• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

China 2010 (2 Viewers)

Now, where was I...

Sunday 2nd May;

Hebei, Beidaihe, Sandflats


Early morning, 2 flocks of Little Whimbrels stole the show (see above)

10am to 1pm:

After the Sandflats, I checked out the reedbed. I was surprised to find a flock of c30 Yellow-bellied Tits feeding in the canopies of seeding trees near here. I had thought they'd be way north of here by now. But just goes to shows that you can learn something every time you go out of the house.

On to the "reservoir". I wrote about the mess this place was in a few weeks ago, but despite it now being a building site, it's still good for birds. Assuming you can get past the security guards that is. One came running after me to tell me to sod off, but I was having none of it. I'm afraid the frustration, caused by the mess to my patch, more than bubbled to the surface. Anyhow, after my rant, he went away - no doubt convinced of my insanity.

My mood lightened considerably after I found two Amur Falcon (283) nests. What a spectacular bird this is. If one ever turns up in North Norfolk, then expect traffic congestion on the A148.

The devastation at the reservoir has only one plus point. You can now walk across the dry bed to the "private park" that's fenced off to the public (and birders). I have never seen anyone here (other than gardeners). Another one of the many mysteries that China holds.

One thing is for sure, it's a very quiet place with lots of excellent habitat (despite the landscaped pools). It's here that I found an odd phyllosc (aren't they all). First I thought is was an Eastern Crowned (yellow wash to under tail coverts and an excuse for a wing bar). It then started behaving in the manner of Claudia's Warbler... single-wing-flicking and branch-slaloming. I didn't get that close to it (as you can see from the photo), and I actually didn't watch it through my bins for more than a few seconds. But as well as the lack of two-prominent wing bars, it's head pattern isn't quite right for Claudia's (As I understand, the end of the super should be closer to end of the median crown stripe). Then again it doesn't seem right for Eastern Crowned either (the crown stripe is indistinct, and the super isn't doesn't kink upwards). A feature in favour of Eastern Crowned, however, is the width of the bill-base (I have a head-on photo that shows this). Odd. But in the interests of healthly debate I'll show it anyhow. Best not sweep these things under the carpet ;-)

BTW Claudia's Warbler used to be called Blyth's Leaf Warbler until someone with a DNA spectrumometer spotted something. I wouldn't have bothered changing the name, except that Blyth's Leaf is now the name used for its cousin in SW China. Another reason to use Claudia's is that I do like the name. I've removed "Leaf" because it is redundant.

There were also 2 Wrynecks here, a Garganey, a few Dusky Warblers.

I then drove down to Nandaihe, where the Yang River is perpetually high it seems ("thanks" to the downstream ford that seems to be blocking the tidal movement). I hope I have got this wrong because the Yang estuary, historically, has been one of the best wader watch points on Earth. No birds here today though.

In the Magic Wood (Nandaihe!) it's either feast or famine. Today I went hungry. Not even a phyllosc. How strange this wood can be.

On to the Da Pu River (this might even be the Da Po river... the Chinese character can be read both ways.. so I've been told). Either way, there were some good birds here: Several Fan-tailed Warbler zitted persistently; c30 Marsh Sandpipers and c20 Greenshanks, and c15 Wood sandpipers roamed the pools. While watching their antics, three brick-red Curlew Sandpipers (285) made an entrance. What fantastic birds. A summer-plumaged Mongolian Gull could only stand and stare. As I was watching the gull, a flock of 3 ducks circled above. A male and a female Shoveler with a male Falcated Duck... an unusual hanger-on to be sure (as well as a very late record).
 

Attachments

  • Yellow-belllied Tit.jpg
    Yellow-belllied Tit.jpg
    85.2 KB · Views: 79
  • Curlew Sandpiper.jpg
    Curlew Sandpiper.jpg
    83.6 KB · Views: 72
  • Falcated Duck.jpg
    Falcated Duck.jpg
    182 KB · Views: 77
  • see above.jpg
    see above.jpg
    107.9 KB · Views: 91
  • Amur Falcon.jpg
    Amur Falcon.jpg
    60.6 KB · Views: 86
Last edited:
Sunday 2nd May;

Hebei, Beidaihe, Sandflats

1pm to 4pm


Drove to Qilihai, where it was high tide (the worst time to visit). So, not much there.

