SIBERIAN RUBYTHROAT (Luscinia calliope) is a migrant through Beijing and mid- to late-September is the peak time. This morning there were three – two adult males and a female – in just one small patch of scrub at Miyun Reservoir. One of the males was uncharacteristically showy and I took the opportunity to film him. Towards the end of the video he is even singing (although the microphone facility on my iPhone isn’t quite up to the standard of the video).
Definitely a species I dreamt of finding on my original home patch of Winterton-on-Sea in Norfolk…
Monday and Tuesday were awful in Beijing with rain, wind and relatively chilly temperatures for the time of year. So it was with relief and a sense of expectation that Wednesday dawned clear, sunny and with expansive blue skies…. Any bad weather during the migration season can cause birds to make unscheduled stops and often the first good day after rainy weather can be very productive for birders.
And so, on Wednesday morning, after a ‘birdy’ few minutes on his local patch that included finding an Eye-browed Thrush, Paul Holt knew there had been a ‘fall’ of migrants and immediately abandoned his tiny area of urban scrub for potentially more productive sites.. He was rewarded with an exceptional find – a first for Beijing no less – in the shape of an adult SLENDER-BILLED GULL (细嘴鸥, Chroicocephalus genei) at Miyun Reservoir.
The nearest known breeding grounds of this gull are in Kazakhstan, 3-4,000 kilometres to the west. And so, as one might expect, it’s a rare bird in China, with the possible exception of Xinjiang Province in the far north-west where it appears to be fairly regular since the first record there in 2008. There are a handful of records from Hong Kong and also from well-watched Hebei coast around Beidaihe/Happy Island but elsewhere in China it’s very rare.
After Paul put out the news on the Birding Beijing WeChat group, I decided to make the trip and, along with Jennifer Leung, I was on site by 1600. Fortunately, we saw it immediately. Later in the afternoon it came close enough for me to take some record photos and a short video using my iPhone and Swarovski ATX95 set-up.
Adult SLENDER-BILLED GULL with Black-headed Gull, Miyun Reservoir, 3 September 2014. The first record for Beijing.
This gull turned up at exactly the same spot as the recent LESSER FRIGATEBIRD (see previous post).
Miyun Reservoir is simply stunning on a clear, blue-sky day…
Given there are so few birders in Beijing and no site is well-watched, who knows what would be seen if this site was covered on a regular basis?! There is so much opportunity for discovery, and some of the sites are stunningly beautiful, which is what makes birding in Beijing so brilliant…!
After participating in Sunbird’s tour of Qinghai and Tibet, led by Paul Holt, German birder Henning Lege decided to stay on for a spot of birding in Beijing. On 20 August he visited Miyun Reservoir, one of Beijing’s premier birding sites, where he found a juvenile LESSER FRIGATEBIRD (白斑军舰鸟, Fregata ariel) – the third record of this species in Beijing. Fortunately there were some Chinese birders from the Beijing Birdwatching Society, including its President, Ms Fu Jianping, on site with whom Henning could share his excitement. And, on his return to Beijing, he was quick to alert Paul who immediately circulated a message via the rapidly growing Birding Beijing WeChat group, meaning that local birders were alerted and had an opportunity to see it. Since its discovery on 20 August several groups of birders and photographers (possibly more than 20 in total) have visited and enjoyed this spectacular, almost prehistoric-looking bird, meaning it must be one of Beijing’s most “twitched” rarities ever.
With the nearest coast around 150km away, seabirds are, not surprisingly, hard to see in Beijing. There is only one record of a skua (a Long-tailed) and even species such as Saunders’s Gull and Great Knot (not uncommon on the coast), have never reliably been recorded in the capital. So it is perhaps surprising that three LESSER FRIGATEBIRDS – truly pelagic birds – have made it to Beijing.
The previous two Beijing sightings were both in April – in 2007 and 2011. The first was photographed by Hong Wanping at Shahe Reservoir, Changping 14 April 2007 (see China J. of Zoology (2011.4) Lesser Frigatebird, Shahe reservoir, April 2007 for a brief account). The second was seen, and photographed, at the Ming Tombs Reservoir (Shisanling Reservoir) on 7 April 2011.
LESSER FRIGATEBIRD is rare anywhere in China, though it may be just about annual in Hong Kong where regular pelagic trips are now taking place. There are reports from most coastal provinces from Guangxi to Guangdong, and Fujian north to Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Tianjin & Liaoning. Although we are not aware of any records from coastal Hebei, there are two reports of GREATER FRIGATEBIRD from Beidaihe, Qinhuangdao, Hebei with an immature on 6 June 1996 (Thalund et al. 1994) being the second of these.
