Author: Terry Townshend

As I started my morning walk around the garden this morning, I didn’t expect much.  It was pretty smoggy and fairly still and, after several days of settled weather, I didn’t expect there to be any new grounded migrants.

In some longish grass I caught a glimpse of a warbler probing around at the bases of the stems..  and it didn’t take long to realise it was a Radde’s Warbler – my first in the garden.  It hopped around, rarely fully in view – typical of a Radde’s  – before flying a short way into dense cover.  A nice start.

A bit further along I flushed a Taiga Flycatcher – the first I have seen for a while (they were pretty common in early September but most seem to have gone through by now) and a female Daurian Redstart (possibly the same bird that has been present since Tuesday) darted out and then back into cover.  Several Pallas’s Warblers foraged in the tallest shrubs but, with lots of dog walkers around and Chinese people doing their morning shouty shouty stuff, I decided to call it a morning and go back to the flat for breakfast.

A nagging feeling that there might be more birds around caused me to take another stroll around after lunch.  Almost immediately, in the same spot as the Radde’s earlier that day, I caught sight of some movement on the ground.  Probably the Radde’s, I thought…  This time I had my camera with me so I thought I would try to get an image or too..  I crept up the steps so that I was at eye-level with the bird.. suddenly it called a very sharp ‘tick’ and sat up on a stem.  The bird had plain brownish upperparts and a very marked supercilium that grew stronger behind the eye.  It turned and I could see it had a very short tail – it was clearly an Asian Stubtail!  Wow!  I grabbed my camera and it flew up onto a branch momentarily before flying off round the corner and out of sight.  I managed a few dark record images…

 

 

Almost immediately, two Pallas’s Warblers came down to some low branches nearby and performed very well…  I do love these bright little gems!

 

 

 

I enjoyed watching one of the Pallas’s as it repeatedly picked off insects from an infested stem and, in so doing, I realised that I may have achieved a photographic first – a Pallas’s Warbler pooing.  He must have felt embarrassed as, no sooner had he relieved himself, he flew off in a hurry…

 

 

 

 

A walk around the garden today produced probably the best crop of migrants yet.  It started with two Daurian Redstarts (a pair) and several Pallas’s Warblers.  Further round I flushed a Red-flanked Bluetail and then a Dusky Warbler showed briefly from a shrub before typically diving deep into cover.  A ‘tick’ call alerted me to a flying Bunting which settled on the top of a nearby tree, revealing itself to be a first winter Yellow-browed Bunting and then a small flock of Yellow-bellied Tits came through a group of young poplars..  Not bad for a 20-minute walk around the garden!

On Sunday I joined forced with Beijing-based English birders, Brian Jones and ‘Spike’ Millington (brother to Richard of Birding World fame) for a trip to Wild Duck Lake, Chinese name “Yeyahu”.  This site is about 90-120 minutes north-west of Beijing and lies just beyond the popular section of the Great Wall at Badaling and close to the town of Yanqing.

The environment around Yeyahu (Wild Duck Lake)

The site is a flat steppe-like area of mostly grassland with a reservoir, a small reedbed, an area of shrubs and a few trees, nestled between two sets of mountains to the north and south.   It is often windy here – the mountains act as a sort of wind tunnel – and the wind is often from the north-west, originating from Siberia and across Inner Mongolia, apparently making the wind chill in winter a teeth-chattering -20 degrees Celsius or below.. yikes.

This site can easily be day-tripped from Beijing but Brian wanted to ensure we were on site for dawn (there can be disturbance from horse-riders from around 0730), so we decided to travel the evening before, stay overnight in a local hotel and begin birding at dawn.  We met at the bus station and caught a bus from Beijing to Yanqing.

A meal in the local restaurant around the corner from our hotel (cost – GBP 8.50 for three, including beer) set us up nicely for the following day.

Brian, a regular at this site – in fact he is writing a book about its birds – had arranged for a local driver to pick us up at 0530 the following morning for the 20 minute drive to the park.  At 0530 in the dot our car arrived and off we went..

