Baby Swans Arrive at West Lake Hu in Hangzhou!
Every spring, the swans at Shanghu Lake begin with the first brood of swan chicks.
Two days ago, the Swan Pond at Shanghu Lake welcomed the first black swan chick of 2020.
The fluffy black swan, when the staff of the Shanghu Lake National Tourism Resort Administration discovered her, she couldn't even stand up and frolic freely, but her round, bright eyes were already curiously observing this world: it seemed to be saying, "Although I’m like a little duck now, I’ll soon become a beautiful swan."
The gray swans will also welcome new life.
The black swan’s nest is built deep in the small wooden house of the swan pond, very hidden, the swan dad and swan mom used many plant rods and their own fluff, the little nest looks very warm.
Han Jinxin has been in charge of managing the swans in Shanghu Lake for many years, and he is most familiar with these animal friends.
Han Jinxin said that in 2007, two black swans were introduced to Shanghu Lake, and to let the swans live well in Shanghu Lake, they opened a small island in Shanghu Lake, planted trees, and built nets, which is now the swan pond.
Afterwards, tourists who came to Shanghu Lake often could see swans.
On September 14, 2014, at 8:00 am, netizen ‘Hangzhou Fuji’ was practicing gymnastics on the shore of Shanghu Lake, when he reached the bridge across the lake, he saw a black swan swimming in the water close to the lakeside, it would occasionally look at people, not afraid of people at all. It would also swim to the lakeside to eat the grass. Finally, it simply climbed onto the shore.
A short time later, more and more people gathered to watch, everyone picked up their phones to take pictures of it, this black swan has become a star.
Photo by ‘Hangzhou Fuji’
Han Jinxin said that black swans are migratory birds, they don't migrate. Now, they live very well in Shanghu Lake.
They built wooden houses for the swans, inside which were incandescent lamps, which were used to warm the house. They also added food to the black swan chicks’ feed, adding vitamins and calcium tablets to help the black swan chicks grow up healthily.
Swans reproduce one to two times a year, and one brood can have up to 6 eggs.
Shanghu Lake staff said that the black swan has 4 eggs hatching now.
Besides the black swan family, the gray swan family will also have new life.
Since 2007, one after another swans have settled in the small island of the swan pond at Shanghu Lake. Now, there are 9 adult swans in the swan pond: 5 gray swans, 1 white swan, and 3 black swans.
Unlike the black swan, the white swan is a migratory bird, it needs to migrate, it goes to the north to escape the summer heat, and comes to the south to warm up in winter. Now there is one white swan in Shanghu Lake, because it cannot migrate, it has physiological disorders, so it has never laid eggs.
When we go to Shanghu Lake to see the little swans, we should try our best not to disturb them, and we shouldn’t feed them, let’s protect them together, let the swan chicks grow up healthily and happily in Shanghu Lake.
If the female swan gets sick and dies, the male swan will be depressed all day long, looking like he is sick, and he died soon afterwards.
The swan couple’s relationship is one of the longest-lasting in birds. If it doesn’t happen, it will be another stove in the next breeding season.
This ‘unexpected’ thing has also been studied by scientists. If one swan dies, the other one unless it has lost its reproductive ability, will start a new stove in the next breeding season. After all, reproduction and gene transmission are the ultimate purpose of their existence.
You need to wait a few more days to see the swan chicks.
However, it may take a few more days to see the swan chicks.
The staff of the Shanghu Lake National Tourism Resort Administration said that because the swan dad and mom can't feed the swan chicks by themselves now, this little swan has been taken care of by staff for artificial feeding.
When the swan chicks grow up a little, the staff will send the swan chicks back to the swan pond.
During this time, everyone can go to the swan pond to see the beautiful swans. The staff of the Shanghu Lake National Tourism Resort Administration said that because there is no observation platform for the swan pond now, they can only look at the swans from the lakeside.
How to go to the swan pond?
After taking the subway Line 1 to Shanghu Lake Station, you can take bus 706, 431, 405 to the crossing bridge bus station. After crossing the bridge, walk east for about 800 meters to reach the swan pond.
△ Walking route to the swan pond
To facilitate everyone’s visit to Shanghu Lake, the Shanghu Lake National Tourism Resort Administration has opened a micro-bus route.
Tomorrow (March 9th), the micro-bus will be open again. Starting tomorrow, everyone can come directly from Shanghu Lake subway station to Shanghu Lake micro-bus to Shangzhuang parking lot station.
Then, it will be more convenient to see the swans at the swan pond.
△ Micro-bus route
Reporter Lin Jianan
Photography Liang Yeqi, Sun Lijuan
