Continuing the theme of birds in city centre locations (see the previous post on my ‘garden’), this blog post is about a recent survey of the UK Ambassador’s garden.
In May this year the UK Ambassador invited me to survey his garden for birds. Although not a birder, he is interested in the birds in his garden and has been known to interrupt internal meetings with the occasional – “Oh look, there’s a Woodpecker outside the window”.
After making arrangements with security, I planned to visit the garden each day for an hour to log the birds present during the height of Spring migration. The May survey produced a few highlights and one major surprise – Beijing’s first TREE PIPIT (see “First for Beijing: Tree Pipit”). It was always going to be fascinating to repeat the exercise in Autumn and so, in mid-September, I arranged to visit the garden each day for a week.
In total, 30 species were seen and the highlights included:
At least 4 RUFOUS-BELLIED WOODPECKERS (棕腹啄木鸟) on 10th (a record number seen together in Beijing)
3 SIBERIAN THRUSHES (白眉地鸫) on 16th
Single WHITE’S THRUSHES (虎斑地鸫) on 11th, 12th and 16th
A single DAURIAN STARLING (北椋鸟) on 10th
ASHY MINIVET (灰山椒鸟) heard on 16th
BLACK DRONGO (黑卷尾) on 11th
Single SIBERIAN RUBYTHROATS (红喉歌鸲 [红点颏]) on 12th, 13th and 16th
WHITE’S THRUSHES were seen on three dates during the mid-September survey.
A total of 47 species have now been recorded in the Ambassador’s garden in Spring and Autumn, including some difficult-to-see species. You can download the full report (including a systematic list of the species seen). It just goes to show that Beijing is a great location during migration season.
I call it my garden but, as you can see from the photo below taken from our apartment on the 17th floor, it’s more of a communal green space. Nevertheless, until the relatively recent arrival of Jennifer Leung, I am pretty sure I was the only birder covering it on a regular basis and, by regular, I mean maybe once a week during migration season.
My ‘garden’ as viewed from the apartment window. A magnet for migrants.
Anyway, the reason for posting a photo of my ‘garden’ is that yesterday, Wednesday 25th September 2013, I awoke early – too early – and thought I’d have a walk around before breakfast. Late September in Beijing is a pretty special time for bird migration and, after a cold front passed a few days before the temperature had dropped significantly, particularly noticeable at night. Of course this had prompted many birds to move and I was pretty confident of seeing some good birds on my early morning walk. A few YELLOW-BELLIED TITS (黄腹山雀) were a nice start, soon followed by my first PALLAS’S WARBLER (黄腰柳莺) of the autumn (these little gems usually pass through around a month later than the similar YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER (黄眉柳莺) which has been a regular sight and sound in the garden since late August). An ARCTIC WARBLER (极北柳莺), an OLIVE-BACKED PIPIT (树鹨) and the seemingly omnipresent TAIGA FLYCATCHERS (红喉姬鹟) kept the interest going. I sat quietly on my favourite slope from where I can see the base of a small area of bamboo and, almost immediately, a bird flew in and landed less than 5 metres away in the canopy above my head.. Unfortunately it was mostly obscured but I could see a white flash on the closed wing. I immediately thought it could be a DAURIAN REDSTART (北红尾鸲) , a relatively common migrant in central Beijing in late autumn, but something didn’t seem right. I slowly moved to one side in an effort to view more of the bird and suddenly I could see this beautiful bird in full view..
White-throated Rock Thrush, Central Park, Beijing, 25 September 2013. A fitting 50th species for this small green space.
…wow, a WHITE-THROATED ROCK THRUSH (白喉矶鸫)! No sooner had I registered that I was looking at my 50th species in this small green oasis in the middle of this city of 20 million-plus people, it began to sing! Over the next half an hour or so, in between being flushed by, in chronological order, a litter picker, a dog-walker and a man ‘exercising’ by shouting at the top of his voice, I was able to take a series of photos, including one with a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER (大斑啄木鸟) with which it seemed to be loosely associating.
White-throated Rock Thrush (male). A good looking bird….White-throated Rock Thrush. Beautiful plumage and a real treat to see this species so well in the ‘garden’.White-throated Rock Thrush with Great Spotted Woodpecker. An unlikely couple!
The parks in Beijing, in fact not just the parks but any green space, can turn up some real surprises in spring and autumn. It’s not that these places are particularly maintained in any way to attract birds – in fact one could argue that with all the ‘grooming’, it’s the opposite – but a reflection of the fact that there are so many birds migrating through Beijing that even if a teeny weeny percentage of them choose to stop in the city, species that are ordinarily quite difficult to see appear in unexpected places.
The WHITE-THROATED ROCK THRUSH (白喉矶鸫) joins a stellar cast for this tiny green space including JAPANESE QUAIL (鵪鶉), BLYTH’S PIPIT (布莱氏鹨), EYEBROWED THRUSH (白眉鸫), SIBERIAN RUBYTHROAT (红喉歌鸲), SIBERIAN BLUE ROBIN (蓝歌鸲), ASIAN STUBTAIL (鳞头树莺), BROWN SHRIKE (红尾伯劳), THICK-BILLED WARBLER (厚嘴苇莺) and YELLOW-THROATED BUNTING (黄喉鹀) to name a few.
Not for the first time, I thanked my lucky stars that I live in such a great place for birds!
On Saturday 24 August I visited Yeyahu NR with visiting Professor Steven Marsh. I collected Steve from his hotel at 0530 on a beautiful clear, sunny morning and, after a pretty clear run over the mountains past Badaling, we were at the entrance to the reserve by 0645. A juvenile TIGER SHRIKE (Lanius tigrinus, 虎纹伯劳) was a nice surprise along the entrance track, the first time I have seen this species in the capital. Other highlights included a BLUNT-WINGED WARBLER (Acrocephalus concinens, 钝翅 (稻田) 苇莺), 2 SCHRENCK’S BITTERNS (Ixobrychus eurhythmus, 紫背苇鳽), an adult RELICT GULL (Ichthyaetus relictus, 遗鸥) and a juvenile PIEDHARRIER (Circus melanoleucos, 鹊鹞). Unfortunately there was no sign of any STREAKED REED WARBLERS (Acrocephalus sorghophilus, 细纹苇莺), the autumn passage of which peaked between 22 August and 7 September in the 1920s, according to La Touche. I shall keep looking!
Blunt-winged Warbler, Yeyahu NR, 24 August 2013
Full species list below.
Common Pheasant – 1
Mandarin – 3
Mallard – 1
Chinese Spot-billed Duck – 3
Little Grebe – 7
Great Crested Grebe – 8
Yellow Bittern – 3 (2 adults and one juvenile)
SCHRENCK’S BITTERN – 2 (a pair) – seen in the same place as the male seen in early June – possibly a breeding pair?
Night Heron – 4
Chinese Pond Heron – 12
Grey Heron – 2
Purple Heron – 6
Little Egret – 2
Great Cormorant – 1
Amur Falcon – 5
Hobby – 2
Peregrine – 1 juvenile
Black-eared Kite – 1 juvenile
Eastern Marsh Harrier – 3 (one adult male, two juveniles)
Pied Harrier – 1 juvenile
Eurasian Sparrowhawk – 1
Moorhen – 5
Coot – 9
Swinhoe’s/Pin-tailed Snipe – 2
RELICT GULL – 1 moulting adult. My first autumn sighting in Beijing.
Gull sp – 1 juvenile/first winter not seen well enough to id
White-winged Tern – 4 juveniles
Oriental Turtle Dove – 1
Spotted Dove – 5
Common Cuckoo – 1 juvenile
Common Kingfisher – 1
Hoopoe – 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker – 3
TIGER SHRIKE – 1 juvenile. My first in Beijing.