It was pretty windy and decidedly chilly at 0600 so I was soon glad I had packed my gloves as the Siberian wind howled relentlessly from the north-west.  Viewing birds on the ground wasn’t easy in the wind but we picked off Hen Harrier, Eurasian Skylark, a single Greater Short-toed Lark, Black-eared Kite, Lapwing, Spotted Redshank, Eurasian Starling (a rare bird in China) and a possible first for Yeyahu – a Grey Plover!  Brian couldn’t hide his excitement about this find…  and soon had the camera out snapping a few record shots.

A couple of Eastern Marsh Harriers quartered the fields and a group of Chinese Spot-billed Duck circled before settling on the reservoir.  A Eurasian Sparrowhawk raided some nearby bushes, flushing a few Buntings (mostly Little) and a superb Chinese Grey Shrike sat, sentinel-like, on a low bush sheltered by the reedbed.

As we walked to a small spit protruding out into the reservoir, we flushed a group of pipits and wagtails.  Most were juvenile White Wagtails but the pipits proved to be mostly Buff-bellied, with a single Richard’s Pipit that flew over our heads uttering its distinctive call.

The walk from the reservoir to the lake produced Zitting Cisticola, Hobby, Little Bunting, Yellow Wagtail and Grey Heron and the lake itself held Wigeon, Common Teal, Gadwall, Coot, Mallard, Great-crested and Little Grebe.  More Little Buntings were in the reeds and along the path and we flushed a Japanese Quail from a patch of longer grass.

As the day began to warm up and the wind eased, we began to see more raptors.  A few Common Buzzards (a passage migrant here) began to rise on the thermals and a couple more Hen Harriers took to the wing.

After viewing the lake, Brian decided to take the boardwalk across the middle of the lake while Spike and I preferred the wooded perimeter track, in the hope that there may be some warblers or flycatchers.  It wasn’t long before we picked up an unfamiliar call (a sort of upward-slurring “choo-wit” and soon discovered a small phyllosc.  It looked superficially like a drab Yellow-browed Warbler but we could soon see that it had a very pronounced median crown-stripe that began just behind the forehead.  I immediately thought it must be a washed-out Pallas’s Warbler but there were no yellowish tones to the plumage at all and it did not have a yellow rump.  Our thoughts turned to the other leaf warblers and, after watching the bird for the next 10 minutes or so, Spike was reasonably confident it must be a Chinese Leaf Warbler.  Our bird was soon joined by three other phylloscs, this time Pallas’s Leaf Warblers.

 

 

 

 

 

This photo shows one of the Pallas’s Warblers also present.

Moving on from the phylloscs to meet with Brian, our progress was soon halted again when we caught sight of 4 raptors circling some distance away.  Three were clearly Common Buzzards but the fourth was larger with a very different jizz.  It had a squarish tail, almost horizontal wings and the underparts were very pale..  As it banked, I could see the upperwing pattern – mostly dark with lighter patches on the coverts.  The underparts looked uniformly pale with a darkish head/throat.  Short-toed Eagle immediately entered our minds and, although the bird was still very distant, we were soon convinced this is what we were watching – a rare bird for northern China.  As it drifted even further away, we set off to meet Brian, knowing that he had already been at the northern observation point for a while.

We headed north along the path with more raptors circling overhead.. more Common Buzzards..  Then, almost overhead we suddenly noticed a larger bird..  Again, pale underneath, square tail and larger than Common Buzzard.  Short-toed Eagle!  Now it was almost directly above us and, as we watched it circling and occasionally hovering, suddenly a second bird swooped and both engaged in a short talon-tussle while calling to each other.  The original bird then began an undulating flight with deep wingbeats, reminiscent of the butterfly-like display flight of Honey Buzzard.  A fantastic sight!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second bird (see last photo) was much paler, lacking the barring on the underparts and the dark head pattern.  On checking the trusty Forsman guide, I believe this indicates an immature (possibly a 3cy) bird.

