“Bird Dad ”Zheng Qingsong

Edited by He Sai ＆ Bai Ning

Zheng Qingsong is an employee of Huangshi Electric Power Supply Company of the State Grid Corporation of China.He used to be the go-to “nest removal guy”who had to pull down more than ten bird nests on an average day in order to maintain the operation of the power lines.However,he was plagued with guilt over the scenes of homeless birds hovering in the air and squawking after their nests were removed and newborn chicks facing death.Consequently,he started bringing the eggs and chicks home for rescue; he would also rebuild the bird nests on trees nearby or install insulators on the grid tower to protect the nests.He has also destroyed many clapnets laid by poachers and was attacked by them more than once as a result.

Over the past 34 years,he has made himself the guardian of the birds rather than a nestremover.He has converted five bird poachers into fellow bird guardians and now leads a team of bird protectors numbering over 140 members.

鄭青松是中國國家電網(wǎng)黃石供電公司職工，他曾是一名專業(yè)的“拆巢高手”，為保護供電線路的正常輸送，他平均一天要拆十多個鳥巢。然而，每每看到拆巢后無家可歸的鳥兒盤旋悲鳴，剛出生的小鳥面臨死亡，他心里總悲憫自責。于是，他會將巢中鳥蛋帶回家孵化，將剛出殼的小鳥帶回家喂養(yǎng)；還會在樹杈上為鳥兒安家，在桿塔上為鳥巢裝絕緣擋板予以保護；他還反復拆除偷獵者布下的捕鳥網(wǎng)，多次被捕鳥者毆打。

34年來，他不但自己從拆巢人變成護鳥人，還感化5 名偷獵者成為護鳥人，并帶出了一支140 多人的護鳥隊。

從“拆巢”到“護巢”

鄭青松，1970年出生，1987年從技校畢業(yè)后，一直在黃石電力系統(tǒng)工作，至今已有34年。起初，鄭青松被分配在原黃石供電局線路工區(qū)運維班，維護供電線路的安全。他們負責的高壓輸電線路，大部分桿塔分布在濕地丘陵和高山上，這些桿塔成了鳥兒筑巢棲息的天堂。

大量鳥巢給電力正常輸送帶來安全隱患，必須拆除。當時年僅17歲的鄭青松體力最好，便承擔起了這項任務，每天爬上爬下，到幾十米高的鐵塔上拆鳥巢。

“剛上班那兩年，平均每天要拆十多個鳥巢?！编嵡嗨筛嬖V我們。

一開始，鄭青松有些恨那些筑巢的鳥兒，后來這種恨漸漸變成了悲憫和同情。

1989年7月的一天，鄭青松在拆除一個貓頭鷹巢時，發(fā)現(xiàn)巢內(nèi)有4 只雛鷹，親鳥在空中盤旋、哀號，他和同事們不知道怎么辦，把小鳥丟地上，又怕親鳥一時半會兒找不到合適的地方，于是他與同事們一人一只將雛鷹帶回家，買肉喂養(yǎng)。一個多月后，小貓頭鷹羽翼豐滿，能獨立飛行了，他們一起將它們放飛。當幾只貓頭鷹歡快地飛進林中時，鄭青松心里有了一絲成就感。

打那以后，鄭青松在拆鳥巢時變得小心翼翼，他不再將其搗毀，而是將整個鳥巢完整地端下來，放在旁邊的樹杈上固定好。

Bird guardians climbing up the tower to feed the chicks 護鳥人員爬上鐵塔給鳥兒喂食

From nest remover to nest guardian

Zheng Qingsong,born in 1970,went to work for the Huangshi electric power system 34 years ago,after graduating from technical school in 1987.He was assigned to the power line operation and maintenance team in the former Huangshi Power Supply Bureau,and was responsible for the upkeep of the power lines.Since most of the power poles and pylons are located on wetland hills and mountains,birds naturally flock there to nest and breed.

Bird nests pose serious hazards to power lines and must be removed.As a 17-year-old physically active young boy,Zheng took on this task,scaling the scampering up the heights of the poles to pull down the bird nests on the pylons some hundred feet in the air above.

“During the first two years of work,I removed an average of ten bird nests per day,” Zheng reported.

In the beginning,Zheng hated the birds that built their nests in the “wrong” place,but gradually his hostility gave way to compassion and sympathy.

