From the heart of China, carrying water and stories.
The Estuary
That Feeds
the Sky
I thought the ocean began where the water turned blue.
At Dongtan, I learned it begins much earlier, in mud.
Scroll⌄
02
FIELD NOTE
From the edge of land and sea
I am Tim Wu, a student researcher from Shanghai.
I study wetlands not just in books, but in the field, walking the mudflats, watching the tides, following the birds.
Dongtan is where I learned that every grain of mud carries a story, and every story connects land, sea, and sky.
This project is my way of listening, learning, and giving back.
03
Silt and nutrients travel downstream, building new land.
A living skin of the coast, soft, rich, vital.
Tides breathe in and out, shaping life.
Waters blend, feed, and connect far beyond.
Birds rise, carrying signals across continents.
04
FOUR BIRDS,
FOUR WITNESSES
They travel far to be here
Pied Avocet反嘴鹬
The Tidal SifterSweeps its upturned bill through shallow water, revealing life hidden in the mud.
Field imageⓘ
Oriental Stork东方白鹳
The SentinelNeeds wide, undisturbed wetland space, making its flight a signal of habitat health.
Field imageⓘ
Black-winged Stilt黑翅长脚鹬
The Still MirrorWalks lightly through quiet shallows, showing how fragile calm water can be.
Field imageⓘ
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper尖尾滨鹬
The Long-Distance ForagerTurns tiny mudflat food into migration energy across the flyway.
Field imageⓘ
05
THE HIDDEN
FOOD WEB
Everything is connected
Tides bring water, oxygen, and suspended nutrients into the mudflat, waking the hidden food web beneath the surface.
Show Flow
Data Layer◎
About the dataⓘ
06
A
Intact Wetland
Rich, connected, resilient
Biodiversity
Water Quality
Carbon Storage
Bird Population
B
Disturbed Wetland
Fragmented, weakened, at risk
Biodiversity
Water Quality
Carbon Storage
Bird Population
C
Restored Wetland
Reborn, protected, thriving
Biodiversity
Water Quality
Carbon Storage
Bird Population
PastPresentFuture
07
Observation Log
Dongtan Field Records
| Date | Zone | Tide | Species | Count | Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04.13 | North mudflat | Low | Pied Avocet | 46 | Sweeping bills through shallow pools |
| 04.13 | Tide creek | Falling | Black-winged Stilt | 18 | Picking benthic prey along the water edge |
| 04.27 | Reed margin | High | Oriental Stork | 3 | Roosting, scanning open water |
| 05.02 | Exposed flat | Low | Sharp-tailed Sandpiper | 71 | Probe feeding before northbound migration |
| 05.18 | Restored pool | Rising | Mixed shorebirds | 64 | Feeding, resting, short flights between pools |
| 06.01 | Visitor edge | Low | Mixed shorebirds | 12 | Avoidance behavior near disturbance |
214birds recorded across sample walks
4focal species linked to habitat quality
5habitat zones compared by tide condition
2tide states with visible feeding shifts
From Walks to Evidence
01Traced the S1-S5 route across restored pool, reed marsh, tide creek, exposed mudflat, and tidal water.
02Logged tide state, species, count, feeding behavior, and disturbance at each sample point.
03Compared activity patterns to show how protected wetlands feed migration and coastal food webs.
Feeding Activity by Habitat
What the Data Shows
The strongest bird activity appears where low tide, soft mud, and quiet water overlap. Protecting Dongtan is not only about one shoreline habitat; it keeps migratory birds fed and links wetland care to ocean health.
- ALow tide exposes feeding grounds and concentrates benthic prey.
- BRestored pools extend resting time during rising tide.
- CDisturbance reduces visible feeding even when mudflat habitat remains.
08
09
The ocean does not end at the shore.
Sometimes, it rises into the sky.