We reached the northern watchpoint and hooked up with Brian, who had been enjoying these birds from the watchtower.  After a spot of lunch we walked back on the leeward side of the trees, heading to the entrance of the park.  Lots more Little Buntings, a juvenile Goshawk, a couple of Olive-backed Pipits, a few more Common Buzzards and another Hobby kept us company as we reached the entrance to the park, from where our driver collected us for the short drive back to the bus station.  After a bit of a wait here (the queues were long due to the public holiday), I arrived back in Beijing at dusk, pretty tired but exhilarated by my day out of quality birding in the company of two of Beijing’s finest..  A good site and one that I would like to visit again pretty often if I can.  Apparently during the 2009/10 harsh winter, the site held several hundred Pallas’s Sandgrouse (not annual there) plus a flock of 200+ Pine Buntings and several Mongolian Larks…  now that would be worth braving the -20 degrees cold for!

 

 

Not strictly a birding post but I thought readers might be interested in seeing some images from our visit to one of the remaining areas of traditional Hutongs in Beijing.

The word hutong came from the Mongolian language about 700 years ago.  The original Mongolian word was “hottog”, meaning “water well”.  This was always a place where people lived, because people always gathered where there was water.  Today in Beijing, the word hutong means a small alleyway or lane. They are typical of the old part of Beijing and are formed by lines of siheyuan (a compound made up of rooms around a courtyard ) in which most Beijing residents used to live.

Most of the original hutongs have been cleared away to make way for new, high-rise building but there are still several areas where this traditional way of life can be seen.  On national day (1 Oct) we visited one of the more upmarket Hutong districts at Luanghou Lane that has been preserved and, to some extent, commercialised.  It was originally built in 1267 and was part of the Zhaohui Community under the Yuan District.  There were lots of nice snug-looking cafes, restaurants and independent shops selling all sorts of merchandise from clothes to pottery to paintings to food.  The area was bustling with tourists – mostly Chinese but with the odd western face mixed in.

Even here, birds were in evidence with Azure-winged Magpies squawking overhead and a few Yellow-browed Warblers calling from the trees…

As well as being good for Sparrowhawks, Happy Island was also good for Harriers.  We saw good numbers of Pied (probably the most common Harrier), Eastern Marsh and Hen (the least common – they tend to migrate a little later).  When seen together, Pied looked smaller, slimmer and more agile in flight..  A few of my best images below.

At Happy Island we saw many Sparrowhawks – both Eurasian and Japanese – allowing a good comparison of these similar species.  The best indicator was structure with Japanese being smaller-headed, shorter-tailed and generally more compact.  If seen well, plumage details, including the more strongly barred breast and underwing, with the streaking often reaching the vent, helped to distinguish Japanese from the more familiar Eurasian.

On our first day, I felt sorry for the migrant passerines.  Not only were they dropping into the woods, exhausted, but the woods were full of Sparrowhawks.  Every call or squeak from a passerine resulted in at least one but often two or three Sparrowhawks homing in on the noise like guided missiles.  Surprisingly, we found one Japanese Sparrowhawk suspended high in a tree, obviously the victim of a collision with a branch, something one doesn’t expect from these highly maneuverable raptors.

A video of the trip to Happy Island can be seen here.

When Jesper Hornskov (a China-based Danish birder and guide) called to ask whether I wanted to accompany him and a group of Swiss and UK birders to Happy Island in late September, it didn’t take me long to make up my mind.  I had read many mouth-watering trip reports about the birding on Happy Island and spoken to many friends who had been.  The vast majority went in Spring, with many of the birds in resplendent breeding plumage.  Happy Island seemed to be much less frequently visited in the autumn, despite being slap bang in the middle of the East Asian flyway.

And so it was with a sense of excitement and expectation that I journeyed to the airport to meet with Jesper and the crew (David Marques, Christian Beerli and Pirmin Nietlisbach from Switzerland and Jon Mercer from England) for the 2-3 hour drive to Beidaihe, our first stop.  The weather was appalling with strong winds, heavy rain and cool temperatures (around 12 degrees C).  We arrived in Beidaihe around 45 minutes before dusk so we dumped our bags at the Frienship Hotel and crossed the road to view the mudflats, hoping for a few shorebirds before the 5am start and trip south to Happy Island the following day.

