Spring is when nature puts its foot on the gas. Plants and insects emerge, migratory birds race to their breeding grounds, and mammals take advantage of the bounty to raise the next generation. Amphibians are no different — and this spring I put some effort into learning more about Beijing’s eight species of frog and toad, six native and two introduced.
Of the native species, the most common are the Dark-spotted FrogPelophylax nigromaculatus 黑斑侧褶蛙 and the Asiatic ToadBufo gargarizans 中华大蟾蜍, both widely seen in urban Beijing, including in many city parks.
Frogs encountered in the mountains and hills — Huairou, Miyun, Mentougou — will most likely be the Taihang Brown FrogRana taihangensis 太行林蛙, a species commonly found along mountain streams.
The Beijing Gold-striped FrogPelophylax plancyi 金线侧褶蛙 is much less common but turns up in some of the larger parks, such as Yuanmingyuan (the Old Summer Palace).
The charismatic Boreal Digging FrogKaloula borealis 北方狭口蛙 is closely tied to the summer monsoon, emerging en masse after the first heavy rains — usually in July — to breed in temporary pools before they dry up in late summer.
The Mongolian ToadStrauchbufo raddei 花背蟾蜍 is found at only a few sites in the capital. It prefers drier, sandy habitats and is most frequently encountered in Yanqing District.
Beijing also has two introduced amphibian species. The American BullfrogRana catesbeiana 美洲牛蛙 turns up occasionally in the city — I’ve heard its unmistakeable loud, vibrating call several times along the Wenyu River.
Audio: American Bullfrog calling, Wenyu River, June 2020.
The Oriental Fire-bellied ToadBombina orientalis 东方铃蟾 has a more interesting backstory. Native to Korea, far northeast China, southeast Russia, and Shandong Province, it was introduced to Beijing in 1927 by the herpetologist Liu Chengzhao, who collected around 200 individuals from Yantai in Shandong and released them at Peking University and the Botanical Gardens. Their descendants are thriving today at the Beijing Botanical Garden, Baiwangshan, and the Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan) area.
This spring I spent time getting to know two of the scarcer species — the Mongolian Toad in Yanqing District and the Oriental Fire-bellied Toad at Xishan Forest Park — and recorded their distinctive calls.
Audio: Mongolian Toad, Yanqing District
Audio: Oriental Fire-bellied Toad, Xishan Forest Park
I’m particularly fond of the soft calls of the Oriental Fire-bellied Toad. Its Chinese name, 东方铃蟾, translates literally as “Oriental Bell Toad” — and while the call may not quite resemble a chime, it’s certainly easy on the ears.
It is estimated that collisions with glass kill around a billion birds in the US alone (see here and here). The issue is particularly acute where major migratory routes overlap with urban centres. Light pollution causes migratory birds to become disoriented and, often exhausted, they drop down into urban green spaces. It is here that they are exposed to a raft of anthropogenic threats, including the risk of collision with glass. Most collisions happen in daytime during foraging, and at lower levels (particularly the first five floors). The main issue is the reflection of habitats that causes birds to see potential shelter and foraging sites and, flying at full speed, impact can often be fatal.
There are few data from China on the scale of bird collisions but, given that many of China’s major cities are located on a major flyway, it is reasonable to assume that the scale could be similar to North America.
A few months ago, at a meeting of Ambassadors for Nature, Bruno Angelet, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to China, told me that his Embassy had experienced a few bird strikes (bird collisions with glass). Although sad to hear, it was not surprising given the new Embassy building is glass-intensive with large glass windows adjacent to the embassy garden, in which can be seen reflections of trees, shrubs and sky.
The embassy’s new buildings are glass-intensive, increasing the risk of bird collisions. Photo courtesy of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium.Tell-tale sign of a bird collision on one of the windows at the embassy. Photo courtesy of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium.A Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis 珠颈斑鸠 Zhū jǐng bān jiū), one of the victims of collisions with glass at the Belgian Embassy in Beijing. Photo courtesy of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium.
I mentioned the work that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) had implemented earlier this year, in partnership with local NGO – ShanShui Conservation Center – and TenCent Foundation, following the discovery of bird collisions around their headquarters in central Beijing. The AIIB bird collision project was inspired by the nocturnal migration project, that was conducted from the roof of its HQ near the Olympic Park. That project raised awareness about the extent of nocturnal migration over the AIIB’s HQ and led to staff taking more notice of migratory birds in the vicinity of their workplace, finding victims that had collided with glass, and wanting to do something about it.
Bruno was keen to draw on that experience to reduce the risk of bird collisions at his Embassy.
Volunteers fitting patterned film to glass at the headquarters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in central Beijing following the discovery of victims of collisions with glass. Photo courtesy of ShanShui Conservation Center.Fitting patterned glass to AIIB’s headquarters. Photo courtesy of ShanShui Conservation Center
A few short weeks later, thanks to the Embassy staff in cooperation with ShanShui Conservation Center, work has just been completed to retrofit patterned film to the highest risk windows at the Belgian Embassy. The film is essentially a pattern of dots that helps to break up the reflection, reducing the risk of birds mistaking the reflection for suitable habitat.
Patterned film is effective at breaking up the reflection sufficiently to significantly reduce the risk of bird collisions.The building after the retrofit. It’s clear that the pattern does not affect the aesthetics whilst reducing the risk to wild birds.
The Belgian Embassy’s work to tackle the risk of bird collisions is the latest in a string of high-profile projects in China.
In 2023, tech giant TenCent retrofitted its flagship HQ in Shenzhen with patterned film following the discovery by concerned staff of dead birds around glass windows.
This year, TenCent went a step further and retrofitted glass around its Beijing office in a similar way.
The glass wall around TenCent’s Beijing HQ was fitted with patterned film and gorgeous bird images to reduce the risk of bird collisions. Photo courtesy of TenCent.
And, in addition to AIIB’s efforts on their HQ, Beijing Forestry University found a creative solution to addressing the risk of bird collisions on their campus following a campaign by students.