One day in July 1989,Zheng found four owlets in a nest he was about to pull down,while the parent owls were hovering and crying out in the air above.He and his colleagues didn’t know what to do.If they had left the owlets on the ground,the parents might not be able to find a suitable place for their family.In the end,he and his colleagues each took one owlet home and fed them.A month later,when the little owls had grown out of the owlet stage and were able to fly,they released them back to nature.Seeing the young owls flying cheerily into the forest,Zheng felt happy and accomplished.

在一次巡查線路時，鄭青松發(fā)現(xiàn)一只喜鵲被電死在地上，而鐵塔上的窩內(nèi)，有兩只剛破殼的小鳥和三只鳥蛋?！坝H鳥死了，兩只小鳥肯定活不了。”鄭青松再次將小鳥和鳥蛋都帶回了家，買面包蟲精心喂養(yǎng)，并用一只紙箱墊上布條做成簡易的孵化箱，用燈泡對鳥蛋進行孵化。

雖然，幾只鳥蛋最終沒能孵化出小鳥，但兩只小喜鵲在鄭青松的精心照料下，轉眼能獨自飛行和覓食了。放飛時，兩只喜鵲唧唧喳喳圍著他盤旋，久久不愿離去。

多次被盜獵者毆打

干了兩年拆鳥巢工作后，鄭青松多了一份業(yè)余工作——保護鳥兒。

在他負責的區(qū)域內(nèi)，濕地食物豐富，丘陵和高山則是鳥兒筑巢棲息的理想去處。那時候，盜獵現(xiàn)象非常猖獗，鄭青松決心用自己微薄之力保護自己路線上的鳥兒。為了掌握不同鳥兒的習性，他空余時間經(jīng)常泡在圖書館，閱讀鳥類知識，了解鳥兒的生活習性。

每次巡線時，看到林中的捕鳥網(wǎng)，鄭青松都會收起并燒毀。這惹怒了盜獵者，對方發(fā)現(xiàn)毀他們網(wǎng)的竟是一個電工，紛紛拳腳相向。最嚴重的一次，鄭青松被三名盜獵者圍毆，渾身多處軟組織受傷，幾天下不了地。

同事徐濟紅，是從捕鳥人轉變過來的護線員。他至今還記得當年與鄭青松發(fā)生沖突的情景，坦言曾帶人打過鄭青松兩次。

“這都是23年前的事了?！毙鞚t說，那時他沒有正式工作，靠捕鳥和捕魚賺些生活費。在幾次發(fā)現(xiàn)自己安裝的捕鳥網(wǎng)被毀后，心疼不已，他蹲守在山林中等待毀網(wǎng)人。當發(fā)現(xiàn)毀網(wǎng)人穿的是電工服而非森林公安制服時，頓時惱怒不已，悄悄叫了幾人將鄭青松狠狠揍了一頓。

鄭青松并沒因此放棄，徐濟紅認為他“死性不改”，在自己的最后一張網(wǎng)被拆除后，又帶人將他打了一頓。這一次，挨了打的鄭青松卻找上門來了。當徐濟紅看到鄭青松出現(xiàn)在自己家門口時，心中忐忑不安，沒想到對方卻和他拉起了家常。在了解到徐濟紅家庭情況后，鄭青松有了自己的打算，回到單位向領導匯報，將徐濟紅招為護線員，解決了他的家庭困難。

“像我這種情況的還有4 個人，后來我們護線時，發(fā)現(xiàn)捕鳥網(wǎng)都會主動上前拆除?！毙鞚t說，時間久了，他們也對鳥兒慢慢有了感情。在鄭青松的熏陶下，他們由盜獵者變成了護鳥人。

從一個“鳥爸”到一群“鳥爸”

二十多年如一日，鄭青松一邊巡線一邊護鳥。在他的帶動下，越來越多的人加入他的護鳥行列。

“剛開始以為是鄭班長的個人愛好，后來才知道他是為了保護鳥兒?！蓖潞鷦俳榻B。一起巡線時，他發(fā)現(xiàn)班長總會把親鳥被電死的幼鳥帶回家喂養(yǎng)。有時在鐵塔上的鳥巢中發(fā)現(xiàn)幼鳥，鄭青松并不將其拆除，而是給鳥巢加上絕緣擋板，將它保護起來。

胡勝說，在鄭青松影響下，他們班組都像照顧自己孩子一般，保護著鳥兒。鄭青松也被稱為“電網(wǎng)鳥爸”。

鄭青松的做法得到了所在單位的認可，并給予其大力支持。在鄭青松的帶動下，公司2016年成立了“電網(wǎng)鳥爸”黨員服務隊，鄭青松任隊長，首批20 人加入到了服務隊中。

