2016: What A Year!

Looking out of my apartment window on the first day of 2017, a blanket of toxic smog seems to drain all colour out of life and the perennial question question pops into my head – why do I live in such a polluted, congested place?

Header image: the view from my apartment at 1200 on 1 January 2017

The answer, of course, is the excitement and adventure of living in the capital city of the world’s most populous nation.  And when one considers the positives – the stunning biodiversity, the opportunity for discovery, the potential to make a difference and the wonderful people – the negatives are seen in context and they become far more tolerable.

Looking back, 2016 has been an astonishing year with many highlights, thankfully few lowlights, and progress made in some key conservation issues.  Together, they give me a genuine sense of optimism for the future.

January began with the unexpected discovery, by two young Beijing birders, Xing Chao and Huang Mujiao, of a small flock of the “Endangered” Jankowski’s Buntings at Miyun Reservoir.  This was the first record of Jankowski’s Bunting in Beijing since 1941 and, given the precipitous decline in the population of this poorly known species, a most unexpected find.  The fact they were found by young Chinese is testament to the growing community of talented young birders in Beijing.  There are now more than 200 members of the Birding Beijing WeChat group, in which sightings and other bird-related issues are discussed and shared. Huge credit must go to world-class birders such as Paul Holt and Per Alström who have been generous in sharing their knowledge of Chinese birds with the group. As well as the expanding WeChat group, there are now more than 400 members of the Beijing-based China Birdwatching Society (up from 300 in the last 12 months).  So, although starting from a low baseline, the increasing membership, together with the increase in the number of local birdwatching societies, such as in Zigong in Sichuan, and the development of international birding festivals, such as in Lushun, Dalian, shows that there is the beginning of an upsurge in the number of young people interested in birdwatching.  That is a positive sign for the future of China’s rich and unique avifauna.

In tandem with the growth in birding is the emergence of a number of organisations dedicated to environmental education across China.  Given the relative lack of environment in the Chinese State Curriculum, there is high demand amongst many parents for their children to develop a connection with nature.  I’m fortunate to work with one such organisation – EcoAction – set up and run by dynamic Sichuan lady, Luo Peng.    With a birding club for Beijing school kids, a pilot ‘environmental curriculum’ in two of Beijing’s State Schools and bespoke sustainable ecotourism trips to nature reserves for families and schools, Peng deserves great credit for her energy and vision in helping to change the way people interact with the environment.  I am looking forward to working with her much more in 2017.

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Luo Peng in her element – with local children in Hainan

After the boon of seeing Jankowski’s Buntings in Beijing, a lowlight in late January was the desperately sad passing of a much-loved mentor and friend, the inspirational Martin Garner.  Martin fought a brave and typically dignified and open, battle with cancer.  I feel enormously lucky to have met Martin and to have corresponded with him on many birding-related issues.  His wisdom, positivity and selfless outlook on life will be missed for years to come and his influence continues to run through everything I do.

Much of the early part of the spring was spent making the arrangements for what has been, for me, the highlight of the year – The Beijing Cuckoo Project. Following the success of the Beijing Swift Project, the results of which proved for the first time that Swifts from Beijing winter in southern Africa, the obvious next step was to replicate the British Trust for Ornithology’s Cuckoo Tracking Project in China.  We needed to find Chinese partners, secure the necessary permissions, raise funds to pay for the transmitters and satellite services, and make the logistical arrangements for the visit of “Team Cuckoo”.  At the end of May, everything was set and the international team arrived in Beijing.  Together with the local team, we caught and fitted transmitters to five Common Cuckoos, subsequently named by Beijing schoolchildren and followed via a dedicated webpage and on social media.  We could not have wished for a better result.  Three of the five are now in Africa,  after making incredible journeys of up to 12,500km since being fitted with their transmitters, including crossing the Arabian Sea.  As of 1 January, Flappy McFlapperson and Meng Zhi Juan are in Tanzania and Skybomb Bolt is in Mozambique.