One can only assume that this most recent bird was displaced by one of the recent tropical storms, possibly Typhoon Halong that hit east Asia in early August.
Thankfully, documentation of this record has not been difficult. In addition to Henning’s notes, China is blessed with some superb bird photographers. The brilliant set of photos below is by Zhang Weimin with an additional stunning photo by Huang Hanchen, to both of whom big thanks are in order for allowing me to reproduce their wonderful photos for this post.
This photo of the Lesser Frigatebird by Huang Hanchen
According to The Handbook Of The Birds Of The World (HBW), the LESSER FRIGATEBIRD breeds on small, remote tropical and sub-tropical islands, in mangroves or bushes, and even on bare ground on islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It feeds mainly on fish (especially flying-fish) and squid, but also on seabird eggs and chicks, carrion and fish scraps (del Hoyo et al. 1992). It is “kleptoparasitic” – a great word that means it habitually steals food from other species.
Unfortunately for Paul and me, this bird was found whilst we were overseas, Paul in Canada and me in the UK. After arriving back in Beijing on Saturday morning I visited the site with Paul and local birders Wu Lan and Zhao Min on Sunday and despite staying all day, we failed to see it. The last documented sighting was on Friday 29 August. Unless it has been hiding effectively for the last couple of days, it has almost certainly moved on, hopefully on its way back to the Pacific Ocean where it belongs.
Big thanks again to Zhang Weimin and Huang Hanchen for the use of their photographs, to Paul Holt for the information about the status of Lesser Frigatebird in Beijing (and China) and to everyone on the WeChat group who provided updates about the bird’s whereabouts during its stay at Miyun Reservoir.
The journey of the AMUR FALCON is one of the most remarkable in the avian world, migrating from the Amur region in NE China and SE Russia across China, India and, eventually, to East Africa. An incredible journey fuelled by an even more amazing migration – of dragonflies – across the Indian Ocean.
Many of these beautiful falcons pass through Beijing each spring and autumn and a few even breed in the capital. Whenever I encounter them for the first time each spring, I feel in awe of the almost unbelievable journeys these birds take and I feel reassured that, despite all the pressures on our wildlife, the Amur Falcons are back!
On Saturday, in the company of Paul Holt and David Mansfield, I visited Huairou and Miyun Reservoirs and, at the latter site, we enjoyed a mixed flock of AMUR FALCONS and LESSER KESTRELS giving a magnificent display as they hunted over some freshly ploughed fields… simply stunning.
AMUR FALCON (female), Miyun Reservoir, 3 May 2014One of the adult male LESSER KESTRELS at Miyun, 3 May 2014LESSER KESTREL, adult male, Miyun 3 May 2014. Beautiful.Adult male LESSER KESTREL. Note the pale, almost unmarked underwing.
Here is a short video compilation of a few of the Amur Falcons.
For a time, in the afternoon, it was very windy… and dark clouds gathered over Miyun. Just as the weather was its most threatening, in dropped a DALMATIAN PELICAN..! As it battled against the wind, I was able to capture it on video….
This is the 7th DALMATIAN PELICAN in Beijing this spring and my personal first this year. Always a delight to see.
We ended the day on 104 species – a pretty good total but missing some usually easy to see birds such as Spotted Dove. In Beijing in May, it should be possible to see 120-130 species in a day with a bit of effort and luck!
Beijing Hikers enjoying the afternoon birding session at Miyun on Saturday.
A few weeks ago, the folks at Beijing Hikers asked me if I would be interested in helping to lead a dedicated birding trip. Of course, being only too pleased to share my knowledge of Beijing’s birds, I accepted and plans were fixed to visit Miyun Reservoir over the weekend of 29-30 March.
The itinerary for the group, consisting of a mixture of ex-pats and Chinese, was to leave central Beijing around noon, arriving at a village on the north side of the reservoir at 3pm ahead of a late afternoon birding session. This would be followed by an overnight stay at a local guesthouse, a morning birding session at a different site on the reservoir, then lunch and an afternoon birding session in the hills before returning to Beijing.
I decided to travel up early to stake out the sites before meeting the group at the guest house at 3pm.
After the awful air pollution during the week, Saturday dawned as a stunning Spring day – the wind overnight had shifted the worst of the pollution, the sun was shining and the temperature was a very pleasant 15 degrees Celsius when I arrived at the Chao He bridge at 0930. The bridge over the Chao He is a site for Ibisbill, although it is far from guaranteed. There was no sign of this special bird but 8 GREY-HEADED LAPWINGS (灰头麦鸡) and 2 LONG-BILLED PLOVERS (长嘴剑鴴) provided some consolation. A little further along the river I picked up my first GARGANEY (白眉鸭) of the year, several CHINESE SPOT-BILLED DUCKS (斑嘴鴨), GREY-HEADED WOODPECKER (灰头绿啄木鸟) and several leucopsis WHITE WAGTAILS (白鹡鸰).