Brown Shrike – 12
Black Drongo – 62
Azure-winged Magpie – one seen from car on return journey
Common Magpie – 12
Eastern Great (Japanese) Tit – 7
Marsh Tit – 4
Chinese Penduline Tit – 9, including at least 3 juveniles
Barn Swallow – c80
Red-rumped Swallow – c20
Zitting Cisticola – 11
Chinese Bulbul – 9
Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler – 1
Thick-billed Warbler – 3
Black-browed Reed Warbler – 15
BLUNT-WINGED WARBLER – 1, possibly 2.
Yellow-browed Warbler – 2
Arctic Warbler – 4
Vinous-throated Parrotbill – c35
Siberian Stonechat – 4
Taiga Flycatcher – 2
Tree Sparrow – lots
Yellow Wagtail – 4
White Wagtail – 2
Having not been birding much recently, Paul Holt and I visited Miyun Reservoir on Saturday in the hope of finding some inland shorebirds. Due to the exceptionally high water levels (we have ‘enjoyed’ a wetter than usual spring and summer this year) we did not find any muddy fringes attractive to waders. Thus, we hardly saw any (just two Black-winged Stilts, one Wood Sandpiper heard only, and 3 Pintail or Swinhoe’s Snipe). However, the day was not without good birds…
Shortly after our arrival, and in fantastically still conditions, we heard this:
A Yellow-legged Buttonquail singing (if you can call it singing!). This is a very difficult to see species and I have only recorded it once before in Beijing – in late May 2012 when I inadvertently flushed one along the Wenyu River. After one burst of song, it fell silent and we didn’t try to see it by walking through the long grass… As it happened we would see another Yellow-legged Buttonquail later that day on the other side of the reservoir, this time a juvenile… Fortunately I managed a (poor) record image before it disappeared into the maize crops.
However, the undoubted highlight was when Paul heard what he immediately thought was a LESSER COUCAL… we investigated and, sure enough, sitting atop a shrub about 200 metres away was a singing male… wow! The first record for Beijing. It proceeded to sing almost continuously for the next hour or so, roaming across a fairly wide area around the reservoir. Although photos were difficult to secure, I was able to obtain this record image.
Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis), Miyun Reservoir, Beijing, 27 July 2013. The first record for Beijing!
Separating Greater and Lesser Coucal is not necessarily straightforward, especially from photographs, so in order to properly document this record it was important to secure a sound recording (song is a good way to distinguish this pair). Using the video facility of our Canon EOS7Ds we made this recording which is of surprisingly good quality!
At one point we could hear the Coucal singing with an Asian Koel calling in the background. Asian Koel, until very recently, was a rare bird in Beijing. It was first recorded in the capital as recently as 1983 and has been occurring with increasing frequency. This year there have been at least 17 sightings!
So, not many shorebirds but the experience of Saturday just goes to show that we should expect the unexpected!
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Lesser Coucal status (courtesy of Paul Holt):
This is the first record for Beijing. There are at least five reports of single Lesser Coucals from coastal Hebei – three from Beidaihe, Qinhuangdao (with sightings at the Heng He Reservoir on the 23 May 2000, Radar marsh on the 23 May 2003 and again at the Heng He Reservoir on the 23 June 2007) and at least two reports from Happy Island, Leting (one on 22/5/2001 & the only autumn record – a single on the 30 September 2007). Interestingly Greater Coucal has also been seen twice at Beidaihe – with one during the 6-8/8/1994 with two from the 9-11/8/1994 (Dierschke and Heintzenberg 1994 & Williams 2000
EDIT: It has been brought to my attention (many thanks to “虚弱人类” on Sina Weibo) that a LESSER COUCAL was photographed in the Olympic Forest Park, Beijing, on 27 June 2012. Images can be seen here. Our record at Miyun, therefore, becomes the second record for Beijing.
This week Birding Beijing has been published in two major Chinese media outlets – The China Daily and The Global Times.
In the second of an excellent new 8-part video series about Wild Beijing, Terry gives an interview on the importance of, and threats to, Beijing’s wetlands.
And an article in The Global Times describes how the fate of Jankowski’s Bunting in Inner Mongolia and Jilin Provinces will be a good test of China’s attitude towards the extinction challenge.
Northern Boobok, Beijing, 4 June 2013. Taken using my Canon EOS 7D and 400mm lens on ISO 6400 and handheld!
After a tip-off, Paul Holt, Alice Carfrae and I spent yesterday evening looking for an owl… not just any owl but a Northern Boobook (formerly known as Brown Hawk Owl but now ‘split’ into a species in its own right). We arrived on site at 6pm and, after a short walk, we soon heard and saw, spectacularly well, this lovely owl: the first time I have ever seen this uncommon species. Unfortunately it was an overcast evening, meaning the light was poor for photography, but it was also very still, enabling us to hear it well.
Although we only saw one bird, it was clear that there were two birds present, probably a pair, with the other bird (a female?) calling at a slightly different pitch.
We were then told about a nearby breeding pair of Oriental Scops Owl and, sure enough, after a 5-minute walk, we were watching and listening to one of these small owls in the company of a few uncomfortably large, low flying bats. Although Oriental Scops Owl is a migrant in good numbers through Beijing, we didn’t know it bred….
There is so little we know about the birds in the capital, let alone the rest of China….!
Brown Accentor (Prunella fulvescens), on the Beijing-Hebei border, February 2013
BROWN ACCENTOR (Prunella fulvescens) is a bird that I have been optimistically looking out for all winter… checking all those Siberian Accentors is a tough job but someone has to do it, right? By rights, Brown Accentors shouldn’t be in Beijing. They breed to the north-west and only the occasional straggler makes it to the capital and is seen. I am aware of only one record, at Shidu, a few winters ago and I don’t know any details such as date or precise location.
It was therefore with some excitement that I saw a report from Beijing-based birder Zhang Shen about a BROWN ACCENTOR at Mentougou, the mountainous district to the west of Beijing. After contacting him, Shen kindly provided some detailed directions and the next day I was on my way…
The mountains to the west of Beijing, on a clear day, are simply stunning. And there are some good roads that help to get you into the heart of this territory where some of the special mountain birds can be seen. We arrived on site at around 0900 after a 2.5 hr drive from central Beijing and it was immediately obvious that we would have a good day. A Cinereous Vulture soaring overhead and landing on a rocky outcrop was a great start. And soon after we were enjoying views of 4 Golden Eagles soaring together, with one even displaying as Red-billed Choughs called and wheeled around the peaks. We reached the Beijing/Hebei border and parked up. A narrow paved road winds to the north, following the Yong Ting River and it was along here that we were told the Brown Accentor had been seen.
The habitat in Mentougou District. Stunning scenery.
A couple of false alarms with Siberian Accentors sharpened us up and, before long, we came across a small flock of Godlewski’s Buntings feeding alongside the track. Checking them carefully, we spotted a couple of Meadow Buntings amongst them and then, suddenly, Jennifer said “ACCENTOR”… No sooner as she had said that, the bird in question dropped behind a boulder and it was an agonising few seconds before it revealed itself again and showed that it was indeed the BROWN ACCENTOR we had hoped for. We watched it for a good 20-30 minutes as it fed around a group of rocks at the base of a cliff-face, in typical accentor style, creeping along the ground with short hops.
Unfortunately for Beijing ‘listers’ this bird seems to prefer an area of rocks just 500 metres over the border into Hebei Province.. maybe some Beijing birders will put down a trail of birdseed luring it over the border….!