Skybomb Bolt, the Beijing Cuckoo who made landfall in Africa on 30 October 2016.
Skybomb Bolt, the first Beijing Cuckoo to make landfall in Africa on 30 October 2016.
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The migration routes, and current positions, of the Beijing Cuckoos, 1 January 2017.
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Pupils at Dulwich International School broke into spontaneous applause after hearing that SKYBOMB BOLT had made it to Africa…

This Beijing Cuckoo Project has combined groundbreaking science with public engagement.  With articles in Xinhua (China’s largest news agency), Beijing Youth Daily, China Daily, Beijing Science and Technology Daily, India Times, African Times and even the front page of the New York Times, these amazing birds have become, undoubtedly, the most famous cuckoos ever!  Add the engagement with schools, not only in Beijing but also in other parts of China, and the reach and impact of the project has been way beyond our wildest dreams.  I’d like to pay tribute to everyone involved, especially the Chinese partners – the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, China Birdwatching Society and the staff at the tagging locations (Cuihu, Hanshiqiao and Yeyahu) – who have all been brilliant, as well as the BTO’s Andy Clements and Chris Hewson for their vision and sharing of expertise and the sponsors – Zoological Society of London, Oriental Bird Club, British Birds Charitable Foundation and BirdLife International.  Finally, a big thank you to “Team Cuckoo”: Dick Newell, Lyndon Kearsley, Wu Lan, Susanne Åkesson, Aron Hejdstrom, Geert De Smet, Gie Goris and Rob Jolliffe.  You can follow the progress of the Beijing Cuckoos here.  All being well, Flappy, Meng and Skybomb will return to Beijing by the end of May.

In 2017 we are planning to expand the Beijing Cuckoo Project to become the CHINA Cuckoo Project, which will involve tagging cuckoos in different locations across the country.  More on that soon.

As well as being privileged to have been part of such a groundbreaking project, I have been fortunate to be involved with some exciting progress on some of the highest priority conservation issues, working with so many brilliant people, including Vivian Fu and Simba Chan at Hong Kong Birdwatching Society/BirdLife.  The plight of shorebirds along the East Asian Australasian Flyway is well-known, with the Spoon-billed Sandpiper the “poster species” of conservation efforts to try to save what remains of the globally important intertidal mudflats of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Bay.  More than 70% of these vital stopover sites have been destroyed already through land reclamations and much of the remaining area is slated for future reclamation projects.   Scientists, including an ever greater number of young Chinese such as Zhu Bingrun, now have the evidence to show that the population declines of many shorebird species, some of which are now classified as “Endangered”, can be attributed in large part to the destruction of the vital stopover sites in the Yellow Sea.  After meeting world-leading shorebird expert, Professor Theunis Piersma, in Beijing in May and arranging for him to address Beijing-based birders with a compelling lecture, it’s been a pleasure to support the efforts of international organisations such as BirdLife International, the East Asian Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), led by Spike Millington, IUCN, UNDP and The Paulson Institute as well as local NGOs such as Save Spoon-billed Sandpiper and 山水 (ShanShui) in their interactions with the Chinese government to try to encourage greater protection for, and sustainable management of, the remaining intertidal sites.  One of the pillars of the conservation strategy is to nominate the most important sites as a joint World Heritage Site (WHS) involving China and the Koreas (both North and South).  This would have the advantage of raising awareness of the importance of these sites to those in the highest levels of government and also requiring greater protection and management of the sites.  I am pleased to say that, due to the hard work of these organisations, much progress has been made and the Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Development (MoHURD), the ministry responsible for WHS nominations, is now positively taking forward the suggestion and working on the technical papers required to make a submission to the State Council for formal nomination.  Special mention should be made of John MacKinnon, whose expertise, network of contacts in China and enthusiasm has made a big difference, to Nicola Crockford of RSPB and Wang Songlin of BirdLife International for their diplomatic work to create the conditions for the WHS issue to come to the fore, to David Melville, who recently delivered a compelling presentation covering a lifetime of shorebird study, to MoHURD at a workshop convened by ShanShui, and to Hank Paulson who, through the publication of the Paulson Institute’s “Blueprint Project” and his personal engagement at a very senior level with Provincial governors, has secured a commitment from the Governor of Hebei Province to protect the sites in his Province highlighted in the Blueprint.  These are significant advances that, although far from securing the future of China’s intertidal mudflats, have significantly improved the odds of doing so.

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Professor Theunis Piersma delivers his lecture to Beijing-based birders at The Bookworm, Beijing, in May 2016.

