Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
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.
Some more good stuff to report. Spent a few very early morning hours in my usually Saturday morning place. While we're on the topic of correcting IDs (thanks to everyone who posted above, I love and learn from discussion surrounding birds) I have a few more from today. In the field (and I know this can be important) I thought the following pictures to be what they are labeled based on size, flight, etc... Now, sitting at my computer I think the Gos could really be a large Eurasian Sparrowhawk and the Eurasian Sparrowhawk could really be a Japanese Sparrowhawk. Not as convinced about the last one though, it was quite large. Thoughts? Thankfully the other Goshawks today were very much Goshawks.
Also take a quick look at the Brambling photo and guess how many there are. Then take the time to count them. You'll be as shocked as I was.... I want to turn my 2000 into 3000 for today! This is a partial group and there were probably 15 groups like this that moved overhead going straight south.
The ridge is quite high up so this is not a report of what was in the ponds. This is what flew past or was around the ridge and what I could see down in the ponds.
Common Pheasant - many
Bean Geese - 7 taiga
Ruddy Shelduck - 2
Mandarin Duck - 3
Mallard -many
Spot-billed Duck - many
Eurasian Teal - 10
Little Grebe - a few
Grey Heron - 10
Little Egret - 2
Eurasian Kestrel - 1
Amur Falcon - 7
Osprey - 1
Eurasian Sarrowhawk - 5
Northern Goshawk - 6
Eastern Buzzard - 3
Common Greenshank - 1
Black-tailed Gull - 5
Mongolian/Vega Gull - 10
Black-headed Gull - 100
Hill Pigeon -2
Oriental Turtle Dove - 20
Owl Sp. - 1 Almost certain a Scops Owl Sp. very early over the ridge, have some photos but they are horrible
Chinese grey Shrike - 1
Great Tit - 30
Yellow-bellied Tit - 3 confirmed and I think there were a few more
Varied Tit - 1 single
Coal Tit - 6
Barn Swallow - 350?
Eurasian Skylark - 5
Chinese Hill Warbler - 2
Yellow-browed Warbler - 2
Vinous-throated Parrotbill - many
Dusky/Naumann's Thrush - 30
White Wagtail - 15
Pipit Sp. - 10
Brambling - the bird of the day- huge numbers. I'm guessing around 2000.
Oriental Greenfinch - 10
Meadow Bunting - 2
Bunting Sp. - maybe 100 flyovers? Many of them were probably Black-faced...
While I didn't get out today (swamped at work), I did manage a life bird in the form of a Black Stork flying low over one of the buildings! No mistaking it from Oriental Stork so I will check it off. Didn't have my camera with me......Flight shots would have been very doable as it was struggling in heavy wind and quite low. I think it was looking for a suitable area to come down. We had a strong cold front arrive last night and the temps are very low at the moment for this time of year. It's supposed to slowly warm back up in the next few days here.
Congratulations with the Black Stork, Tom!! That's one I know you have wanted for a while... Coincidentally I saw two at Wild Duck Lake last week, so they are clearly on the move.
A wave of new species today after the cold front yesterday. First Yellow-throated and Rustic Buntings and a pair of Baikal Teal. This year looks to be a normal year with no reed warblers today. Last year there was still Dusky and Black-browed Reed Warblers around well into November.
Common Pheasant - 4
Ruddy Shelduck - 2
Gadwall - 4
Eurasian Wigeon - 2
Mallard - 100
Spot-billed Duck - 20
Baikal Teal - 2
Eurasian Teal - 4
Common Pochard - 1
Tufted Duck - 2
Little Grebe - 15
Grey Heron - 9
Little Egret - 3
Common Coot - 23
Green Sandpiper - 1
Common Snipe - 1
Black-headed Gull - 75
Chinese Grey Shrike - 2
Great Tit - 4
Chinese Penduline Tit - 10
Barn Swallow - 150 should be on their way soon.
Vinous-throated Parrotbill - 1 group
White Wagtail - 10 which subspecies is the photographed one? Bad photo - sun sets early now.