On Saturday I went for a walk. A long walk. Actually a little longer than I had anticipated. I estimate that I walked around 13km along the Wenyu River, situated between the 5th and 6th ring roads on the northeast side of Beijing. It’s a favourite haunt of local birder, Shi Jin, and I have visited several times, particularly in late Spring, as the area of rice paddies can be superb for locustella and acrocephalus warblers, as well as small bitterns.
In winter the birdlife is different. Huge flocks of tree sparrows, numbering almost 1,000 in total, and good numbers of buntings, including Yellow-throated, Pallas’s Reed and Pine inhabit the banks of the river at this season. And on the slow-moving water and the muddy fringes, wintering Long-billed Plover, Green Sandpiper and a few winter duck can be found.
This river was also the site where Shi Jin found a putative Whistling Swan in November, discussion about which can be found on Birding Frontiers. My walk on Saturday revealed that this aberrant swan is still there, and still in the company of a ‘normal’ Bewick’s. But it also revealed much more – a real sense of the wealth of species that can be seen on a winter’s day in Beijing.
Here’s what I saw…
Weather: sunny, relatively clear but pollution worsening as the day went on; still; cool first thing (around freezing) but rising to 11 degrees C during the day.
The Wenyu He was remarkably ice-free all the way along.
Full Species List:
Japanese Quail – 2 in the weedy field just east of the riding stables
Common Pheasant – 2 east of riding stables
Bewick’s Swan – 1 with the probable aberrant Bewick’s Swan just north of Picun (near brick building with chimney on northeast shore)
Ruddy Shelduck – 26
Gadwall – 18 (9 pairs)
Falcated Duck – 6 (4 males and 2 females)
Mallard – 395
Spot-billed Duck – 5
Northern Shoveler – 3 (females)
Eurasian Teal – 41
Tufted Duck/Greater Scaup – one female type seen in flight twice but both times distantly. Looked chunky with relatively dark underwing. Worth looking out for if you are in the area.
Goldeneye – 4 (all male)
Smew – 1 redhead
Goosander – 14
Little Grebe – 44
Eurasian Kestrel – 3
Merlin – 1 near golf course east of Jingmi Lu
Eurasian Sparrowhawk – 1
Eastern Buzzard – 3
Long-billed Plover – 7
Green Sandpiper – 6
Oriental Turtle Dove – 6
Spotted Dove – 1
Collared Dove – 1
Crested Kingfisher – 1
Hoopoe – 1
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker – 3
Great Spotted Woodpecker – 1
Grey-headed Woodpecker – 3
Azure-winged Magpie – 39
Common Magpie – lots
Daurian Jackdaw – 350+ in pre-roost flock
Carrion Crow – 6
Large-billed Crow – 2
Eurasian Skylark – 6
Chinese Bulbul – 3
Vinous-throated Parrotbill – 2
Goldcrest – 6 in juniper-type trees just east of Jingmi Lu.
Wren – 1
Naumann’s Thrush – 3
Tree Sparrow – 900+ several flocks of several hundred each
Siberian Accentor – 6
Olive-backed Pipit – 9 together
Brambling – 5
Pine Bunting – 50+ in one pre-roost flock just north-west of Picun
A few weeks ago, after delivering a lecture at Beijing Birdwatching Society, I met one of the volunteers “Zhang Crane” from the Beijing Raptor Rescue Centre. She invited me to visit and, a few days later, I made the short journey across town with Jennifer Leung to take a look.
We were immediately impressed. The facilities were very modern, the staff clearly committed and passionate about birds and the ‘patients’ in their care were looking well.
A selection of leather hoods and gloves used by the centre
The Beijing Raptor Rescue Centre was set up in 2001 and, since then, it has treated 3,500 birds of 33 species. Of those, 52% have been released back into the wild (this figure is increasing over time as treatment becomes more advanced). Most have been picked up in the suburbs of Beijing; young birds, recently fledged, victims of illegal nets and birds found for sale in the bird markets of Beijing form the bulk of the patients.
We were shown around by Tong Guo Liang (English name Gavin Tang), one of the 4 full-time staff who, together with a host of volunteers, run the centre 365/24/7. He told us about the case of a Eurasian Kestrel, currently in care, that was brought in with a broken wing. After an operation to implant a pin, painstaking care and strength-building activities in an outside aviary, the staff were confident this bird would be released back into the wild.. a heartwarming case.
We were given a tour of the facilities and shown some of the other patients. A female Amur Falcon and a Eurasian Hobby looked a bit out of place on a chilly winter day but were clearly doing well. Others included a Long-eared Owl, Peregrine, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Japanese and Eurasian Sparrowhawks and a magnificent Golden Eagle. Each cage had a board on the door indicating the species and the amount of food it required each day…
This sign reveals the occupant is an Amur Falcon taken into care in November 2012 and requiring 2 chicks a day.
The Golden Eagle had been brought in by a Beijinger who had been travelling back by car from Inner Mongolia. He had seen a local guy selling the eagle by the side of the road. Heartbroken to see this magnificent raptor in such a state, he bought it, thinking that he would simply release it in a suitable area. After a failed attempt to release it – the bird couldn’t fly – he took it to the raptor rescue centre on his return to Beijing. Examination revealed that it had a hole in one of its wings and infected feet. It took three attempts to heal the hole in the wing but now, after 6 months at the centre, it seems to be improving and the chances of it being released back into the wild were given as 50/50.
The Golden Eagle rescued from a roadside seller in Inner Mongolia
The centre is part-funded by IFAW – the International Fund for Animal Welfare – and is based at Beijing Normal University in the northwest of the city. They welcome visitors, and of course, donations!
Ornithologically, this winter is proving to be a good one in Beijing. As well as more sightings of regular, but scarce, winter visitors such as Mongolian and Shore Larks, Great Bustards, Japanese Waxwings and both Pallas’s and Long-tailed Rosefinches, Beijing has also benefited from the well-reported irruptions from the north and east. The capital’s first records of Varied Tit came hot on the heels of the irruption reported in South Korea and on the east coast of China and, last weekend, the capital’s first record of Bullfinch appeared in the Botanical Gardens.
With these latter birds prominent in my mind, I paid a visit to the Botanical Gardens on Saturday. With its mix of pine and deciduous trees, berry bushes and shrubs, it is one of the best locations for city birding in Beijing at any time of year. Winter can be particularly rewarding with many thrushes (Dusky, Naumann’s, both Red- and Black-throated and ‘Chinese’ Blackbird are regular) and roving tit flocks – mostly Japanese (Eastern Great), Marsh and Yellow-bellied – can act as host to any unusual visitors. Amazingly, a few Pallas’s Warblers always seem to eke out a living in the capital and the Botanical Gardens are as good a place as any to see them at this time of year.
Pallas’s Warbler (Phylloscopus proregulus). Amazingly, a few of these hardy little birds survive the Beijing winter.
Early winter, with a plentiful supply of berries, is best for the irregular waxwings with both Bohemian and Japanese present in a ‘good waxwing year’. And the resident Chinese Nuthatches and Red-billed Blue Magpies add a splash of colour. In the hills beyond the gardens, leafless shrubs mean that winter is a great time to see the skulking Chinese Hill Babbler and Plain Laughingthrush.
One could easily spend all day in the gardens and, even then, it would be impossible to cover it all. I find the most productive areas are the berry bushes between the south and south-east gates (good for waxwings and thrushes), Cherry Valley with its often unfrozen stream (any insectivorous birds are likely to be found here and other birds often come here to drink), the ‘arboretum’ (Hawfinch and Grosbeaks) and the conifer collection (tits and nuthatches).