“目前有140 多人加入護鳥隊伍中來了?！编嵡嗨赏嘎?，該公司90 余名一線職工和護線員，全都是愛鳥護鳥宣傳員，同時還有50 多名各行業(yè)志愿者加入。

目前，只要鳥巢沒有影響線路的安全，他們原則上只裝絕緣擋板，不拆鳥巢。對那些已經(jīng)危及線路安全運行的鳥巢，或者有鳥蛋、幼鳥的鳥巢，就轉移到不影響線路安全的電塔部位，或者小心取下來放到電塔附近穩(wěn)固的樹杈并密切監(jiān)視，想方設法讓每一顆鳥蛋孵化、每一只幼鳥安全活下來。

From then on,Zheng exercised extreme caution while removing the bird nests.Instead of destroying them,he would take the entire nest down and fix it on the tree branches nearby.

While performing a wire inspection,Zheng found an electrocuted magpie on the ground and two newly hatched chicks as well as three eggs in the nest on the pylon.“With the mother bird dead,the two little chicks had no means to survive.” Zheng brought the birds and eggs home.He bought mealworms to feed the chicks and made a simple incubator to hatch the eggs with a cardboard box cushioned with cloth and light bulbs above.

The eggs never hatched.Yet the two chicks grew up healthy and independent under Zheng’s meticulous care.When they were released,the two little magpieshovered over his head for a long while,chirping and reluctant to leave.

Zheng Qingsong and the oriental white stork he rescued 鄭青松和他救下的東方白鸛

Poacher attacks

After two years of nest-removing,Zheng got himself a new job,that of bird guardian.

The sprawling wetlands teeming with life in his work area had a great abundance of food resources while hills and mountains are perfect places for birds to nest and breed,which is why poaching was rampant back then.Zheng determined to try his very best to protect the birds along his work route.He stayed long in the library in his spare time to read books about birds and learn about different birds’ habits.

While patrolling the power lines in his area,whenever he saw a trammel in the forest,Zheng would remove and burn it,infuriating the poachers who would beat him when they found out that it was an electrician that had destroyed their nets.In the most serious case,Zheng was beaten up by three poachers,which caused him multiple soft tissue injuries,leaving him bedridden for days on end.

Xu Jihong,his colleague,had been a poacher before becoming a lineman.He still remembered his conflict with Zheng that year,and frankly confessed that he had beaten Zheng twice.

“That was 23 years ago,” Xu said.He had been unemployed and scraping out a meager existence by catching birds and fish.Naturally,he was distressed after his bird net was destroyed on multiple occasions.He kept watch for a couple of days in the forests and found out that the net destroyer was an electrician instead of a forest ranger.He was angry and called on a few fellows to beat Zheng up.

Installing insulators on the pylon to protect the bird nest給鐵塔上的鳥巢裝絕緣擋板

Zheng Qingsong cutting the clapnet put up by poachers鄭青松在切割偷獵者安裝的捕鳥網(wǎng)

為東方白鸛更改施工設計

幾十年來，鄭青松自己也不清楚救助了多少只鳥，拆了多少只捕鳥網(wǎng)。他的手機屏保是一張漂亮的翠鳥圖片。這是有一次護線時，發(fā)現(xiàn)一只倒在路邊的翠鳥，他懷疑是中毒，并把它帶回家施救，未能救活，鄭青松深感遺憾，從此便將手機屏保換了這張翠鳥圖片。

2016年4月，服務隊在巡查時，發(fā)現(xiàn)一座桿塔上的鳥巢被施工人員誤拆下來，里面有三只幼鳥，吭吭嘰嘰。鄭青松給它們再造了一個家，后來才知道這是世界僅存約3000只的珍稀動物東方白鸛。

后來，動物保護專家建議還是要將巢轉移到桿塔上，東方白鸛親鳥才會感到安全，于是，他們把巢移到了54 米高的桿塔高處，并輪班喂養(yǎng)幼鳥50 多天，直到三只東方白鸛重返大自然。

2020年6月，為了配合203省道建設，最初的設計方案要求將56 號鐵塔移位。由于塔內(nèi)東方白鸛正在孵著幼鳥，為了不驚擾到它們，供電公司向設計方提出，避開56 號鐵塔。“為了給鳥兒讓道，我們更改了施工方案，這是很罕見的?！?黃石供電公司輸電運檢分公司黨總支書記詹時斌說，“如果不出意外，今年它們還會飛來筑巢孵鳥。”