A high-risk building at Beijing Forestry University adorned with a beautiful natural scene, as well as patterned film, following a campaign by students. Photo courtesy of Beijing Forestry University.
These are just a few of the recent examples in China, many of which have been inspired by the work of the China Anti-Bird Collision Alliance, a group of volunteers, NGOs and academics coordinated by Duke Kunshan University.
Addressing bird collision risk is one of the elements of the Pledge for `Nature adopted by the Ambassadors for Nature initiative. Together with the New Zealand Embassy’s piloting of ultraviolet patterns to mitigate bird collision risk, the Belgian Embassy’s work sets a great example for others to follow and we expect that other Embassies with significant areas of glass will follow suit.
Thanks again to Bruno Angelet and his team and to ShanShui Conservation Center for supporting this work!
The most recent confirmed Beijing sighting of the North China Leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis), a subspecies of leopard endemic to China, was in the 1970s. A combination of persecution, habitat loss and hunting of the leopard’s prey meant that this magnificent animal was forced to retreat to its stronghold deep in the inaccessible Taihang mountains of Shanxi Province.
For some time there has been a dream to ‘bring home the leopard’ to Beijing and, following greater protection and awareness, habitat restoration and the recovery of populations of prey species, such as Siberian Roe Deer (Capreolus pygargus) and Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), it seems that this dream now seems to be a genuine possibility and most conservationists say it is a matter of when, and not if, the North China Leopard will again be recorded in the capital.
At the end of April, to help accelerate the leopard’s return, a collaborative conservation project titled “Oaks for Leopards” was launched in Beijing. The capital is joining forces with Hebei and Shanxi provinces to restore habitat and provide greater protection for the wilderness of North China, with a view to providing food and habitat for the endangered North China leopard.
The project is jointly initiated by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Chinese Society of Forestry, the Beijing Forestry and Parks Bureau, and the forestry and grassland authorities of Hebei and Shanxi.
The article below appeared in the China Daily on 30 April.
I suspect that the first modern record of leopard in Beijing will be a roaming young male looking for a territory and it may take many more years to establish a viable population.
It’s refreshing to see a positive attitude towards the potential return of an apex predator and it will be fascinating to see how the public reacts if and when this magnificent animal reappears in China’s capital.
This winter (2024-2025) is a poor one for some species we consider to be staple winter visitors in Beijing. Thrush numbers are well down, waxwings are scarce and there are almost no high-elevation redstarts in their usual mountain haunts. Certainly at Lingshan the sea buckthorn crop, which usually sustains good numbers of thrushes and redstarts, is the worst I have seen. Not only have few shrubs produced berries this year but those fruit that were gleaming orange at the beginning of autumn are now anaemic and shrivelled. This is most likely due to the fact that the autumn was wetter and milder than usual which seems to have resulted in most of the fruit succumbing to rot and fungi.
Sea buckthorn berries at Lingshan this winter (January 2025). Most seem to have rotted in the late autumn period, which was unusually mild and wet.
The best ‘thrush-watching’ this winter has been in the city parks, especially at drinking spots. Beijing is generally cold and very dry in winter, so after any juicy berries have been exhausted, winter birds tend to feed more on the drier fruits of cypress trees or similar, requiring them to drink frequently. Finding a spot close to a food source with running water and some cover is the best way to secure good views.
Of the four regular ‘winter thrushes’ in Beijing, Naumann’s (Turdus naumanni 红尾鸫 Hóng wěi dōng) is the most common in lowland Beijing, followed by Red-throated (Turdus ruficollis 赤颈鸫 Chì jǐng dōng), Dusky (Turdus eunomus 斑鸫 Bān dōng) and the scarce Black-throated (Turdus atrogularis 黑颈鸫 Hēi jǐng dōng) in order of abundance. In the mountains, the top two are reversed, with Red-throated the most abundant, followed by Naumann’s, Dusky and Black-throated.
This winter I have spent a bit of time at two regular spots for winter thrushes – Beihai Park and the Botanical Gardens. Although numbers have been relatively low, there has still been a reasonable variety, with some interesting mixes of genes on display. In Beijing it is common to see intergrades, most often between Naumann’s and Dusky and occasionally with the other species. However, as Beijing is a wintering area for these thrushes, we have no way of knowing the true parentage of any individual bird and thus we can only make educated guesses as to the origins based on visible plumage details.
Here are a few images, mostly from this winter, with some comments. As always, comments and corrections are welcome.
First up, some standard Naumann’s Thrushes (Turdus naumanni 红尾鸫 Hóng wěi dōng)
These birds show the classic strongly marked underparts, including undertail coverts and golden-orange fringes to the wing coverts and mantle. I speculate that the bird in the second image is likely a female based on off-white supercilium and dark spotting on throat sides.
I have very few images of Black-throated Thrush Turdus atrogularis 黑颈鸫 Hēi jǐng dōng from Beijing, reflecting the relative scarcity of this species in the capital.
This one from Peking University campus in January 2013.
Intergrades
The following images are of birds that show signs of intergradation. I have added some comments to each and welcome opinions.
Dusky x Naumann’s
By far the most common intergrade in Beijing.
8 January 2025, Beihai Park
This bird is presumably a Dusky x Naumann’s intergrade, showing a mixture of blackish and reddish underpart markings, a long, broad dusky-like supercilium and Naumann’s-like mantle and scapulars.
28 January 2025, Botanical Gardens
This bird looks Dusky-like on first glance but on closer inspection shows prominent reddish markings on the underparts and undertail coverts, most likely evidence of some Naumann’s genes.
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
The two above could easily pass for Dusky Thrushes on first glance but, again, close inspection in particular of the second image, reveals reddish markings on the undertail coverts.
Black-throated x Red-throated
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
With a mixture of red and black feathers on the upper breast, this is presumably a Red-throated x Black-throated.
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
Whilst some dark markings on the throat and upper breast can be indicative of young or female birds, this bird shows some black feathers mixed with red on the lower part of the gorget, suggesting intergradation.
