[balkantrek]

I have been invited to take part in a walk along the Great Wall of China this coming April and was wondering if anyone has any information about the birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles etc that might be seen whilst walking the wall.

Sections of the Wall to be walked include:
Mutian Yu
Jiankou
Gubeikou
Jingshanling
Simatai
Taipingzhai

We will also visit:
East Qing Tombs
Forbidden City in Beijing

Any advice on what to look out for in April at these places and any recommended ID guides for that part of China would be very welcome.

[Dong Bei]

I don't live in Beijing and have only limited knowledge of the areas you mentioned but I know people see Chinese Hill Warbler from the wall. Late April would be a good time for real warblers, thrushes, swifts, etc.. from the wall as well I would think. I also know that Wild Duck Lake is in that general direction and is a phenominal birding destination.

Personally I would recommend "Birds of East Asia" by Mark Brazil for a guide. "Birds of Northeast Asia" by Tadao Shimba is an excellent photoguide for the region as well.

[Paul Collins]

Sounds amazing, and you're going to see much more than I did in my couple of hours along Mutian Yu. I saw a black-eared kite, yellow-bellied tit and a couple of the beautiful red-billed blue magpies. In terms of other wildlife, some cicadas, a longhorn beetle of some sort, and lots of magnificent swallowtails much larger than those that we get in Europe.

[MKinHK]

Other birds to look for include:

Pere David's Laughingthrush, Chinese Hill Warbler, Common Pheasant (they're wild here), Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Naumann's Thrush, Chinese Blackbird, Eastern Great Tit, Red-flanked Bluetail, Brambling, Yellow-bellied Tit, Large-billed Crow, Azure-winged Magpie, Black-billed Magpie, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, Yellow-throated Bunting, Pine Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Godlewski's Bunting. I have also heard of people seeing Chinese Nuthatch in pine woodland close to the wall.

April is also the beginning of the migration, so you could be seeing a range of raptors over the hills including Eastern Buzzard, Upland Buzzard, Greater Spotted, Imperial, Golden and Steppe Eagle, Northern Sparrowhawk and Northern Goshawk, Eurasian Kestrel, Saker, Amur Falcon (if they come through that early)

These are just the sort of bird I remember seeing in my birding in the hills around Beijing from 1990 - 1991 or birds that could appear based on my memory of migration.

Other mega birds to look for including Elisa's Flycatcher, Brown-eared Pheasant, Grey-sided Thrush where you are in good woodland, but I have no specific gen on where to look.

You could also try googling Bjorn Anderson and Beijing and birding - He has some trip reports including fone from the Eastern Tombs in April, where he saw a Koklass Pheasant.

Cheers
Mike

[balkantrek]

Thanks everyone for your replies, sounds like an interesting mix of familiar and unfamiliar species!