How are y’all on Water Rail identification? Great….
I took these images of a Water Rail sp in the Olympic Forest Park, Beijing, this afternoon. The bird has been around since at least December, frequenting a small area of reedbed with two Moorhens. After two failed attempts to see it, it was third time lucky today. And it showed spectacularly well.
There is a suggestion – initially raised by Jesper Hornskov – that this could be a Western Water Rail rather than the expected Eastern Water Rail (now recognised as a separate species by most authorities). The head pattern, flank barring, colour of the underparts and the undertail coverts are all said to be the key features. From looking at images of Eastern Water Rail on the Oriental Bird Club image database and images of Western on the internet, I am inclined to think that this is possibly a Western. But I have ZERO experience of Eastern Water Rail, having never seen it in China or anywhere else. I guess the question that has to be answered is – can a first winter Eastern Water Rail look like this?
If it is a Western, it would be a significant record (it has occured in Hong Kong apparently).
Anyone willing to put their neck on the line?
I’ll post some more info when I have done some more digging.
A nice surprise as I was watching this bird was a flock of 5 Olive-backed Pipits that landed briefly to drink from a small pool of water before heading off north – spring migration has begun!
Water Rail sp, Olympic Forest Park, Beijing. Note the relatively plain face pattern, restricted barring on the flanks and grey (not grey-brown) underparts. Suggestive of Western Water Rail?Water Rail sp, Olympic Forest Park, Beijing.Water Rail sp, Olympic Forest Park, Beijing. The undertail is very clean, suggesting Western, but can a first winter Eastern look like this?
On recent trips to the Olympic Forest Park and Shidu, I encountered wintering Water Pipits, described by my companions as the epitome of LBJs (little brown jobs)! There are several races of Water Pipit and, in the Beijing area in winter, we see the blakistoni subspecies. In the field they strike me as rather grey-headed/naped and brown-backed.
Water Pipit ssp blakistoni, Shidu, Beijing, 11 February 2012Water Pipit ssp blakistoni, Olympic Forest Park, Beijing, 7 February 2012Water Pipit ssp blakistoni, Olympic Forest Park, Beijing. Same individual as above.
Just back from my second trip to Shidu. Highlight has to be the Wallcreeper.
Wallcreeper, Shidu, Beijing, 11 February 2012
Shidu looks made for Wallcreepers and I am sure there are more of these incredible gravity-defying birds along the gorge. But this individual is a bit of a star of the Beijing birding scene. It comes down to eye level, encouraged by the meal worms put out for it by bird photographers. Consequently it shows extremely well, albeit intermittently.
On Saturday I took friends Nick Douse, John Gallagher and Hui Ying, a Beijing-based birder I met at the AGM of the Beijing Birdwatching Society, to Shidu. Shidu literally means “10 river crossings” and this site, along the Juma river, is a good winter birding destination as, in addition to Wallcreeper, it hosts wintering Black Storks, Black Vultures, Crested Kingfishers and, occasionally, Long-billed Plover and Ibisbill. We didn’t see the last two but we had a great day in cold but still conditions.
The bridges across the Juma river are numbered from south-east to north-west. We arrived at the southern end of the gorge just under 2 hours after leaving Beijing and made our way slowly to the north-west, stopping occasionally to scan. Our first stop, between bridges 2 and 3, produced over 100 Mallard on an ice-free section of the river plus a handful of Common Merganser (Goosander) and, our first surprise, a drake Mandarin. Just as we were about to leave, 4 Black Storks came flying along the river and almost overhead, providing us with a great chance to study these majestic birds as they made their way downstream.
Black Stork, Shidu, Beijing
Black Stork coming in to land against the backdrop of Shidu gorge.
Our next stop was at Bridge number 6, a well-known ‘hot-spot’. We immediately saw a line of bird photographers on the eastern side of the gorge with their heavy artillery trained on an area of rock face. This had to be the Wallcreeper site. After parking the car and taking a short walk, we were greeted by the big lens boys and began the wait for the Wallcreeper to show. In just a few minutes it appeared and gradually made its way down the face of the rock to an area immediately in front of the photographers to feed on the meal worms. Its stay here probably amounted to no more than 2 minutes but in that time I suspect the number of times a shutter was fired was several thousand..!
Some of the bird photographers waiting for the Wallcreeper. Check out those lenses!
After about half an hour at this site, during which time we also recorded Marsh Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Daurian Redstart, Red-billed Blue Magpie and Dusky Thrush, we moved on to bridge number 10. This was an excellent site. Two male Plumbeous Redstarts were singing and displaying, clearly establishing territories for the forthcoming breeding season, but the real stars were the Crested Kingfishers that made several passes, calling loudly.
Crested Kingfisher, Shidu, Beijing, 11 February 2012
Bizarrely, two Crested Kingfishers flew up to a new house on the edge of the river and perched on the balconies.. one upstairs and one downstairs..
Upstairs Downstairs. These Crested Kingfishers seemed to like looking at their reflection in the window of this new house on the banks of the river Juma.
A drive further north produced a Hen Harrier, several Godlewski’s Buntings, 1 Little Bunting, 8 Hill Pigeons, 18 Daurian Jackdaws and a Wren.
The journey back down the gorge produced 2 Common Kingfishers side by side near bridge 6 and, after enjoying these 2 birds we headed off back to Beijing in time for dinner.
Friends Nick Douse, John Gallagher and Hui Ying at bridge number 10, Shidu.
One of the highlights of my recent trip to Liaoning Province was the opportunity to see so many gulls at Jinzhou Bay (we estimated over 4,000). This number must make Jinzhou Bay one of the premier gull-watching sites in northern China (if you know of a comparable site, please let me know!). The channel of running water alongside the landfill tip was a favoured haunt of Common Gulls (Larus canus) and, over the two days I spent at this site, I saw several young birds, presumably of both the subspecies found in this area – kamtschatschensis and heinei. Here are a few images and personal comments. Please let me know if you disagree with my identification or if you have more to add.
The kamtschatschensis bird, in particular, would certainly stand out if it turned up in the Western Europe!
First winter Common Gull of the subspecies kamtschatschensis, Jinzhou Bay, Dalian, Liaoning Province. Note the dark, well marked underparts and strongly barred undertail coverts.First winter Common Gull subspecies heinei, Jinzhou Bay, Dalian, Liaoning Province, 25 January 2012. Note the very clean, white underparts.First winter Common Gull ssp kamtschatschensis, Jinzhou Bay, Dalian, Liaoning Province, 25 January 2012. The upperparts are well-marked and the moult of juvenile feathers seems to be later than the heinei ssp below.First winter Common Gull ssp heinei, Jinzhou Bay, Dalian, Liaoning Province. Much cleaner, especially the uppertail, and more advanced moult, notably on the scapulars.
It’s difficult to tell from these images but, in the field, the kamtschatschensis bird appeared to be stockier with a slightly longer bill.