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
This bird shows darker red feathers than usual. Is this an intergrade with Black-throated or just a variation in Red-throated?
5 February 2025
This bird shows predominantly blackish feathers on the gorget but the undertail and undertail coverts are reddish, ruling out a pure Black-throated. The rather heavy marks on the undertail coverts may be indicative of Naumann’s genes.
Black-throated x Naumann’s?
28 January 2025, Botanical Gardens
This striking bird is wintering in the Botanical Gardens and is presumably a Black-throated x Naumann’s intergrade. The obvious black upper breast pattern combined with the Naumann’s like flanks and tail suggest this combination.
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
5 February 2025, Botanical Gardens
Two more images of the same bird showing the flank pattern and undertail coverts.
Red-throated x Naumann’s?
25 December 2021, Botanical Gardens
The denisty of red on the upper breast of this bird, combined with the relatively plain head pattern, may indicate Red-throated genes, while the flanks and reddish panel on the wing suggest Naumann’s.
Red-throated x Dusky?
The images below are from Beihai Park in January 2021. If only the head and breast pattern are considered, my best guess would be a Red-throated x Black-throated Thrush but the rufous wings suggest Dusky or Naumann’s influence. A Red-throated x Dusky may make most sense here.
18 January, 2021, Beihai Park
18 January 2021, Beihai Park
First generation intergrades are probably, in most cases, relatively easy to work out but there must be all sorts of combinations of second and third generation birds, and beyond, out there.
Watching winter thrushes in Beijing is always rewarding. Whether pure or intergrades, the majority are striking birds and a joy to spend time with, even if sometimes we can’t know for sure what we are looking at!
On 26 November, the U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, and his wife, Ms. Elizabeth Baylies, hosted the latest Ambassadors for Nature event at their residence. Entitled “Unexpected Biodiversity of Beijing”, the centrepiece was a lecture by Peking University Professor Luo Shu-Jin about Beijing’s leopard cats. The audience, including ambassadors and senior diplomats from eight countries, Chinese academics, and PhD students, were treated to a wonderful presentation about the secret lives of these elusive predators which can be found in healthy numbers in the mountains and wetlands of Beijing, even inside the 6th ring road.
We learned that Beijing is one of only eight G20 capitals to host populations of wild cats and that the leopard cat is one of the “big 10” mammals in China’s capital city, alongside two species of badger, two species of weasel, masked palm civet, raccoon dog, wild boar, siberian roe deer and Chinese goral.
Professor Luo, ably supported by her students, told the story of Beijing’s leopard cats being photographed at the venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics and, at the end of the talk, presented Ambassador Burns with a personalised photograph of a leopard cat walking a trail with the downhill ski slope in the background.
In his remarks, Ambassador Burns highlighted how diplomatic missions can lead by example by incorporating biodiversity and environmental practices into their operations and facilities. The Ambassador underscored the common interest of the United States, China, and other countries to work together on pressing international environmental challenges, including by tackling climate change at the recently concluded COP 29.
The Ambassadors for Nature initiative is an informal group of 37 ambassadors who have developed and committed to the Pledge for Nature with the aim of incorporating biodiversity into the way diplomatic green spaces are managed and promoting biodiversity among staff and in diplomatic exchanges. For more about the initiative, see this link: https://wildbeijing.org/the-ambassadors-for-nature-initiative/
This post provides the results of a small-scale study of Pallas’s Buntings (Emberiza pallasi, 苇鹀 Wěi wú) in Beijing focusing on racial identification of birds using vocalisations at one site – the ChaoBai River in Shunyi District.
Pallas’s Bunting (Emberiza pallasi) is a common, sometimes abundant, passage migrant and winter visitor in Beijing from breeding grounds in N China, Mongolia and Russia. Autumn arrivals begin as early as August, with the bulk arriving in September and October. Many remain through the winter before departing in April and May.
According to Birds of the World, there are at least three races of Pallas’s Bunting:
pallasi: “breeds in Altai and Sayan Mts E to Transbaikalia and W Amurland (S of Tukuringra Mts) and S to N Mongolia and possibly NE China (Inner Mongolia, N Heilongjiang), perhaps also disjunctly in E Tien Shan; winters in W and N China (Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia).”;
polaris, whose distribution is quoted as “NE European Russia E in Siberia (S to basins of R Angara, R Lena and R Aldan) to Chukotskiy Peninsula, Sea of Okhotsk coast and N Kamchatka; winters in NE and E China, extreme SE Russia (S Ussuriland) and Korea.”;
and lydiae, with a distribution of “S Siberia (Tuva and S Transbaikalia) through N, C and E Mongolia, probably to adjacent NE China (NE Inner Mongolia); non-breeding probably in N China.”
It is unclear whether the race minor is legitimate.
The status of these three races in Beijing has not, to my knowledge, been studied but the recently-published The Birds of China (Princeton, 2024) states: “E.p.polaris is a passage migrant or winter visitor in eastern China; E.p.pallasi is a breeder or passage migrant in northwestern China; E.p.lydiae breeds in Inner Mongolia.”
Given that my local patch at the ChaoBai River in Shunyi District holds good numbers of Pallas’s Buntings during the spring and autumn migration seasons and during winter (counts of three figures are not uncommon from October to April), I decided to conduct an experiment to see whether I could understand more about the races of Pallas’s Buntings that were using this site.
How to identify the different races in the field is not well-understood. However, it appears from sound recordings that there are noticeable differences in the vocalisations of the three races, at least from the spectograms. Geoff Carey provided me with some information about calls of lydiae and polaris from the breeding grounds (some examples are available on Xeno-canto) and also one recording of pallasi. Assuming these recordings are representative of the three races, they offer a way to gain an understanding of the races present at my local ChaoBai River site in Beijing.
Vocalisations of Pallas’s Buntings
In my experience, Pallas’s Buntings in Beijing typically use two calls, which I have labelled as “call-type 1” and “call-type 2”. Call-type 1 is a downward-inflected call, with call-type 2 more level or in some cases slightly upward-inflected.
