The common reeds (phragmites australis 芦苇) growing in the Xiang river mudflats make a popular natural background for personal photos. So the river is full of photogenic youths and elderly fishermen. The cold weather, which started today is not keeping either group from the river, but it is encouraging songbirds to come out in search of seeds and insect; scaly-breasted munia (lonchura punctulata, 斑文鸟) were out in abundance, seeking former foodstuff.