連綿不絕的綠水青山、跨越山川的道道銀線、展翅高飛的成群鳥兒……看著這樣美麗和諧的山水田園，“鳥爸”鄭青松十分欣慰。

不久前，鄭青松被選入了2020年11月“中國好人榜”。

Bird guardians and their avian compadres 護鳥隊和鳥兒交上朋友

Yet Zheng did not give in and destroyed Xu’s last trammel.Upon seeing this the latter believed Zheng should be taught one more lesson and had people beat him up again.Yet Zheng took a curious course of action,showing up at a shocked and embarrassed Xu’s doorstep one day out of the blue.Instead of meting out violent vengeance,Zheng just struck up a conversation with Xu,exchanging pleasantries and chatting about daily life.Upon learning about Xu’s plight and financial hardship,Zheng laid out a plan.He went back to his company and asked his superiors to recruit Xu as a lineman,effectively solving his financial difficulties.

“There were four other persons in a similar situation as me.Later,when we examined the power lines,we would remove clapnets wherever we found them,” Xu said that over time,they gradually developed compassion and sympathy towards the birds.Under Zheng’s influence,they were transformed from bird poachers to bird protectors.

From bird dad to bird dads

For more than 20 years,Zheng patrolled the power lines and protected the birds.People began rallying to his cause and joining his team in increasing numbers,citing Zheng as their inspiration and guiding light.

“At first I thought it was just Captain Zheng’s hobby,later I learned that he was doing it all for the good of the birds,” stated Hu Sheng,a colleague of Zheng’s.Whenever they came across chicks who had lost their parents to electric shock in their patrols,Hu noticed Captain Zheng always bringing the chicks home and taking care of them.For some bird nests on the pylons,instead of removing them,Zheng would install insulators to protect them.Hu Sheng stated,under Captain Zheng’s influence,their whole team started getting in on the avian protection game.Hence Zheng’s reputation as “the bird dad on the power grid.”

Zheng’s practice was approved and supported by his company,which founded a service team with the moniker “Bird Dads on the Power Grid” in 2016.Zheng was the acting captain initially in command of a 20-member crew.

“So far,more than 140 people have joined our avian protection team,” Zheng Qingsong said.His company has more than 90 frontline employees and linemen,all of whom are enthusiastic birdprotection promoters.In addition,there are more than 50 volunteers from various industries who have taken up Zheng’s cause.

For bird nests that do not interfere with power lines,Zheng and his team install insulators instead of removing the nests.Nests that do pose hazards to the safe operation of the power lines or nests with eggs and chicks are relocated to pylons clear of the lines,or onto strong tree branches nearby and monitored closely thereafter,in a concerted effort to help every bird egg hatch and every young hatchling survive.

Construction design modified for oriental white storks

Zheng Qingsong has never stopped to count how many birds he has rescued and how many clapnets he has removed over the past few decades.The screen saver on his cell phone is a beautiful kingfisher.On one occasion at work,he found a kingfisher lying on the side of the road.He suspected food poison and took it home in a valiant attempt to pluck it out of the jaws of death,but he ultimately failed.He deeply regretted it and set the picture of a kingfisher as his screen saver.

In April 2016,the service team came across a bird nest accidentally removed from a pylon by construction workers,in which three chicks were chirping and chattering helplessly.Zheng rebuilt a home for them,and later learned that they were one of the rarest birds in the world,the endangered oriental white stork,whose number left was only about 3,000.

Later on,animal experts suggested that the nest be put back on a pylon so that the parent birds would feel safe.They put the nest back onto a 54-meter-high tower and took turns feeding the young birds for more than 50 days,until the three grown-up oriental white storks returned to nature.

In June 2020,the original construction plan of Provincial Highway 203 called for the removal of pylon No.56,on which an oriental white stork family was raising their young.As a result,the power supply company proposed to the designer to go around pylon No.56 instead of removing it to protect the birds.

“We changed the construction plan to make way for the birds,which just doesn’t happen every day,” said Zhan Shibin,the Party Secretary of the Transmission and Inspection Branch of Huangshi Electric Power Supply Company.“If all goes well,the birds will come back next year to nest and breed again.”

Vistas of babbling waters and verdant hills,with the glint of silver power lines cutting their way through mountains and next to translucent rivers,and flocks of birds soaring high overhead...such a beautiful and serene landscape warms Zheng’s big heart.

Not long ago,Zheng was elected to the “China Honor Roll”—a prestigious list populated by individuals of exceedingly high character—in November 2020.Animal lovers and bird watchers alike rejoice.