Second winter Common Gull, Zhuanghe, Liaoning Province, 28 January 2012. I suspect this individual is of the subspecies kamtschatschensis. Aged as a second winter due to the presence of some adult-type wing feathers, the small white 'mirror' on the outer primary (P10) and the relatively clean tail. Note the brownish fringes to some of the coverts, a good feature of second winter kamtschatschensis.Second Winter Common Gull, Zhuanghe, Liaoning Province, 28 January 2012. Probably of the ssp kamtschatschensis. Same bird as above.
It’s been a strange winter so far.. not so cold and no snow to speak of. It’s been the same up north in Liaoning Province. No Waxwings at all (contrasting strongly with last winter’s invasion of both Bohemian and Japanese Waxwings), very few Rosefinches (Long-tailed or Pallas’s) and a few so-called summer visitors have been lingering in the capital.
This week I have made short visits to both the Olympic Forest Park and the Summer Palace to see what was around.
The Summer Palace, Beijing.. not so crowded on a cold February day.
I was surprised to see several Pallas’s Warblers, double figures of Red-flanked Bluetails, three Red-crested Pochard and singles of Black-faced Bunting and Ferruginous Duck (the duck were together on a tiny patch of open water at the summer palace). All of these birds should really be further south in the middle of winter but all seemed in good shape.
Red-flanked Bluetail, Olympic Forest Park, Beijing. This bird was feeding on berries.Red-flanked Bluetail, Olympic Forest Park, BeijingPallas's Warbler, Olympic Forest Park, BeijingFerruginous Duck, Summer Palace, BeijingThis Fudge Duck is on a small patch of open water and, consequently, gives exceptionally good views.Red-crested Pochard, Summer Palace, Beijing
Some of Beijing's bird photographers taking advantage of the excellent photo-opportunities presented by the Ferruginous Duck, Red-crested Pochards and Smew at the Summer Palace.This Black-faced Bunting was eking out a living among the reeds at the Olympic Forest Park.
This Common Kingfisher looked much healthier than the last one I saw at Wild Duck Lake (which expired as we were watching it in late November).
Common Kingfisher exploiting one of the few ice-free areas at the Olympic Forest Park.
Several Smew were accompanying the Ferruginous Duck and the Red-crested Pochard, adding a reassuring feel to the winter. I managed this image of one in flight.
With clear skies and little wind it was a good day to be outside, so we packed a picnic and visited the Botanical Gardens in north-west Beijing. There was a surprising lack of thrushes around (normally this is a good site for wintering Naumann’s, Dusky, Red-throated and Black-throated Thrushes) but the usual residents – Red-billed Blue Magpie, Chinese (Light-vented) Bulbul, Chinese Grosbeak etc were around in small numbers. Despite a short search of their favoured habitat, I failed to see any Chinese Nuthatches.
On the boardwalk that runs along the stream to the west of the gardens, I heard a Red-flanked Bluetail and, as we rounded a corner, there were 4 or 5 bird photographers staked out by the frozen stream. I joined them for 5 minutes and in that time the Bluetail and a Winter Wren came down to drink from a small puddle and took advantage of the worms that the photographers had strategically placed on a prominent branch. The Bluetail and the Wren showed extremely well, clearly used to the attention. The Wren even indulged in a few bouts of song, no doubt encouraged by the relatively warm, almost Spring-like conditions.
A Red-flanked Bluetail braving the Beijing winter. A handful of these birds winter around the capital in most years.
Red-flanked Bluetail, Beijing Botanical Gardens
This Red-flanked Bluetail was very confiding, clearly used to the attention of Beijing's growing band of bird photographers.
Winter Wren. According to Brazil's "The Birds of East Asia" there are 40 subspecies of Wren. I believe this one is Troglodytes troglodytes idius.
Many birders, being obsessive types, like to keep lists of the birds they have seen. This could be a “life list” (a list of the total number of species seen in one’s life), a “year list”, the total seen in a given year etc. Many people keep national lists, for example a UK or China list. I have to confess that I don’t know how many species I have seen in the UK (I know it’s roughly 400) and I have been lax recently at keeping my China list up to date (somewhere between 500 and 520). However, I can proudly say that I know exactly the number of bird species I have seen in North Korea – 7!
Under the listing ‘rules’ it matters not that I haven’t actually been to North Korea as all have been seen over N Korean airspace from the China side of the border…
I have just returned from a few days in Liaoning Province with Paul Holt, Tom Beeke and Dandong-based birder Bai Qingquan – the perfect opportunity to boost my North Korea list! We visited some sites in Dalian, southern Liaoning, before driving north to visit the area in and around Dandong, including the Yalu River, the waterway marking the border between China and North Korea. In stunning weather, and temperatures approaching -20 at times, we saw some pretty special birds with the constant backdrop of North Korea providing a fascinating distraction.
Birding highlights from the trip north included Brown-eared Bulbul, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Varied Tit, Hazel Grouse, Cinereous (Black) Vulture, Alpine Accentor, Relict Gull (at Zhuanghe) and Slaty-backed Gull. Another spectacle was the sight of 25 White-tailed Eagles at Jinzhou Bay, near Dalian, in the company of over 4,000 gulls, attracted by a landfill tip. Birding takes us to some glamourous places.
Brown-eared Bulbul, Hushan (Tiger Mountain) Great Wall, Liaoning ProvinceJapanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Feng Huang Shan, north-west of Dandong, Liaoning ProvinceVaried Tit. A common resident at Feng Huang Shan.Eurasian Nuthatch ssp amurensis, Feng Huang Shan, Liaoning Province
I began my visit by meeting up with Paul Holt at Dalian airport and heading to Dalian and Jinzhou Bays. Dalian Bay, on the eastern side of the peninsula, was largely ice-free and produced an adult Glaucous Gull, Vega, Mongolian and Black-tailed Gulls, Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, Great Crested and Little Grebes, Mallard, Falcated and Chinese Spot-billed Duck. After an hour or so we crossed to the west coast to visit Jinzhou Bay. Here the sea was frozen as far as the eye could see and an impressive group of around 4,000 gulls was loafing on the ice. They were attracted by the large landfill site bordering the bay and this food source is clearly the reason why Jinzhou Bay must be one of the best gull-watching sites in northern China.
The vast majority of the gulls were Mongolian, with a sprinkling of Vega (a few hundred), Heuglin’s (up to 100), Common (20-30), Slaty-backed (3-5), Glaucous (2-3), Black-headed (2) and Black-tailed (2). Paul Holt also saw a first winter Pallas’s Gull at this site before I arrived. Searching through the Mongolian Gulls, recalling my sighting of 3 wing-tagged birds in February 2011 at this site, we were able to find a total of 5 wing-tagged birds during our visit (2 of which Paul and I both saw, 3 of which Paul found before I arrived and one after I left). These birds were ringed by Andreas Buchheim and colleagues under a ringing scheme operated in Mongolia and Russia’s Lake Baikal.