I pushed on to Yonglecun, my favourite site at Miyun. As I parked up and walked to the viewing point, I caught sight of two falcons acrobatically feeding on insects. A scan with my binoculars revealed them to be LESSER KESTRELS (黄爪隼).. a very nice start! It was here that I found Jan-Erik Nilsen already positioned on site and, shortly after, we enjoyed not two but seven LESSER KESTRELS (黄爪隼) as they fed high above us… beautiful birds and showing much more blue-grey on the upperwing than their counterparts in Europe.
Adult male LESSER KESTREL (黄爪隼), Miyun Reservoir, 29 March 2014
The mountains around Miyun reservoir provide a stunning backdrop to a day’s birding and, with Spring in the air, it was a delight to be outside experiencing the beginning of migration season. Jan-Erik decided to move on to check Houbajiazhuang while I headed into the village to meet the group.
After meeting and greeting everyone, and having dropped our bags at the guesthouse, we headed out to Yonglecun for a 3 to 4 hour late afternoon birding session. With the sun slowly setting, the light was fantastic as we watched flocks of RUDDY SHELDUCK (赤麻鴨) going to roost.. Sightings of JAPANESE QUAIL (鵪鶉), CHINESE HILL BABBLER (山鹛), EASTERN MARSH HARRIER (白腹鹞), GARGANEY (白眉鸭), FALCATED DUCK (罗纹鸭), PALLAS’S REED BUNTING (苇鹀) and displaying GREAT CRESTED GREBES (凤头鸊鷉) provided a lot of interest and then, suddenly, a GREATER SPOTTED EAGLE (乌雕) appeared and, as it dropped down towards a scrubby field, a female EASTERN MARSH HARRIER (白腹鹞) flew up and began to mob it… and the harrier did not rest until the eagle was finally forced away.. a spectacular interaction..!
GREATER SPOTTED EAGLE (乌雕) and EASTERN MARSH HARRIER (白腹鹞), Miyun Reservoir, 29 March 2014.
Bird activity increased as the sun began to set and we enjoyed several flocks of BAIKAL TEAL (花脸鸭) wheeling around distantly… a wonderful sight.
BAIKAL TEAL (花脸鸭) at dusk, Miyun Reservoir, 29 March 2014.
Then, just as we were about to call it a day, the bird of the trip suddenly came into view, flying low across the reservoir in front of us, stopping briefly to hover, before carrying on south-west.. a PIED KINGFISHER (斑鱼狗)! Wow…. This was the first time I had seen this species in Beijing; it’s a real Beijing “mega” with only a very few previous records (possibly as few as three). A real surprise and a brilliant end to a great birding session.
Sunset at Miyun. Stunning.The girls enjoyed the PIED KINGFISHER sighting… or was it the thought of dinner?
Back at the guest house we enjoyed some great local home-cooked food and our hosts even prepared a camp fire for us..
Enjoying the camp fire after dinner…
The next morning, after a quick breakfast of coffee, bread and boiled eggs, we headed of to another spot on the reservoir for the morning’s birding. We were hoping to see a laggard crane or two… late March is usually the best time to see the migrant WHITE-NAPED CRANES (白枕鹤) at Miyun but, with the exceptionally warm weather, spring is early this year and the cranes passed through more than a week ago, stopping only for a day or two before continuing north on their way to the breeding grounds. Our chances did not look good.
On arrival at Houbajiazhuang we scanned the area and, within just a few minutes, three cranes flew in and dropped onto the marsh.. fortunately they were in view, albeit distant, and with the telescope we were able to see that they were WHITE-NAPED CRANES (白枕鹤)! Fantastic…. Everyone was able to enjoy this probable family party of cranes and it was a bonus when a further four WHITE-NAPEDs (白枕鹤) flew across in front of us in perfect light. A group of 5 EURASIAN SPOONBILLS (白琵鹭) then dropped in close by, allowing the group to see both species in the same view. TUFTED DUCK (凤头潜鸭), COMMON POCHARD (红头潜鸭), GOLDENEYE (鹊鸭), ASIAN SHORT-TOED LARK ((亚洲) 短趾百灵) and MONGOLIAN GULL (黄脚(银)鸥) were all added to the list of species seen before we decided to head into the hills.