There is now no access onto the flats themselves following the building of a wooden walkway and perimeter fence.  This is clearly good for the birds – less disturbance – but not so good for birders in terms of getting good views of the birds!  With the tide a fair way out and in fading light, we didn’t get great views of anything, with the exception of some very close feeding Red-necked Stints.  Nevertheless, in addition to the stints, we managed to pick up Eurasian Curlew, Red-breasted Merganser, Kentish Plover, Black-tailed Gull, Saunders’ Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mongolian Gull and Greenshank.

We awoke the next morning to driving rain, strong winds and even colder temperatures, making me wish I had brought my gloves – a stark contrast to the weather in Beijing just a day earlier – 28 degrees C and sunny!  Our first stop on the way to Happy Island was at a small tidal river called Dapu.  The foul weather meant that, for the first few hours, we scanned from the car.  Here we soon picked up Baikal Teal, Pied Harrier, Pacific Golden Plover, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Chinese Pond Heron and Common Snipe.  As the rain began to wane (it’s all relative – it was still raining persistently!) we made a quick dash for an old brick structure that was to be our base for the next 2-3 hours, providing welcome shelter from the elements as well as being a good vantage point to look out over the estuary.  From here we added Falcated Duck, Moorhen, Richard’s and Red-throated Pipits, Far Eastern Curlew, Black-winged Stilt, Grey Wagtail, Purple Heron, Little Grebe, Garganey, Whiskered Tern, White-winged Black Tern, Marsh Sandpiper, Yellow Bittern, Oriental Pratincole, Osprey, Hobby, Eastern Marsh, Hen and Pied Harrier, Black-browed Reed Warbler, Oriental Great Reed Warbler, Pallas’s Reed Bunting, Black Drongo, Eastern Black-tailed Godwit and, best of all, at least 4 Long-billed Plovers!

At about 1230, and with the rain easing, we began the drive south to Happy Island, stopping at a local restaurant for lunch where we added a flyover Black-naped Oriole.  From the car we saw more Pied and Eastern Marsh Harriers as well as several Amur Falcons resting on overhead wires.  On arrival at the quay, the rain started again as we boarded our boat for the short (5-10 minutes) journey across the water.

Little and Gull-billed Terns were just about identified through the rainy windows.  We were met at the quay on Happy Island by a sort of giant electronic golf buggy that took us south towards our accommodation.  A Chinese Grey Shrike on wires was a good welcome to the island and we soon realised that there had been a fall of Siberian Stonechats – they were everywhere – and the calls of Yellow-browed Warblers kept us company from the trackside trees.

The accommodation was basic but comfortable with hot water, including a shower and air conditioning.

We dumped our bags and headed out for the last few hours of daylight.  The golf buggy took us further south towards the island’s temple and, just before we reached the end of the track where the buggy would drop us, we stumbled across a large group of egrets which, on scrutiny, revealed two superb Oriental White Storks – a great start!  These birds are endangered and are not usually seen on Happy Island in September (they breed in north-east Russia and usually migrate later in the autumn).  We enjoyed these birds on the deck and in flight, seeing the large, dark bills and the white markings on the secondaries.  Nice.

Meanwhile, a Black-capped Kingfisher called from the edge of the wood and revealed itself only briefly before flying deeper into cover.

By now the rain had stopped and the cloud was clearly lifting but there was still a cold fresh wind as we walked through the ‘west wood’ and out to the mud flats.  The walk produced several Japanese Quail, a Lanceolated Warbler, several Dusky Warblers and 3 Ashy Minivets.

At dusk we headed back and enjoyed a typically good Chinese meal in the island restaurant before crashing early ahead of the 0530 start the next day.