The gulls were not the only scavengers attracted to the tip. Each day we were there, a group of locals sifted through the rubbish and collected anything recyclable – bottles, cardboard, paper, metal etc.. It has to be one of the dirtiest jobs – they were black with grime – but despite the working conditions, they were a jolly bunch, laughing and joking with each other and they seemed thoroughly bemused that a couple of foreigners were joining them on the tip looking at gulls…. We showed them eagles through our telescopes and they showed us sacks of scrap paper.. 🙂
One of the locals collecting recyclable wasteIt's a dirty job…The constant flow of trucks provided a high turnover of rubbish through which to look for recyclables..Despite their working conditions, these people were very jolly, friendly and more than a little bemused that two foreigners were looking at gulls!
Just north of the landfill, a still unfrozen stream flowed into the bay, attracting some duck – mostly Mallard but also some Chinese Spot-billed Duck, Ruddy and Common Shelduck. In turn, these attracted the attention of birds of prey and we counted 25 White-tailed Eagles in the bay on Sunday morning – an impressive count for anywhere in China. The stream also proved popular with the Common Gulls and we saw both henei and kamtschatschensis subspecies here. I’ll follow up this post with a dedicated gull post soon.
One of the 25 White-tailed Eagles at Jinzhou Bay. The vast majority were immature birds and they caused havoc during their occasional forays over the bay.When one eagle found something to eat, it would soon be harrassed by the others trying to steal its find.
And this Merlin flashed through, surprisingly putting up most of the gulls as it did so..
Merlin, Jinzhou Bay, Dalian.
From the landfill at Dalian, we drove north to meet with Tom Beeke at Jinshitan and set off to Dandong, a city of 2.5 million people on the North Korean border. Here we met up with local birder (possibly the only birder in northern Liaoning!), Bai Qingquan, a great guy who was not only a talented birder but also excellent company and extremely knowledgeable about the sites in this special province.
The gang in Dandong. From left to right: Mr Zhang (our driver), Tom Beeke, Paul Holt and Bai Qingquan
We started birding along the promenade in Dandong, just a few hundred metres from North Korea which we could see clearly just across the Yalu river. Dandong is an interesting city. It is home to the “Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge”, one of the few crossings between the two countries and, immediately next to this is another bridge – the “Short Bridge” – that was partially destroyed by a US bombing raid during the Korean War. The town also hosts a museum dedicated to the “War to Resist US Aggression”… We didn’t have time to visit but next time I am in town, I fancy a look in there!
We tried several sites along the river from Dandong and to the north looking for Scaly-sided Merganser. This rare bird is regular along this stretch of river in spring and autumn, breeding a little further north and wintering in central and southern China. This winter had been unusually mild with no snow and Bai had seen the Mergansers in December, so we thought we’d try our luck. Unfortunately, despite 4 pairs of eyes scanning the river, we drew a blank. Next we visited the Hushan (Tiger Mountain) Great Wall, catching up with Brown-eared Bulbul, Alpine Accentor and enjoying panoramic views of North Korea.
North Korea, as viewed from the Great Wall, north of Dandong.
The next day was spent at Feng Huang Shan, a mountain roughly an hour north-west of Dandong. It was a bitter -18 here but, after driving up almost to the summit, the birding was spectacular. Almost immediately we encountered a Varied Tit, followed by a couple of White-backed Woodpeckers and then at least 3 Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, all within a few minutes of getting out of the car… Superb! We wandered up and down the track and, after hearing at least two Hazel Grouse calling, a careful 30-minute stalk was eventually rewarded with views of a male perched on a rock on a hillside.. fantastic.
Hazel Grouse, Feng Huang Shan, Liaoning Province
On the way back south, we stopped at Zhuanghe, a port town between Dandong and Dalian, to look for Relict Gulls, a large flock of which Paul found a few days before. We saw only a handful, probably due to the high tide, but with a little time on our hands we decided to look at the deep-water harbour for sea duck. As we arrived, a ferry was about to leave to some of the outlying islands and, with a bit of negotiation from Qingquan, we were soon on board and sailing through an almost Antarctic-esque ice-filled sea. It was bone-chillingly cold on deck but we were rewarded with over 60 Long-tailed Duck as well as good China species such as Pelagic Cormorant, Slaty-backed Gull and Red-breasted Merganser.
From left to right: Tom Beeke, Bai Qingquan and Paul Holt. On the ferry from Zhuanghe to outlying islands.Our first stop.The sea was almost Antarctica-esque..!
After returning to Zhuanghe around dusk, we headed into town to find Qingquan a taxi back to Dandong and to warm up with some hot food before heading south to Dalian. A thoroughly enjoyable trip…
So, after all that, what are the seven species on my North Korea list? They are, in chronological order, Saunders’ Gull (from Sep 2011), White-tailed Eagle, Mongolian Gull, Kestrel, Goldeneye, Goosander and Mallard. Anyone beat that?
With the Chinese New Year celebrations still ringing in our ears (the year of the Dragon was greeted with deafening fireworks!), we set off to explore an area known as Shidu in Fangshan County, south-west of Beijing. This area of karst limestone hills is sometimes known as the “Guilin of the north” and we could see why.. spectacular rocky outcrops rise up from the valley through which the Juma river runs.. It’s an area well-known to Beijing birders as a regular wintering ground for Black Stork, Wallcreeper and Black Vulture, with supporting cast including Crested Kingfisher, Long-billed Plover and Red-billed Chough.
Today Libby and I drove there in our rented car in convoy with friends John and Sarah Gallagher and Sarah’s visiting friend, Vic. The air was refreshingly clear – a combination of polluting industry closing down for Chinese New Year, fewer cars due to large parts of the Beijing population visiting relatives in other parts of China and a fresh northerly wind – and we enjoyed a stunning blue sky with excellent visibility all day. We took a slightly ’round the houses’ route to get there (taking over 3 hours) but it was worth it. A decent road winds its way through the gorge with a number of bridges crossing the river, many of which are excellent places to stop and view the stony riverbed. Highlights included at least 4 Black Vultures soaring over the peaks, 4-5 Black Storks including 3 young birds, 2 Crested Kingfishers, a single White-tailed Eagle and 2 Upland Buzzards. We didn’t have time to search out a Wallcreeper but the habitat looks ideal and I am sure, with a bit of time and patience, effort would be rewarded here. Definitely worth a return visit sometime soon!
White-tailed Eagle, Shidu, BeijingWhite-tailed Eagle, Shidu. A menacing shadow for any waterbird!Steady…One of today's Black Vultures at Shidu.
The highlight of a few hours at Wild Duck Lake this morning was a sighting of four Great Bustards, the world’s heaviest flying bird. I captured this image of two of the group flying into the rising sun at about 0745.
Great Bustards, Wild Duck Lake, 21 January 2012. If you squint, you can see one of the towers of the Great Wall on the far ridge…!
It was a bitter -12 at dawn with a light to moderate westerly wind making it feel even colder. I counted over 350 Common Cranes roosting on the ice and, when they flew, most had retracted legs, making their appearance not unlike a large goose or a bustard. The big surprise was that I didn’t see a single goose of any description all day. Where have the Bean Geese gone?
