Tag Archives: Wild Duck Lake

Seeing Double

Posted on April 13, 2013 by

On Friday I visited Ma Chang with Global Times journalist Jiang Yuxia (writing an article about birding in Beijing) and Jennifer Leung.  After a few days of cold and windy weather, the forecast was for a change in the wind … Continue reading →

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Baer’s Pochard at Ma Chang

Posted on April 8, 2013 by

On Sunday I visited Ma Chang, Wild Duck Lake.  April and May are superb months to visit this special Beijing site.  With migration in full swing, it’s fascinating to see the departure of the winter visitors, the arrival of summer … Continue reading →

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Siberian Cranes at Yeyahu!

Posted on April 2, 2013 by

This morning I received an email from An Yi, a Denmark-based birder who has been in Beijing visiting family.  Yi visited Yeyahu NR on Wednesday 27 March and was lucky enough to see some cranes…  but not just any cranes.. … Continue reading →

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Horned Larks

Posted on December 20, 2012 by

The cold winter (it’s forecast to get down to -26 degrees C in Beijing on Christmas Eve), combined with the above average snowfall, has meant that many birds that are usually scarce winter visitors to the capital, are here in … Continue reading →

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“****! That looked like a BAER’S POCHARD!!!”

Posted on October 19, 2012 by

With apologies to my mum, that’s exactly what went through my head as I scanned a group of diving duck at Wild Duck Lake on Wednesday morning and came across a bird with a green-tinged head and pale flanks…  It … Continue reading →

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Bull-headed Shrike!

Posted on April 28, 2012 by

Yesterday I accompanied visiting British birder John Gerson and Dutch birder Ben Wielstra to Wild Duck Lake.  We started at Ma Chang where we were lucky enough to find 2 Oriental Plovers, 5 Greater Sand Plovers and a Mongolian Lark … Continue reading →

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First for Beijing: White Wagtail ssp personata

Posted on April 16, 2012 by

On Saturday I visited Wild Duck Lake (Ma Chang and Yeyahu) with Jesper Hornskov, Hui Ying (James) and his friend ‘Leila’.  We enjoyed another fantastic spring day and recorded some excellent species including 31 Oriental Plovers, single Short-toed and Greater … Continue reading →

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Desert Wheatear

Posted on April 5, 2012 by

This morning I found what I believe is the 2nd Beijing record of Desert Wheatear.  It was the highlight on a special day that included 19 stunning Oriental Plovers, 12 Relict Gulls and a Mongolian Lark. Early April is a great … Continue reading →

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Oriental Plover and Pallas’s Gulls

Posted on March 25, 2012 by

This weekend has been something of a bonanza for me in Beijing.  The weather had been very windy on Friday which cleared away all the smog and set up the weekend to be sunny, clear and (on Sunday at least) … Continue reading →

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Bustards at dawn

Posted on January 21, 2012 by

The highlight of a few hours at Wild Duck Lake this morning was a sighting of four Great Bustards, the world’s heaviest flying bird.  I captured this image of two of the group flying into the rising sun at about … Continue reading →

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