Back at Nandaihe, The few remaining ponds held several Greenshank (286) and Wood Sandpipers (287). While I was watching these, a ridiculously-bright "Eastern" Black-tailed Godwit flew in... with a Marsh Sandpiper (288) in tow. I say "Eastern" because the rufous on this bird's underparts did not extend down to its thigh (as I understand should be the case). In fact, the underparts (and upperparts) looked more like "Western" to me. Then again, it did have a black forewing (as you can see in the flight photo). Could this be a "Central" Black-tailed Godwit I wonder ;-)

And to round the day off nicely, a couple of Oriental Pratincoles treated me to a fly-pass. Then again, they may have been out-of-range "occidental" pratincoles. ;-) They were far too high-up to say for certain. Whatever they were, they were the 24th species of wader of the day. [Sounds like a lot, but actually fewer than half the number on the Beidaihe wader list!]
 

Attachments

  • Greenshank.jpg
    Greenshank.jpg
    114 KB · Views: 65
  • Eastern Black-tailed Godwit.jpg
    Eastern Black-tailed Godwit.jpg
    123.3 KB · Views: 87
  • Wood Sandpiper....jpg
    Wood Sandpiper....jpg
    73.9 KB · Views: 71
  • Wood Sandpiper.jpg
    Wood Sandpiper.jpg
    91.7 KB · Views: 57
  • Marsh Sandpiper and BT Godwit.jpg
    Marsh Sandpiper and BT Godwit.jpg
    87.7 KB · Views: 71
Last edited:
2nd May list of 24 species of wader:

Grey Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Mongolian Plover
Snipe
black-tailed godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
Little Whimbrel
Whimbrel
Eurasian Curlew
Far Eastern Curlew
Common Redshank
Spotted Redhank
Marsh Sandpiper
Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Turnstone
Red-necked Stint
Temminck's Stint
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper
Oriental (presumed) Pratincole
 
Last edited:
Monday, 3rd May

Hebei, Beidaihe area

6am to 4pm


Wow!

What a day.

Beidaihe at its best!

So many photos of so many stunning birds, it's taking me quite a while to edit them... ;-)

Here's a taster...
 

Attachments

  • Siberian Rubythroat.jpg
    Siberian Rubythroat.jpg
    104.3 KB · Views: 78
Last edited:
Those Little Whimbrel shots are superb. Made my stomach churn for all the right reasons. Don't think I'm going to make this spring but it's really hard to resist.

Frank
 
Well that's got me going! Flying out tomorrow, Beidaihe Saturday.

Nice Eastern-crowned ;), a proper Beidaihe selection of waders. I wonder whether the Amur's, which I presume have again taken over the magpie nests again will ever actually stay to breed in Hebei? They seem to push off, certainly the last few years around the 20th having caused havoc over the res for a period.

Looking forward to the next installment followed by the real thing!
 
Last edited:
Monday, 3rd May

Hebei, Beidaihe area

6am to 10am



Back at the Sandflats for first light... well, first light that you'd want to take a photograph in at least.

A Mongolian Plover (289) allowed close approach (as long as you don't mind blisters on your knees that is). Then at 6.40 I heard the distinctive whistle of Little Whimbrel again. I looked up and saw a flock of 18 high in the sky flying northwards. After a minute or so, they came back, still high, but a delightful sight nevertheless.

On to the Dai river area, on the Beidaihe side (Bei means north, he means river. So Beidaihe is literally north of the Dai river. Whereas Nandaihe is south of it - (nan means south.

The first gem was the Grey-backed Thrush (290) , a first-summer male. Closely followed by a very showy Bluethroat (291) , one of my favourite birds. The next gem was a rather splendid Yellow-browed Bunting (292) - another special bird for me... so special that I travelled from London to the Isles of Scilly many years ago just to see one.

I then saw something move in the grass near to the wood pile the Yellow-browed Bunting had perched on....
 

Attachments

  • 289 Mongolian Plover.jpg
    289 Mongolian Plover.jpg
    110.1 KB · Views: 76
  • 290 Grey-backed Thrush.jpg
    290 Grey-backed Thrush.jpg
    148 KB · Views: 83
  • 291a Bluethroat...jpg
    291a Bluethroat...jpg
    56.1 KB · Views: 67
  • 291b Bluethroat.jpg
    291b Bluethroat.jpg
    80.2 KB · Views: 63
  • 292 Yellow-browed Bunting.jpg
    292 Yellow-browed Bunting.jpg
    79.2 KB · Views: 82
Last edited:
Monday, 3rd May

Hebei, Beidaihe area

10am to 11.30pm


...I watched two Red-throated Pipits (293) for about twenty minutes, with brief pauses to watch the Black-faced Buntings and Eastern Yellow Wagtails nearby.