Here are some examples of the three races (these are all recordings from the ChaoBai River in Beijing)
Lydiae call-type 1
Lydiae call-type 2
Pallasi call-type 1
Pallasi call-type 2
Polaris call-type 1
Polaris call-type 2
If one listens carefully, the calls of lydiae, although similar to pallasi and polaris, have a more ‘buzzy’ tone. This is often possible to distinguish in the field. However, to my ears at least, the calls of pallasi and polaris are extremely similar and, thus far, I have been unable to distinguish between these two in the field.
The good news is that, although the calls of all three races sound similar, the spectograms show some noticeable differences.
Spectograms
Lydiae call-types 1 and 2
Spectograms of the lydiae call types 1 and 2. Note the ‘buzzy/fuzzy’ nature of the latter part of the spectograms.
Pallasi call-types 1 and 2
Spectograms of the pallasi call types 1 and 2. Note the ‘cleaner’ nature of these calls, compared with lydiae, the distinctive ‘humped’ shape of call-type 1. Call 2 is variable but seems to consistently show obvious parallel lines on the first part of the spectogram without the obvious protruding ‘giraffe neck’ of polaris (see below)
Polaris call-types 1 and 2
Spectograms of polaris call types 1 and 2. Again, note the ‘cleaner’ nature of the calls, compared with lydiae, and the different shape, with call-type 1 resembling a heartbeat on a monitor and call-type 2 resembling a giraffe (at least that is how I remember them!).
Over the period October 2023 to May 2024, whenever I visited the ChaoBai River, I placed my sound recorder in an area favoured by Pallas’s Buntings (a scrubby area with long grass and some small bushes – see below) and recorded for one hour. The timing of my visits was usually in the early morning but occasionally was in the late afternoon.
The habitat at the ChaoBai River in Shunyi District – some long grass, reeds and a few shrubs.
I processed the recordings using Audacity to create spectograms of each hour-long file and scanned for calls of Pallas’s Buntings, logging each call and identifying it to race. Over 25 visits, I recorded 21,573 calls of Pallas’s Buntings. Of these, polaris was the most numerous with 13,252 calls, followed by lydiae with 6,985 calls and finally pallasi with 1,336. The graph below shows the volume of calls by race over the period.
Of course, the number of calls does not necessarily give a true representation of the number of individuals – one individual could sit above the recorder and call constantly while many others remain silent – but over time, I think it is reasonable to assume that the volume of calls is indicative of the relative abundance of the races.
In terms of dates, polaris was by far the most numerous taxon between November and March. Lydiae peaked in October and again in April, with a few lingering all winter, and pallasi was by far the scarcest of the three, with only a handful recorded in late autumn and winter, and a distinct peak in late April and May.
These results suggest that polaris is the dominant wintering race in Beijing; lydiae appears to be predominantly a passage migrant in Beijing, with smaller numbers wintering, suggesting that the bulk of this race may winter further south? The relative scarcity of pallasi is perhaps not a surprise given the bulk of this race is thought to breed quite a long way west of Beijing (NW China, W Mongolia), although, according to Birds of the World, it may also breed in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang.
Throughout the winter, I made ad-hoc recordings of a further five Pallas’s Buntings from the Wenyu River, all of which were polaris, reinforcing the suggestion that polaris is the dominant race in winter in Beijing. Interestingly, one recording from c1800m asl at Lingshan in Mentougou District on 30 October 2023 was a pallasi. This race apparently breeds at high elevations in subalpine tundra in high mountains, including the Altai and Sayan Mountains.
Possible plumage differences
During my visits, I was able – on some occasions – to sound record and photograph specific individuals, enabling racial identification of photographed birds. The small number of birds photographed AND sound-recorded means that the sample size is too small for any meaningful conclusions. Nevertheless, I have included some photographs below of positively identified birds with some comments.
As with vocalisations, birds of the race lydiae are perhaps the easiest to identify in the field. They seem to be consistently pale, sandy and with less contrasting upperparts. Adult males in breeding plumage are relatively straightforward to identify on colour/contrast of upperparts alone. For females and immature males, it is more difficult. However, it appears that there may be some structural characteristics that apply to both males and females. For example, from the small sample size, primary projection may be an indicator. Lydiae birds seem to have a relatively short primary projection and certainly appear longer-tailed (the latter may, of course, be a function of the shorter wings). This makes sense given that lydiae is most likely a relatively short-distance migrant compared with polaris, which breeds further north. However, again, I would stress that with this limited sample size, it is impossible to draw firm conclusions.
Photographs
Lydiae
Male lydiae, 10 April 2024
Male lydiae, 10 April 2024
Female lydiae, 10 April 2024
Female lydiae, 30 April 2024
Pallasi
Male pallasi, 16 May 2024
Male pallasi, 14 May 2024
Male pallasi, 16 May 2024
Male pallasi, 16 May 2024
Female (or 2cy male given dark ear coverts?) pallasi, 16 May 2024
Female pallasi, 16 May 2024
Polaris
Note the long primary projection relative to lydiae.
Male polaris, 30 April 2024
Male polaris, 30 April 2024
Male polaris, 24 April 2024
Female polaris, 24 April 2024
Conclusion
From this small experiment at one site, and assuming that the recordings from Xeno-canto on which this study is based are correctly identified, it is clear that three races of Pallas’s Bunting visit Beijing and that, by recording vocalisations, racial identification of individual birds is possible. At the study site, polaris was by far the most numerous, especially in winter, followed by lydiae, which peaked in October and April with a reasonable number in winter, and finally pallasi, the scarcest of the three races by some margin, with a noticeable peak in late April and May.
I hope that this small study helps to enthuse birders about Pallas’s Buntings and encourages more people to gather data from other parts of Beijing, and indeed across China, to better understand the distribution, and movements, of the various races.
Thanks again to Geoff Carey for his support at the beginning of this study and to Patrick Franke for providing some recordings of pallasi from the breeding grounds, which helped to put together the pieces of the puzzle from my recordings at the ChaoBai River site.
