DO QUYET - THANH CHUNG - HA KIEN•April 22, 2024 15:31
About 30 km from Hai Duong city, the Stork Island eco-tourism area in Chi Lang Nam commune (Thanh Mien) is like a bright gem surrounded by green.
Located about 30 km from Hai Duong city, the Stork Island eco-tourism area in Chi Lang Nam commune (Thanh Mien) is like a bright gem surrounded by green. For hundreds of years, this place has been home to about 20,000 storks and herons.
There is a mysterious story about An Duong Lake in the Stork Island eco-tourism area. Mr. Le Xuan Den from the Service Team said that in the past, An Duong Lake was a low-lying rice field of several hundred acres. In the middle of this field, there was a high mound of land, so the people built a small temple. At the end of the 17th century, consecutive floods occurred, submerging the entire village. The temple on the mound also disappeared, but a vast lake was formed around it. Later, flocks of storks and herons from everywhere gathered to live, creating Stork Island.
At that time, people in An Duong village began to tell each other thrilling stories about Stork Island. Five people from An Duong village saw that the lake was full of shrimp and fish, so they hired a fishing group from Ha Nam province to catch them. Because they did not believe the advice of the village elders, these people calmly spread their nets without burning incense to ask for permission from the Goddess Vuc (who was revered by the villagers as the protector of Stork Island). The first time they cast their nets, they got tangled and could not be pulled up. A man named Cau jumped into the lake to remove the net but disappeared. Several days later, people found Mr. Cau's body on the lake's surface.
Many people in the village still speculate that An Duong Lake still hides many secrets.
The Stork Island eco-tourism area is not only ecologically significant but also historically significant. In the 6th century, the Stork Island area in An Duong village, Giao Chi district was the base of Trieu Quang Phuc's army against the Liang invaders. During the years 1885 - 1889, Stork Island was in the area of activity of Nguyen Thien Thuat's army in the Bai Say uprising... Around Stork Island, there are many relics associated with historical periods such as: Nam pagoda, Ba Chua Vuc tower...
The mysterious stories about Stork Island have been passed down from generation to generation, so no one in An Duong village dares to catch storks or herons to play with or eat. Everyone is conscious of protecting and developing the flocks of storks and herons. Thanks to that, Stork Island has more and more rare bird species living there. "For many years, local people have always considered storks and herons as common property, so they have tried their best to protect and preserve them. Up to now, this place has become home to 52 bird species belonging to 12 orders, 30 families, 42 genera with a total flock of up to 20,000 birds," said Ms. Hoa.
Some species of storks and herons on the island
In 2014, the Stork Island eco-tourism area in Chi Lang Nam commune was ranked as a national scenic spot by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Over time, the small islands in the Stork Island complex have shown signs of erosion and shrinking. In 2018, the Provincial People's Committee invested 45.5 billion VND to develop and preserve Stork Island. From here, the 4C artificial island was built with the aim of expanding the living space for storks and herons. To have Stork Island as it is today, some households with land and houses on the island voluntarily gave up their land and moved their houses to make a shelter for storks and herons.
"In 2003, 7 of us households left all our houses and more than 2,000 square meters of land to make way for the expansion of the Stork Island eco-tourism area. Today's 3B Island is the land of our ancestors. On this island, there is still the family's ancestral tomb," said Mr. Nguyen Dang Huy (80 years old).
In 2018, Chi Lang Nam commune established a self-managed security and order team at Co Island with 56 members. The team is divided into 3 self-managed groups: Onshore service group, ferry transport group and security group. The groups are responsible for detecting, preventing and handling destructive activities that affect the ecosystem of Co Island, the environmental landscape as well as security and order. Mr. Nguyen Van Nhuong, Vice Chairman of Chi Lang Nam Commune People's Committee, said that although there is no financial support, the self-managed security and order team at Co Island is always enthusiastic and dedicated to its work. Since its establishment, the members have always followed the motto: "Safe tourists - peaceful storks".
In recent years, the self-management team has actively coordinated with units and organizations to launch tree planting and garbage collection campaigns to improve the living environment on Stork Island. In addition to protecting the environment, the self-management team also organizes patrols to catch and chase away natural enemies of storks and young herons such as snakes and hawks; and to rescue storks and herons caught in mouse traps. During the breeding season, the team is always present on the islands to repair stork nests and pick up young birds that have fallen to the ground.
Thanks to the protection and care of local people, the number of storks and herons on Stork Island is growing more and more.
Every year in March, the storks on the islands begin their breeding season. At this time, only the male birds go out to forage while the female birds stay behind to incubate the eggs and protect the nest. In May, when the weather is warmer, the young storks and storks break open the eggs to find food.
This is also the most beautiful time of Stork Island when the parent birds do not go far to find food but only stay with their young.
Sound and scenery also change a lot because of that.
During the breeding season, among the vast bamboo... are tens of thousands of stork and heron nests full of life.
There are nests still full of eggs.
There is a nest of baby birds that have learned to hop from branch to branch, their white feathers covering most of their smooth bare bodies.
Seeing the appearance of humans, the parent storks frantically searched for their children, making Stork Island even more bustling.
We left Island 3B just as the sun was setting. The surface of An Duong Lake was like a mirror reflecting the scenery, making it even more magical and magical. Amidst the vastness of the sky, mountains and rivers, the motorboat gently cut through the waves and brought us to shore, ending an exciting day of experience.
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