China’s east coast hosts the world’s most impressive bird migration, known as the East Asian Australasian Flyway.  That flyway consists of not only shorebirds but also many land birds and it is this concentration of migratory birds every spring and autumn that attracts not only birders but also poachers.  This year has seen several horrific media stories about the illegal trapping of birds on an industrial scale, primarily to supply the restaurant trade in southern China where wild birds are considered a delicacy.  Illegal trapping is thought to be the primary cause of the precipitous decline in the population of, among others, the Yellow-breasted Bunting, now officially classified as Endangered.

A distressed-looking male Yellow-breasted Bunting, now officially an endangered species after years of persecution.
A distressed-looking male Yellow-breasted Bunting in a cage adjacent to some illegal nets, designed to act as a lure.  Now officially an endangered species after years of persecution.

It would be easy to be depressed by such incidents but I believe there are two developments that provide optimism for the future.  First, although the legal framework is far from watertight, the authorities are now acting, the incidents are being reported in the media and the culprits are receiving, at least in the largest scale cases, heavy punishments.  And second, these cases are being uncovered by volunteers, groups of mostly young people that spend their free time – weekends and days off during weekdays – specifically looking for illegal nets and poachers at migration hotspots.  They work with law enforcement to catch the culprits and destroy their tools of the trade.  These people are heroes and, although at present it’s still easy for poachers to purchase online mist-nets and other tools used for poaching (there are ongoing efforts to change this), it’s a harder operating environment for them than in the past.  Big change doesn’t happen overnight but the combination of greater law enforcement, citizen action and media coverage are all helping to ensure that, with continued effort and strengthening of the legal framework, illegal trapping of migratory birds in China is on borrowed time.

Another conservation issue on which progress has been made is the plight of Baer’s Pochard.  The population of this Critically Endangered duck has declined dramatically in the last few decades, the reasons for which are largely unknown.  However, after 2016 there is much to be optimistic about.  First, there are now dedicated groups studying Baer’s Pochard in China, including population surveys, study of breeding ecology and contributing to an international action plan to save the species.  These groups are working with the UK’s Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, EAAFP and others to build a knowledge base about the species, raise awareness and develop concrete steps to conserve the species at its remaining strongholds.  A record count of 293 birds in December at the most important known breeding site in Hebei Province (Paul Holt and Li Qingxin) is a brilliant end to a year that will, hopefully, be a turning point for this species.

On a personal level I was extremely lucky, alongside Marie, to experience a ‘once in a lifetime’ encounter with Pallas’s Cats in Qinghai and, just a few days later, two Snow Leopards.  Certainly two of my most cherished encounters with wildlife.

So, as I glance out of my window again, I realise that a few days of smog are a small price to pay to be part of the birding and conservation community in China.  As 2017 begins, I have a spring in my step.

The Beijing Cuckoo Project

Birding Beijing is excited to announce the launch of The Beijing Cuckoo Project, a new initiative that has the potential to make a huge difference to conservation in China whilst, at the same time, making ground breaking scientific discoveries.

Following the hugely successful, and ongoing, citizen science project to track the Beijing Swift, over the last few months we have been working with partners in the UK and China to replicate the BTO’s Cuckoo Tracking Project in China’s capital.

The Cuckoo – famous for laying its eggs in the nests of other, often smaller, birds – is a popular and well-known bird in Beijing.  The life of the Cuckoo, including a wonderful account of the ongoing evolutionary battle between the Cuckoo and its hosts, was covered eloquently by Nick Davies in his award-winning book – Cuckoo: Cheating By Nature.

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In China, one of the host species of Common Cuckoo is Reed Parrotbill!

The Beijing Cuckoo Project, led by China Birdwatching Society, will deliver two incredibly exciting outcomes. The first is to engage the public in China, on an unprecedented scale, about the wonders of bird migration. The second is to discover the currently unknown wintering grounds, and migration routes, of Common Cuckoos breeding in East Asia – vital if conservationists are to understand how best to protect the Cuckoo and similar migratory species.

As in the UK, we plan to deploy ultra-lightweight satellite tags onto as many as 10 cuckoos in the Beijing area. Drawing on the BTO’s expertise and experience, Chris Hewson, a leading scientist from the UK, will travel to Beijing to train local volunteers and lead the catching and fitting of the tags.

Local schoolchildren will name the cuckoos and follow their progress as part of EcoAction’s specially designed “environmental curriculum”.