Then, at 10.45am, I saw something that, for me, heralds the real start of the Beidaihe spring... a male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (294) no less. What a bird! I could never grow tired of watching this amazing creature.

15 minutes later, an unfamilar song led me to a bush with a Tristram's Bunting (295) in it.

With the memory card already groaning under the weight of photos i'd taken, I drove to the Magic Wood at Nandaihe...
 

Attachments

  • 293 Red-throated Pipit, Nandaihe.jpg
    293 Red-throated Pipit, Nandaihe.jpg
    106.4 KB · Views: 75
  • 294 Yellow-rumped Flycatcher.jpg
    294 Yellow-rumped Flycatcher.jpg
    97.9 KB · Views: 74
  • 295 Tristram's Bunting.jpg
    295 Tristram's Bunting.jpg
    116.1 KB · Views: 81
Last edited:
Monday, 3rd May

Hebei, Beidaihe area

11.45am to 1.15pm


Whoever wrote the song that begins, "If you go down to the woods today you're sure of a big surprise" may well have been inspired by the Magic Wood in Nandaihe.

Today's magic consisted of Chinese Song Thrush (296) ; three (two males and a female) Siberian Rubythroat, a few Dusky Thrushes; and a Taiga Flycatcher (297) .

With only a few hours of the day left (scheduled to depart for Beijing at 5pm) I made my way to the Sandflats reedbed - knowing that I could, with a bit of luck, crack the 300 species milestone today.

Three species to go.

With birds literally dropping from the sky, shouldn't be that difficult... should it?
 

Attachments

  • 296 Chinese Song Thush.jpg
    296 Chinese Song Thush.jpg
    119.6 KB · Views: 76
  • Siberian Rubythroat.jpg
    Siberian Rubythroat.jpg
    104.3 KB · Views: 57
  • Siberian Rubythroat....jpg
    Siberian Rubythroat....jpg
    118 KB · Views: 61
  • 297 Taiga Flycatcher.jpg
    297 Taiga Flycatcher.jpg
    110.9 KB · Views: 67
Last edited:
Monday, 3rd May

Hebei, Beidaihe area

1.45pm to 3.30pm


The Sandflats were packed with long-weekenders, making the most of Beidaihe's fresh air. The Sandflats reedbed, thankfully, was only packed with birds:

In about an hour I saw four or five Red-throated Pipits; a dozen or so Pallas's Reed Buntings, including a few stunning males; several Black-faced Buntings; a few Eastern Yellow Wagtails; as well as several Yellow-browed and Pallas's Warblers that were feeding on the fringes of the reedbed.

Then, just as I thought time was running out, and I would have to return to Beijing with the clock still in the 200s, I saw two "new" buntings for the year in quick succession: a Japanese Reed Bunting (298) and Chestnut-eared Bunting (299).

Frustratingly, there had been a flock of about 30 Chinese Penduline Tits in the reedbed all along, but I had not managed to get the crucial shot that was "not that bad". Then one sat out. Just as I was pressing the trigger it flew off. I checked the photo. A bit of a blurry take-off shot, but might be okay I thought. I looked up from the camera and saw that not all the birds had flown off, there was one still swinging on a reed stem. It too flew off as soon as it saw the camera, but not before I had managed to grab a "not that bad" shot of it: Chinese Penduline Tit (300). B :)
 

Attachments

  • 298 Japanese Reed Bunting.jpg
    298 Japanese Reed Bunting.jpg
    132.8 KB · Views: 69
  • 299 Chestnut-eared Bunting.jpg
    299 Chestnut-eared Bunting.jpg
    111.2 KB · Views: 81
  • 300 Chinese Penduline Tit....jpg
    300 Chinese Penduline Tit....jpg
    105.6 KB · Views: 75
  • Chinese Penduline Tit.jpg
    Chinese Penduline Tit.jpg
    41.1 KB · Views: 79
Last edited:
What a good day! wonderful pix too - the Tristram's, the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher and the Penduline Tit look newly minted.

Cheers
Mike
 
Thanks Rockfowl and Mike

Back in Beijing to do some work (!), but will hopefully be able to get back to Beidaihe on Sunday for a few or more days ;-)
 
Thursday, 6th May

Beijing, Wenyu River


Paddy fields are a rare sight these days in Beijing. But there is one area on the Chaoyang side of the Wenyu river where this habitat still flourishes.

At this time of the year, it's a pipit haven. A flock of more than 100 Water Pipits was a sight I'd never seen before. There were also c40 Olive-backed Pipits on the verges.

Also, a Grey-headed Lapwing was a notable migrant here... the first time I've seen this species in Chaoyang.

