Taking first steps in birdwatching
Print Edition
IT’S not easy for some people to understand the appeal of birdwatching: spending hours in the cold wind by the water waiting for gulls to arrive, or sitting by a small pond for a whole morning hoping for a vivid glimpse of a kingfisher.
Of course, birdwatching is nothing like having pets or visiting a zoo. For many people the emotional attachment is more a homage to nature and respect for its spirit.
Birds have always fascinated, their often exotic appearance and the magic of flight making them the subject of many myths and tales.
And birdwatching is reported to be one of the fastest growing outdoor activities around the world. It can be a recreational pursuit for people of all ages to enjoy together or a solitary pastime to calm the mind and embrace nature.
The satisfaction comes from observing wild birds in their natural habitat, as well as fulfilling the hunting instincts humans possess without harming any creatures. Serious birders — professional and amateur alike — invest considerable time, money and energy observing and listing birds.
Shi Minliang is a devoted birder from Shanghai with five years’ experience who has been spotting and documenting birds at Wusongkou Paotaiwan Wetland Park in Baoshan District since 2011.
“Actually, it all started with sparrows,” he said. “I never gave up the dream that one day I would see a sparrow walk!”
It all sounds a little ridiculous, and Shi explains that sparrows — according to science — only hop, before telling a story from his childhood.
“I heard a lot of tales about sparrows, how they ended up not being able to walk because they were punished by the Jade Emperor for stealing grain,” he says.
“Then the grandma of a childhood friend told us that whoever sees a sparrow walking will have good things happen to them.”
And that’s what got Shi into watching birds in the first place. At the age of eight, he and other neighborhood children started to observe birds in the yard, hoping to find a strolling sparrow that would bring them good fortune.
“I once believed we were more focused than most bird experts,” he laughs. “But it was a good wish from my childhood that I never forgot.”
So when he started photographing birds, Shi made sure to snap a few shots of that most everyday species, the house sparrow.
“For some reason, I believed the tale,” Shi said.
“Then the day after Christmas last year I went to the wetland park and paid close attention to the sparrows again. And then the miracle happened!”
Shi insists that saw two sparrows actually walking on the wooden walkway.
“I was stunned and my brain almost had a short circuit,” he laughs. “I was clumsy because of the excitement and having to quickly change the camera lens, but I took a few photos before they took off.”
Shi had a good Christmas, and good things did happen afterward.
“You’ll never get a miracle if you give up,” Shi says.
He spends a lot of time watching birds, not only in China, but abroad. His job is related to travel, and wherever Shi goes, birdwatching is a must.
As he grew up near Paotaiwan wetland, the park is like a home for him. Shi knows where the only two magpie nests are and where to find kingfishers. While birdwatching started as a casual hobby, now he’s meticulously documenting and listing the species he spots, keeping a log of the birds that are resident and those passing through.
“Birdwatching is something you’ll never let go once you become addicted,” Shi says.
What he gets from watching the birds is more than just tallying up species and numbers, but also happiness and confidence, said Shi.
He’s also keen to share this as he posts regularly on the Wild Bird Society of Shanghai discussion board and updates a post on the birds in Paotaiwan.
As of December 10 this year, he had documented 91 species in the post.
Shi’s post — in Chinese — is at www.shwbs.org/swb/read.php?tid=7461&fpage=2.
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