Bai Ruojing Last Sunday morning I rose up early, earlier than the birds, to join my first birding lesson at OCT Wetland. Since Shenzhen is located in the middle of the Siberia-Australia migration route, the best season to observe migration birds, particularly waterfowl in Shenzhen, is from November to April. As a beginner birder, before heading for the field, I first learnt from our field guide about the appropriate attire. Birders should wear comfortable clothes which make no noise when you move about. Choosing the colors that will blend into the habitat is also essential. Properly dressed, we started the tour at 7 in the morning when the wetland was still half asleep. OCT Wetland designed several convenient spots for birders to hide for observation. Although I had brought my own binoculars, there were non-coin operated binoculars for visitors to use. I described the birds I saw to our guide and the guide told me the names of the birds. Gradually I learned to identify egrets, herons and waterhens (Gallinula chloropus) with red beaks. I spotted two waterhens. One waterhen’s beak was of bright red but the other’s was not so red. It turned out that one of them was a young waterhen. Its beak will eventually turn red when it is fully grown. I also spotted two snipes that looked very similar in their appearance. I had to compare the pattern of their feathers in order to tell one from the other. It was a quiet time observing nature and its wonders, through binoculars and with naked eyes. The world seemed undisturbed and undestroyed, where all was regarded as equal and displayed in its full glory. | 