Title image: Pallas’s Bunting (Emberiza pallasi), male of the race polaris, ChaoBai River, 24 April 2024 (Terry Townshend)
As we head into a new year, it’s traditionally a good time to reflect on the previous 12 months. After three difficult years of pandemic restrictions, 2023 was a welcome return to at least some kind of normality in China, with the borders opening up and physical meetings again being possible. I have been incredibly fortunate to be involved in some exciting and innovative projects and to work with some of the best people I’ve ever met. I haven’t been very efficient at updating the blog part of the website this year, so here are a few selected highlights from 2023.
First, the nocturnal bird migration study in partnership with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Peking University. Spring 2023 was the fourth consecutive season of recording nocturnal bird sounds from the rooftop of AIIB’s headquarters in Beijing. In total, we recorded more than 83,000 calls from at least 111 species, all from just one building.
Spectograms of the some of the species recorded at night from the roof of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
A draft scientific paper, led by Peking University, has been submitted to a journal for consideration and, in late November, Liu Shuangqi presented the results to the British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) conference. This is the first study of its kind in East Asia and, as well as helping to raise public awareness of the ‘invisible miracle’ that happens over our heads as Beijing’s residents sleep at night (thanks to media articles in China and even in The Economist), it has demonstrated the diversity of birds passing over the capital and, importantly, the diversity of their habitat requirements. It was instructive that the top three species recorded by volume were Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni 树鹨 Shù liù (woodland species), Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis 云雀 Yúnquè (grassland species) and Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax 夜鹭 Yè lù (wetland species). This illustrates that if Beijing is to fulfil its role in the flyway – to secure safe passage of migratory birds – it must provide a balance of natural habitats to help these extraordinary travellers to cross what is, to them, a hostile urban environment. Encouragingly, at the summer 2022 workshop in AIIB to present the initial results, the Beijing municipal government recognised the value of scrub and grassland habitats (until recently classified as ‘waste land’) and committed to integrate the findings of the nocturnal migration project into the way they manage green spaces in Beijing. Given that the Beijing Municipal Forest and Parks Bureau manages 71% of Beijing’s land, that is a big step. The last few decades have seen a heavy emphasis on tree-planting in the capital, often at the expense of scrub and grassland, driven by the use of ‘tree-cover’ as the overriding measure of the quality of the environment. In most cases, when trees are planted, it has usually involved single species monocultures, all the same age and in straight lines, with undergrowth and fallen leaves removed to keep the trees ‘tidy’, resulting in very little biodiversity. We very much hope that this is a turning point towards a more balanced and qualitative approach to habitat management. It’s going to take time to see significant change but, as the capital city of the country that presided over agreement by more than 190 countries on the new Global Biodiversity Framework under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, it would be fitting if Beijing led the way towards aligning the city with biodiversity goals by integrating the needs of migratory birds into urban planning.
We are planning to continue monitoring nocturnal bird migration from AIIB’s roof and have received tremendous support from Cornell Lab (Andrew Farnsworth and Benjamin van Doren) to help with automated detections and identifications, which will make processing the recordings more efficient (thus far, all processing has been done manually). Once we have the automated processing working effectively, we plan to explore the potential for schools to deploy recorders on their campuses as a way to expand the monitoring of migratory birds.. and potentially even set up competitions, for example to see which school records the most Olive-backed Pipits in a season. Huge thanks go to my partners at Peking University, especially Professor Hua Fangyuan and Liu Shuangqi, to AIIB staff for their invaluable support, especially Sir Danny Alexander, Alberto Ninio, Tian Hua, Yan Bo and Li Zeyu, and to the Beijing Municipal government, especially Wang Xiaoping, for the wonderful cooperation and positive response to the findings.
Second, the Ambassadors for Nature initiative has gone from strength to strength. Launched in July 2022 by Clare Fearnley, the former New Zealand Ambassador to China, with 14 founding members, as of 31 December there are 35 ambassadors signed up to support the “pledge for nature”, committing to manage their diplomatic green spaces in a more friendly way for nature. Events this year have been hosted by the Irish, Swiss, Belgian and Slovenian Ambassadors focusing on migratory birds, pollinators and guidance for embassy gardeners, with a field trip to Miyun Reservoir hosted by the Beijing Municipal government.
The Ambassadors for Nature group at the Qingshui River, Miyun District, May 2023.
In addition to encouraging actions – such as planting native pollinator-friendly species, keeping areas wild, reducing and eliminating the use of pesticides, monitoring wildlife and erecting insect hotels, bird and bat boxes to support biodiversity in diplomatic green spaces – the initiative has been a great way to get biodiversity onto the agenda of senior foreign policy officials and to promote international cooperation. For example, thanks to Bruno Angelet, the new Belgian Ambassador, there are plans for a new international cooperation project to study the Beijing Swift involving Chinese, European (Belgian, UK and Swedish) and African (Namibian) scientists, with political support from the Beijing Municipal government and the relevant embassies. And it was thanks to this network of ambassadors that I was honoured to go birding with US Ambassador Nicholas Burns and his wife, Libby, to Shahe Reservoir in Beijing. Following that, Ambassador Burns invited me to a reception at his residence in honour of visiting California governor, Gavin Newsom. I briefed Governor Newsom on the incredible story of one particular migratory bird that connects China and the US (Alaska) – the Bar-tailed Godwit – and discussed the potential for a three-way ‘(Inter)National Park’ involving New Zealand, Yellow Sea of China and Alaska to celebrate this incredible bird as a way of celebrating biodiversity and building bridges. I believe Gavin has high political ambitions, so maybe it planted a seed!
California Governor Gavin Newsom at a reception at the US Embassy in Beijing at the end of his visit to China in October 2023.
The Ambassadors for Nature initiative has also provided opportunities to engage on biodiversity with visiting ministers from a range of participating countries, including the New Zealand Foreign Minister and the Canadian Environment Minister.
With the visiting Canadian Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, at Shahe Reservoir
In addition, building on the success of the Ambassadors for Nature initiative in Beijing, I understand that the New Zealand ministry of foreign affairs is considering the idea of encouraging ALL of its embassies overseas commit to the ‘pledge for nature‘. And the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in the Republic of Korea is planning to begin a similar initiative with foreign embassies in Seoul.