We drove on to the Jixiang Temple, near Bulaotun, stopping en route at the Chao He bridge. The GREY-HEADED LAPWINGS (灰头麦鸡) and the LONG-BILLED PLOVERS (长嘴剑鴴) were still in situ but, again, there was no sign of the IBISBILL (鹮嘴鹬).
At the temple, we were immediately greeted by a small group of YELLOW-BELLIED TITS (黄腹山雀) and we soon caught up with EASTERN GREAT TIT (大山雀), SILVER-THROATED TIT (北长尾山雀/银喉长尾山雀), MARSH TIT (沼泽山雀), WILLOW TIT (褐头山雀), PLAIN LAUGHINGTHRUSH (山噪鹛), GODLEWSKI’S BUNTING (戈氏岩鹀) and we were fortunate to secure stunning views of CHINESE NUTHATCH (黑头鳾) with a pair excavating a nest hole. A single EURASIAN JAY (松鸦), several of the spectacular RED-BILLED BLUE MAGPIES (红嘴蓝鹊), a couple of DAURIAN REDSTARTS (北红尾鸲) and small parties of BRAMBLING (燕雀) and ORIENTAL GREENFINCH (金翅 (雀)) added some colour to the morning before we headed off to lunch.
After being reinvigorated by a delicious local meal we decided to have one more short birding session before heading back to Beijing… we found a nice river valley on the west side of the reservoir and added MEADOW (三道眉草鹀) and LITTLE BUNTING (小鹀), RED-BILLED CHOUGH (红嘴山鸦) and HILL PIGEON (岩鸽) to our tally.
At about 4.30pm we called it a day and began the journey back to the city, having clocked up 73 species over the two days.
Before tallying up our total, we had a little fun competition to see who could guess the number of species we saw over the weekend. These were the guesses (ignoring the organisers!):
Ying – 150
Jean-Pierre – 54
Patricia – 46
Tom – 60
Jean – 56
Sheila – 57
Nick – 53
Sissi – 55
Rich – 59
Fiona – 58
Julian – 52
So the winner is Tom with 60! Congratulations… sadly no prize, just huge kudos! 🙂
A big thank you to Jun and Betsy from Beijing Hikers for making all the arrangements and to Julian, Fiona, Rich, Nick, Sissi, Sheila, Jean, Tom, Patricia, Jean-Pierre and Ying for making it such a fun trip…!
On Friday 22 November, I spent the day at Miyun Reservoir with visiting Marie Louise Ng from Hong Kong. It was a stunningly beautiful day – cold early on but spectacularly clear and with almost no wind. It was one of those days that, as a resident of Beijing where the air can often be toxic, I absolutely adore.
Miyun Reservoir on a clear autumn day. It’s hard to believe this is Beijing!
We visited two sites on the northern shore of the reservoir and, at the first, we were treated to spectacular flyovers of several hundred COMMON CRANES, with a handful of HOODED CRANES amongst them.. and skeins of BEAN GEESE flying from their roosting sites to the feeding grounds in the maize fields. At least 4 JAPANESE REED BUNTINGS kept us company at our observation point.
After a couple of hours we decided to take a walk to some weedy fields in which I had peviously seen PALLAS’S SANDGROUSE.
As we headed over the brow of a small hill, there was movement in the grass and, quickly training my binoculars, I could see a cat walking slowly from right to left, less than 100 metres away. My heart leapt. It looked big and, immediately, with that thick bushy tail and spotted markings on its fur, I thought it must be a LEOPARD CAT. Gripped by the presence of a very special mammal, we watched it as it made its way onto a dirt track. With the sun behind us, it was now in full view and we were enjoying spectacular views (I am sure the low sun also played a role in delaying this beautiful animal’s detection of us). We reached for our cameras and reeled off some photos as it suddenly broke into a trot and then melted into the vegetation to the north of the track. We watched, captivated, as it made its way towards a small lake, eventually vanishing into the long grass with the local magpies agitated and noisy.
I turned to Marie with what must have been the biggest grin I have ever sported and said immediately “that’s my best wildlife experience of the year!”
LEOPARD CAT (Prionailurus bengalensis) of the ssp euptilurus/euptilura (aka AMUR LEOPARD CAT). Note the dark stripes on the back of the head and the pale patches on the back of the ears, as well as the thick, striped, tail.LEOPARD CAT, Miyun Reservoir, 22 November 2013. Sightings, especially during the daytime, are very rare in the capital.At less than 100m range, and with the morning sun behind us, views were spectacular!
Although Leopard Cat is probably not rare in the mountains around Beijing, sightings certainly are. I am aware of just one other recent Beijing sighting – one seen at Yeyahu by Brian Jones on 11 October 2010. The information below about the status of LEOPARD CAT in China is from Zhu Lei, for which many thanks.