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Students from Beijing’s 13th Middle School recently received their certificates as the first graduates of the “Environmental Curriculum” and will follow the progress of the Beijing Cuckoos as part of their ongoing studies.

National and local media will cover the project via their print and online publications. A special APP will allow members of the public to follow their progress, too, providing information about cuckoos, maps showing their latest positions and the routes taken, as well as background about the project.

We are delighted that around 75% of the funding has been raised through generous donations from the Zoological Society of London, Oriental Bird Club, the British Birds Charitable Trust and Beijing Forestry University. We are also fortunate to enjoy in kind support from the British Trust for Ornithology, the China Birdwatching Society and the many volunteers who will be involved.

However, given the costs of “satellite services”, the costs associated with accessing the data transmitted by the tags, and the costs of maintaining the dedicated APP, we still need to raise another GBP 10,000 over the next 12 months.

That is why we have set up a new, dedicated JustGiving page to allow anyone wishing to be part of this project to contribute. The page can be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/BeijingCuckooProject

Everyone involved with the Beijing Cuckoo project is excited about the potential and all donors, with their permission, will be recognised on the interpretation material that will be erected at the catching sites in Beijing.

Please join us in being part of an incredible and worthwhile project!

First Graduates Of Environmental Curriculum In Beijing

This is the start…

Everyone knows that China is one of the most important and biodiverse countries on the planet.  It is blessed with stunning wildlife, much of it found nowhere else in the world.  China has, according to one measure, 7,516 species of vertebrates including 4,936 fish, 1,269 bird, 562 mammal, 403 reptile and 346 amphibian species.  In terms of the number of species, China ranks third in the world in mammals, eighth in birds, seventh in reptiles and seventh in amphibians. In each category, China is the most biodiverse country outside of the tropics.  Many species are endemic to China, including the country’s most famous wildlife species, the Giant Panda. In all, about one-sixth of mammal species and two-thirds of amphibian species in China are endemic to the country.

However, not surprisingly, with rapid economic development and a human population of 1.3 billion, the environment in China is coming under huge pressure and, in addition to the obvious and well-publicised air pollution, China’s water and soil are both in a desperate state, not to mention the ongoing destruction of valuable and biodiverse habitats, not least along the Yellow Sea coast where tidal mudflats – so important for millions of long-distance migratory shorebirds – are being lost at an alarming rate.  In fact, at least 840 animal species are threatened, vulnerable or in danger of local extinction in China, due mainly to human activity such as habitat destruction, pollution and poaching for food, fur and ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine.

Despite the recent high-level political rhetoric about the importance of “ecological civilisation” and “green development”, decision-making, particularly at the local level, is still not effectively taking into account the environmental cost.  One reason for this disconnect is the low level of environmental awareness among the general population, in turn caused by an almost complete lack of environmental issues in the Chinese State Curriculum.

That is why education on the environment is so important and it’s the main reason why EcoAction has developed an “Environmental Curriculum”.  The curriculum, focusing on migratory birds, has been piloted in two Beijing schools during the 2015-2016 academic year.  Given the pressures on students in China, there was no room to fit in the lessons during normal school time, so these classes have been an optional extra for the participating students.  It is testament to the thirst for knowledge of the children involved that they have committed to participate and seen it through to the end.

The curriculum has involved classroom-based lectures, field studies (including birding trips to Miyun Reservoir and Yeyahu Nature Reserve) and lectures by national and international experts, including leading ornithologist Professor Per Alström.

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Professor Per Alström provides an introduction to taxonomy – the classification of birds.
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Per’s Chinese skills have come a long way!
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The class is gripped by Per’s lecture!

The students have also been encouraged to carry out an “investigation”, for example visiting Beijing’s wild bird markets to find out who are the buyers and sellers, where the birds come from and what can be done to accelerate their demise.

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Students from Beijing’s 94th Middle School receiving their certificates.

This week it was time for the participants to receive their certificates for completing the course.

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Students from Beijing’s 13th Middle School received their certificates this week.
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The certificate. Big thanks to BirdLife and ZSL for supporting the programme.

Our hope is that we can expand the pilots to involve more schools in Beijing later this year and, if we can secure the resources, to train teachers to be able to deliver the course in other parts of China.  Eventually, our aim is to do ourselves out of a job by having the Chinese government incorporate this course into the State Curriculum!