On Saturday, after the snow on Friday, the gardens were looking good and, with little wind, it was a good day to familiarise oneself with the calls of the residents.
‘Chinese’ Blackbird (Turdus merula mandarinus) is still officially a subspecies of Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) in most field guides. However, they are clearly different and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were split into their own species sooner or later. Larger and with a more strident call, they are distinctive birds and I enjoyed good views of 7 of these thrushes feeding under some juniper trees near the entrance.
There was no sign of any waxwings – most of the berries had already been eaten – so I moved on to the arboretum and conifer collection, encountering a couple of flocks of Yellow-bellied Tits (Periparus venustulus) along the way. Marsh and Japanese (Eastern Great) Tits were also prominent and a nice flock of 12 Chinese Grosbeaks (Eophona migratoria) was a joy. Chinese Nuthatches (Sitta villosa) called from the treetops and were busy collecting, and hiding, seeds. A large mixed group of 40+ thrushes (mostly Naumann’s) scattered after being disturbed by some walkers. And a couple of Red Squirrels chased each other around the base of a conifer.
Chinese Nuthatch (Sitta villosa), one of the residents of the Botanical Gardens in Beijing
Checking the tit flocks for an eloper is always good practice. A couple of over-wintering Pallas’s Warblers were tagging along and three Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpeckers tapped away from the upper branches..
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus canicapillus), a resident in Beijing.
It was a good opportunity to study the Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker and, on returning home, I compared it with the similar (but much rarer in China) Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (which must be a candidate to occur in central Beijing). Here is an image of a Japanese, taken last winter in Liaoning Province, to compare.
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki), Liaoning Province.
Note the slightly shorter bill on the Japanese and also the different head pattern. Grey-capped have an unbroken white marking starting above the eye and reaching to the back of the head. On Japanese, the white marking above the eye is separated from the white on the rear of the head. Japanese also have paler underparts with streaking concentrated at the top of the breast. The call is also very different. Listen here for a Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker and here for a Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker.
At one point I was certain I heard a Eurasian Treecreeper but it only called once and I never saw it.. They are scarce in Beijing but it would be no surprise that one or two are in the capital with the winter we are having.
Despite searching the area thoroughly I failed to see any Varied Tits and the Bullfinch, if it is still around, proved elusive. However, it was another enjoyable and productive day of birding in the capital. With the temperature forecast to plummet this week to around -20 degrees Celsius, I am itching to get out to Wild Duck Lake to see whether the snow and cold has brought in any northern specialities…
All I want for Christmas is a Pallas’s Sandgrouse…. Santa – are you listening?
Today I did something unusual. I ‘twitched’ a bird in Beijing. But it wasn’t just any bird; it was a JAPANESE ROBIN (Larvivora akahige).
A friend sent me a message yesterday afternoon to say that one had been discovered in a small park close to Beijing West Railway Station and near the 3rd Ring Road. It seemed an unlikely spot for what, I believe, is only the second record of this species from Beijing Municipality. That’s the beauty of birding – just about anything can turn up anytime and anywhere.
I arranged to meet new Beijing resident birder and friend, Jennifer Leung, at 0645 for the short journey to the site, where we met with Zhu Lei and a few of his birding companions. I knew that this bird would be popular with bird photographers, a growing band of which is active in Beijing. I didn’t quite expect the crowd that greeted us on arrival. There were at least 30 photographers already lined up in a semi-circle around the robin’s favoured stand of bamboo. It was very sociable and people were chatting and drinking tea while waiting for the bird to appear.
Bird Photographers at the Japanese Robin site in Beijing, 24 November 2012. How many pairs of binoculars do you see?? 🙂
They didn’t have to wait very long. Someone spotted the Japanese Robin as it headed towards the open ground. Silence suddenly descended on the crowd as everyone focused their lenses on a small stone, around which some meal worms had been placed. Out popped the Japanese Robin and there was a brief volley of camera shutters, as if Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had just arrived at the Oscars, before the bird darted back into cover.
I concentrated on watching the bird during this first brief appearance. In size and behaviour it reminded me very much of the European Robin I am so used to from home. But somehow it was more exotic, with wonderful contrast between the bright orange throat and black-speckled grey breast. A really beautiful bird.
The robin continued to make regular forays from its favoured patch of bamboo, much to the delight of the photographers and, as the sun moved higher in the sky, the light improved, enabling some good images to be captured, even with my relatively small 400m lens!
Japanese Robin, Beijing, 24 November 2012. A stunning, and most unexpected, bird.
A little later I was fortunate when I found the robin foraging along a different part of the bamboo and, as I sat motionless, it hopped to within a metre of me. I just watched in awe as the robin held its head to one side, as if to weigh up what I was, before carrying on along the edge of the bamboo… wow.. what an encounter. It appeared to have a bad eye – on occasions it would close its left eye for several seconds at a time before slowly reopening it. In all other respects it looked healthy and seemed to be moving and feeding ok.. Hopefully it’s not a serious problem.
Japanese Robin, Beijing, 24 November 2012. Although generally preferring the shade of the bamboo, occasionally it emerged into the open and posed for the cameras.
As far as I know there is only one previous record of Japanese Robin in Beijing. That bird, like this one, appeared in the second half of November. It was photographed in the Botanical Gardens. Many people thought it was probably an escape. However, with this year’s bird appearing around the same time of year, together with another bird in Shanghai in recent days, it seems likely that this bird is wild. I spoke today with a local birder who told me he had, over a ten year period, seen over 300 species of bird in Beijing’s Bird Market (astonishing in itself) but that he had never seen this species there.
Whatever its origins, it is a stunning bird and one well worth spending a few hours observing today. Thanks to Jennifer Leung, Zhu Lei and his friends for their fun company today.
The Chinese Hill Babbler (Rhopophilus pekinensis), also known as the Chinese Hill Warbler or White-browed Chinese Warbler, is usually on the list of “most wanted” birds for visiting birders. It has a limited distribution but is quite common in the hills around Beijing. It’s a bird that has a lovely repertoire of vocalisations and is often heard before it is seen.
On my most recent visit to Wild Duck Lake, I came across 4 of these delightful birds, possibly a family party. Although usually a bird of elevation, they descend in winter and are regularly seen at Wild Duck Lake from October to March (an altitude of around 500 metres above sea level). They are occasionally seen at this site in summer, too, and I suspect they bred there this year.
Most field guides call this bird “Chinese Hill Warbler” but it is clearly not a warbler and much more like a babbler, hence the name most local birders prefer to use – Chinese Hill Babbler. They are inquisitive birds and, with a bit of ‘pishing’, they often come quite close to investigate…
Chinese Hill Babbler (Rhopophilus pekinensis), Yeyahu NR, Beijing, 29 October 2012Chinese Hill Babbler, Yeyahu NR, 29 October 2012. Absolutely NOT a warbler!
And here is a recording of one of the birds from Yeyahu NR… a great sound!
On Wednesday morning I met up with Shi Jin and Per Alström for a spot of birding before work. We decided to visit Wenyu He (Wenyu River) on the north-east boundary of central Beijing (in Chaoyang District for those of you who know China’s capital city). It had rained hard overnight but the morning was fresh and clear with unusually fantastic visibility.
We did rather well with several migrating Oriental Honey Buzzards (never common over the city centre), several Black-naped Orioles and a good count of egrets, including at least 28 Great and 16 Little. But the highlight of the morning was Beijing’s first confirmed record of GREY-TAILED TATTLER. Found by Per feeding on the river edge (that’s the tattler feeding, not Per), it soon flew from the far side of the river (outside central Beijing) to the nearside (definitely central Beijing!). It did not need to do so to be the first documented record from Beijing Municipality but, in so doing, it also became the first for central Beijing city proper! Shi Jin could not hide his excitement at adding this bird to his local patch list and managed some great images viewable on his Chinese Currents website. A couple of my efforts are below.