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Gao (1987, in ‘Fauna Sinica. Mammalia. Vol. 8. Carnivora’) reports that there are 4 subspecies of Leopard Cat in China, euptilura (NE China, north of Yellow River), bengalensis (SW China), chinensis (N and S China) and hainana (endemic to Hainan Island). The ssp. euptilura has the largest body and lightest coat, also the very faint spot marking. The ssp. chinensis is darker, more distinctively spotted, and has 2 black dorsal stripes.
Chen et al. (2002, in ‘Mammals of Beijing’) points out that the ssp. of Leopard Cat in Beijing is euptilura, according to measurements and colour markings of specimens from Yanqing and Mentougou.
Xie and Smith (2008) recognise 5 ssp. in China, alleni (includes hainana, endemic to Hainan), bengalensis (SW Guangxi, SW Guizhou, Sichuan, S Xizang, Yunnan), chinensis (S Anhui, SW and E China, Taiwan), euptilura (north of Huaihe River, Beijing, NE China), scripta (N Yunnan, W Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi and SE Xizang, Chinese endemic ssp.).
Based on above reference and the pics you’ve sent, I think your cat definitely is ssp. euptilurus (light coat and very faint spotted).
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The ssp euptilurus or “Amur Leopard Cat” looks very different to the southern China and SE Asian subspecies (see images here for comparison) and, I understand, it’s a potential split into a separate species in its own right. The taxonomy of Leopard Cat in China is poorly understood, so classification may be subject to change.
However man decides to classify this cat, it is a beautiful animal and we were privileged to spend a special minute or two in its company.. proving once again that Beijing is a superb place for birds and wildlife.
September and October are probably my favourite months in Beijing. The excessive heat of the summer diminishes and, given the autumnal breeze, combined with regular rain, the air quality is good, resulting in some fantastic clear days with superb visibility. It’s a reminder that Beijing is a beautiful city and if ever an extra incentive was needed to clean up the capital’s air, being outside on autumnal days and seeing the mountains, with the ever-impressive Great Wall running along the spine of the northern ranges, must be it.
Of course September and October are also superb months for birding with migration in full swing. Taking advantage of Dalian-based Tom Beeke’s presence in the capital for an ice-hockey tournament, Paul Holt and I took Tom for a day’s birding at Miyun Reservoir on Sunday. And what a beautiful day it was. With the temperature a fresh 14 degrees C early on (rising to 32 degrees C later), a stunning clear blue sky and visibility of at least 30-40km, it was a great day to be in the field.
We visited three sites around the reservoir and recorded an impressive 91 species, including two new birds for me in Beijing – LITTLE CURLEW (小杓鹬) and RUSSET SPARROW (山麻雀) – plus 2 SHORT-TOED EAGLES (短趾雕), several PIED HARRIERS (鹊鹞) and, best of all, a PEREGRINE (游隼) of the subspecies peregrinator – a resident of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and southern China. We believe this is the first record of this subspecies in Beijing and the most northerly record in China – unless you know better?
Some images from the day and a full species list (courtesy of Paul Holt) below.
Paul Holt (left) and Tom Beeke scanning Miyun Reservoir, 1 September 2013One of two Short-toed Eagles seen at Miyun on 1 September. This species is a regular passage migrant in Spring and Autumn in Beijing.Little Curlew, Miyun Reservoir, 1 September 2013. This bird made two great fly-bys, calling frequently.Peregrine of the subspecies peregrinator. Note the rufous underparts contrasting with the pale throat and upper breast. In the field this bird was small and sported a very dark cap, all features consistent with this southern subspecies. The first record for Beijing and, probably, the most northerly record in China.Another image of the “peregrinator” Peregrine. Photo by Tom Beeke.
Full Species List
Japanese Quail – 6 around Miyun reservoir
Common Pheasant- 5
Mandarin Duck – 3 around Miyun reservoir
Falcated Duck – 4, including an eclipse adult male, at Miyun reservoir. Apparently the earliest autumn records from Beijing. The previous earliest were 25 and 36 birds at Miyun reservoir on the 11 and 12 September 2004 respectively (PH pers. obs.). These dates seem unusually late however and it’s likely that limited observer coverage of Miyun reservoir & WDL in late August is responsible as birds are regularly encountered on the Hebei and Tianjin coasts at that time.
Mallard – 8
Chinese Spot-billed Duck – 10
Garganey – 5
Eurasian Teal – 3
Little Grebe – 16
Great Crested Grebe – 54
Black Stork – 3 flew north over the Jingcheng expressway near Miyun town (kilometre post 62) at about 05h45.