I’d like to pay tribute to EcoAction’s Luo Peng for driving the development and delivery of the course and to BirdLife International and Zoological Society of London for their support.  Can’t wait for the 2016 course to begin!

 

The Future Is Bright

Something exciting is happening…

Over the last few months I have visited several universities, state and international schools in Beijing to speak about birds and the environment, and accompanied several classes on birding field trips to sites in and around Beijing.  As part of my environmental education work with EcoAction, I have also participated in an exciting new project to develop an “environmental curriculum” focused on wild birds.  I am pleased to say this “environmental curriculum” has been approved by the government and is now being piloted in two Beijing state schools by EcoAction’s founder Luo Peng.

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Students at Dulwich School, Beijing, receiving Swarovski keyrings after their class about birds.

The environment is almost completely absent from the Chinese state curriculum and our aim is to help fill the gap by providing schools with supplementary classes dedicated to the natural world.  As well as classroom-based theory, including lectures by professional scientists, the environmental curriculum includes practical exercises, field trips to some of Beijing’s best birding sites, investigative studies – for example of Beijing’s wild bird markets – and learning how to communicate nature by writing basic scientific or media reports about their findings.

Our hope is that we can develop and expand the pilots to cover more schools in Beijing before engaging schools across China and, ultimately, making ourselves redundant by influencing the national curriculum.

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Students enjoying their first sighting of COMMON BUZZARD at Miyun Reservoir.

Through all of my engagement thus far, I have been so impressed with the enthusiasm and depth of engagement of the students.  Their sense of wonder and awe about all things natural reminds me very much of my youth when I began to discover birds and the environment in which they live.  If we can help just a little to make, and nurture, that connection with the environment, I am confident that the leaders of tomorrow will make more enlightened decisions.

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After a field trip with one Beijing school, students were asked to choose their favourite species, to draw it and to learn about its life, including its migration, food and habitat requirements. I don’t need to tell you that this student chose the Great Crested Grebe!

You can keep up to date about the latest engagement with schools on a new dedicated Education page.

 

Yinggeling

“Life-changing”, “Eye-opening”, “Amazing” and “Inspirational” were some of the words used (or, rather, their Chinese equivalents!) by students and teachers to describe their trip to Yinggeling.

As trailed in the previous post, last week I spent 7 days at Yinggeling Nature Reserve, nestled in the mountains of central Hainan, a tropical island off the south coast of China, with 14 students and two teachers from Beijing’s 94th Middle School .  The trip was organised by Luo Peng of Eco Action, a new Chinese company dedicated to raising awareness of sustainability and environmental issues in China, in particular with young people.

The aims were twofold: first, to introduce the students to a forest ecosystem so that they could understand the benefits provided by a forest and the importance of a sustainable relationship between nature and people; and second, to provide income to the village to support an agreement not to hunt wild animals or plant more rubber trees (their main source of income) and to help pay some of the villagers to act as “rangers” (to patrol the forests, remove illegal traps and snares and, if possible, apprehend any poachers).

I was invited to lead the birdwatching activities and, in partnership with officials from the Kadoorie Farm and nature reserve staff from the Yinggeling National Nature Reserve, we put together an itinerary that included conducting a biodiversity survey, birdwatching, night safaris to observe fish and amphibians, learning about local practices, including harvesting honey and basket-weaving, and helping the villagers to plant their rice crop.

The trip started with a flight to Haikou, a city on the northern coast of Hainan.  After a short birding session around Haikou on the first day, where we met with staff from Kadoorie Farm, the local Mangrove Nature Reserve (and some visiting Beijing birders!), we met the students at the airport and set off for the 3-4 hours drive to Yinggeling Nature Reserve.  Here we spent two nights learning about Yinggeling, its wildlife, hiking, birding and even playing football!

Introducing some of the younger members of th group to birding near Haikou
Introducing some of the younger members of the group to birding near Haikou before travelling to Yinggeling
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Introductions and initial briefing at Yinggeling
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An impromptu game of football (in walking boots!) between the students and reserve staff was a good pre-lunch workout at our base in Yinggeling.

