business card of this city besides the rime.

Birds in the river are white, and mountains are blue and white. It is fitting to describe the spring in my hometown of Jilin with the poem of the poet Du Fu. Although the city's development speed is not very fast, and people's material life is not rich, the mountains are colorful in spring, the fishing songs are late in summer, the mountains are full of red leaves in autumn, and the trees are hung in winter. The natural landscape with four distinct seasons is its greatest wealth. May the mountains in my hometown be greener, the water greener and the sky bluer.