Sand swallow chicks. Han Xiaolin/Photo
With a round little head and big black eyes, the baby sand swallow is crammed into the nest, waiting to be fed with its big mouth open. Their parents are busy around a few little ones, and they don't have a moment to spare.
On June 17, 2024, on the banks of the Yongding River in Beijing, an ordinary day in the growing years of Yasha swallow chicks. What they don't know is how much humanity has done for their fate.
The sand swallow is a national "three haves" (important ecological, scientific, and social value) protected animal, and a second-class protected animal in Beijing, so named because they are accustomed to settling down on sandy cliffs and riverbank sandstone near the water, but it is also often the site of human construction projects.
This cliff by the Yongding River is the only large-scale habitat of the sand swallow found in Beijing, with more than 100 nests scattered, like the grottoes of Dunhuang. But on top of the small nest, a big excavator has been driven, and river control and flood control dredging projects are underway here, and the home of Yasha Yan is in danger.
The crisis was unexpectedly swiftly resolved. It took only 7 hours from 9 a.m. when the Birdfriends were the first to sound the alarm to 4 p.m. when the construction party, government departments and representatives of the Birdfriends reached a consensus under the scorching sun to stop the construction and study long-term measures to protect the sand swallows.
Someone on social media commented that this was a textbook conservation operation. Birders, construction parties, government authorities, wildlife protection organizations...... Each group gave the utmost kindness.
More than 100 nests of sand swallows are scattered, like the grottoes of Dunhuang. Birdfriend/photo
9 o'clock: The excavator is coming
Monday morning can be the most annoying time for migrant workers, especially when they receive bad news just after they get to work. At 9 o'clock, ecological photographer Han Xiaolin sat at his workstation and saw the news of the WeChat group, and his heart sank.
"The excavator came, and the workers told me to pack up and leave, saying that they were going to shovel and protect the slope." A bird friend in the WeChat group of bird lovers said.
What the bird friends said to be eradicated is a cliff wall located on the east bank of the Yongding River Bridge in Beijing, which is also the habitat of the cliff sand swallow. It's breeding season for the sand swallows, and flocks of swallows fly around the cliff walls to deliver food to the chirping chicks.
The common swallows in Beijing are divided into two categories, one is passerines including the sand swallow, and there are also house swallows, golden-rumped swallows, rock swallows, and hairy-footed swallows in the family. The other category is the order Swifts, such as the Beijing swifts, which often inhabit ancient buildings, and are the prototype of the mascot "Nini" of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Beijing Swift at the Summer Palace. Visual China / Figure
Sand swallows are widely distributed and are classified as "least concern" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Li Zhaonan, a consultant at the Friends of Nature Wild Bird Society, who has long studied Beijing's native fauna, said that traditionally, the sand swallow has been a traveling bird in Beijing, migrating through the country in spring and autumn and not breeding locally. In the past ten years, there have been breeding records of S. japonica in Beijing. It's been less than five years since Beijing's largest habitat was discovered by birders.
In July 2023, the Yongding River flooded, changing the natural topography in many places. Li Zhaonan was thinking about this cliff, and in April 2024, he made a special trip here to observe and see if it was suitable for the breeding of sand swallows. At that time, Yashayan had not yet arrived, but there was an excavator not far away in the construction operation, and he silently sweated for Yashayan.
A month later, some birders were pleasantly surprised to find that the sand swallow had returned to nest. But the bad news is that the construction equipment is still there, and the birders are concerned about their safety, discussing who is free to go to the site to see, and post photos in the group to report the latest situation.
At that time, the excavator was still working on the far side of the bird's nest, and although the birders wanted to keep the habitat permanently, they were worried that it would backfire if they made a request too early, such as the engineering team was afraid of trouble or other reasons, and bulldozed the bank slope when it was not available. It was decided to wait for the swallows to leave the nest in autumn and then communicate and reflect.
After another month, the excavator suddenly drove up to the top of the cliff.
"I didn't expect this day to come so quickly." Han Xiaolin was anxious. According to the observation of bird friends, at least 1/3 of the chicks have not yet left the nest at this time, and about 100 lives are in danger.
Although the site was temporarily suspended, the excavator had not yet left. Han Xiaolin's unit is located outside the North Fifth Ring Road, while Ya Shayan's habitat is outside the South Fifth Ring Road, a straight-line distance of more than 40 kilometers, and he is worried that he will not be able to rush to the scene immediately once construction starts.
On June 17, 2024, an excavator on the nest of the sand swallow prepares for river treatment and flood control dredging works. Birdfriends/Picture
10 a.m.: "12345" was blown up
Can't wait any longer.