After familiarising ourselves with the local area, including a beautiful hike to a stunning waterfall, we prepared for what was to be the highlight of the trip – three days and two nights at Daoyin, a remote village deep inside the nature reserve.

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The students take a breather during the hike to the waterfall in Yinggeling Nature Reserve
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The hike took us through some beautiful forest and alongside a narrow stream..
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The students collected 6 bags of litter over the day!

Daoyin, with a population of 90 ethnic Li people, has no roads to link it with the outside world, no phone signal, no hot water (a revitalising dip in the river is the nearest thing to a shower) and, of course, no WiFi (hard for those of us addicted to smart phones!).  It was only recently that the fitting of solar panels provided limited electricity (for lighting) for the first time.

Getting to Daoyin required a 3.5 hour drive from our base at the nature reserve, mostly along rough dirt tracks, followed by a stunning, but demanding, 5-6 hour hike along the river, crossing the river three times… it was a real adventure and wonderful to see the students pushing themselves and helping each other to reach the village.

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Preparing for the hike to Daoyin
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Students making one of the river crossings on the way to Daoyin
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A spectacular old tree on the way to Daoyin

On arrival we were met by the local villagers, including Mr Fu Guohua, the current village leader, and Mr Fu Jinhai, the former leader (the villagers have a system whereby the leadership is rotated).  Although the villagers lived a very basic life with mud-huts and chickens and pigs wandering around, we were struck by just how happy everyone looked…  the children were having a ball exploring the forest, climbing trees and playing badminton.. as the villagers busied themselves with their daily tasks – fishing, preparing food, washing clothes and building or repairing houses.  Surrounded by bird, insect and frog song, with none of the noise and stresses of the city, life seemed idyllic.

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Local children
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One of the new houses in Daoyin. On the orders of the government, any new buildings must have metal roofs as traditional grass roofs are considered a fire hazard.
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A more traditional house, made from mud and bamboo, with a roof of dried leaves.

At this point, feeling adventurous and slightly proud of myself for making it to this remote place, I asked Mr Fu if I was the first British person to visit the village…  He thought for a moment and then said “no!”  A scientist – an expert from Kadoorie Farm – had visited several years previously.  My slight disappointment soon melted away when he told me that this British scientist was well-remembered for having given the then leader a gift of a wind-up head torch, something the leader cherished…  and now almost everyone in the village owned one.  I felt proud to be British and offered the leader my own gift – a Swiss Army Knife – which he looked at with some confusion before I showed him what it could do!

The villagers were fantastic hosts.  Over the two full days that we spent in the village they helped us to arrange a host of activities for the students, including early morning bird walks, a survey of the “fish sanctuary”, an area where fishing is prohibited to ensure fish stocks remain healthy, the release back into the wild of a Hainan Partridge that had been found in an illegal trap several weeks before, a hike to collect footage from some of the camera traps that have been placed inside the forest (the rare and endemic Hainan Peacock Pheasant has been caught on film!), harvesting honey from the village hives, making baskets and cups from bamboo and helping the villagers to plant their rice crop.

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Harvesting honey from one of the villages’ hives

 

tasting bee grubs
Eating the grubs from the beehive was not to everyone’s taste!

 

releasing Hainan Partridge
Local children released a Hainan Partridge back into the wild after it had recovered from being injured in an illegal trap (see more on the video at the end of this post!)

On the second day a group of villagers returned from a 3-day expedition into the mountains to look for poachers and traps…  After great work by Kadoorie and the local nature reserve staff, these villagers had agreed to become “rangers”, paid to sacrifice hunting and, instead, help to protect the forest’s wildlife.  They told us that, with the rubber price very low this year and the forthcoming Chinese New Year (a traditional time to eat exotic food), some of the people in other local villages had been tempted to try to make money through hunting and selling of wild animals..  The head of the nature reserve told me that demand for exotic meat was such that a hunter could receive as much as Yuan 1,000 (GBP 100) for 1.5 kilos of wild animal meat..  With prices like that, it’s no wonder that some people are tempted to break the law…  and it’s an indicator of just how important it is to tackle demand..

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The rangers enjoying a well-earned cup of tea after three days patrolling the forest.

