On the first day of the autumn vacation, a spectacular “bird wave” was encountered, turning the Yellow River estuary into a “bird-watching hotspot”

大众网记者 马世龙 赵静 东营报道

On November 12th, primary and secondary school students in Dongying City ushered in the first day of their autumn vacation. In the Yellow River Estuary Ecological Tourism Zone, flocks of migratory birds swarmed and churned in the sky, sometimes resembling whales tail-swishing, sometimes like roc wings spreading, creating a magnificent spectacle of "bird waves". On the bird-watching boardwalk, people raised their phones to take pictures and check in, with shutter clicks and exclamations echoing one after another. A child looked up and shouted, "Mom, fish are swimming in the sky!" The awe that couldn't be contained on the phone screen became the most vivid footnote on this first day of the autumn vacation.

During the autumn vacation in Shandong, coupled with the migratory season of migratory birds, the Yellow River estuary welcomes a "limited edition" spectacle co-written by humans and nature.

This year, the autumn holiday for primary and secondary schools in Dongying City falls on November 12th, 13th, and 16th, merging with the weekend to form a continuous 5-day holiday, creating a rare window for parent-child bird watching and short-distance eco-tourism. The coincidence of the holiday with the peak of migratory bird migration has caused a surge in popularity at the Yellow River estuary. In the evening, the observation platform is crowded, with so many mobile phone screens that it forms a sea of phones. When tens of thousands of painted ducks and geese take off from the depths of the reeds, their formation gathering and dispersing in the twilight, the crowd first exclaims in unison, "Wow!" and then subtly lowers their voices, afraid of disturbing these "guests" who have come from afar.

"In the northern sea, there is a fish named Kun. Kun is so huge that its size is unknown, possibly thousands of miles long." More than two thousand years ago, the magnificent imagery depicted by Zhuangzi resonated concretely in the autumn twilight at the mouth of the Yellow River. The autumn vacation will eventually end, and the crowds will eventually disperse, but the phrase "fish swimming in the sky" uttered by the little tourists will always echo in my ears.