The freezing temperatures and wind had created some unusual ice sculptures on the reservoir…
Ice sculpted by the wind at Wild Duck LakeAnother ice sculpture.. crazy shapes!
A few Whooper Swans were roaming around in between periods lazing on the ice. This group looks like a family flock – 2 adults and 2 young birds.
Whooper Swans at dawn, Wild Duck Lake, 21 January 2012
A Chinese Grey Shrike sat on a post overlooking a large reedbed and called constantly for about 2-3 minutes. You can hear it here:
Last weekend I attended the AGM of the Beijing Birdwatching Society at Beijing Normal University. The coordinator, Xiaoming, invited me to speak about the 3 new birds added to the Beijing Municipality list in 2011: Little Gull, Glaucous Gull and Black Bittern. I was fortunate to have seen all three (finder of the Little Gull, co-finder of the Black Bittern and photographer of the Glaucous Gull, originally found by Swedish birder, Jan-Erik Nilsen).
On arrival at Beijing Normal University, I was escorted into the auditorium expecting maybe 10 or 20 people in a small, characterless room. How wrong I was. There were at least 200 people present with hot food, tea and high-tech audio visual equipment. It was a very well-organised event with lots of great content about birds in Beijing and the various trips the group had organised to different parts of China in 2011.
After a few introductory speeches, I was invited to take the floor and, with my trusty interpreter Leighton (who I had met in Liaoning in the autumn), I presented a few slides and described the circumstances surrounding each find:
Little Gull: a juvenile/first winter seen at Ma Chang/Wild Duck Lake on 17 September
Glaucous Gull: a first winter found by Swedish birder Jan Erik Nilsen at Yeyahu on 12 November and seen again and photographed by me on 18 November
Black Bittern: a first winter seen at Yeyahu on 25 November by Jesper Hornskov, Phil Benstead and me.
I spoke about the stunning variety of birds I had seen at Wild Duck Lake last year and the clear importance of this site for both resident and migratory birds.
At the end of my talk I was presented with some gifts including a 2012 calendar of stunning images of birds of prey, the 2011 report of the Beijing Birdwatching Society and various badges and stickers.
The presentations that followed – about visits to other Provinces in China – were illustrated with some excellent photographs of some hard to see species including Brown Eared Pheasant, Wallcreeper, Black Vulture, Siberian Crane, Spoon-billed Sandpiper and many others.
I was struck and heartened by the number of young children and students at the meeting. And despite all the habitat destruction I have witnessed over my time in China, I left the meeting with a renewed sense of optimism that China’s young people are beginning to be interested in, and excited by, their natural heritage. This development may be the key to changing attitudes in the Chinese government about conservation. Let’s hope so!
A few more images from Palawan. A short video of the Palawan Peacock Pheasant has now been uploaded onto the “Latest Videos” page.
Palawan Peacock Pheasant. This image, taken with flash, makes the plumage look green.Palawan Peacock PheasantPalawan Peacock Pheasant, SabangI believe this is a Glossy SwiftletA wild Junglefowl at SabangLong-tailed Macaque, SabangThe Jungle Trail at Sabang, Palawan. A boardwalk has been built along part of the trail.The local bus.Sunset at El Nido, Palawan
Just back from 10 days on Palawan, a stunning island in the west of the Philippine archipeligo and north of Borneo. It wasn’t a birding holiday but my holiday companions (my wife and two friends – John and Sarah Gallagher) humoured me by allowing me to drag them through the steaming jungle and on the water to see some of the island’s wealth of wildlife.
I’ll add to this post over the next few days but here are some early images to give you a feel for the place…
Our self-catering 'shack' near San Vicente. We didn't see another tourist during our 3-night stay but we did see Hornbills and flying lizards!The beach. To ourselves. And just 10 metres from our 'shack'.Mangrove habitat near Taytay, Palawan.View from our beach hut in El NidoPalawan Peacock Pheasant at Sabang.The stunning endemic Palawan Peacock PheasantOne of the local Monitor Lizards at SabangStork-billed Kingfisher. Common in the mangroves.Irrawaddy Dolphin, near Taytay, Palawan Island
Just a short post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a bird-filled 2012.
Here is a photo of a Japanese Waxwing taken during last winter’s ‘invasion’ of Beijing by these wonderful birds. This image is one of my favourites.
Libby and I are going to Palawan in the Philippines for a few days (it’ll be nice to take a break from the Beijing winter), so look out for a post about that in early January!
In the meantime, if you want to follow Santa’s progress, you can follow him on Twitter @OfficialSanta for live updates. I hope you’ve all been good… ho ho ho!
After a few busy work weeks, it was cool (in -11 temperatures, coolness is assured) to get out to Wild Duck Lake on Saturday to see what the cold weather had brought in since my previous visit in late November. And it was even cooler to be in the company of Paul Holt, one of the world’s finest birders.. (I am constantly astounded by Paul’s super-human hearing – there are calls that he hears, geolocates and identifies before I have even registered a sound… and I would have certainly missed several species had he not been there).
On this occasion I hired a car for the weekend and so, early Saturday morning, I picked up Paul from near his home in south-east Beijing and we headed north-west to Wild Duck Lake. The traffic was unusually light so we arrived on site around 0715, just as the sun rose. Paul’s trusty thermometer told us that it was -11 degrees C but with a biting westerly wind, it felt colder. I was relieved that Paul had brought along his super-sized thermos for coffee and noodles..
We checked thoroughly the area at Ma Chang, including the ‘island’ to the north, where we enjoyed a close encounter with a very confiding Chinese Grey Shrike. As we were in the car the shrike seemed oblivious to our presence, and it posed beautifully for Paul to grab the images below with my camera out of the passenger window… Superb shots, Paul!
Chinese Grey Shrike, Ma Chang, 17 December 2011 (image by Paul Holt)Chinese Grey Shrike, Ma Chang, 17 December 2011 (Paul Holt)
At the island, the angle made viewing difficult so we decided to venture onto the ice to gain a better position from which to check the swans and duck. I am always nervous about walking on ice and, with various creaks and groans coming from underneath our feet, my experience on Saturday did nothing to improve my confidence..! We could see the ice was at least a foot thick but, even so, I didn’t feel comfortable.. that was until we later saw a fisherman WITH HIS CAR on the ice… It was then that I had to admit that I was a wimp… 🙂
After checking the wildfowl and finding a single White-fronted in the Bean Goose flock, we enjoyed a very welcome pot noodle. To me, this was one of the most delicious meals imaginable after a few hours out in freezing temperatures.. I temporarily took off my gloves to eat and, despite holding a lovely warm tub of noodles, my hands were hurting with the cold.. and I knew it was still well below freezing when the condensation from the steam on the lid of my pot noodle froze solid..! Wild Duck Lake is quite a bit higher than Beijing – at about 580 metres (Beijing is only around 80 metres above sea-level) – so it was noticeably colder than in the city centre.