Black-crowned Night Heron – 3
Little Heron – 2
Chinese Pond Heron – 11
Eastern Cattle Egret – 4
Grey Heron – 10
Purple Heron – 2 juveniles
Great Egret – 3
Little Egret – 17
Osprey – 1. Probably the earliest autumn date for Beijing.
Crested (Oriental) Honey-buzzard – 1 flew south high over in the Yongle cun, Miyun reservoir.
Black Kite – 2 juveniles
Short-toed Snake Eagle – 2. Both were photographed.
Eastern Marsh Harrier – 4
Pied Harrier – 6, including two adult males, an adult female and three juveniles
Eurasian Sparrowhawk – 10
Common Kestrel – 1
Amur Falcon – 81. 66 of these were seen from the Jingcheng expressway between Miyun town & Taishitun. Surprisingly today’s total was one of the highest autumn bird-days totals for the whole of Beijing. The majority of Amur Falcons apparently move through Beijing during a short and intense autumn passage. Most years it’s the second week of September before there’s any significant movement and birds are widely encountered just one week later (by the middle of September) with peak migration apparently occurring in the third week. Note that this is significantly earlier than the peak occurs in coastal Tianjin and at Laotie Shan, southernmost Liaoning where the, significantly larger passage, doesn’t peak until mid-October. Note that significantly larger numbers have been seen in neighbouring Tianjin municipality during autumn passage (with 1350 counted at Beidagang, Dagang on 10 October 2007)
Peregrine Falcon – 2 juveniles near Yongle cun, Miyun reservoir on the 1/9/2013. The first bird that we saw was a ‘Shaheen’ Falcon Falco peregrinus peregrinator as it was slightly small and compact, even for a male, had a strong rufous suffusion to its lower underparts and underwing coverts that contrasted well with its whiter breast and cheeks. It was quite dark above with rather little contrast with the paler rump and had an extensive dark hood. In China peregrinator is a bird of the south and can be found, albeit locally, in Sichuan. The most northerly record in China until today had been an adult at Yangxian, Shaanxi on the 1 July 2013 (PH pers. obs.).
Common Moorhen – 5
Eurasian Coot – 8
Black-winged Stilt – 2
Snipe sp. – 3
Little Curlew – 1 was seen several times in flight, and photographed, near Yongle cun, Miyun reservoir. Little Curlew is rare in Beijing with perhaps just four or five previous reports – ‘present’ at Wild Duck Lake on the 22/3/2003 (赵欣如老师 黄伟 竹 cyan 以及另外三人 via BirdTalker). This report was accompanied by the statement that ‘needs to be affirmed since the time is too early’. Subsequently one was seen at Huairou Reservoir on 11/5/2004 [JHa in the 2004 CBR] and this sighting was noted as being the first record for the Capital by the bird report editors who apparently discounted the 2003 report above; one at Miyun reservoir on the 18/10/2007 – it flew purposefully south, out and over the reservoir south of the Bulaotun Satellite Tracking Station at 15:25hrs (PH pers. obs.); three at Bulaotun, Miyun reservoir on the 4/5/2008 (PH pers. obs.) & one in Yuanmingyuan during the 14-17/8/2012 (see http:/www.birdnet.cn/showtopic-381567.aspx )
Green Sandpiper – 1
Wood Sandpiper – 2
Temminck’s Stint – 1
Black-headed Gull – 160
Mongolian Gull – 3, two adults and a second-calendar year, flew north at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir. Apparently the earliest ever autumn record from Beijing
Gull-billed Tern – 4, two adults and two first-winters. One of only five autumn records from Beijing!
Common Tern – 3 adults. Two were minusensis & the other longipennis.
White-winged Black Tern – 1 juvenile
Oriental Turtle Dove – 11
Eurasian Collared Dove – 50
Spotted Dove – 2
Asian Koel – 1 singing bird was heard near Yongle cun, Miyun reservoir on the 1/9/2013. 2013 has been a record year for this species in Beijing – and today’s was the first ever September encounter.
Common Cuckoo – 3 around Miyun reservoir
Common Kingfisher – 3
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker – 1 flew over the Jingcheng expressway near kilometre 62
Great Spotted Woodpecker – 1
Brown Shrike – 6
Chinese Grey Shrike – 3
Black-naped Oriole – 3
Black Drongo – 218. Apparently a record day-count from the Capital. The only previous three-figure counts that I’m aware of from Beijing have been 200 at Wild Duck Lake on 21/8/2005 (LHT in the 2005 CBR) & 150 at Wild Duck Lake during 26-27/8/2010 (Brian Ivon Jones via BirdTalker)
Azure-winged Magpie – 1
Red-billed Blue Magpie – 1 was heard
Marsh Tit – 2 calling birds were heard near Yongle cun
Japanese Tit – 1 was heard
Chinese Penduline Tit – 1 heard near Yongle cun
Light-vented Bulbul – 22
Sand Martin – 28 flew south
Barn Swallow – 35 around Miyun reservoir. Five of these, including one tytleri, were near Yongle cun with the other 30 in & around Hou Ba Jia Zhuang village.
