Stanley Tianbin Qiu, Grade 11
UWC Changshu
I started birdwatching as a Foundation Program student at CSC. During the first week of orientation, I was amazed by the abundance of bird calls and songs around campus. That prompted me to take out my camera and start recording. What I found was truly astounding.
Since CSC is situated on an island surrounded by a large lake, it offers a safe haven for many bird species. In the mornings, Little Egrets and Little Grebes feed by the shores. In the evenings, Night Herons grace the skies with their majestic wings. Throughout the day, Tree Sparrows, Oriental Magpies, Spotted Doves and Eurasian Hoopoes dash between bushes. Some species, however, only visit occasionally. For example, Yellow Bitterns, Intermediate Egrets and Pond Herons come at the end of August and stay up till the end of December. Not many people notice how rare they are before they disappear, so I decide to begin a more systematic collection of data to raise awareness.
In April 2021, I made a video about the birds of CSC, and showed it at assembly https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/UHheuyVh4DgsyhsjQlI8sg. To my surprise, many people talked to me afterwards, sharing their bird stories, and offering help to make our campus more friendly to all forms of life. For Earth Day that year, I wrote an article about my birding experience for the school’s Wechat public account, not only to raise awareness, but also to point out the many questions on habitat protection and biodiversity on our island.
That summer, I followed professional birders on tours to Inner Mongolia and Qinghai Province. In habitats such as grasslands, semi-desert shrubland, alpine tundra and subalpine forests, bird species varied significantly, and even competed with each other for resources at the same location. That got me to think more carefully about the environment at CSC. Which birds preferred the treetops, which favored the shrubs, and who liked to hang out along the water edges? How can we design the landscape to attract more species? I realized that if I were to investigate further, I needed help.
At the beginning of my DP1 year, I started the Bird Conservation Zhixing with a small group of friends. We went on walks around the lake, and trained each other to track and identify birds, using APPs such as Merlin Bird ID and eBird. Just when the Common Kingfishers got busy foraging before the winter, the gardening staff cut all the reeds around the inner lake behind the library down to their roots. It was heartbreaking not seeing the beautiful blue-and-orange plumage of these little birds again. So we decided to make a presentation together to the community about the importance of habitat diversity. With side-by-side comparisons of scenes before and after the cut, we made a strong case about preserving some wilderness on campus to increase food, shelter and play choices not just for humans but also for other animals.
As part of the research for that presentation, I found out about two examples of biodiversity positive practices in China, one at Peking University, and the other at Duke Kunshan University, which just published its first national report on bird collisions. I got in touch with the organizers and formed a team to participate in the 2022 spring bird collision volunteer program. This time, we reached out to the school management to solicit their understanding. For four weeks, we took turns to survey campus buildings. The security guards and cleaning ladies gladly helped us, and were often the first responders when birds flew into shiny glasses by mistake. We found six collisions at the administration building, the library, and the dormitory. Our data were again presented to the community, which led to immediate actions to lower shades and curtains on these buildings. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LHZW96HDfAIv-lTu9LFoHg
With increased community awareness, we have been able to perform a number of rescues. One time, a Yellow Bittern accidentally flew into a window. I was alerted by a few teachers, but before I got there, they had already wrapped it in a blanket to rest in the shade on an outside table. It quickly flew away after recovering from the shock. Another time, a baby bat fell from a glass rooftop after a storm. With remote guidance from bird collision experts, we put it in a padded box, fed it glucose water and tiny bits of earthworms, and set it free after five days. The most severe case was a juvenile Spotted Dove that was hurt with a bloodied eye. It did not respond to any offerings of food or water, so we called the local zoo’s hotline, and sent it to animal rescue shelter in a police car.
While these actions are small, we feel an increased sense of bonding with the community. On my bird walks, I now frequently stop and chat with the security guards or cleaning ladies. They notice the arrival of various warblers in the spring, and know not to take baby chicks home but put them in safe places to wait for their parents. It is very gratifying to know that we are not just a small group of conservation activists, but most people care about the environment they live in. If we can engage the community more through walking tours, photo exhibits, guest talks, and design projects such as bird observation houses, we can make a true difference in how we live with the animals and plants around us.
During one of my last bird walks on campus, I notice a sudden quietness at the end of migration season. The week before, we recorded rare sightings such as Siberian Stonechat, Gray-streaked Flycatcher, Tristram’s Bunting, and Forest Wagtail, but now they have all moved on northward. Soon I will be moving to Pearson College too. This time I will be on a different island, with a primeval forest that is home to the Sc’ianew First Nation and its people. I do not know what new life forms I will find there, but I do know that with the knowledge and experience that I have gained at CSC, I will work better with my classmates to bring more positive impact to the community.