The next day dawned bright, sunny and with a much reduced wind.  Jesper had told us that he expected it to be a good day.  After a couple of days of bad weather, there was likely to be a ‘backlog’ of birds ready to migrate and the cold night over the mainland was likely to stimulate more birds to move south.  We headed out at 0530 and took up position just south of Temple Wood.  Here we watched the visible migration for a few hours.  And what a few hours it was – there were birds everywhere.  Just lifting your bins and looking at a random patch of sky produced birds..  lots of birds.  Olive-backed Pipits buzzed overhead, Oriental Turtle Doves whizzed through and buntings (Black-faced, Yellow-breasted, Yellow-browed, Little, Chestnut, Chestnut-eared and Yellow-throated) were dropping out of the sky all over the area..

Common Rosefinches called and a Wryneck sat up on a nearby shrub.  Brown Shrikes called from the bushes and Dusky Warblers gave themselves away by with their sharp ‘tack’ calls.  Orioles fluttered past and the occasional Hobby dashed through, pausing only to take the odd dragonfly.  Sparrowhawks (both Japanese and Eurasian) bombed through and the bushes were full of phylloscs, mostly Yellow-browed but with the odd Pallas’s and a Two-barred Greenish that remained faithful to a single shrub.  A couple of Siberian Rubythroats popped out onto the track nearby before just as quickly diving back into cover.  It was a Siberian paradise!

Jesper picked up a couple of Pechora Pipits overhead and then excelled himself by picking out a Hair-crested Drongo that came low past the West Wood.  A Rufous-bellied Woodpecker dropped into the wood and a Bluethroat sat up on the reeds next to a Zitting Cisticola.  The migration was a real spectacle.  After several hours of enjoying the visible migration, we tore ourselves away to search the woods.  Jesper picked up a Lancy straight away and soon we were watching this incredible little warbler sneaking away, mouse-like, by crawling through the grass..  We then enjoyed views of Red-flanked Bluetail, Taiga Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, Radde’s Warbler and Northern Goshawk.

Jesper showed us a few ditches that had, in the past, been good for watching the shy thrushes – White’s and Siberian – and with the heavy rain of the previous two days, these ditches sported a healthy water level.  Definitely a good place to sit quietly and watch out for thrushes coming down to drink….

The walk to the restaurant for lunch revealed that there was a raptor passage beginning with Sparrowhawk, Hobby and Eastern Marsh Harrier circling overhead.  After a short lunch we headed out to the open ground to take in the raptors..  The first of many Oriental Honey Buzzards drifted over and soon there were tens of these birds flying right overhead, some very low, allowing us to see the variability of this smart bird of prey.

Amur Falcons joined the throng and more Eastern Marsh and Pied Harriers came through, joined by a single Eastern Common Buzzard.  By mid-afternoon the passage slowed and several Oriental Honey Buzzards were roaming the island looking for suitable roost sites.

We headed back to the woods to stake out the ditches and, no sooner had we arrived, a White’s Thrush crept slowly to the water’s edge and began to drink..  fantastic!  We were all in awe of the birding day we had just witnessed.  What a place!

Day two on the island was always going to struggle to compete with day one and visible migration was much reduced in the calm, bright weather.  However, we still picked up new birds.  A Blyth’s Pipit revealed itself by calling as it flew overhead and we were able to compare the structure of this bird with the regular Richard’s Pipits.  The Blyth’s looked much more compact and short-tailed, almost recalling a small pipit.

A Thick-billed Reed Warbler was picked up by the Swiss guys and, as they searched the nearby bushes, a male Black-throated Thrush flew from the closest shrub and out towards the West Wood.  An Oriental Cuckoo whizzed through, identified by its relatively dark appearance and very contrasting underwing pattern.

A check of the woods produced more Radde’s Warblers, more Red-flanked Bluetails and a good sprinkling of Pallas’s Warblers.

A check of the ditches produced one, then two Eye-browed Thrushes and almost certainly the same White’s Thrush from the previous day.

Another look at the sand flats produced a couple of Tristram’s Buntings on the walk out and, at the flats themselves, some very distant and (at least to me, unidentifiable!) Relict Gulls amongst the Saunders, Black-headed and Mongolian Gulls, with good numbers of Pacific Golden Plover, Eurasian and Far Eastern Curlew, Kentish Plover, a few Terek Sandpipers, Greenshanks and a small flock of Great Knots.