Grey-tailed Tattler is predominantly a coastal bird in China and any inland record is a good one. To see one in the capital was most unexpected. Well done Per – we look forward to more finds of this quality during your stay in Beijing!
Grey-tailed Tattler, Wenyu He, Beijing, 12 September 2012. A great find by Per Alström.Grey-tailed Tattler, Wenyu He, Beijing. Showing the relatvely uniform upperparts in flight.
Observing this bird, I wasn’t sure I could separate juvenile Grey-tailed from Wandering Tattler. I asked the experts and this is what they said (with apologies for quoting their off the cuff comments!):
“Separate the two tattlers with great care. Calls are by far the best way with Grey-tailed resembling a Ringed Plover & Wandering sounding reminiscent of a Whimbrel. Juv. Grey-tailed have obvious white fringes on wing coverts – these are much narrower & less contrasting on Wandering. Wandering also has a longer primary projection with often 5, not 4, pps visible beyond the longest tertial.
You need to be really close (or have a big lens) to see whether the scaling on the back of the upper legs is ladder-like as in Grey-tailed or irregularly shaped & scaly as in Wandering. Similarly close to see that Wandering has a long nasal groove (more than half the length of its bill); Grey-tailed’s nasal groove is shorter.”
and
” juv Wandering has much more extensively dark flanks than juv Grey-tailed, if I remember correctly also darker breast contrasting more with the belly and darker upperside. ”
So, there you go. Always learning! As it happens, we did hear this bird call and it was reminiscent of Common Ringed Plover, so that’s a clincher even without the images showing the nasal groove (sounds a bit like a new trend in Indie music – can you do the nasal groove?)
Full Species List:
Japanese Quail – 1 flushed by Per and Steve in the scrubby area to the east of the riding stables.
Mallard – 120+
Spot-billed Duck – 4
Garganey – 1
Eurasian Teal – 2
Little Grebe – 9
Night Heron – 4
Chinese Pond Heron – 12 (7 adults and 5 juveniles)
Grey Heron – 5
Great Egret – 28
Little Egret – 16
Great Cormorant – 16
Eurasian Kestrel – 1
Oriental Honey Buzzard – 17 drifted south-east (9 @ 0904, 2 @ 0917 and 6 @ 1030)
Japanese Sparrowhawk – 1 probably this species SE
Grey-headed Lapwing – 3
Common Snipe – 11
Spotted Redshank – 4
Marsh Sandpiper – 1
Common Greenshank – 8
Green Sandpiper – 12
Wood Sandpiper – 6
GREY-TAILED TATTLER – 1 juvenile (a rare inland record and possibly the first confirmed record for Beijing)
Common Sandpiper – 3
Black-headed Gull – 1 juvenile/first-winter
Oriental Turtle Dove – 4
Spotted Dove – 2
Cuckoo sp – 1
Hoopoe – 3
Wryneck – 1
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker – 1
Brown Shrike – 3
Black-naped Oriole – 5
Black Drongo – 1
Azure-winged Magpie – 15+
Common Magpie – 15+ feeding along the river
Barn Swallow – 30+
Red-rumped Swallow – 4+
Lanceolated Warbler – 1
Pallas’s Grashopper Warbler – 1 probable
Oriental Reed Warbler – 1
Dusky Warbler – 1 probable
Yellow-browed Warbler – 4
White-cheeked Starling – 4
Siberian Stonechat – 9
Taiga Flycatcher – 2
Tree Sparrow – lots
Eastern Yellow Wagtail – 2
White Wagtail – 4
Richard’s Pipit – 2
Olive-backed Pipit – 2
This autumn I have a bird on my target list. It’s a bird that, in reality, I probably have almost no chance of finding because, as far as I am aware, there have been only a handful of records from anywhere in the last few years – Streaked Reed Warbler. The paucity of records may be at least partly due to the lack of observers in its breeding areas (thought to be north-east China and south-east Russia) but, from recent reports from its known wintering grounds in the Philippines, this bird is declining very rapidly.
I was inspired by reading some notes from La Touche at the turn of the century who described Streaked Reed Warbler as “swarming” in late August and early September at Beidaihe. But it was more with hope than expectation that I visited Yeyahu Nature Reserve this weekend with the intention of scrutinising the reed-beds for Acro warblers.
After hearing several “tack”-ing Acro warblers that revealed themselves to be the relatively common Black-browed Reed Warbler, I discovered a singing Acrocephalus warbler.. not what I expected in September! It was difficult to pick up given the noise from the earth-movers and heavy vehicles associated with the major works ongoing at Yeyahu to make it more “tourist friendly” (more on that in a later post!). Frustratingly I couldn’t see it, despite waiting in the area for around 45 minutes. Then a Chinese Grey Shrike appeared, clearly spooked the singing bird and it fell silent. After waiting around for a while just in case it started to sing again, and with no sign, I left to cover more of the reserve but with a yellow sticky note in my mind to return later.
After covering the remaining reed-beds and finding more Black-browed Reed Warblers and several Oriental Reed Warblers, I returned to the same spot in the late afternoon. Incredibly, it (or a different bird) was singing again just a few metres from the original spot. This time, without the din of the earth-movers (they had packed up for the day), I was able to record it using my video camera. It didn’t sound like a Black-browed Reed Warbler but these Acro species can sound very similar, so I wasn’t sure.
I tried ‘pishing‘ and immediately it popped up for the briefest of moments before dropping out of sight. My impression was of a very warmly coloured bird with a strikingly white throat and lacking the well-marked face and blackish ‘brow’ of Black-browed. I pished again. Again it clambered up a reed stem and looked at me curiously.. This time I was able to rattle off a few images with the camera before it dropped again. It continued to sing from its perch out of sight. I looked at the images on the camera and immediately knew it was not a Black-browed Reed Warbler. Any other small Acrocephalus warbler would be very interesting. The likelihood was that it was either a Manchurian Reed Warbler or a Blunt-winged Warbler, both rare in Beijing. Given the bird’s warm colouration, my instinct suggested Manchurian Reed Warbler as I had found a Blunt-winged Warbler in spring at Yeyahu which was much paler than this bird. However, the face pattern – with a supercilium in front of the eye but not behind and the lack of a black upper border – fitted better Blunt-winged. The wings also looked incredibly short, also good for Blunt-winged. An email exchange with Paul Holt confirmed it as a Blunt-winged. Apparently both Manchurian Reed and Blunt-winged look much ‘warmer’ in autumn after their moult. Result!
Blunt-winged Warbler used to breed at the Summer Palace in Beijing but in recent years it has become a real rarity in Beijing. With a disjunct population, Blunt-winged Warbler is also present in parts of Central Asia and north-east India. The small population in northeast China has been the subject of speculation that it could be a different species, especially given the habitat preference seems to be different. However, my understanding is that DNA analysis has shown that they are identical.
It is certainly unusual, but not unprecedented, for Acrocephalus warblers to sing in autumn. Several of the Oriental Reed Warblers on site were still chuntering away, albeit half-heartedly.
So, no Streaked Reed Warbler (yet) but the Blunt-winged Warbler was a nice consolation! Here are a couple of images.
Blunt-winged Warbler, Yeyahu NR, 8 September 2012. Note how the supercilium is strong in front of the eye but absent behind it. In Manchurian, the supercilium should also be present behind the eye with a narrow black upper border.Blunt-winged Warbler, Yeyahu NR, 8 September 2012.
