Dongting Lake Field Trip - Day 1

On November 13 at 10:08 a.m., the high school international class students of Nanchang Xinyuan School set out from Nanchang for a three-day dolphin research and investigation trip to Yueyang, Hunan. The first day of the activity concluded successfully. The dynamic report is as follows:

After a two-hour drive in the morning, we arrived at Changsha East Railway Station. After a short rest, we set off again for Yueyang and arrived at 12:56 p.m. After lunch, we followed Teacher Liu to the milu nature reserve managed by Station Master Li, where we observed at close range the national first-class protected animal, the Père David's deer (milu), named Dian Dian.

We actively asked Station Master Li about the morphological characteristics, habitat, living habits, distribution range, reproductive methods, and the current status of the species of milu, and Station Master Li responded to us enthusiastically.

We not only learned specific information about milu, but every one of our classmates also personally fed food to Dian Dian under Station Master Li's guidance.

Through our investigation and research from first-hand experience, we felt Station Master Li's perseverance and determination in protecting wildlife and the natural environment. This made us resolve to learn from Station Master Li, take him as a role model, and build awareness of protecting wildlife.

Before leaving, we took the initiative to ask Station Master Li for a group photo. Station Master Li readily agreed, so we took a large group photo with him and Dian Dian as a souvenir and memory of this research trip.

After concluding our investigation of Dian Dian, we drove to the East Dongting Lake Nature Reserve.

At the Wetland Biological Science Museum of the East Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve, we watched a documentary on protecting the Dongting Lake environment. Lines in the documentary such as "it supports the water use of all of Hunan and once turned countless Yangtze floods into harmless events" and "Dongting Lake is named for its water and flourishes because of its birds" helped us more deeply appreciate the importance of Dongting Lake. We also saw eight categories of real specimens, including birds, wild plants, freshwater fish, and finless porpoises.

Under Teacher Liu's guidance, we used professional telescopes to observe migratory birds such as geese and ducks. On Caisang Lake, a flock of ducks was relaxing and playing on the water. Teacher Liu told us that identifying migratory bird species involves three steps: first look at the beak, then the legs, and finally the plumage. We also learned that some tourists, in order to take beautiful photos, forced migratory birds to fly up, which injured their wings. We realized that observing migratory birds requires not only looking at their appearance and identifying their species, but also learning to protect their environment and habits, and trying not to disturb their lives while observing them. After dinner, we concluded the first day's itinerary.

This day brought unfamiliar experiences, surprises, and some disappointments. We learned a great deal and also realized that our every action affects the environment. As night falls, we look forward to the Dongting Lake finless porpoise journey tomorrow, and hope for even more new discoveries!