Red-rumped Swallow – 150
Dusky Warbler – 7
Yellow-browed Warbler – 7
Oriental Reed Warbler – 2
Black-browed Reed Warbler – 2
Thick-billed Warbler – 5
Lanceolated Warbler – 3 separate birds were heard near Yongle cun
Zitting Cisticola – 21
Plain Laughingthrush – 2, a presumed pair, near Yongle cun
Vinous-throated Parrotbill – 52
Chinese Hill Babbler – 4, presumably a family party
Common Stonechat – 14
Asian Brown Flycatcher – 2
Taiga Flycatcher – 2
Russet Sparrow – 17 in a mixed flock with Eurasian Tree Sparrows near Yongle cun, Miyun reservoir. One of very few double-figure day counts from Beijing and perhaps the first record for Miyun county? The number of Russet Sparrows being reported in Beijing appears to have declined in recent years (from high counts that included 50 at the Jumahe, Fangshan on the 4/12/2004 [QYX in 2004 CBR], 30 at Shidu, Fangshan on 30/12/2007 (蛐蛐儿黑鹳辛夷拙石 via BirdTalker) and 20 at Juili cun, Jiuduhe zhen, Huairou on the 11/9/2010 [dianchi via BirdTalker]). Note that Beijing has been the northern limit of this species’ Chinese breeding range for over a decade – this is despite recent records at Laotie Shan, Liaoning in May 2011 (Townshend and Millington 2011) & May 2013 (Terry Townshend pers. comm to PH) and on the Hebei coast suggest that the species is continuing to slowly expand its range.
Eurasian Tree Sparrow – 100
Eastern Yellow Wagtail – 50
Grey Wagtail – 2 singles flew south
White Wagtail – 9, including four leucopsis
Richard’s Pipit – 18
Olive-backed Pipit – 1
Red-throated Pipit – 1. Apparently the joint earliest autumn record from Beijing – equalling the sighting of five at Shahe Reservoir, Changping on 1/9/2008 (红嘴蓝鹊, 鹰之舞 via BirdTalker).
Grey-capped Greenfinch – 30
Common Rosefinch – 112. 17 of these were near Yongle cun with the other 95, including a single flock of about 80 birds, were near Hou Ba Jia Zhuang. Apparently a record autumn count for Beijing.
Chinese Grosbeak – 3
Meadow Bunting – 1 was heard near Yongle cun
Yellow-breasted Bunting – 2 near Hou Ba Jia Zhuang
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.
The arrival of Oriental Pratincoles in Beijing in mid-April is one of spring’s reaffirming moments. The pratincoles’ harsh tern-like calls are often heard before the birds are seen. Most of the birds I see in Beijing are simply stopping off for a break on their migration and most move on to sites further north. However, this year a small colony has taken up residence at Miyun Reservoir and, during my visit on 1st June in perfect conditions, this group provided some superb opportunities to study, photograph and record their behaviour.
Oriental Pratincole, Miyun Reservoir, 1 June 2013
This video from my Canon EOS 7D captures some of their characteristic head-bobbing behaviour and calls.
Interestingly, among the group, there was one apparent first summer bird lacking the beautiful underparts of the adults, sporting an all black bill and with white-edged juvenile wing coverts. My understanding is that most first summer birds remain on the wintering grounds, so this may be an unusual sighting. Unfortunately it was always too distant for photographs.
We enjoyed this encounter for some time in the mid- to late-afternoon light before reluctantly tearing ourselves away.
On Tuesday I spent the day at Miyun Reservoir with Paul Holt (fresh back from leading tours to Bhutan and Taiwan). We started at Houbajia Zhuangcun on the eastern side (the best place to view any cranes lingering in the area) and then visited the north-west side near Bulaotun where the water levels are providing some good habitat for waders.
