On July 26, Shanghai welcomed its first World Natural Heritage.
On this day, China's Yellow (Bohai) Sea Migratory Bird Sanctuary (Phase II) was successfully included in the World Heritage List. Shanghai Chongming Dongtan Migratory Bird Sanctuary is the southernmost heritage site of the second phase.
This is an "unprecedented" in Shanghai. This year is the 26th year since the establishment of the Chongming Dongtan Bird National Nature Reserve (hereinafter referred to as the "Dongtan Reserve"), and it is also the 26th year that Jin Weiguo joined the "bird protection" team with a bamboo whistle in his mouth. .
Lao Jin, who was born in 1960, has been dealing with birds almost all his life. With just a bamboo whistle, he can imitate the calls of more than 30 species of migratory birds. For 26 years, the first step of bird banding work - bird hunting - has been supported by fake whistle sounds. Tens of thousands of migratory birds have been banded by him, which has brought great convenience to the research on migratory birds.
The bamboo whistle mentioned by Lao Jin is called "bird whistle" and is a municipal intangible cultural heritage project in Shanghai. The 26 years this "intangible cultural heritage" inheritor has spent on the tidal flats have undoubtedly paved the way from Dongtan to Shanghai's first world heritage site with several stone steps of sufficient weight.
html On the 26th, Lao Jin did not work in the reserve. The news that Dongtan was selected as a World Heritage was only learned through reporters. He had long known that Dongtan was working hard to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, but now that the good news has come, he is not overjoyed. This person who has been sitting on the tidal flat all year round waiting for birds to come only said: "It must be a good thing to apply for it, so as to protect this place." The bird whistle started ringingand it was only a little brighter before Lao Jin arrived on the tidal flat. There would be more birds in the early morning. A large net, a long rope, two bamboo poles, and a few fake birds are almost all the tools needed to catch birds. And, of course, there's a bird whistle.
He used bamboo poles to prop up the net, and then inserted a few fake birds into the area of the net. Lao Jin took the rope and retreated far away, sitting on the foam pier and looking at the sky. Whenever a migratory bird passes by, his bird whistle will sound. Most of the time, he only needs to rely on his ears to identify whether the thing in the sky is a great curlew, a medium curlew, or other migratory birds, and whistle accordingly at the first opportunity.
Lao Jin told reporters that migratory birds will think that the fake birds are making calls, so they will take the initiative to approach similar species. Once they entered the range of the net, Lao Jin used all his strength to pull the rope violently, and a large net was turned upside down. When there are many, this net can catch seventy or eighty migratory birds.
After that, these migratory birds will be sent to the scientific researchers of the reserve for banding work. In Lao Jin’s words, each bird will be given an “ID card.” In this way, if you encounter it next time, you can use it to study the migration patterns of migratory birds. Once the banding is completed, the migratory birds will be released again.
On this tidal flat, a line of deep and shallow footprints stepped in and then exited, repeating this process for 26 years. Lao Jin is very familiar with this place. Sometimes he looks around and sits alone waiting for the birds to come. Sometimes when he whistles, the birds will flutter their wings. I think back to 1998, when the conservation work just started. There were no decent houses near Dongtan, but Lao Jin often had to stay at the beach for ten days and a half. He only relied on the rice and vegetables he brought with him and set up a small pot for himself. Cooking, lighting at night is also a problem.
Lao Jin catches birds in Dongtan "Shanghai Chongming" WeChat public account picture
Lao Jin said that it was really hard at that time, but this native Chongming person also lamented that now the protected area has been built and the World Heritage application has been approved, but After all, there are not as many migratory birds as he saw when he was a child. "You must protect them well. Some of the ones I saw a lot when I was a child are rarely seen now." Lao Jin's tone was inevitably a little regretful.
must be floating gull. Photographed by Zhang Bin
From bird hunting to bird protection, bird whistles are no longer the mourning songs of the birds
The history of bird whistles is much older than that of Dongtan Reserve, and it is said that it can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. At a time when awareness of animal protection was far away, bird whistles as a skill were passed down from generation to generation among families who made a living by catching birds.
This is the case in Lao Jin's family. His grandfather and father are both good bird whistlers, so he started learning bird whistles when he was seven or eight years old. With the ancestral craftsmanship in his possession, Lao Jin naturally became a bird catcher. However, unlike later when he caught birds for banding purposes, when he was young, he caught birds for the purpose of sending them to the market or putting them on the dining table.
Gradually, there were fewer wild birds visible to the naked eye, and the concept of wildlife protection was gradually established, so this business was gradually put aside. In 1998, Dongtan Nature Reserve was officially established, and private bird hunting was banned by legislation. At this time, Lao Jin had already switched to a career as a plasterer, but his skills were spotted by researchers who were struggling to catch birds.
From now on, bird whistles are no longer the mournful songs of the birds, but become a major boost to scientific research. After volunteering for many years, Lao Jin officially became the bird ranger of the reserve in 2004 and has been here ever since. Now that he has retired, he still has not put down his bird whistle and left the tidal flat. He said that when he gets older and can no longer blow it, he will stop blowing it.
Dongtan Reserve staff banded migratory birds "Shanghai Chongming" WeChat public account picture
The bird banding work also made the birds in Lao Jin's eyes different from those he saw in his youth. He understood where these birds came from Wherever you come from and where you are going, this is something you have never thought about before. He now always talks about how he once went to Australia to attend a seminar and saw a migratory bird wearing a Dongtan bird band. The birds caught in the Dongtan net sometimes have markings from Australia. Moments like this are always laced with a wonderful sense of pride.
From "bringing birds to the dining table" to "sending birds to Australia", Lao Jin, a former bird catcher, transformed into a "bird protector" and has been doing this for decades. He feels from the bottom of his heart that to protect the ecology, people and birds should be neighbors.
Black-faced Spoonbill. Photo by Bo Shunqi
Let the "intangible cultural heritage" on the "World Heritage" be passed down
Lao Jin is 65 years old. In the early years, he was worried that there would be no successors to his "craftsmanship", but now he can relax.
He has three apprentices, all in their thirties or forties. The one who has been studying for the longest time has been following Lao Jin since he was a teenager. It must have been more than ten years now. Now this "eldest disciple" can also whistle the whistles of more than 20 kinds of birds. He has already been able to work alone and is engaged in related work in various places such as the Jiuduansha Wetland National Nature Reserve in Pudong.
’s second apprentice is also a staff member of Dongtan Reserve. He has always liked birds and hopes to participate in bird protection. He finally became an apprentice to Lao Jin and has been studying for two or three years now. From learning to "listen" to learning to "blow", it will be more difficult if you miss the younger years. The only way is to practice continuously. There are more than a dozen kinds of bird calls that he can make, and he has accumulated some achievements in bird hunting alone. Lao Jin thinks that he has finally become a master. In the first half of this year, Lao Jin accepted a third apprentice and started learning bird hunting by installing nets and arranging fake birds. It will take some time before the bird whistle can be used.
"The skill of bird whistle should not be lost." Lao Jin said that this is still the most effective way to catch birds at present. Some countries or regions will use methods such as netting and cannon nets, which will make it difficult to control the damage caused to birds. Fortunately, the next two apprentices are both in Dongtan. In the future, the bird hunting work in this protected area will eventually be handed over. With successors, Lao Jin can retire more comfortably.
At the age of 65, this "intangible cultural heritage" inheritor has spent 26 years of hard work witnessing the establishment of a "world heritage", which may be regarded as a tribute to his "bird protection" for half his life.