At the same time, several schools have adopted the ‘pledge for nature‘ and are applying it to their campuses. It has been wonderful to work with students and teachers, including at the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), where different groups of students have led on implementing each aspect of the pledge. Helping nature is infectious!
This group of students at the Western Academy of Beijing has taken responsibility for identifying a suitable area to leave wild and to monitor changes in the wildlife, especially insects, for comparison with the remainder of the campus.
Third, I’ve been part of a small group pushing for the control of the sale of mist nets. Despite strengthened wildlife protection laws, improved law enforcement and greater public awareness, mist nets remain one of the biggest killers of migratory birds in China (and SE Asia). Even in Beijing, poachers still operate. In the capital, these criminals target mainly Siberian Rubythroat and Bluethroat for the cagebird trade but data from prosecutors show that mist nets have been used in many large-scale trapping efforts, both for the cagebird trade and for exotic food, all across China. Twice this year I have personally encountered poachers using nets to trap migratory birds in Shunyi District. The map below, produced by Gu Xuan, shows the locations where poachers have been apprehended in Beijing in 2023 alone.
A map showing the locations where poachers have been caught in Beijing in 2023 (Gu Xuan).
The good news is that there is determination to tackle this illegal activity and there is a lot going on behind the scenes that I hope to be able to talk about in a future post. Needless to say, action is starting and, today, if you search for mist nets on e-commerce platforms, a warning appears that it is illegal to capture wild birds, and this is just the start.
At the same time, it is likely that the UN Convention on Migratory Species will promote tackling the illegal killing of birds, including with nets, at its next meeting in February 2024, so I am optimistic that further progress will be made this year both in China and internationally.
Fourth, over the last few years it has been the privilege of my life to work with ShanShui Conservation Center to help set up the “Valley of the Cats” project in Qinghai Province on the Tibetan Plateau. This is the community-based conservation and wildlife-tourism project, working with a village of Tibetan yak herder families. The herder families host visitors in their homes and guide them to look for the special wildlife they have in the area, including snow leopard, wolf, lynx etc. Many visitors remark on what a privilege it is to experience authentic Tibetan hospitality, as well as having the opportunity to see the elusive snow leopard. At the end of 2023, the project is close to passing the milestone of 4 million RMB (GBP 440,000) of revenue, 100% of which has stayed in the community. The project was showcased at the 2nd National Parks forum in Xining in August 2023 as an example of sustainable tourism and a way to bring income into local communities to reward them for their stewardship of important and fragile landscapes, and has won a host of national awards. In late August 2023, following the National Parks Forum, with ShanShui Conservation Center I visited two other (spectacular) villages that are interested in setting up similar initiatives.
A glacier at 5,000m asl near Diqing, Qinghai Province
One of the spectacular valleys in Diqing at 4,900m asl.
There is no doubt that the Valley of the Cats model, focusing on low volume and community-led tourism, can help to bring income to relatively poor communities while protecting fragile ecosystems. However, it is not a model that will work everywhere. In my view, three conditions are required for success: first, the presence of sought after wildlife (to create demand); second, a robust and established community structure that is able to handle decision-making and deal authoritatively with any issues that arise; and third, a supportive local government (essential in China). It will take time to establish similar projects in other villages but the high interest from other communities reflects the potential of this approach to engage and support communities inside China’s national parks. ShanShui Conservation Center, powered by a terrific group of enthusiastic and dedicated young people, is doing brilliant work and I cannot praise them enough for the contribution this NGO is making to conservation in China.
It was during the September visit to Qinghai that we were fortunate to enjoy a stunning encounter with a female snow leopard next to the track.. Alerted by the alarm calls of several marmots as we were driving, we stopped to check whether there was a predator in the vicinity. Looking at the directions faced by the calling marmots, and triangulating their lines of sight, we were able to spot the big cat as she stalked one of the rodents. When just a few metres away, she made a dash but the marmot disappeared down its burrow in a cloud of dust in the nick of time. The video below (low resolution for ease of uploading) was taken just after the failed hunt using my iPhone attached to my Swarovski ATX95 scope.
Watching a snow leopard from the track in the Valley of the Cats, August 2023
Special thanks to Shi Xiangying, Zhao Xiang, Yuqiu (Iris), Jun Yi (Audrey) and Qiuni for their hard work and for a wonderful trip in August.
Fifth, after my brush with TV in 2019 when I enjoyed the incredible experience of filming with Ray Mears as part of his Wild China series, I seem to have somehow become a (somewhat reluctant!) TV presenter in China. In April I spent a week at Tiaozini, Dongtan, Jiangsu Province, with CCTV4 making a documentary to highlight the importance of coastal wetlands and migratory birds. Tiaozini is at the heart of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and is a vital stopover for millions of migratory shorebirds – natural heritage that is shared by 22 countries from New Zealand in the south to Arctic Russia and Alaska in the north. The programme aired in June on prime time TV. And September saw the launch of National Geographic/CICC’s “Road to Carbon Neutrality”, a two-part documentary series. The two episodes, hosted by China-based photojournalist Sean Gallagher and me respectively, focus on nationwide efforts to reduce China’s carbon emissions in order to meet the twin goals of peaking emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2060. Filmed in 2022, navigating all manner of pandemic-related restrictions, the documentary has been shown in more than 50 countries worldwide. And in November I appeared in an episode of UK explorer, Ash Dykes’ series “The Great Wall with Ash Dykes”, speaking with Ash about the wildlife of the Great Wall around Beijing. Later that month I was invited to the studio of CCTV’s international channel, CGTN, to film a talk on the importance of biodiversity and what people can do to help. That aired in early December. It is encouraging to see the growing media interest in biodiversity in China and, although I am not a natural in front of the camera, I am happy to do anything that will help to advance the interests of nature.