We drove to Yeyahu, entering via the ‘secret passageway’, and covered the area down to ‘eagle field’. No sign of any Black Bitterns this time or anything else outrageous.. but we did see a few wintering Chinese Penduline Tits, more Pallas’s Reed Buntings (common in winter), a Common Reed Bunting (anything but common at Wild Duck Lake), a couple of Hen Harriers, an Upland Buzzard and a very large and active flock of Vinous-throated Parrotbills.. these birds have bags of character and roam the reedbeds in tight flocks, chattering away as they go.
After marvelling at the constitution of the local ice fishermen on the reservoir, we headed back to the car for the journey back to Beijing, enjoying a pre-roost movement of well over 100 Common Magpies..
Thanks to Paul for his company on a ‘bracing’ day out…
Ice Fishing at Wild Duck Lake: digging the holeIce Fishing at Wild Duck Lake.. a popular activity! Note the car….No gloves! These guys are hardy souls…
Full species list:
Common Pheasant – 20
Bean Goose – 610 roosting and preening on the ice
Greater White-fronted Goose – at least one (adult) with the Bean Geese flock
Whooper Swan – 27
Ruddy Shelduck – 2 in flight
Mallard – 150
Baikal Teal – 6 in flight with Mallard flock
Eurasian Kestrel – 2
Hen Harrier – 4 (3 ringtails and one sub-adult male)
Goshawk – 1 smart adult male hunting at Ma Chang
Common (Eastern) Buzzard – 1
Upland Buzzard – 2 (1 juvenile and one older bird)
Common Crane – 120
Oriental Turtle Dove – 4
Collared Dove – 13
Great Spotted Woodpecker – 1 heard
Grey-headed Woodpecker – 1
Chinese Grey Shrike – 4 (including one very confiding individual at Ma Chang)
Common Magpie – 200+. Not many seen during the day but an impressive late afternoon pre-roost movement of at least 100 birds
Great Tit – 9
Chinese Penduline Tit – 4 (3 at Yeyahu and one heard at Ma Chang)
Asian Short-toed Lark – 40 in one flock
Eurasian Skylark – 35 (incl a flock of 25 at Yeyahu)
Chinese Hill Babbler – 3
Chinese/Light-vented Bulbul – 8
Vinous-throated Parrotbill – 130 at Yeyahu
White-cheeked Starling – 12
Dusky/Naumann’s Thrush – 4
Eurasian Tree Sparrow – lots
Water Pipit – 1 heard at Ma Chang
Pine Bunting – 8, all flyovers
Pallas’s Reed Bunting – at least 95. Common.
Common Reed Bunting – 1 in the reedbed at Yeyahu with Great Tits.
Most of the readers of this blog probably think that I spend all my time birding in Beijing… If only! I try to keep my work and leisure separate but, just this once, I thought I’d explain what I do for a living and how it links to my passion for birds and wildlife.
For the last couple of weeks I’ve been in South Africa at the UN negotiations on climate change – or COP17 if you like the jargon (the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change).
I’ve worked on climate change issues since 2004, initially for the UK government but more recently as Policy Director for a non-governmental organisation called GLOBE International. My main role is to work with legislators in 17 countries to advance legislation on climate change. Recently, I have worked directly with lawmakers in Japan, Mexico, South Korea and South Africa on climate-related legislation and I am currently working with the Chinese government to help inform the development of their climate change law. In January I will be travelling to India to support Indian MPs developing legislation there…
A key element of my work is to produce an annual study of countries’ progress with climate change laws and I presented the latest study to over 80 legislators from 16 countries in the South African National Assembly in Cape Town on 3 December, from the very seat at which the architect of the Apartheid regime, Hendrik Verwoerd, was stabbed to death by a parliamentary usher in 1966. It was inspiring to hear the Speaker of the South African parliament, Max Sisulu, comparing the climate change challenge to Apartheid… quoting Nelson Mandela – “It always seems impossible, until it’s done”. If any country knows how to tackle seemingly insurmountable challenges, it is South Africa.
So, why do I work on climate change issues? Since a very early age – as far back as I can remember – I have been passionate about the natural world, our biodiversity and the impact that humans are having on our environment. When climate change first came to mainstream attention in the 1980s, it was considered an environmental issue.. a warming world was going to threaten polar bears, coral reefs and rainforests. As a geeky teenager, this got my attention. As time went by and scientists better understood the impacts, it became apparent that climate change was not just an environmental issue. It was going to affect human development, our economies, our health and even our security. I began to read more about the issue and knew I had to do something.
When I examined the science behind climate change, I found it overwhelming. The climate is complex and we do not fully understand exactly how it works or all the influences on the climate system. However, the physics of global warming – that greenhouse gases trap the sun’s rays and warm the atmosphere – is a physical fact that is not in dispute. And humans have significantly increased the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas, has risen from 280 parts per million (ppm) in pre-industrial times to almost 390 ppm today, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels. This is undoubtedly causing the climate to warm and, as carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for around 100 years, even if we reduced our emissions to zero today, we would already be committed to a significant amount of warming. With that warming comes risks.
Natural scepticism is healthy but I have no time for those who try to discredit the science. Those that do are almost all part of an unholy alliance motivated by vested interest – in particular the large profits associated with the major oil companies – or that have an ideological aversion to regulation and think that the UN wants to run every aspect of our lives in some sort of socialist utopia. It is interesting that, in all my dealings with legislators from around the world, the so-called ‘sceptic’ movement is only prominent in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. I simply haven’t seen it in China, India, S Africa, Brazil etc etc… all of these countries understand the science, understand the risk and they want to do what they can to insure against that risk. Climate change is not about belief… to ‘believe in climate change’ makes it sound like a religion that cannot be proved one way or the other; it is simply about understanding the science and understanding and managing the risk.
So what are the risks? Even an average global temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius by 2100 (a very conservative estimate given the path we are on) comes with significant risks and will likely have devastating effects on many parts of the world. An average of 2 degrees Celsius warming will not affect all parts of the world equally. Equatorial regions will probably see less warming but polar regions will see much more. And, although some regions (e.g. Siberia) may see improved agricultural yields, the overwhelming effects around the world will be negative. Longer, more severe droughts in Africa, more extreme weather events, greater intensity of storms and sea-level rise threatening low-lying islands and coastal cities (many major cities are built on coastal estuaries – London, Shanghai, New York etc) are all predicted to occur. And in a cruel twist of fate it is those least responsible for the problem who will be the most affected.
Sometimes people tell me that the climate always changes, so why should we try to do anything to stop it…? This is a very natural and understandable question. The answer is that natural climate change usually takes place over a very long periods of time. So long that, over a single generation, changes are almost impossible to detect. The pace of that natural variability is so slow that people and nature can adapt. The difference with manmade climate change is that the pace is fast, very fast. We are seeing huge changes already and many species are struggling to adapt. It is now possible, maybe likely, that there will be an ice-free summer at the North Pole in the next decade or two. The extinction rate is between 1,000 and 10,000 times the natural rate and we could be experiencing the world’s largest ever mass extinction event right now. It is no coincidence that this is happening at a time when man is altering the climate.