Image Courtesy: https://www.uwcea.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/11/slider15.jpg
Since CSC is situated on an island surrounded by a large lake, it offers a safe haven for many bird species. In the mornings, Little Egrets and Little Grebes feed by the shores. In the evenings, Night Herons grace the skies with their majestic wings. Throughout the day, Tree Sparrows, Oriental Magpies, Spotted Doves and Eurasian Hoopoes dash between bushes. Some species, however, only visit occasionally. For example, Yellow Bitterns, Intermediate Egrets and Pond Herons come at the end of August and stay up till the end of December. Not many people notice how rare they are before they disappear, so I decide to begin a more systematic collection of data to raise awareness.
In April 2021, I made a video about the birds of CSC, and showed it at assembly https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/UHheuyVh4DgsyhsjQlI8sg. To my surprise, many people talked to me afterwards, sharing their bird stories, and offering help to make our campus more friendly to all forms of life. For Earth Day that year, I wrote an article about my birding experience for the school’s Wechat public account, not only to raise awareness, but also to point out the many questions on habitat protection and biodiversity on our island.
That summer, I followed professional birders on tours to Inner Mongolia and Qinghai Province. In habitats such as grasslands, semi-desert shrubland, alpine tundra and subalpine forests, bird species varied significantly, and even competed with each other for resources at the same location. That got me to think more carefully about the environment at CSC. Which birds preferred the treetops, which favored the shrubs, and who liked to hang out along the water edges? How can we design the landscape to attract more species? I realized that if I were to investigate further, I needed help.
At the beginning of my DP1 year, I started the Bird Conservation Zhixing with a small group of friends. We went on walks around the lake, and trained each other to track and identify birds, using APPs such as Merlin Bird ID and eBird. Just when the Common Kingfishers got busy foraging before the winter, the gardening staff cut all the reeds around the inner lake behind the library down to their roots. It was heartbreaking not seeing the beautiful blue-and-orange plumage of these little birds again. So we decided to make a presentation together to the community about the importance of habitat diversity. With side-by-side comparisons of scenes before and after the cut, we made a strong case about preserving some wilderness on campus to increase food, shelter and play choices not just for humans but also for other animals.
As part of the research for that presentation, I found out about two examples of biodiversity positive practices in China, one at Peking University, and the other at Duke Kunshan University, which just published its first national report on bird collisions. I got in touch with the organizers and formed a team to participate in the 2022 spring bird collision volunteer program. This time, we reached out to the school management to solicit their understanding. For four weeks, we took turns to survey campus buildings. The security guards and cleaning ladies gladly helped us, and were often the first responders when birds flew into shiny glasses by mistake. We found six collisions at the administration building, the library, and the dormitory. Our data were again presented to the community, which led to immediate actions to lower shades and curtains on these buildings. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LHZW96HDfAIv-lTu9LFoHg
With increased community awareness, we have been able to perform a number of rescues. One time, a Yellow Bittern accidentally flew into a window. I was alerted by a few teachers, but before I got there, they had already wrapped it in a blanket to rest in the shade on an outside table. It quickly flew away after recovering from the shock. Another time, a baby bat fell from a glass rooftop after a storm. With remote guidance from bird collision experts, we put it in a padded box, fed it glucose water and tiny bits of earthworms, and set it free after five days. The most severe case was a juvenile Spotted Dove that was hurt with a bloodied eye. It did not respond to any offerings of food or water, so we called the local zoo’s hotline, and sent it to animal rescue shelter in a police car.
While these actions are small, we feel an increased sense of bonding with the community. On my bird walks, I now frequently stop and chat with the security guards or cleaning ladies. They notice the arrival of various warblers in the spring, and know not to take baby chicks home but put them in safe places to wait for their parents. It is very gratifying to know that we are not just a small group of conservation activists, but most people care about the environment they live in. If we can engage the community more through walking tours, photo exhibits, guest talks, and design projects such as bird observation houses, we can make a true difference in how we live with the animals and plants around us.
During one of my last bird walks on campus, I notice a sudden quietness at the end of migration season. The week before, we recorded rare sightings such as Siberian Stonechat, Gray-streaked Flycatcher, Tristram’s Bunting, and Forest Wagtail, but now they have all moved on northward. Soon I will be moving to Pearson College too. This time I will be on a different island, with a primeval forest that is home to the Sc’ianew First Nation and its people. I do not know what new life forms I will find there, but I do know that with the knowledge and experience that I have gained at CSC, I will work better with my classmates to bring more positive impact to the community.
Image Courtesy: https://www.uwcea.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/11/slider15.jpg
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