Filming in Tiaozini about the importance of coastal wetlands and migratory birds, April 2023
Finally, at the end of the year, I was able to spend Christmas with my family in Norfolk for the first time since 2019. It was a wonderful chance to spend time with my elderly parents and to catch up on some of the incredible wildlife experiences in north Norfolk, especially the spectacular flights of Pink-footed Geese at Holkham.
This year, I was keen to record the awesome sound of the geese and the 22-min soundscape below starts with the wakening of the local Eurasian Wrens and Blackbirds before the Pink-footed Geese begin to lift, passing over in groups, their calls slowly growing in intensity. At 07m50s the local Jackdaws leave their roost and, towards the end, the calls and song of Goldfinches tinkle as the last of the geese leave the roost. Best enjoyed with headphones! Thanks to Holkham Nature Reserve manager, Jake Fiennes, for tips on where best to record the geese.
As if that experience wasn’t incredible enough, for a few days before Christmas, rare nacreous (“mother of pearl”) clouds were visible, providing a stunning backdrop as the geese returned to their roost at dusk…
Pink-footed Geese returning to Holkham National Nature Reserve just after sunset against a backdrop of nacreous ‘mother of pearl’ clouds.
A lone Eurasian Curlew going to roost at dusk as nacreous clouds light up the evening sky.
It was a fitting end to 2023, a reminder of the breathtaking beauty of nature and why I do what I do.
As we begin 2024, I would like to acknowledge the brilliant, and growing, group of conservationists in China who are doing wonderful work to celebrate and protect the special wildlife we have all around us, and the places it needs. It is an ongoing privilege to support what you do!
Finally finally, some of you may have noticed that Birding Beijing has evolved into Wild Beijing. This reflects the broadening interest and coverage of the website. As well as the branding, the web address has also changed from birdingbeijing.com to wildbeijing.org. There will be an automatic redirect for a few months but, in due course, only wildbeijing.org will be accessible, so please update any bookmarks. Subscriptions for alerts about new posts have been automatically transferred to the new site.
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and nature-filled 2024!
Watercolour of an (Amur) Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis, 豹猫, Bàomāo), January 2024. This small cat (around 50% bigger than the average house cat) is native to Beijing and can be found in the mountains and in some wetlands where there is lots of cover. As an ambush hunter it needs scrub and grassland, both habitats that have decreased significantly in lowland Beijing due to development and tree-planting. Primarily nocturnal, sightings during daylight hours are rare. This small painting is in celebration of an incredible sighting in Tongzhou District in December 2023. More details here.
Title image: a Beijing Swift (Apus apus pekinensis 北京雨燕 Běijīng yǔyàn) flying through a rainbow, Wenyu River, June 2023.
I have quite a bit of catching up to do with blog posts. There is a lot happening, which is good, and I’ll do my best to write some posts over the next few days. First up is a short note about the ongoing irruption of Northern long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus 北长尾山雀 Běi cháng wěi shān què) into Beijing.
The first group of these charming birds was seen at the ChaoBai River on 10 October (Terry Townshend and Paul Holt) and, since then, they have been recorded at most birding sites, including many urban parks and even in residential compounds. Known by locals as ‘glutinous rice balls’, they have a high cute factor and are proving popular with birders and photographers alike.
At the same time there has been a noticeable, but on a smaller scale, irruption of Coal Tits (Periparus ater 煤山雀 Méi shānquè), usually scarce in lowland Beijing, and some record counts of Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes 锡嘴雀 Xī zuǐ què), including an impressive 247 at the ChaoBai River on 23 October (Paul Holt). Some record counts of Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus 黄雀 Huáng què), with 347 recorded at Lingshan earlier this week (Paul Holt and Terry Townshend), notable numbers of Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea 白腰朱顶雀 Bái yāo zhū dǐng què) and a smattering of Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra 红交嘴雀 Hóng jiāo zuǐ què) have added to the ‘northern feel’.
The reason for irruptions such as these are poorly understood but likely to relate to food availability in the usual range further north.
The movements seen in Beijing are clearly not unique. Nial Moores in Republic of Korea reported on Facebook:
“Substantial movement of white headed long-tailed tits this winter into inner border region of South Korea too. Much more numerous than in last 5 winters or so. We also have big movements of coal tit at least locally (as locally in part of japan it seems) ; Red crossbills started to move in mid Oct(irruption in Japan too it seems); and eurasian bullfinches started about a week ago. Some treecreepers perhaps moving this winter too?”
The latter two species – Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula 红腹灰雀 Hóng fù huī què) and Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris 旋木雀 Xuán mù què) are both rare in Beijing, especially the former with fewer than half a dozen records and none since January 2020. Could this be the year we see another? And what else could be on the cards – possibly Varied Tit (Poecile varius 杂色山雀 Zá sè shān què) or even the previously unrecorded Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator 松雀 Sōng què)? Time will tell! Whatever happens, it promises to be an exciting winter of birding in the capital.
Title image: one of a group of at least six Northern long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus 北长尾山雀 Běi cháng wěi shān què) on the wooded slopes of Lingshan, Beijing’s highest mountain in Mentougou District, on 31st October.
The Ambassadors for Nature initiative is one year old! To celebrate, H.E. Dr Ann Derwin, Ambassador of Ireland to China, hosted a seminar to commemorate the occasion.
Speakers included 王小平 Dr. Wang Xiaoping, Deputy Director General of Beijing Forest and Parks Bureau, 钱时雨 Qian Shiyu from the Urban Biodiversity team at ShanShui Conservation Center, Chris Liu, a grade 10 student from the Western Academy of Beijing and Irish artist Niamh Cunningham.
H.E. Dr. Ann Derwin, Ambassador of Ireland to China, speaking at the opening of the one year anniversary event.
We heard how the initiative has expanded from 14 original members to 32 today, all of whom have signed up to the Pledge for Nature at ambassadorial level, and about the individual actions at embassies in Beijing, including:
The Irish embassy allocating a wild area with an area greater than 10% and, in spring, it was awash with colour and a haven for pollinators.