Han Xiaolin forwarded the news of Ya Shayan's distress to nearly ten WeChat groups, calling on everyone to take immediate action. The group members quickly divided the labor.
- Calling the "12345" hotline, someone immediately made a strategy to reflect the demands;
- Posting on social media platforms and @ news media and self-media bloggers;
- Ask a friend for help, contact media reporters, and call a staff member who is familiar with the competent department.
The "12345" hotline was "blown up", and the operator said that many people came to report the same thing.
The sand swallow has received unprecedented attention. Photos of Ya Shayan were swiped on social media, and someone reported the latest progress in real time in the comment area. A note posted by Han Xiaolin on Xiaohongshu has more than 20,000 likes.
In the discussion on social media, most netizens knew about Ya Shayan for the first time and were immediately attracted by their round head and round head. "It's so cute." "Moe is dead." "It turns out that there are swallows with round faces." "I want to make an avatar."
Flying sand swallows. Han Xiaolin/Photo
The "old birdman" is more concerned about the safety of the cliff and the swallow, in case this cliff is gone, whether the little ones can return to Beijing in the future.
There are also netizens discussing urban construction, "Can we build a better urban river instead of an ordinary river landscape that lacks vitality"?
In Li Zhaonan's view, this sandy bank slope formed under the sedimentation and erosion of a hundred years not only has ecological significance, but also represents the natural original appearance of the ancient Yongding River, and has important historical and geographical value.
11 a.m.: Work is stopped immediately
The birders' emergency call was quickly answered.
At 11:12, Sun Leijian rushed to the scene. He is a volunteer for the Beijing Migratory Raptor Monitoring Project organized by the Friends of Nature Wild Bird Society, and when he saw the news from Han Xiaolin in the group, he immediately drove off.
Sun Leijian found that there were two official cars with him. The cliff swallow habitat next to the Yongding River is inaccessible to people, and vehicles cannot enter it directly, and it takes about 20 minutes to hike. In addition to the construction team, only sporadic anglers, swimmers and bird-watching enthusiasts visit.
Seven or eight people got off the two official cars. "Is that your call (12345)?" One of them asked. "Not only me, but many people have hit, and everyone is paying special attention." Sun replied.
During the conversation, Sun Leijian found that the staff came from the water affairs department, the garden department, the construction unit and the relevant departments of the local government. Sun Leijian introduced them to the living habits of the sand swallow and showed the photos and videos he had taken, "They don't know much about the sand swallow and are very interested."
At the scene, the relevant government departments quickly decided: stop the work immediately, and set at 14:30, convene relevant departments to discuss the next plan. Sun Leijian immediately sent the good news to the group, and the birders were temporarily relieved.
At this time, it was only 2 hours since the news was revealed by the birdfriends at 9 o'clock in the morning. A government official who arrived at the scene told Southern Weekend that the reason why the response was so fast was because the unit had established a mechanism for handling public opinion and that it was necessary to rush to the scene to verify the situation as soon as possible.
12 o'clock: The construction team evacuates
"There is a bird habitat in the construction area, and protective measures should be taken." At 12:10, Geng Zhandong received a notice from Party A, Yongding River Basin Investment Co., Ltd., Geng from Beijing Jinhe Water Construction Group Co., Ltd., is one of the construction unit leaders of the Changxing Water Purification Project (Bid 1) near the habitat of Yasha Yan.
After 10 minutes, the construction stopped; At around 13:40, the engineering team and machinery and equipment withdrew from the site.
There are two engineering projects underway in the vicinity of the habitat of the sand swallow at the same time. The construction project in charge of Geng Zhandong will purify the effluent quality of the Xiaohongmen Reclaimed Water Plant and supplement the ecological water of the Yongding River by building an artificial wetland. At the same time, the Yongding River beach will be restored, the landscaping landscape will be built, and the wetland park with water and green will be created.
The construction project required a cofferdam near the habitat of the sand swallow, and it was planned to excavate and pour concrete immediately. If construction starts, there may be vibrations that can cause landslides on loose sandy cliff walls and damage the nests of sand swallows.
Fortunately, the temporary suspension of construction did not add much pressure to the project that Geng Zhandong was responsible for. The deadline for the project is June 24, 2025, which is ample time. The scope of the Yan's activities is not in the critical construction area and does not affect the progress of the entire project.
The sand swallow, which is a summer migratory bird, breeds from May to July. In autumn, after the young birds are strong and learn to fly, the whole family will leave Beijing together. After discussion, the construction team was prepared to wait for the relocation of the sand swallow before construction, and the habitat of the sand swallow would not be damaged.
