Fish and birds coexist in the ecological aquaculture pond, and the black-faced spoonbill has returned

Lead image/ A flock of egrets is enjoying the small fish and shrimp at the bottom of the pond

I had just gone out to ship some goods when I noticed many cars parked in the abandoned salt pan area. That Boy Scout spirit came over me again, and out of curiosity I stopped to observe what was going on.

It turned out that the black-faced spoonbills had returned, and more than ten of them arrived at once. They kept foraging in the water, not paying much attention to how many people were watching nearby. The birdwatchers were great too. They were not noisy, only took photos and watched the birds, and they certainly did not disturb them just to get a photo.

Actually, back in early November, the grey herons had already returned. Because they are large, they are easy to spot, and they go straight into the aquaculture ponds to forage. So they are easy to see in our own six aquaculture zones, especially the Caohu aquaculture zone, where almost every day six grey herons perch.

I do not know whether it is the same group. It may be because the recirculation pond in the Caohu zone is set at the very edge and corner pond, so it is less disturbed by people, which is why they especially like the environment there. We therefore go even less often to patrol the recirculation pond, and the fish and shrimp inside can only fend for themselves.

Last year the shrimp in the recirculation pond still yielded about 80 jin (Caohu zone), and I hope for the same harvest this year. As practitioners of ecological aquaculture, we would not interfere with the natural food chain, but we still have to pray that heaven will give us a little to eat, and that the shrimp will not all be eaten by birds, fish, rats, and snakes, and that some will be left for us to sell.

People who come to our ecological aquaculture ponds always ask us: every day flocks of egrets linger in the fish ponds. Do they not eat fish? Why do you not chase them away?

We laugh and say that, actually, the night herons at night may be even more formidable than the egrets during the day, and the night herons stay in the tree groves of the outer ditch of our aquaculture ponds. The outer ditch is about one kilometer long, and the night heron flock probably numbers in the dozens. We have never driven them away either.

Because whether it is the birds during the day or the night herons at night, of the fish and shrimp they eat, in fact seven or eight out of ten are relatively unhealthy fish and shrimp. Sick fish and shrimp tend to stay closer to the shore, so they do not need to swim too hard and can save energy, and because they are sick, their reaction ability becomes worse and they get eaten by the food chain. This is a good thing, and it also reminds us to pay attention to which ponds have problems with their fish and shrimp, to reduce or stop feed, to increase the use of paddle wheels to aerate the water, and to raise dissolved oxygen.

So egrets are actually the doctors and nurses of our fish and shrimp. As soon as the fish and shrimp in a certain pond begin to feel unwell and get sick, they will appear in that pond, reminding us to give that pond more attention and care. We really should thank them properly.

Further reading
PTS The Dream of Wetland Rebirth—The Qiu Brothers' ecological aquaculture sharing
Fish that do not take medicine: the five phases of ecological aquaculture

A pond at rest. In our aquaculture process we completely follow traditional methods and use no chemical drugs, antibiotics, or growth hormones. We use the establishment of an aquatic ecological environment and low-density aquaculture space to let the fish and shrimp grow healthily in the pond.

The outer ditch of our ecological aquaculture zone in Budai, Chiayi

A wild soft-shelled turtle, coming ashore to find a place to lay eggs

Happy children playing in the pond