France initiating a ‘green embassy’ initiative looking at reducing emissions and supporting biodiversity to align with the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Global Biodiversity Framework
The New Zealand embassy piloting ultraviolet patterns on glass windows to help reduce bird collisions
The Swedish embassy’s elimination of pesticide and herbicide use
Indonesia’s planting of the embassy grounds using only native species
The US embassy’s creation of a wildlife pond and planting of native trees and replacing of traditional vehicles with electric vehicles
UNDP holding capacity building events for staff and making and erecting bird boxes and insect hotels
Belgian embassy hosting a seminar for embassy gardeners to help share best practice
…and many more!
The participants also heard about efforts to ‘export’ the initiative to the diplomatic network beyond Beijing, with efforts underway in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Dr. Wang Xiaoping thanked the embassies for contributing to Beijing’s biodiversity and briefed about the new guidelines for the management of parks in Beijing, in particular the recommendation that 10% of the area of parks in urban Beijing should be left ‘wild’ with minimal management, with the target figure increasing to 20% for suburban parks. This was all part of the vision to make Beijing “a capital of biodiversity”.
Dr. Wang Xiaoping, Deputy Director General of the Beijing Forest and Parks Bureau (which manages 71% of Beijing’s landmass) briefed on the city’s efforts to make Beijing “a capital of biodiversity”.
Chris Liu, a grade 10 student at the Western Academy of Beijing, spoke about how the school had adopted the Pledge for Nature and had teams of students leading on various aspects of implementation, including ‘rewilding’ an area around their ‘duck lake’, monitoring wildlife using infrared cameras and photographing and identifying plants and insects using an APP called “Seek”, designing insect hotels and erecting swift boxes.
Chris Liu gave an overview of actions to support biodiversity at the Western Academy of Beijing
Qian Shiyu of ShanShui Conservation Center, who arrived straight from a pollinator survey in the Botanical Gardens, briefed about the ‘audits’ of embassy grounds undertaken at the German and Danish embassies and how the team was working with the embassies to implement the recommendations.
Qian Shiyu from the urban biodiversity team at ShanShui Conservation Center
Irish artist, Niamh Cunningham, presented samples of her work promoting nature through art, including ‘tree stories’, short videos produced by members of the public about special trees.
Niamh Cunningham gave a thought-provoking presentation on the power of art to promote nature
During the discussion, attention focused on how to build on the year’s achievements, including the potential for an annual award to recognise and highlight extraordinary efforts, a series of interviews with ambassadors to explore why biodiversity is important to them and to learn more about individual embassies’ activities, the potential to design a short leaflet with the pledge for nature that could be translated into multiple languages to help spread the word, and the importance of involving diplomatic children in embassy initiatives.
It was wonderful to receive a written message of support from Clare Fearnley, former NZ Ambassador to China, who was the driving force behind the establishment of the Ambassadors for Nature and who did so much in the early days to build the momentum.
With the enthusiasm and energy from the embassies, there is no doubt that year two promises to be an exciting journey!
Thank you so much to Dr. Ann Derwin, Ambassador of Ireland to China, and her brilliant team especially Fergus Scott, for hosting the event, to the Beijing Municipal Government and ShanShui Conservation Center for their incredible support, to WAB for the excellent collaboration and to all the embassies for fabulous work throughout the last 12 months.
On Friday 28th April the Irish Embassy in Beijing arranged the first Ambassadors for Nature field trip. Hosted by the Miyun District Foreign Affairs Bureau, the group of Ambassadors and senior diplomats visited the QingShui River, one of the rivers that drains into Miyun Reservoir, Beijing’s most important drinking water source and a hotspot for migratory waterbirds.
As well as a two-hour bird walk guided by local experts – Zhang Dehuai of the Miyun Reservoir Forest and Parks Bureau and local bird photographer 安妮 “Annie”, the group enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant, two expert presentations and a discussion on how the international community can share good practice in support of the local government’s efforts.
We totalled 26 species during the bird walk – see below for a full list – with the undoubted highlight being the sighting of two Oriental Scops Owls (Otus sunia 红角鸮 Hóng jiǎo xiāo) roosting close to the path. This species is a summer visitor to Beijing and it’s likely that this pair has recently arrived in the capital after spending the winter in S China or SE Asia.
A pair of Oriental Scops Owls roosting close to the path was a definite highlight.
The first presentation was by Zhang, including a short video of the rich biodiversity of Miyun Reservoir and a summary of the actions being taken to monitor and improve the habitat for water birds, especially cranes.
A lecture by Miyun Forest and Parks Bureau about efforts to manage the area for wildlife
The second was by Tan Lingdi, leader of the urban conservation programme at ShanShui Conservation Center, who spoke about the recent ‘wildlife audit’ of the German Embassy compound and the recommendations developed to help make the compound more friendly for wildlife.
Tan Lingdi from ShanShui Conservation Center presented the results of a ‘wildlife audit’ of the German Embassy compound.
During the discussion there was a commitment from the diplomats to identify and share good practice to help inform the actions of the Miyun local government and great demand for ShanShui to conduct similar ‘wildlife audits’ of other embassies in Beijing. The next such audit will take place on Friday 5 May at the Danish Embassy.
Huge thanks to Ambassador Ann Derwin, Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland to China and her team, especially Fergus Scott and Li Meng, for the arrangements, to the Miyun Foreign Affairs Bureau for hosting, to Zhang and Annie for guiding the bird walk, to Tan Lingdi of ShanShui Conservation Center and to all the ambassadors for senior diplomats for participating.
The Ambassadors for Nature is an informal network of ambassadors in Beijing committed to managing their diplomatic green spaces in a way that is consistent with the new Global Biodiversity Framework agreed by more than 190 countries at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022 under China’s presidency. See this dedicated page for more details.
Title image: the Ambassadors for Nature group at the Qingshui River, including ambassadors and senior diplomats from Ireland, Denmark, Japan, Latvia, United Nations and United States of America.
8 January 2025, Beihai Park
8 January 2025, Beihai Park
Male polaris, 30 April 2024
Male polaris, 24 April 2024
