A clear spring gushes out from the rocks of Rolling Maling Mountain in Qingyuan County, and the source of all roads nourishes the land of Liaoshen and gives birth to countless living beings. The river passes through the two cities of Fushun and Shenyang, merges into the Taizi River and then enters the sea through the Liao River. This river is the Hunhe River, although it is called the Hunhe River, the water quality is clear, the scenery along the coast is pleasant, and it is a habitat and breeding place for all kinds of creatures.
In the urban section of the Hunhe River in Shenyang, there are several perennial waters that do not freeze, creating the necessary conditions for wild birds to overwinter and roost. Every year, birds such as ruddy shelducks, mallards, and common mergansers choose to spend the winter here.
Wildlife photography is a category that many photographers are interested in, and as a photographer, you can't miss the good resources in front of this door. Taking beautiful pictures is only one of the purposes, but more importantly, it is more important to observe and understand the living habits and habitat patterns of wild birds, so as to achieve the purpose of protecting wild animals.
To photograph birds in the Northeast, it is necessary to highlight the characteristics of the Northeast and photograph the relationship between animals and ice and snow. With that in mind, I started preparing for the shoot. After observation, I found a suitable shooting spot, an island in the middle of the river downstream of the Hunhe railway bridge, which is at a suitable distance from the place where the wild ducks are feeding. So, taking advantage of the fact that the wild ducks were not in the area, I rowed the boat to the island with the prepared materials, and quickly set up the bunker, in order to better integrate with the surrounding ice and snow environment, I chose white material as the cover of the bunker, and left quickly after the installation.
For the next period of time, they would come to the river every day to observe and see if the wild ducks were comfortable with the bunkers on the island. Ten days later, the mallard has ignored the existence of the bunker, indicating that the opportunity to shoot is ripe. So, I chose to row to the island around 3 a.m. on a day of 39 days, and after getting into the bunker and settling everything, I waited quietly, which took three or four hours. In order to protect myself from the cold, I wore double down and a protective cover for my feet, and a hot water bottle was tucked into each of them to protect against the cold. As the east began to whiten, a flock of wild ducks chirped and landed on the snow-covered beach not far from the bunker, at this time, the morning mist curled on the water, and the ice and snow were covered with a thick layer of hoarfrost, which was like a fairy tale in the morning light. My shutter also started to click, so I chose the moment they chirped to prevent them from flying close at hand. Wild ducks are always in a relaxed state foraging and playing, and such images are also stored in the memory card one by one.
The shooting time in the morning was very short, and as the sun rose, the shooting began to come to an end, and then there was still a long wait, and it was not until three o'clock in the afternoon that the shutter was activated again, during which time I had to curl up in the bunker for seven or eight hours, without making a sound, and I could not get out of the bunker. Shooting lasted until sunset, when the last rays of golden sunlight disappeared on the horizon, and the mallards began to reduce their activity and flew away from the beach one after another. This kind of shooting is carried out many times in a winter, each time in and out at night, just to minimize the intrusion of wild animals, and to facilitate the capture and observation of wild birds in their most realistic and natural state.
The reason why I chose to shoot in Sanjiu is because there will be fog on the water surface and frost on the ice and snow in such an extremely cold weather, so as to show the state of birds wintering in the Northeast, and such a ** only belongs to the Northeast.
There are different species of mallards, and so does their food. Ruddy shelduck likes to eat aquatic plants and green moss that grow underwater, and during foraging, the ruddy shelduck will continue to dig its head deep into the water to obtain the aquatic plants in the stone crevices, only the tail is exposed on the water, and its feet keep fluttering to maintain balance, which looks full of joy. The common merganser duck eats fish and shrimp and is an expert hunter. When hunting, they will dive underwater and catch smaller food and swallow it directly, while larger prey will be brought to the shore and swallowed after adjusting the food direction. There is a saying that "Shun is delicious and hard to swallow", which may be derived from the eating habits of birds! Mallard duck has a relatively wide range of food, fish, shrimp and aquatic plants, and does not let go of water and underwater food. Therefore, the mallard population is relatively large.
Wild ducks mainly eat in the morning and evening, and most of the rest of the time will choose to rest in shallow water or on the beach, and when taking a nap, they will turn around and fork their beaks in the feathers near their wings, close their eyes to recuperate, open their eyes from time to time to observe the surrounding situation, and continue to squint and rest after confirming that it is safe. And the flock of mallards will always have one or several as a sentry to protect the safety of the group.
Wild ducks will also choose to play in the water during the non-feeding period, wild ducks are a very clean waterfowl, bathing is a very important part of their lives, every day will take a long time to bathe and comb their feathers, one to wash away dirt, and the other to keep the feathers have enough oil.
Over the years, I have reported a lot on the ecological protection of the Hunhe River through **. As the shooting continues, these creatures in Hunhe have become my friends, and they will be more natural, more realistic, and more valuable in your lens with an equal heart, without disturbing or coaxing, and trying to create a comfortable environment for them.
The harmonious coexistence of man and nature is the freeze frame of a beautiful Shenyang.
Shen Baoquan** Reporter: Sun Hai.
Photo: Sun Hai.
*: Sun Hai.