The Jankowski’s Bunting (Emberiza jankowskii) is a very rare bird. So rare that, without immediate action, it could slip away before the end of this decade. Unfortunately this little bird isn’t big or furry and doesn’t have a spoon-shaped bill. Instead it falls into the “Little Brown Job” (LBJ) category of birds. Added to the fact that it lives in a rarely visited part of northeast China, this means that its rapid and accelerating journey towards extinction has been progressing with seemingly little effort to save it and even less public awareness. That, I hope, is about to change.
This beautiful bunting, sometimes known by the more descriptive, but less endearing, name of Rufous-backed Bunting, was once described as locally common across its range including Far Eastern Russia, North-eastern China (Heilongjiang, Jilin and Inner Mongolia) and North Korea. But in the last couple of decades, in particular, it has suffered a calamitous population decline. It is now thought to be extinct in Russia, its status is unknown in the small historical range in North Korea and there are only a handful of known individuals hanging on at a few sites in northeast China. Although there are probably some sites yet to be discovered, the total number of individuals seen in 2012 so far is, as far as I am aware, under 30.
Jankowski’s Bunting (Emberiza jankowskii). An adult male at a breeding site in northeast China. Photo by Lei Zhu.
Habitat destruction is almost certainly the main cause of the decline. Jankowski’s Buntings just love grassland peppered with Siberian Apricot (Prunus sibirica) bushes. Over-grazing and a devastating, long-term, drought in the region have decimated its habitat. This, combined (pun unintended) with the cutting of grassland for hay during the breeding season, is thought to have been responsible for the precipitous drop in numbers of Jankowski’s Buntings in recent years. And, on top of that, although northeast China regularly experiences cold winters with temperatures down to -30 degrees C, a particularly harsh winter in 2000-2001, during which unusually deep snow covered the region, is thought to have hit hard the already vulnerable population.
Hope.
Despite the alarm bells, all is not yet lost. BirdLife International, in partnership with local groups, has recently begun a project to raise awareness of this bird’s plight and establish a robust conservation action plan. Following the first conservation workshop dedicated to the Jankowski’s Bunting in June 2012 in Jilin Province, there is now a glimmer of hope that some of the pieces of the jigsaw needed to help preserve this species are being put in place. A growing number of local people are interested in doing what they can to protect the bird’s habitat through more sympathetic land management, an education and awareness programme is planned for local schools, and more widely via social media, and population surveys are being conducted by the Beijing Birdwatching Society at known, and potential new, sites to try to establish a more accurate picture of population levels.
Despite being thought to be mostly sedentary and/or a partial migrant (even this is not fully known!), there are historic records of the Jankowski’s Bunting from Beijing and it is also the “Endangered” species with a population closest to the Chinese capital. Living in Beijing, I certainly feel a sense of responsibility to do something to help protect this bird before it slips into extinction. I hope others will, too. The resilience of nature is such that, given the right support, species can return from the brink. If man shows the will, nature will find a way.
Jankowski’s Bunting was first described by Polish zoologist Wladyslaw Taczanowski in 1888 from a specimen of an adult male collected by fellow Pole, Michal Jankowski during an expedition in 1886. Michal Jankowski (1840-1903) was a Polish exile sent to Siberia 1864 and worked with other prominent ornithologists Dybowski and Godlewski (of Godlewski’s Bunting and Blyth’s Pipit fame) on several expeditions to Far Eastern Russia, northeast China and Korea.
Many thanks to Jim Lawrence, Mike Crosby, Vivian Fu and Simba Chan from BirdLife International for their input to this blog post and to Martin Hale for use of the Jankowski’s Bunting image. Exceptionally, this post has been simultaneously published on Birding Beijing and Birding Frontiers.
After a superb juvenile Little Curlew was seen and photographed at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing last week, and a report of a male Narcissus Flycatcher in the grounds of the Xiyuan Hotel, I was motivated to get out this weekend to check a local park for early migrants. And so on Sunday, in the excellent company of Paul Holt and Wang Qingyu, I headed for the Olympic Forest Park, one of the best parks in Beijing for birds. After cycling up to the park, I met Paul and Qingyu at the southern gate at around 0645 and spent the next 7-8 hours birding both the southern and northern sections on a gorgeous sunny (but hot and humid) day.
In total we logged 35 species, not a bad haul in August in central Beijing.
Full species list (courtesy of Paul):
Mallard 22 in Olympic FP on 19/8/2012. 19 of these (86%) were adult males with just one definite female
Yellow Bittern 7, including two juveniles being fed by a parent
Black-crowned Night Heron 6, including at least three juveniles & one adult
Chinese Pond Heron 5, including at least two juveniles and one second calendar year
Grey Heron 1 juvenile
Great Egret 4, at least one of which was an adult.
Little Egret 5
Amur Falcon 1 adult female flew south. Apparently a record early date for a bird in the process of migrating. Migrants are often difficult to distinguish from breeding birds but the location, well away from known breeding sites, and the bird’s behaviour are both strongly indicative of this bird being a migrant. Note that another bird, suspected at the time to have been an early autumn migrant was seen at Wild Duck Lake on this same date in 2003 (an unattributed record in the 2003 CBR). Note however that WDL is now known to hold breeding birds – and possibly did so back in 2003.
Common Moorhen 3 adults
Green Sandpiper 1 adult.
Common Sandpiper 1 was heard
Spotted Dove 4 singles
Large Hawk-cuckoo 1. Known predominantly as an uncommon, rather local breeding summer visitor in Beijing it’s always scarce away from breeding sites. What’s more this often unobtrusive species apparently stops singing before the middle of July and there are remarkably few encounters in Beijing after then. Note however that specimens were procured at Liangxiang on 5 September 1961 & Baihua Shan on 23 September 1976 (both Cai 1987) and an exceptionally late bird was reported at Baiwang Shan on 17/10/2009. (aiyuanyang wanggangge via BirdTalker)
cuckoo sp. 1 bird, probably either a Common or Indian Cuckoo, was seen briefly & in flight.
Common Kingfisher 1
[Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker 1 bird, possibly this species, was seen poorly]
Great Spotted Woodpecker 3, including an adult female
Grey-headed Woodpecker 1
Brown Shrike 8, including one presumed family group of five birds
Black-naped Oriole 1.
Black Drongo 5
Azure-winged Magpie 20, including several locally fledged juveniles
Common Magpie 25, including several locally fledged juveniles
Light-vented (Chinese) Bulbul 32, including several locally fledged juveniles
Barn Swallow 40, including several presumably locally fledged juveniles
Red-rumped Swallow 5
Yellow-browed Warbler 2 singles (one seen & the other only heard). These are apparently the earliest of the very few August reports from Beijing.
Oriental Reed Warbler 11, including several locally fledged juveniles
Vinous-throated Parrotbill 12 together
Crested Myna 3, two adults and a juvenile together
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 50
Yellow Wagtail 2 separate juveniles, one apparently macronyx & the other apparently simillima.
Grey Wagtail 1
[White Wagtail 1 bird, possibly this species, was glimpsed in flight]
Richard’s Pipit 1 was heard flying high to the south. Richard’s Pipit is one of the first passerine migrants of the autumn in Beijing with birds that are definite migrants i.e. birds away from breeding sites starting to be seen towards the end of the the first week of August (the earliest autumn records involve one near Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 6/8/2009 & two singles that flew south there on the 7/8/2010 [both PIH]). However it’s at least towards the end of the third week of August before sightings become anything close to being regular.
