On April 3, on the eve of the Qingming solar term, thousands of migratory birds returning north arrived to rest in the Songhua River basin of Jilin City. Villagers working in the fields gazed at the soaring flocks from afar.

　　Of the migratory birds that arrived at Niesima Village, Tuchengzi Township, Changyi District, Jilin City, apart from more than 500 ruddy shelducks, the rest are all wild geese, including large numbers of bean geese. As a national second-class protected animal, the bean goose resembles a domestic goose in size and appearance and feeds on plant-based food; the field ridges and riverbank vegetation both provide abundant food.

　　Jilin Province is a province of river sources, known as the "water tower" of Northeast China, with a dense network of waterways and continuous rivers. The Songhua River winds through the urban area of Jilin City. In recent years, the authorities have continued to promote green development, and this stretch of the river has become a natural ecological corridor.

　　According to observations by animal protection departments, this spring the stopover areas for migratory birds returning north in the Songhua River basin of Jilin City have continued to expand, and both the species and numbers of bird flocks are increasing.

　　Wu Jianfeng, secretary-general of the Jilin City Wildlife Conservation Association, introduced that rare birds such as the painted snipe and green sandpiper have been newly added in the area this year. These birds are not commonly seen, which proves that the ecological carrying capacity of the Songhua River basin has been further enhanced.

　　In the urban waters several dozen kilometers from Niesima Village, large numbers of grey herons linger on the surface of the Songhua River to catch fish. When residents stroll along the riverbank, they often photograph them flying and frolicking.

　　As a large waterside bird, the grey heron is very particular about its living environment. The abundant fish and plankton in the Songhua River attract them to forage. At present, grey herons are found throughout the local waters, and the breeding peak will arrive in May, when more than 10,000 grey herons will successively fly in.

　　Data provided by the Jilin City Ecology and Environment Bureau shows that the local water environment quality has continued to improve. Of the 19 state-controlled monitoring sections, 17 have reached good standards, and the remaining 2 also meet the assessment requirements; water bodies worse than Class V have been completely eliminated.

　　The Chinese merganser, which is equally strict about water quality, is also successively arriving in Jilin City. In the waters of the Hongshi forest area, the Chinese merganser, known as a bird "living fossil," lives together with mandarin ducks and mallards. The forestry department predicts that by mid-to-late May, seventy to eighty Chinese mergansers will gather in Hongshi.