Buff-bellied Pipit - 2
Brambling - 50
Oriental Greenfinch - 15
Meadow Bunting - 3
Rustic Bunting - 1
Yellow-throated Bunting - 10
Black-faced Bunting - 1
Pallas's Reed Bunting - 3
Common Reed Bunting - 1
Also, some good news, the bird in question from post #677 is indeed a Marsh Grassbird! (lifer) and the one in post #673 is indeed canturians. I was wrong with the sparrowhawk labelled Northern Goshawk in post#686 - it has been confirmed as Eurasian Sparrowhawk.
That's two life birds in the last 2 weeks! (Marsh Grassbird and Black Stork)
I reached the top a little after 11 a.m. Heavy rain kept me away from my normal early morning hours and so I missed most of the small stuff that is typical within an hour or two of sun rise. Despite this, it was a nice fall day with clouds coming and going throughout the afternoon. I was there for approx 4 hours and then did a short drive by some other forest areas I don't usually get to on the far side of the ponds.
Common Pheasant -many
Ruddy Shelduck - 2
Mandarin Duck - 6 on Thursday
Mallard - hundreds
Spot-billed Duck - 50
Eurasian Teal - 1
Common Pochard - 3
Little Grebe - many
Grey Heron - 32
Great Egret - 8
Little Egret - 12
Eurasian Kestrel - 1
Amur Falcon - 1
Hen Harrier - 1
Japanese Sparrowhawk - 2
Eurasian Sparrowhawk - 13
Northern Goshawk - 1
Eastern Buzzard - 27
Upland Buzzard - 9
Common Coot - many
Green Sandpiper - 1
Black-tailed Gull - a few
Common Gull - 5
Vega/Mongolian Gull - 15
Black-headed Gull - 300
Hill Pigeon - 1
Oriental Turtle Dove - 3
Corvid Sp. - 1 have a look at the photo. Carrion Crow?
Great Tit - many
Coal Tit - 5
Chinese Penduline Tit - 2
Barn Swallow - 10
Eurasian Skylark - 5
Zitting Cisticola - 1
Yellow-browed Warbler - 2
Vinous-throated Parrotbill - 1 group
Dusky/Naumann's Thrush - 40
Bluethroat - 1
Daurian Redtstart - 4
White Wagtail - 3
Olive-backed Pipit - 5
Buff-bellied Pipit - 3
Brambling - 100
Oriental Greenfinch - 15
Meadow Bunting - 1
Rustic Bunting - 1
Yellow-throated Bunting - 10
Black-faced Bunting - 10
Pallas's Reed Bunting - 2
Very cold today with ice on the deck this morning. With a report of a Eurasian Bullfinch at Laotieshan and Pallas's Rosefinches and Japanese Waxings in Beijing I decided to hit the forest and give the ponds a break. I was rewarded with several species that I usually see in mid to late November for the first time. The forest around this reservoir has huge potential and used to be my regular stomping grounds but, like many other areas here, has been converted into a golf course (half of it) and is now mostly off limits to "tourists" such as myself... I was there for 45 minutes just before dark and was very cold by the time I left.
Common Pheasant
Mallard - 3
Little Grebe - 5
Eurasian Sparrowhawk - 1
Upland Buzzard - 2
Oriental Turtle Dove - 1
Great Tit - 60?
Coal Tit - around 30
Long-tailed Tit - 7
Pallas's Leaf Warbler - 1 very fresh looking late guy
Yellow-browed Warbler - 1
Vinous-Throated Parrotbill - 1 large group
Dusky/Naumann's Thrush - 20 (some possibly purely Dusky)
Red-flanked Bluetail - 1
Daurian Redstart - 4
White Wagtail - 5
Pipit Sp. flyovers - 6 I think they were Olive-backed
Brambling - 80?
Eurasian Siskin - 15
Long-tailed Rosefinch - 1
Meadow Bunting - 4
Little Bunting - 5
Rustic Bunting - 20
Yellow-throated Bunting - 50