Olive-backed Pipit 1 was heard over. There is perhaps only one other August record of this species from Beijing – an exceptionally early bird near the Xin Zhuang bridge over the Chaohe, Miyun on the 7/8/2010 (PIH).
Grey-capped Greenfinch 5, including at least one presumably locally fledged juvenile
Bunting sp. 1 was heard.
[Escape: Scaly-breasted Munia 2 in the reed bed just to the north of the ‘Underground Corridor’.]
It is clear that autumn migration is underway. And whilst passerines are only just beginning to move, shorebird migration is now in full swing. Next weekend, Paul and I will be heading for the coast to check out a site in the north of the Bohai Bay. Watch this space!
With mid-summer a little slow on the birding front in Beijing (the heat, as much as anything, makes birding uncomfortable), I decided to use the opportunity of a free sunday afternoon/evening to check out the local Common Swift (Apus apus) colonies in Tiananmen Square. The subspecies in Beijing is pekinensis and it is a common breeder in the old-style buildings and hutongs, exploiting gaps under tiles as nesting areas. They supposedly winter in Africa with the nominate Common Swifts from Europe (I don’t know if this has been proved through ringing recoveries – comments welcome).
In Beijing the only other swifts frequently seen are the Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus) and, on passage, the very different White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus). Neither should cause any identification problems.
The pekinensis subspecies of Common Swift is a potential vagrant to Western Europe but, for me at least, picking out one would be challenging. There has been some discussion of this possibility before and, I think, a few papers in the various birding journals, some of which warn of possible confusion with the similar Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus).
So it was with this in mind that I went to check out the pekinensis swifts at Tiananmen. The first thing I learned was that they are variable and that the same individuals can look quite different in changing light conditions. Although structurally the pekinensis birds look like the nominate Common Swift, some exhibit plumage characteristics (e.g. a dark eye mask, ‘cold’ tones, a dark ‘saddle’) that, in a European context, might suggest the closely related Pallid Swift if only brief or distant views are gained.
Anyway, here are a few images from Sunday evening with some personal comments.
Common Swift ssp pekinensis, Beijing. Typical Common Swift structure with ‘scythe’-like wings and a relatively deep fork to the tail. Note also the contrastingly dark underwing coverts.Common Swift ssp pekinensis, Beijing. Again, note the contrasting dark underwing coverts. The white throat patch contrasts with the side of the head.Common Swift ssp pekinensis. This individual shows quite a distinctive dark eye patch, reminiscent of Pallid Swift, and a strong pale throat patch.Common Swift ssp pekinensis. Again, showing a dark eye mask but with dark underwing coverts and light ‘scaling’ on the underparts. Note that many birds flew with trailing feet.. I wondered if that was a reaction to the heat?Common Swift spp pekinensis. This individual appeared darker overall and with a less obvious throat patch. One thing I learned – these birds can look quite different in changing light conditions.
Another observation from Sunday was the variability of the white throat patch, linked to the crop. Compare these two images of two different birds in similar flight positions – one with a full crop, the other with an empty crop. Striking!
Common Swift ssp pekinensis with full crop. Note the striking pale throat.Common Swift ssp pekinensis with empty crop.
In conclusion, if seen well, these pekinensis birds should not cause major confusion with Pallid Swift. The combination of structure and plumage (relatively narrow scythe-shaped wings, slim body, relatively deep forked tail combined with dark underwing coverts, ‘warm’ plumage tones and a lack of an obviously dark eye mask) should be enough to make identification relatively straightforward. But beware that, in some light conditions, some pekinensis Common Swifts can display one or more Pallid-like plumage features!
However, picking out a pekinensis among Common Swifts, or identifying a single individual in Western Europe in late autumn is another challenge and one I would not be so sure about meeting!
Finally, at one point on Sunday all of the swifts suddenly stopped wheeling around the Qianmen Gate at Tiananmen and gained height fast. The reason was this Eurasian Hobby that suddenly appeared and started to hunt the swifts over Mao’s mausoleum! It made a couple of half-hearted attempts to chase a swift but, after a couple of minutes, it drifted off west and the swifts returned to lower altitudes.
Hobby hunting Common Swifts in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
China is a good place to see bitterns. In addition to the Great Bittern (the one familiar to European readers), it is also possible to see Black Bittern, Cinnamon Bittern, Von Schrenck’s Bittern and Yellow Bittern. Of the smaller bitterns, the Yellow Bittern is most numerous in Beijing with Von Schrenck’s also breeding in small numbers. Cinnamon is an occasional (and increasing?) late Spring visitor (and possible breeder?) and there is just one record of Black Bittern.
Below are some images of Cinnamon, Von Schrenck’s and Yellow Bitterns, all taken in Beijing or neighbouring Hebei Province.
First, the beautiful richly coloured Cinnamon Bittern.
Cinnamon Bittern (male). No mistaking this species!Cinnamon Bittern (presumed female with streaking below and pale spotting on the upperparts).
Next up, Von Schrenck’s Bittern. The males and females look quite different.
Von Schrenck’s Bittern (male). Note the dark back, dark face and wing pattern (compared with Yellow Bittern below).Von Schrenck’s Bittern (male).Von Schrenck’s Bittern (female). Note the heavy and dark streaking.Von Schrenck’s Bittern (female). Note the white-spotted upperparts combined with the dark back and face.
Finally, the Yellow Bittern. A common breeder, including in the Olympic Forest Park and Yeyahu NR.
Yellow Bittern (male). The contrasting underwing is a good feature of Yellow Bittern).Yellow Bittern showing uppewing pattern. This individual has a particularly dark back.Yellow Bittern.Yellow Bittern from below.
On Sunday we visited the Bai He valley (about 2 hours north of Beijing city). It’s an attractive drive when the weather is good and the pollution levels low, as was the case for our visit. The Bai He valley is well known in Beijing birding circles as one of the few remaining sites in Beijing Municipality where one can see the unique Ibisbill (Ibidorhyncha struthersii). “Unique” is an overused word but, as a descriptor for the Ibisbill, it is surely appropriate. The Ibisbill belongs to the order Charadriiformes which also includes sandpipers, plovers, terns, auks, gulls, skuas and others but is sufficiently distinctive to merit its own family, Ibidorhynchidae. The species is named in honour of Dr. Struthers of Glasgow who collected specimens of the bird from the Himalayas in the 19th century.
Many people see their first Ibisbill on a vast, flowing stony river at high altitude in the Himalayas and it almost seems a little surreal to find them on a narrow river near China’s capital where it competes with sickly-looking domestic ducks and, at this time of year, tourists paddling downriver in inflatable dinghies…
Despite the disturbance, which also includes a steady flow of tourists following the completion of a wooden boardwalk along the area favoured by these special birds, the Ibisbill is hanging on, a good example of the resilience of nature.
We saw three individuals today in exactly the same spot as when I first visited this site shortly after I arrived in China in 2010.
Ibisbill, Bai He valley, Beijing, 15 July 2012. One of three seen today.One of the signs along the new boardwalk in the Bai He valley.Good advice….
The Ibisbills at Bai He have proved very popular with birders visiting Beijing over recent years. Long may that continue!
This is the latest in a series of guest posts from China-based birders. Written by Jan-Erik Nilsen, a Swedish birder who has lived in China for 3 years, it’s an account of a recent trip into the mountains around Beijing.
Haitou Shan Mountain, Hebei Province, Saturday, 23rd June 2012.
Beijing is from SW clockwise to NE surrounded by mountain ranges and several peaks reach above 2000 m. From about 1500 m to the tree line at about 1900-2000 m, a more Northern vegetation of coniferous forest and birch trees can be found. The changing vegetation zones on the mountainsides bring an interesting diversity of bird species.