The shocking and sad thing about all of this, is that the international community can fix the climate change problem with the existing technologies it has at its disposal. Renewable (solar, wind, wave, biomass) and nuclear energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles… they all exist and, if the world deployed these technologies at scale, the cost would come down incredibly fast. And, even now, the upfront cost of fixing the climate is tiny in relative terms. Most respected estimates put the cost at around 1-5 per cent of GDP. This is the equivalent to 1 or 2 years growth in most countries (or 6 months in China!). Is this really too high a price to pay? It shocks me that the world (particularly the rich countries) is arguing over whether it can afford this.. The cost of doing nothing is likely to be many times more but somehow we think that costs in the future are not to be worried about today.
People ask me whether I am an optimist or a pessimist about the world’s ability to tackle climate change. I am an optimist by nature but the truth is I oscillate. Whenever I feel pessimistic, I watch this, a truly inspirational speech by a young Canadian girl at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. I defy you to watch it and not be moved by her passion, her honesty and her damning critique of the way the world is being run. One of the biggest injustices in the world is the lack of intra-generational fairness… how we value wealth today much more than wealth tomorrow. The fact that we appear not to be prepared to invest just 1 to 5 per cent of our wealth for a safer future for our children and our children’s children, as well as greater social justice, is a damning indictment of the greed and selfishness of man. At the same time, I can’t help thinking that if youth had a greater say in running the world, we’d be living in a much better place.. ok, we might not be quite as rich in monetary terms.. but that would be more than offset by the cleaner air, more stable climate, greater biodiversity and the fairer world in which we would live.
Aksed whether he was an optimist, Nelson Mandela said: “I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”
We CAN fix this…. and I am convinced that the more people understand this is not an insurmountable problem, the more they’ll demand their politicians to fix it. You can start by writing to whichever politician representatives you…
Now, if you have reached this far, I am sure you’ll be pleased to hear that this is where I will stop and I won’t mention climate change again…. On Saturday, I plan to visit Wild Duck Lake, the first time since late November. The weather has certainly changed since then… it’s now well below freezing (around -10 degrees C) and the icy wind is coming straight from the Siberian steppe. The perfect way to get away from global warming!
In between leading tours to see Giant Panda in the wild in China (successful) and Tiger in India (fingers crossed), Sweden-based Phil Benstead dropped in on Beijing. Phil is a good friend from my time in Copenhagen: we hooked up for a few birding trips in 2009 and 2010, including around Phil’s local patch in Båstad Kommune, Falsterbo in Skåne and the island of Oland.
Phil arrived on Thursday with the Townshend household in something of a crisis. We were supposed to be cooking a turkey for 9, including two American friends, for Thanksgiving and Libby, who had planned to take the afternoon off work to prepare, was stuck at work… I was frantically looking on the internet, in between work conference calls to London – to discover precisely how long a 9kg turkey – at that time defrosting in the laundry room – would take to cook…. Phil stepped in magnificently and, after peeling and chopping I don’t know how many potatoes, carrots and green beans, he had certainly earned his supper by the time guests arrived for the 7pm start… And boy was that turkey good… (after months of Chinese food, you can’t imagine how good a roast turkey with all the trimmings tasted…!).
After following this blog since I moved to China, Phil wanted to visit my regular patch at Wild Duck Lake and so I had hired a car and we had arranged to leave at 0530 the following morning (tough after a post-midnight dinner party). We picked up Jesper Hornskov at 0600 and, after some all-too-common traffic issues on the G6 Badaling Expressway (broken down lorries), we arrived at Ma Chang around 0745, around 30 minutes after first light.
The first thing that struck me was that the reservoir was almost completely frozen over. The weather had turned cold mid-week and it had taken just a couple of cold nights for the water to freeze. After giving it some time at the spit by the yurts, we checked the island to the north of the ‘desert’ area, lucking in on 2 Daurian Partridges (my first of the winter) on the way, and enjoyed a flock of several hundred Ruddy Shelduck and a rather late Ferruginous Duck. A couple of inquisitive Chinese Hill Warblers was a bonus. A very showy Baikal Teal looked a bit lost walking on the ice in a frozen dyke and we enjoyed a couple of Chinese Grey Shrikes hunting over the grassland. After combing the area for larks – we counted a few Eurasian Skylark and up to 12 Asian Short-toed Larks plus a bonus Japanese Reed Bunting – we made our way to Yeyahu. Officially, Yeyahu closed last week but we were able to use the ‘secret entrance’ to gain entry and it was here that we heard (but sadly for Phil didn’t see) a Chinese Penduline Tit, a few Pallas’s Reed Buntings and a Great Egret. However, the most exciting sighting of the day was a very uniformly dark medium-sized bittern that flew from the west to east end of the lake. It was clearly smaller than Eurasian Bittern but larger than Yellow Bittern. Initially against the light it looked uniformly very dark with longish legs and big feet. As it flew into better light, it still looked uniformly very dark.. Phil managed to view it through his telescope and saw a pale line below and behind the eye, beginning at the base of the bill… There were some pale fringes to the wing coverts, indicating a first winter bird. It dropped in to a reedbed on the far side of the lake and we hurried over to see if we could see it again.. what could it be? Little Green Heron (Striated) and Black Bittern (a bird that I have never seen) entered our minds.. Jesper didn’t think it looked right for Little Green Heron – the jizz and colour were wrong and the leg length – with clearly protruding legs – wasn’t right for Little Green. Could it really be a Black Bittern in Beijing in late November?? That would be a very strange record. Unfortunately, despite spending some time near to where it went down, we did not see it again.
Edit: After looking at many images on the internet, including Oriental Bird Images, Jesper’s view is that it could only have been a Black Bittern.
After seeing a Common Kingfisher literally die in front of our eyes on the ice at the edge of the lake (it was heartbreaking), we walked down to ‘eagle field’ and, on the way, enjoyed my best ever views of Pine Bunting (two birds) and watched a young Upland Buzzard soaring. Most pleasing were two Great Bustards flying west along the reservoir.
Several decapitated Common Pheasants were a clear sign of a large predator.. possibly Goshawk but more likely an Eagle Owl… it’s the same area where I saw an Eagle Owl last winter.
We made our way back to the car and, with Naumann’s Thrush the last bird of the day, we headed back to Beijing for dinner with Jesper and his wife, Aiqin.
Saturday morning I visited the Botanical Gardens with Phil and Nick (a friend and non-birder), where Phil scored a few new birds – Chinese Grosbeak, Pere David’s Laughingthrush and Chinese Nuthatch – before he had to make his way to the airport to catch his flight to Delhi.
It was a great couple of days and we saw some good birds. Phil was a big hit with our friends – as illustrated by the number of offers he had for accommodation in Beijing when he returns next year to lead a similar panda trip in October – and we wish him all the best for the forthcoming trip to India for tigers.. we can’t wait to hear how he gets on.
Full species list for Wild Duck Lake below:
Ma Chang and Yeyahu NR 0745-1600.
Temp -5 at 0745 increasing to +2 or +3 by early afternoon; very light N wind increasing to force 2-3 by midday; visibility 2-3km.