As far as photographing species new for the year is concerned though, I'm afraid the law of diminishing returns has well and truly kicked in. But at least I managed a "mood shot" of Common Snipe (301).
 

Attachments

  • Green Sandpiper.jpg
    Green Sandpiper.jpg
    132.1 KB · Views: 71
  • Little Bunting.jpg
    Little Bunting.jpg
    99.4 KB · Views: 85
  • Olive-backed Pipit.jpg
    Olive-backed Pipit.jpg
    155 KB · Views: 87
  • Water Pipit.jpg
    Water Pipit.jpg
    138.3 KB · Views: 72
  • Common Snipe.jpg
    Common Snipe.jpg
    147.6 KB · Views: 91
Last edited:
Impressive pipit flocks - right in town! (more or less) Nice to hear that some birds (other than the sparrows and magpies) are thriving even in the face of 20 million people.

More little buntings! I will see that bird in person yet (and recognize it)!

I like the olive-back picture very much. Reminds me also, I saw some recent pics of rosy pipits (somewhere in Tangshan area?) - have you seen those pipits?
 
Good record, Shi Jin.
Love the Bluethroat and rubythroat, I even havn't see one.
Monday, 3rd May

Hebei, Beidaihe area

6am to 10am



Back at the Sandflats for first light... well, first light that you'd want to take a photograph in at least.

A Mongolian Plover (289) allowed close approach (as long as you don't mind blisters on your knees that is). Then at 6.40 I heard the distinctive whistle of Little Whimbrel again. I looked up and saw a flock of 18 high in the sky flying northwards. After a minute or so, they came back, still high, but a delightful sight nevertheless.

On to the Dai river area, on the Beidaihe side (Bei means north, he means river. So Beidaihe is literally north of the Dai river. Whereas Nandaihe is south of it - (nan means south.

The first gem was the Grey-backed Thrush (290) , a first-summer male. Closely followed by a very showy Bluethroat (291) , one of my favourite birds. The next gem was a rather splendid Yellow-browed Bunting (292) - another special bird for me... so special that I travelled from London to the Isles of Scilly many years ago just to see one.

I then saw something move in the grass near to the wood pile the Yellow-browed Bunting had perched on....
 
Good record, Shi Jin.
Love the Bluethroat and rubythroat, I even haven't see one.

Same as my feeling Xiaoming :-C

By the way, how was your trip to Sichuan? Will you be posting about it somewhere (or maybe give a link to somewhere else you've posted it?)
 
Thanks Gretchen and Xiaoming

Looks like there may be some rain tomorrow in Beidaihe. Which could be good...

...No matter what, I'll be on the morning train.
 
Sunday, 9th May

Hebei, Beidaihe


Did I say that rain could be good?

What I should have wished for was rain in the morning (while I was on the train) and a bright afternoon.

Unfortunately it rained until about 3.30pm. Undeterred, I went to the Magic Wood at Nandaihe straight from the station. I spent a cold hour or so in a disused building there sheltering from the torrential rain. Despite the downpour, there were male Yellow-rumped and 3 Taiga Flycatchers and a Radde's Warbler (302) feeding close to the shelter.

Eventually, I gave up and retreated to Beidaihe for a change of clothes. At 3.15pm the sky started to brighten in the west (where the weather was coming from). And that's where I headed back to.

As soon as the rain stopped, there was a large amount of bird activity (at the Beidaihe side of the Dai river): 2 Richard's Pipit; c40 Little Bunting; 1 Chestnut Bunting (which I got a very bad shot of); several Eastern Yellow Wagtail (303) and a Russet Sparrow {304) (a bird that seems to be expaning its range northwards). This was only the second Russet Sparrow I've see in Beidaihe - my first, several years ago, was Beidaihe's first record, as I understand. Also, a Brown Shrike (305) here (ssp cristatus).

A returned to the the woods at Nandaihe drew a black, although the fligt shot of a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is perhaps the photo-highlight of the day.
 

Attachments

  • 302 Radde's Warbler.jpg
    302 Radde's Warbler.jpg
    92 KB · Views: 82
  • 303 Eastern Yellow Wagtail.jpg
    303 Eastern Yellow Wagtail.jpg
    107 KB · Views: 81
  • 304 Russet Sparrow.jpg
    304 Russet Sparrow.jpg
    77.5 KB · Views: 106
  • 305 Brown Shrike.jpg
    305 Brown Shrike.jpg
    113.2 KB · Views: 76
  • Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.jpg
    Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.jpg
    128.2 KB · Views: 88
Last edited:
Warning! This thread is more than 10 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top