The new plan is expected to add only $50,000 to $60,000 in costs from extending the lease of the cofferdam.
Another project under construction on site is the restoration and treatment of the southern section of the Yongding River Plain, which is a flood control dredging project. Chen Jianhua, the project leader of Yongding River Basin Investment Co., Ltd., explained to Southern Weekend that the river's current flood section is a "U-shaped trough", and the banks of the river are steep cliffs, which are not conducive to flooding. According to the construction plan, the entire cliff wall inhabited by the sand swallow will be flattened and replaced with a gentle slope. Now the plan also needs to be revised.
The construction of the two projects was suspended, and there was not much resistance from the construction unit and the construction unit. The protection of the sand swallow is essentially the same direction as the purpose of the construction. "We have been managing the river for so many years, and what we are doing is to restore the ecological environment, and we have always wanted to improve the ecology of the Yongding River." Chen Jianhua said.
Sand swallows are accustomed to making their home on sandy cliffs and riverbank sandstone at the water's edge, but it is also often the site of human construction projects. Han Xiaolin/Photo
14 o'clock: permanent protection
The construction shutdown is not enough, and the birders hope that this habitat will be preserved forever so that the sand swallows can visit every year.
There have been many similar concessions from humanity. In 2021, in order to protect the sand island where the sand swallow lives, a 500-meter-long bridge across the river was moved 40 meters westward in the Hutuo River in Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang, and now this sand island has become the Yasha Swallow Reserve. In 2022, the homes of hundreds of sand swallows were discovered in a park under construction in Shangqiu, Henan Province, and the project set up a protected area and replanned the construction time and area.
At 14:30, the meeting to discuss the conservation measures of the sand swallow started on time. Wu Wei, a member of the China Bird Watching Society and a bird enthusiast, rushed to the scene. The meeting place is located near the habitat of the sand swallow. Representatives of water affairs, gardens, local governments, construction units, construction units and other departments were present. Under the high temperature and the scorching sun above their heads, the group first looked at the nest of the sand swallows, and then stood on the edge of the river embankment and began to discuss. Wu Wei didn't wear long pants, and his calves were red after a while.
The communication process was much smoother than Wu Wei expected, and there were almost no disagreements, and everyone reached several consensuses: the construction of the breeding area of the sand swallow was suspended; Fences and signs are erected around the perimeter to prevent humans from approaching and interfering with the activities of sand swallows; A symposium will be held in the future, with representatives including birders, to develop a construction plan that takes into account the engineering function and the protection of the habitat of the sand swallow.
After hearing the news that there is hope for permanent protection of the habitat of the sand swallow, the birders were reassured.
Heartwarming! "Stop work to protect swallows" on the banks of the Yongding River" and "Can this habitat stay?" 》…… The action was covered in the media. "Thank you for guarding my dream of flying" - Guangming Daily also drew a cartoon of this process.
The excavator is gone, and the protection has just begun. According to Zhang Peng, a member of the Friends of Nature Wild Bird Society working group, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Beijing is one of the richest bird capitals in the world. According to the List of Terrestrial Wild Animals in Beijing (2024), there are 519 species of wild birds registered in Beijing, more than one-third of the number of bird species in China. There are many bird lovers living in this metropolis, and there is a strong atmosphere for bird watching, and many types of bird-watching spots are active in urban parks, water wetlands, mountain forests, and so on.
At present, the Friends of Nature Wild Bird Society is organizing volunteers to sort out the survey data over the years, and work with all parties to scientifically demonstrate the protection plan.
More habitats in Beijing are also being sought. Some ornithologists believe that these habitats may still exist, but they are not easily observable. Zhang Peng hopes to find these places as soon as possible and protect them in advance to avoid similar conflicts between humans and birds.
Little Swallow escaped and became famous. On social media, many people are still sharing new photos taken at the sand swallow habitat.
At present, outsiders are no longer allowed to approach the habitat of the sand swallow along the Yongding River. A fence more than one meter high was erected at the entrance, with the words "No throwing objects, no crossing". The construction unit asked the birders for a few photos of the sand swallows, attached a brief introduction to the sand swallows, made a notice board, and erected it next to it. But on social media, someone shared tips for crossing the fence.
Wild birds in the breeding period should not be disturbed too much by humans. But how do you balance the need to pay less attention to crises when they don't find them in time? Zhang Peng is also thinking.
Southern Weekly reporter Lin Fangzhou
Editor-in-charge: Wang Tao