On Sunday we visited the Bai He valley (about 2 hours north of Beijing city). It’s an attractive drive when the weather is good and the pollution levels low, as was the case for our visit. The Bai He valley is well known in Beijing birding circles as one of the few remaining sites in Beijing Municipality where one can see the unique Ibisbill (Ibidorhyncha struthersii). “Unique” is an overused word but, as a descriptor for the Ibisbill, it is surely appropriate. The Ibisbill belongs to the order Charadriiformes which also includes sandpipers, plovers, terns, auks, gulls, skuas and others but is sufficiently distinctive to merit its own family, Ibidorhynchidae. The species is named in honour of Dr. Struthers of Glasgow who collected specimens of the bird from the Himalayas in the 19th century.
Many people see their first Ibisbill on a vast, flowing stony river at high altitude in the Himalayas and it almost seems a little surreal to find them on a narrow river near China’s capital where it competes with sickly-looking domestic ducks and, at this time of year, tourists paddling downriver in inflatable dinghies…
Despite the disturbance, which also includes a steady flow of tourists following the completion of a wooden boardwalk along the area favoured by these special birds, the Ibisbill is hanging on, a good example of the resilience of nature.
We saw three individuals today in exactly the same spot as when I first visited this site shortly after I arrived in China in 2010.
The Ibisbills at Bai He have proved very popular with birders visiting Beijing over recent years. Long may that continue!
If only the frogs were masters of the wetlands, and not local developers ! Although they might ban egrets and herons, and maybe even Ibisbills !
Haha..
I always hear about the excited reporst of others seeing Ibisbills out there, and hope I’ll be one of those viewers some day. As you say it is an encouraging story of birds hanging on where we don’t expect them to. I love the environment signs – I would think they would attract more attention, and hopefully begin to raise awareness!
Thanks Gretchen. If you come to Beijing, I’d be delighted to show you the Ibisbills. The signs are great, aren’t they… I hope they do help to raise awareness but judging by the amount of litter left in their vicinity, I think there is some way to go before visitors fully appreciate the environment.