This autumn is set to go down in Beijing birding history as the best ever (so far!). As well as the Holy Trinity of Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Swinhoe’s Rail and Streaked Reed Warbler, there has been a stunning supporting cast.
Yesterday at Miyun Reservoir, there were two more additions to the seemingly never ending list of rarities to be found in Beijing this autumn.
First, regular Beijing visitor, Dutch birder Ben Wielstra, picked up a BLACK-WINGED KITE loitering over the Chao He valley to the north and then, around lunchtime, whilst scanning through a group of distant GREAT CRESTED GREBES in the hope of finding a RED-NECKED GREBE, I spotted a loon. As soon as I had described to the others where it was, it was flushed by a fishing boat and took flight.. We all managed to get onto it and, as it flew, we were hastily discussing whether it was the more likely PACIFIC or BLACK-THROATED or the much rarer RED-THROATED. Despite the distance, Paul Holt was already suspecting it was a RED-THROATED and, fortunately, it flew towards us and landed in a bay much closer, but still some distance away. As soon as it landed it was immediately clear it was a RED-THROATED LOON, a species that with which I am very familiar as a winter visitor offshore from my home village of Winterton-on-Sea in Norfolk. Wow! Once again, the Swarovski kit of the ATX95 plus iPhone and adaptor proved its worth in being able to document a distant record that, without doubt, would have been impossible with my traditional set up of a Canon 400mm lens.
There are two previous records of RED-THROATED LOON from Beijing. The first was a dead female picked up “north of the river” in Tongzhou, remarkably on the same date of 22 October, in 1932. The second was a sight record at the same site from 10-12 April 1933. So this is the first record of RED-THROATED LOON in the capital for more than 80 years!
Big thanks to Paul for the intelligence on the records from the 1930s.