With a peak reaching to 2200 m, Haitou Shan should be the second highest in the greater Beijing area and it’s located N of the Guanting Reserve (where Ma Chang is located) in Hebei province. I have climbed this mountain two times before, then with a hiking group and no time for birding. I noticed abundant numbers of Hume’s Warblers and other interesting birds and that’s why I have nursed a plan to return by myself for proper birding, a plan to be executed this day.
Driver Mr Chen picked me up in Beijing at 01.00, in the tropical hot and very early morning. We drove the 4th ring road towards the NW, not much traffic so far, but on the Badaling Expressway trucks suddenly crowded, and we hit a traffic jam even before we had entered the mountain area NW of Beijing. We found ourselves caught among big trucks, most of them for coal transport, now emptied and on the way back to the coal fields in Inner Mongolia or Shanxi. Soon the traffic slowly began to move again, the police had narrowed the road at a certain point to reduce the traffic further on. In mornings, evenings and nights, the number of trucks on the Badaling Expressway and all the way to Inner Mongolia can be enormous in both directions. Once, on a trip by car along the 500 km way to Hohhot, capitol of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, I hit several traffic jams and the normal 5 h ride became 10 h.
We lost some 30 minutes here before we were up to full speed again, continuing the expressway until we had crossed the bridge over the Guanting Reservoir. On the other side of the reservoir we turned north and found our way to the Dahaitou village at the western foot of the mountain. I noticed the first shade of the morning light at 03.45 but, due to the overcast skies, birding was hardly possible until 04.45, and we arrived at Dahaitou at 5.00. Last time at the same mountain, the hiking guide told me Dahaitou was the name of the village where we started the climb. It was not, and I realised it could take hours to find the right village, so I just started to hike on a track up the mountain that looked good.
The peak of the mountain and some of its many subordinated peaks where disguised in mists and clouds, bringing a mysterious feeling to the peaceful morning. Later the mist gradually decreased, lower hanging clouds disappeared, and little by little revealed spectacular views of the hills and mountains.
After one hour the track still existed but looked as if it had hardly been used for a hundred years or so. I continued anyway, and soon found myself in a several hundreds meter radius bowl, three quarters surrounded by 50 or 100 m high steeps. As giving up has never been my favourite option, I found a less steep part and climbed up there, through jungle-like dense vegetation, without any sign of a decent track. I targeted a coniferous forest some 300 m higher up, I knew it would be easier to hike there. But long before, the slope became steeper, the vegetation more dense and even more difficult. I had to grab branches of trees for each step to keep my balance.
I looked at the mountain, still disguising its highest peak in clouds and mist. A Songar Tit perched in a dead tree a few meters in front of me and looked curiously at me – a behaviour I recall from their cousin Siberian Tit in Northern Scandinavia – and soon another one joined. I bet they wondered why this strange beast could be so stupid to try to climb such difficult terrain. A glimpse on the watch convinced me it would take too long to make it to the coniferous forest. I went down again, becoming very mindful of how steep and difficult the climb up had actually been, and it was even more difficult to climb down. It took a lot more than a little effort to find the right way down and avoid the steep sides bordering the ‘bowl’, but I did find a way down, and all in all I had some good birding too, during this 4,5 h hike.
A Large Hawk Cuckoo called, Yellow-bellied Tits were around, interesting Phylloscopus warblers such as Eastern Crowned, Claudia’s, Chinese Leaf and Yellow-streaked Warblers were singing. The highlight was a Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch, at only 1300-1400 m altitude. I encountered this species above the tree limit, where they normally reside, last time I climbed the mountain. That was actually only a km or so away, so it’s not a long distance flight for them.
Back at the village, a village elder approach me and pointed out a track in a more southern direction. We could drive the car up there for 15 min, from where I began a new hike. The vegetation here was a little different from the last place, higher trees and less jungle-like. After half an hour I saw something looking like a red carpet. When I came closer I found the red carpet was spread over the stairs leading to a temple. Smoke came out from the doorway, so dense I could hardly see through it. I stepped into the temple and faced three gods staring at me from an altar. Their eyes arranged so they all three stared on you just when entering the temple, and it made the three of them look very alive.
The smoke came from incense burning in a pot in front of them, and fresh fruit had been put on the altar. Someone had obviously served the altar earlier today. I nodded to the three gods to show them respect and then left. I continued the track up the mountain, the track became very bad after a while and time was running out. The climb to the top would total 3-4 hours on a good track; there was no way I could make it that quick on this way up. So I returned, was back at the car at 13.15, after a 3,25 h second hike. Two tries in a day, but never reaching higher than about 1600 m.
The birding was quite alright also at this second hike. An Oriental Cuckoo calling, a singing White-bellied Redstart, and a Yellow-throated Bunting. The same Phylloscopus species again, except the Yellow-streaked was replaced by a Hume’s Warbler. I believe there will be a lot more Hume’s Warblers higher up the mountain, as they were very abundant the two times I went up there before. An Asian Stubtail was singing, or what we shall call the insect-like noise this 9-10 cm very small bird produces. Ref. Paul Holt, Beijing is the southern limit of the species.
I recorded calling and singing birds on my iPhone and confirmed them on Xeno-Canto at home, which worked very well, except for a few calls still to be identified.
It’s difficult to compare the birding of Haitoushan with the more frequently birded Wulingshan, NE of Beijing, as I didn’t reached that high altitude here, but I guess this place can provide similar species. An advantage of Wulingshan is of course the simple access to high altitude by car.
The temple was named Long Wang Miao, Dragon King Temple, and my Chinese teacher later explained the main god here was the Dragon King, a mid-level Dao god mainly in charge of making rain.
Early morning view over Dahaitou village.Misty morning, somewhere up there is the 2200 m peak of Haitou Shan.Long Wang Miao, The Dragon King Temple.
Full species list:
Common Pheasant 4 calling
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
Large Hawk Cuckoo 1 calling
Oriental Cuckoo 1 calling
Rock Pigeon 2
Amur Falcon 3 Dahaitou + 8 on telephone lines N of Dahaitou
Red-billed Blue Magpie 1
Black-billed Magpie 2
Spotted Nutcracker 1
Large-billed Crow 4
Euarasian Blackbird 1
Siberian Blue Robin 1 singing
Daurian Redstart 4
White-bellied Redstart 1 singing
Eurasian Nuthatch 1 calling
Winter Wren 2 singing
Marsh Tit 1
Songar Tit 5
Coal Tit 1
Yellow-bellied Tit min. 15
Eastern Great Tit 2
Long-tailed Tit ca 25
White-browed Chinese Warbler 2 calling
Asian Stubtail 1 singing
Yellow-streaked Warbler 1 singing
Chinese Leaf Warbler 2 (1 singning+1 calling)
Hume’s Leaf Warbler 1 calling
Eastern Crown Warbler 7 singing
Claudia’s Leaf Warbler 7 ca, singing and calling
Vinous-throated Parrotbill ca 5
Eurasian Tree Sparrow ca 5
Grey-capped Greenfinch 2
Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch 1 seen and calling
Godlewski’s Bunting 2
Meadow Bunting 3
Yellow-throated (Elegant) Bunting 1m
Butterflies of 3 types ca 50
Jan-Erik Nilsén is a Swedish birder who has worked in Beijing for 3 years for a Scandinavian food company. Before that he lived in Denmark for 5 years. During his spare time he very much enjoys the many interesting birding sites in the Beijing area and has found Beijing/China rarities such as Common Ringed Plover and Pallid Harrier.