Reservoir almost completely frozen with just a few small patches of open water. Yeyahu completely frozen.
Highlights: 1 juv/first winter BLACK BITTERN; 2 Great Bustards, Upland Buzzard, 2 Daurian Partridges, 550+ Bean Geese, 200+ Common Cranes, Japanese Reed Bunting
Full species list:
Daurian Partridge – 2 at Ma Chang
Common Pheasant – 25
Bean Goose – at least 870, probably more. Most in flight along the north edge of the reservoir with some on the ice itself
Whooper Swan – 42 on the ice, swimming on the open patches of water and in flight
Ruddy Shelduck – 550 at least, mostly on the ice and on the northern side of the reservoir
Eurasian Wigeon – 3
Mallard – 850
Chinese Spot-billed Duck – 12
Baikal Teal – 4-5 seen, including one drake incredibly well in a frozen dyke; probably many more in the distant tight flocks of duck on the patches of open water
Ferruginous Duck – 1 seen from the island north of Ma Chang, possibly with injured wing
Common Goldeneye – 3 seen from Ma Chang but probably many more
Smew – 5-6 seen but probably many more
Goosander – 40 seen
Great Bittern – 3 seen well, including one walking on the open ice
BLACK BITTERN – one juvenile/first winter seen in flight through binoculars for around 30 seconds over the lake at Yeyahu at around 150-200m range. Initially seen against the light but gradually into better light, this bird was clearly larger than Yellow Bittern but smaller than Great Bittern and uniformly very dark. Phil managed to see it through the telescope and saw a pale line starting at the base of the bill running back below and behind the eye; streaking below not seen. Legs were relatively long with large feet. Slight pale margins seen on the wing coverts, indicating a first winter. Little Green Heron ruled out on size, colour and leg length; Cinnamon Bittern ruled out on colour and size.
Grey Heron – 1
Great Egret – 1
Kestrel – 1
Merlin – 1 at Ma Chang
Hen Harrier – 3 (two ‘ringtails’ and one imm male)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk – 1
Northern Goshawk – 1 (Phil only)
Upland Buzzard – 1
Great Bustard – 2 in flight from ‘eagle field’ heading west
Common Crane – 200+
Large White-headed Gull sp – 1 seen by Phil at Ma Chang
Black-headed Gull – 3 at Yeyahu
Oriental Turtle Dove – 3
Eurasian Collared Dove – 31
Common Kingfisher – 1. Seen sitting forlornly on the edge of the ice at the base of some reeds. After a few minutes, its head dropped onto the ice and, after a brief flapping of its wings, it sat motionless and appeared to die – an early victim of the winter.
Great Spotted Woodpecker – 2
Grey-headed Woodpecker – 2
Chinese Grey Shrike – 3
Azure-winged Magpie – 6
Common Magpie – lots
Rook – 8
Carrion Crow – 6
Large-billed Crow – 1
Great Tit – 4
Marsh Tit – 3
Chinese Penduline Tit – 1 (heard only)
Asian Short-toed Lark – 13 at Ma Chang
Eurasian Skylark – 6
Chinese Hill Warbler – 4, including 2 on the island north of Ma Chang
Vinous-throated Parrotbill – 40+
Naumann’s Thrush – 1 ssp naumanni at Yeyahu
Tree Sparrow – many
Pine Bunting – 4, including 2 showing exceptionally well at Yeyahu
Pallas’s Reed Bunting – 30+
Japanese Reed Bunting – 1 at Ma Chang. Flushed from short grass 2-3 times and seen only in flight. (Very bad) photo attached.
Japanese Reed Bunting, Ma Chang, 25 November 2011: wildlife photograph of the year?Chinese Grey Shrike hunting at Ma Chang, 25 November 2011
When Jan-Erik Nilsen contacted me to say he had seen a first winter Glaucous Gull at Yeyahu last Saturday, I knew it was an excellent inland record. What I didn’t know – before consulting Paul Holt – was that it was a first for Beijing. Congratulations Jan-Erik! This record represents the second new gull for Beijing this year, following my first winter Little Gull at the same site in September.
I did not expect the GG to still be there on Friday – the first day I could make it to Wild Duck Lake – but fortunately, after scanning the gulls and duck and just before I decided to walk away, the Gluacous Gull flew in and settled in the middle of the lake. Fantastic. A real brute of a gull sporting classic uniformly pale ground colour plumage and the typical pinkish bill with an obvious black tip. Nice. There can’t be many images of Glaucous Gulls with poplar trees and a smoking chimney stack in the background! Yeyahu is never a great site for gulls but it does occasionally pull in the odd unlikely individual. The most common gull by far is Black-headed but Common Gull, Mongolian Gull, Relict Gull, Brown-headed Gull, Heuglin’s Gull, Little Gull and now Glaucous Gull have all been recorded.
First winter Glaucous Gull, Yeyahu Lake, Beijing, 18 November 2011First winter Glaucous Gull, Yeyahu Lake, Beijing, 18 November 2011
Another highlight was my first Crested Lark in China. I found this bird along a track that I don’t usually inspect. It’s a little further west than I usually walk and, subsequently, the site could possibly be in Hebei Province rather than Beijing Municipality. A close look at Google Earth required..! In any case, it’s now a quality bird in the Beijing area.. formerly quite common, its numbers have crashed in the last 20 years and it’s now a difficult bird to find.
Crested Lark, Wild Duck Lake, 18 November 2011
Coming third in my list of highlights (usually these would be much higher but there was stiff competition this week!) included two flocks of Baikal Teal totalling 73 birds, including some stunning drakes, and a roost of 3 Long-eared Owls.
Baikal Teal, Yeyahu, Beijing, 18 November 2011Long-eared Owl, Yeyahu, 18 November 2011Long-eared Owl, Yeyahu, 18 November 2011. LEOs' camouflage is very effective. If it wasn't for the orange eyes, they would be very difficult to pick up against the branches….
Full species list:
Common Pheasant (18)
Bean Goose (246)
Whooper Swan (12)
Mandarin (1)
Gadwall (72)
Falcated Duck (2)
Wigeon (4)
Mallard (18)
Chinese Spot-billed Duck (6)
Baikal Teal (67)
Goldeneye (3)
Smew (12)
Goosander (57)
Little Grebe (8)
Grey Heron (8)
Kestrel (2)
Peregrine (1)
Hen Harrier (2)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (2)
Common (Eastern) Buzzard (1)
Upland Buzzard (2)
Coot (2)
Common Crane (267)
Common Greenshank (1)
Common Gull (3) – two first winters and one second winter
Glaucous Gull (1) – a first winter, probably for its 7th day (first reported by Jan-Erik Nilson on Saturday 12 November
Mongolian Gull (2) – both first winters
Black-headed Gull (75)
Collared Dove (6)
Long-eared Owl (3) – roosting together at Yeyahu
Great Spotted Woodpecker (2)
Grey-headed Woodpecker (1)
Chinese Grey Shrike (2)
Azure-winged Magpie – 12
Common Magpie – lots
Carrion Crow (5)
Great Tit (3)
Chinese Penduline Tit (2) – both presumed first winters (very pale and washed out)
Asian Short-toed Lark (4)
Crested Lark (1) – along the track west of Ma Chang
Eurasian Skylark (8)
Vinous-throated Parrotbill (40)
Tree Sparrow – lots
Siberian Accentor (1)
Pine Bunting (4)
Pallas’s Bunting (46)
Japanese Reed Bunting (1 possible) – not seen well enough to be sure.