Our first surprise was on the walk down to the reservoir from the village at Houbajia Zhuangcun as every field seemed to be full of pipits. It was immediately obvious that there were many Richard’s Pipits around along with good numbers of Buff-bellied and Red-throated with the occasional Olive-backed flying overhead. No sooner as Paul said he thought there must be a Blyth’s on site, we turned a corner and flushed four largish pipits that called as they took to the air revealing themselves to be Blyth’s! They circled and landed again, allowing us to secure some wonderful views of these scarce pipits on the deck. Seeing them alongside Richard’s Pipits was very instructive and, although I would hesitate to identify a silent Blyth’s unless I had extremely good views, Paul was able to give me some very good insights into how to separate Blyth’s from Richard’s on the ground. The shorter bill, more heavily streaked mantle, shorter tail and, of course, the shape of the dark centres to the tertials if seen well enough, are all features to look for but, for me, the most obvious difference is structural, particularly noticeable in flight. Blyth’s look noticeably shorter-tailed in flight and can even recall a smaller pipit at times. We spent a long time watching these pipits and it probably took us an hour and a half to get to the reservoir, a walk that usually takes about 10 minutes!
I only managed a couple of images of Blyth’s in flight… I won’t apologise for spending most of my time studying them through my telescope rather than stalking them for photographs! Below is a comparison of Blyth’s and Richard’s.
Blyth’s (upper) and Richard’s (lower) Pipits in flight. In this direct comparison, one can see the slightly shorter tail and shorter bill of Blyth’s. The much-superior Richard’s Pipit image is by Graham Catley.
Of course, call is one of the ways to separate these two; you can hear the calls of Blyth’s and Richard’s Pipits on Xeno Canto Asia. The Pipit frenzy also included good numbers of Red-throated and Buff-bellied and I was able to capture these images of these good-looking species.
Buff-bellied Pipit ssp japonicus in breeding plumage, Miyun Reservoir, 1 May 2012Red-throated Pipit, Miyun Reservoir, 1 May 2012
In the damper fields near to the reservoir we encountered several Eastern Yellow Wagtails, mostly of the subspecies macronyx, and a few stunning Citrine Wagtails, including one with a very dark back (on close inspection it was a very dark grey back with some black speckling), recalling the subspecies calcarata. Possibly an intergrade? A male Bluethroat then appeared and began to sing from an exposed perch in a small reedbed.
As we were enjoying the pipits and wagtails, a corvid flew by us and headed south.. with the naked eye it looked as if it had a pale neck and a quick lift of the binoculars confirmed it was a Collared Crow! This species is now rare in Beijing and yet, after seeing my first only two days before, here I was watching a second! It was Paul’s first sighting in the capital for around 10 years… It is almost certainly a different individual to that seen by Colm Moore and me at the Ming Tombs, so maybe there has been a mini-influx. It reappeared a few minutes later in the company of a pair of Carrion Crows.
Collared Crow, Miyun Reservoir, 1 May 2012Collared Crow with Carrion Crow, Miyun Reservoir, 1 May 2012.
When we eventually reached the reservoir, we checked the stubbly area frequented by cranes this winter and counted 5 White-naped Cranes and 4 Common Cranes but there was no sign of the single immature Siberian Crane that had been present from mid-March. After an hour or so watching from here we moved on to the north-western side to check out the wader site near Bulaotun. As we arrived, we were greeted with huge numbers of Little Buntings… they were everywhere: in the fields, in the bushes, on the tracks and, occasionally, if spooked by a raptor or a local farmer, the air would be filled with clouds of Little Buntings.. an awesome sight. Many were singing, providing a wonderful soundtrack as we scanned through the flocks. A single male Yellow-breasted Bunting was with the group and it, too, sang on occasion. We estimated around 700 Little Buntings along one hedgerow but the real number on site was certainly much higher – many were hidden feeding in the crops.
A short recording of the cacophony can be heard here:
Waders on site included over 150 Black-winged Stilts, 80+ Wood Sandpipers, 30+ Common Snipe, a few Marsh Sandpipers, a couple of Spotted Redshank, a single Common Redshank, 10 Common Sandpipers, 6 Black-tailed Godwits and 30 Little Ringed Plovers. 2 Eurasian Spoonbills, 6 Great Egrets and 2 Little Egrets added a splash of white and an Osprey, several Eastern Marsh Harriers, a couple of Common Kestrels and a handful of Amur Falcons provided the raptor interest.
A quick look at another site at Bulaotun rewarded us with a stunning male Pied Harrier, a single Hobby (chasing Little Buntings), 5 Greater Short-toed Larks, 14 Siberian Stonechats and 20 Oriental Pratincoles.
Oriental Pratincole, Miyun Reservoir, 1 May 2012. Note lack of a white trailing edge to the wing (the best feature with which to distinguish Oriental from Collared Pratincole).
It was another fantastic day’s birding in the Chinese capital and I am indebted to Paul for his pipit masterclass…!
