As a superb year for birding in the Chinese capital draws to a close, I bring exciting news that a group of Beijing birders is working on a “2013 Beijing Bird Report”, to include information about all known significant sightings.
Here are the six new records for Beijing in 2013 that we are aware of:
Black-winged Kite: 1 over the Baiwang Shan watch point on the 16 April (鶽鴞 小关 等等 via BirdTalker)
Sandhill Crane: 1 at Bulaotun, Miyun reservoir on the 8 Dec. (ZHU Lei, WANG Yu-ting, JIN Yan-fei, MA Zhe, LEI Ming and JU Ming) was still present on the 15 Dec. (Jan-Erik Nilsén)
Bar-tailed Godwit: 1 at Miyun reservoir on the 13 April (Jan-Erik Nilsén) with eight at Shahe on the 22 June (Colm Moore)
Long-tailed Jaeger: 1 near adult photographed at Shahe on the 22 June (Colm Moore)
Western Yellow Wagtail: 1 male melanogisea (now subsumed in feldgegg) photographed at Shahe reservoir on the 12 May (Colm Moore)
Tree Pipit: 1 photographed in the British Ambassador’s Garden, Guanghua Lu, on the 13 May (Terry Townshend).
It’s likely to be a little while before we complete the annual review and, in the mean time, we are interested in any records for inclusion. Please comment on this post if you have any contributions.
And so, all that remains for me to say in this last post of 2013 is “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year” to all the readers of this blog.. and a big thank you to everyone who has contributed, commented and spread the word about birding in Beijing. Here is a festive cartoon, courtesy of my very talented friend, Li Xiaomai… enjoy!
EDIT: It has since come to light that another new bird was seen in Beijing in 2013 – a SANDERLING was photographed at Ma Chang in September (awaiting further details). So that’s 7 new birds in 2013!
Merry Christmas and keep up the good work!
Thank you, Ayuwat. Wishing you a super 2014, too.
Seasonal greetings and best wishes!
Thank you!! Wishing you a brilliant 2014.
Thanks for keeping the world informed through 2013. Wishing you and China’s birds all the very best for 2014.
Thanks Ken! And thanks for your support throughout the year.. wishing you a healthy and happy 2014.
Hi Terry – Great site. We were delighted to spot a hoopoe on the ground in Capital Paradise, Shunyi, January 2013. Totally ignorant of the fact that they were to be found here, we were very surprised. Their African cousins were common company in our garden in Lilongwe, Malawi (along with so many other beautiful birds that we we miss terribly!)
We have tried putting up feeders (seed bottles and fat balls) to try to attract more birds to our meagre back yard but with little success. Any tips?
All the best for 2014!
Hi Tom! Thanks for your comment. Yes, Hoopoes are reasonably common in Beijing and a few hardy souls stay through the winter. Lovely birds. As for feeding birds, it’s not commonplace in China but definitely worth trying… I’d be very interested to hear how you get on.. needs to be done over a reasonable period of time for the wintering birds to get used to the food but definitely worth a try! No real tips except to keep the stock fresh and also to supply water given the cold weather.. water could actually attract more birds than the food given how dry is Beijing… Best of luck! Terry
Thanks Terry. Birds have steadfastly refused our hospitality so far but thanks for the water tip! Our house backs onto a canal so it’s not in short supply but I’ll put some out and see what happens. Cheers, Tom
Happy New Year, Terry
I don’t think Black-winged Kite is new for Beijing. I have seen it at Yeyahu and Brian may even have had a couple there
Cheers, Spike
Hi Spike,
Happy New Year to you, too! I’d love to know about any records of BW Kite in Beijing.. are your sightings on Birdtalker? If you have dates, please pass them on!
Cheers, Terry