At dusk we headed for the highest point on the island, the site of a sort of large Chinese gate, to watch the roosting Night Herons.  A Chinese Pond Heron was picked up by Jon and three thrushes (probably Eye-browed) were seen flying into Temple Wood.  The walk back to the restaurant after sunset produced a hawking Grey Nightjar – a real bonus!  Dinner was enjoyed with a nice (but very weak!) Chinese beer.

Unfortunately, the next morning was to be my last on the island.  We headed for the visible migration watchpoint and again enjoyed more Olive-backed, Red-throated and Richard’s Pipits, a flock of Grey-headed Lapwings, White-cheeked Starlings, Chestnut-flanked White-eyes, some early Bean Geese, more Amur Falcons and, again, lots of buntings with Black-faced and Little the most common.  Two Hoopoes added a splash of colour.  As the sun began to warm up the air, at least 4 Thick-billed Reed Warblers climbed onto exposed perches to sun themselves and three thrushes flew in from the west, one of which perched briefly on a far shrub.  A short scope view revealed a smart Naumann’s Thrush.

By now I only had an hour left before I had to make my way to the quay and begin the journey back to Beijing.  We made for the woods and the ditch again produced three Eye-browed Thrushes and another ditch nearby revealed a White’s Thrush.  Reluctantly I tore myself away and, after saying my goodbyes to the Swiss team, Jon and Jesper, I headed back to the hut to collect my things and head home.  Jesper’s faultless logistical arrangements meant that, through a combination of boat, taxi to Tangshan, bus from Tangshan to Beijing, I was back home in Beijing within 4 hours.

The Swiss guys – David, Piermin and Christian, were planning to stay for another week and I know that they will have an amazing time, especially with the thrushes beginning to arrive.  Fingers crossed they connect with a nice male Siberian Thrush!  I am looking forward to hearing about their adventure…

Happy Island is still an amazing place, despite the obvious development that has taken place over the last few years.  However, it is unclear for how much longer this will remain the case.  Apparently there are plans for a 4-star hotel on the island which, once built, will be the only place at which one can stay – the old huts will be torn down.  Building work is scheduled to start this year.  There are also tentative plans for a golf course, so the current habitat faces great pressure.  It was reassuring, however, from a conversation with the manager of the island that the Temple Wood and the West Wood are likely to be retained.  Perhaps if more birdwatchers visited, they would be encouraged to protect more of the habitat to retain their custom…  In the meantime, I can say with absolute conviction that my first day on Happy Island was the best birding I have ever experienced and I am simply astonished that more birders don’t visit in autumn.  If you are interested, in either spring or autumn, I can wholeheartedly recommend Jesper Hornskov as a guide and as a ground agent who can arrange the logistics.  As a Chinese speaker and with around 20 years experience of birding on the island, he knows it better than anyone and, importantly, is a thoroughly nice guy!

Just back from a couple of days on Happy Island (south of Beidaihe).  Autumn migration was mega  – Oriental Honey Buzzard, Oriental White Stork, Red-flanked Bluetail, Siberian Rubythroat, Lanceolated Warbler, Pechora, Blyth’s, Richards’, Olive-backed and Red-throated Pipits, Saunders’ Gull, White’s Thrush, Eye-browed Thrush, Naumann’s Thrush, Thick-billed Reed Warbler, Japanese Sparrowhawk, the list goes on and on.  Full report to follow but, in the meantime, I leave you with a few of the best images…

Not the best photos but here is an Eastern Crowned Warbler, one of the several phylloscopus warblers that can be seen in China.  The first thing that struck me about this bird from underneath, before I saw the crown stripe, was the size and colour of the bill – very large and orangey compared with the superficially similar Arctic Warbler.  The lower mandible is completely pale without any dark tip.  The bird also showed a subtle pale yellow vent that wasn’t obvious, especially in the dappled light as it foraged among the leaves.

Of course, when one sees this bird from above, the obvious central crown stripe gives away its identity.  The photo below also shows the contrast between the greenish mantle and the greyish hindneck.  A cracking bird….