Paul Holt has just completed his detailed trip report for the autumn migration trip to Laotieshan in Liaoning Province, China. It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows him (and me!) that Paul is responsible for the incredibly detailed daily counts of the species included in the report.
It was an awesome trip with some stunning counts (including some China records).
Highlights:
We recorded 202 species in total
High counts included 2155 bird-days of Oriental Honey-buzzard with 1035 on our very first day on site, the 24 September;
1150 bird-days of Black Kite with birds being seen almost every day with a peak count of 209 on the 7 October;
1255 Eurasian Sparrowhawks and a peak count of 283 on the 10 October;
248 bird-days of Northern Goshawk with a peak of 64 also on the 10 October;
6944 bird-days of Eastern Buzzard with a peak of 3490 on the 12 October;
7971 bird-days of Amur Falcon with a peak of 1830 on the 10 October;
Over 20,000 bird-days of Ashy Minivet with a peak of 7549 on the 28 September;
456 bird-days of Yellow-bellied Tit with birds being noted on 20 of the 23 days we were in Liaoning and a peak of 160 on the 5 October;
Nearly 60,000 bird-days of Red-rumped Swallow with 10,000 being estimated on the 27 September;
Over 14,000 white-eyes with up to 4500 birds being noted daily while we were in the province;
Over 1600 bird-days of Black-faced Bunting with a peak of 700 on the 8 October.
Local rarities included:
14-bird-days of Black Stork with between 1 and 4 birds on five dates;
A juvenile Steppe Eagle on the 2 October;
2 juvenile Golden Eagles on the 11 October;
An adult male Lesser Kestrel on the 6 October;
70 osculans Eurasian Oystercatchers, a moulting juvenile Pallas’s Gull (only the third for Liaoning) and a first year Glaucous Gull at the Biliu river, Pulandian and a single Little Curlew near Pikou, Pulandian all on the 3 October;
Surprising numbers of both Northern and Asian House Martins;
Two and one Red-billed Starlings on the 7th & 14 October respectively
Several early Alpine Accentors with sightings on three dates after the 11 October.
Apologies for the lack of updates in recent weeks – work has been rather all-consuming! To be honest, it’s not been so bad to be indoors – a persistent high pressure system, combined with very slack winds, have seen a blanket of smog covering Beijing with poor visibility and, at times, appalling air quality. The US Embassy ‘twitter feed’ is updated hourly and rates the pollution levels of PM2.5 (a particulate pollutant) and ozone.
This is the US Environment Protection Agency’s definition of PM2.5:
“Particulate matter, or PM, is the term for particles found in the air, including dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. Particles can be suspended in the air for long periods of time. Some particles are large or dark enough to be seen as soot or smoke. Others are so small that individually they can only be detected with an electron microscope.
Many manmade and natural sources emit PM directly or emit other pollutants that react in the atmosphere to form PM. These solid and liquid particles come in a wide range of sizes.
Particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) pose a health concern because they can be inhaled into and accumulate in the respiratory system. Particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) are referred to as “fine” particles and are believed to pose the greatest health risks. Because of their small size (approximately 1/30th the average width of a human hair), fine particles can lodge deeply into the lungs.”
Sounds nice, eh?
There is a scale of descriptors ranging from “Good” to “Hazardous”. Last week saw several days with the pollution at “hazardous” levels. I am not exactly sure what “hazardous” means but at these levels, you can taste and smell the pollution when you step outside. Not pleasant.
Of course, the Chinese media describes the smog as “fog” and on one dark day last week, it was laughable that the media was saying that there were “boundless blue skies over Beijing”… Of course….
Fortunately, this smoggy period seems to be breaking now and on Sunday I visited Ma Chang/Wild Duck Lake with Libby and a couple of UK friends John and Sarah Gallagher. They have been keen to accompany me on one of my birding trips for some time and so, with a window of decent weather and visibility, we grabbed the chance before the winter sets in. We enjoyed a very good day.
The visibility was above average and, when the cloud broke in the afternoon, it turned into a gorgeous late autumn day….
0645-1530, 6 November 2011.
Cloud 8/8 and 5 degrees C at 0640 with very light north-easterly wind. 13 degrees C, cloud 3/8 and light north-easterly at 1500. Visibility above average all day.
The highlight was my first Great Bustard in China (a flyover), 2 Black Storks, 6 White-naped Cranes, 58 Common Cranes, Upland Buzzard, 2 Short-eared Owls, 2Common Starlings.
Full species list (52 in total):
Common Pheasant 12
Bean Goose 115
Whooper Swan 1
Gadwall 5
Falcated Duck 4
Eurasian Wigeon 2
Mallard 48
Chinese Spot-billed Duck 10
Northern Pintail 42
Eurasian Teal 25
Tufted Duck 8
Common Goldeneye 2
Smew 10
Goosander 12
Little Grebe 23
Great Crested Grebe 8
Black-necked Grebe 2
Black Stork 2 (high west @ 1455)
Eurasian Bittern 1
Grey Heron 3
Eurasian Kestrel 2
Peregrine 2
Hen Harrier 4 (1 adult male, 1 immature male, and 2 females)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk 3
Common (Eastern) Buzzard 1
Upland Buzzard 1
Great Bustard 1 in flight (flew west over Ma Chang @ 0910)
Common Coot 4
White-naped Crane 6
Common Crane 58, including 2 groups arriving from the mountains to the north (9 @1445 and 35 @1440)
Mongolian Gull 2
Black-headed Gull 68
Eurasian Collared Dove 14
Short-eared Owl 2
Common Kingfisher 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2
Grey-headed Woodpecker 1
Chinese Grey Shrike 5
Azure-winged Magpie 1
Common Magpie lots
Carrion Crow 11
Great Tit 2
Asian Short-toed Lark 12
Eurasian Skylark 7
Chinese Bulbul 2
Vinous-throated Parrotbill 100+ in a single flock
Common Starling 2
Eurasian Tree Sparrow lots
Buff-bellied Pipit 3
Pine Bunting 2
Little Bunting 2
Pallas’s Reed Bunting 23
Finally, we enjoyed excellent views of this yellow butterfly, the only butterfly we saw. It was a little sluggish, allowing close photography, in contrast to the many times when I have tried to photograph this species in the spring/summer.. I am not sure what the specific species is but it’s pretty common in the area. EDIT: Thanks to John Furse for identifying the butterfly as a Clouded Yellow.
Yellow butterfly sp, Yeyahu, 6 November 2011Close up… I love those eyes!