The rangers had found an injured Yellow-bellied Weasel in an illegal trap and, the day we returned to the nature reserve HQ, they found an endemic Hainan Flying Squirrel that had been shot.  Hunting is clearly still an issue but the villagers say that it is much reduced, largely thanks to the hard work and of the nature reserve officials and Kadoorie Farm, together with the positive engagement of the local villagers.

yellow-bellied weasel caught in illegal trap
This Yellow-bellied Weasel was caught in an illegal trap. After recuperating, it will be released back into the wild in the area where it was found.

On our second and last night, the local villagers not only provided us with a tasty meal of fish, vegetables and rice, but also put on an impromptu talent contest…  one of the villagers was famed for his ability to “play” the leaf…  and we were treated to renditions of some traditional Li songs before the nature reserve staff and village leaders together sang the “Yinggeling Song” (the soundtrack to the video at the end of this post).

After enjoying our time in the village, all too quickly we had to leave, and after hiking a different route back to the road, over the mountains instead of along the river, we met our 4wd vehicles and headed back to the nature reserve HQ.

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As we left the village, I just had time for a farewell toast with village leader, Mr Fu Guohua, using the bamboo cups he had made for me as a gift..
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Farewells at Daoyin

Back at HQ, the students were divided into teams and were invited to make a presentation about what they had learned, their ideas about how to protect the forest and the livelihoods of the local people, and how their experience would affect them.

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One of the student groups explaining what they had learned and their ideas for the future
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All 14 students received a certificate from the head of the Yinggeling nature reserve

After receiving their certificates for volunteering in Daoyin we made our way back to Haikou where we enjoyed a delicious meal at the local seafood market before resting ahead of our early morning flight back to Beijing.

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The group photo at the reserve HQ just before departure to Haikou
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The seafood market in Haokou was a visual treat!
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Some strange-looking fish were on sale in Haikou market
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Enjoying a coconut was a great way to end the trip for most of the students

I felt privileged to be part of such a rewarding and meaningful trip.  The students clearly gained a lot and it was easy to see that several were truly inspired by their experience.  The head teacher told us that, when they had spoken about the village of Daoyin in the classroom, the students did not believe that such places existed…  …and yet, here they were at the end of the trip, devising lots of positive ideas about how to support the villagers and to protect the forest.  It was great to see.  And, of course, it wasn’t just the students who benefitted.  For each guest, a payment was made to the local village that will help to ensure they do not need to hunt wild animals to sustain a living and also providing the resources to make some improvements to the village…

My heartfelt thanks go to Luo Peng , of EcoAction, for devising the initiative, to Mr Fu Guohua and Fu Jinhai and all the villagers at Daoyin who made us feel so welcome, to the Yinggeling Nature Reserve staff, especially Mi Hongxu and Liao Gaofeng, and to the officials at Kadoorie Farm, in particular Li Fei, who accompanied us throughout.  Finally, a big thank you to the students and teachers from Beijing’s 94th Middle School for engaging so positively and for making the trip so much fun.

EcoAction hopes to plan similar trips to Daoyin in the future, not only for schools but, potentially, for small parties of tourists, ideally families.  If you are interested in a truly authentic Chinese experience that will benefit the local community as well as providing you with an unforgettable encounter, feel free to contact me..

I’ll finish the post with a short video that captures some of the activities during the trip.. all to the backdrop of the “Yinggeling Song”, as sung by the nature reserve staff and local villagers..!

PS I almost forgot the birds!  In total, we saw 105 species, including 2 of the 3 endemic species, Hainan Leaf Warbler and Hainan Partridge.  A full species list is available here.

A Hainan Adventure

For more than a year Birding Beijing has been a proud partner of EcoAction, a new and innovative Chinese organisation focused on education for the environment, sustainable development and ecotourism.  In November I helped to introduce birding to a group of middle school students at the Botanical Gardens in Beijing.  On Friday I will travel to Hainan, an island off the south coast of China, to help lead my first field trip outside the capital.  We will be taking 16 students to Yinggeling (鹦哥岭) Nature Reserve in the remote and mountainous centre of Hainan.

The reserve covers a large area – 33km from north to south and 39km from east to west – crossing the boundaries of  Baisha, Wuzhishan and Qiongzhong Counties, and with an elevation range of 200-1812m.  It is apparently the largest remaining contiguous tract of primary rainforest in China.

Yinggeling is a treasure trove of biological diversity and recent scientific expeditions have discovered many new species, including more than a dozen new trees and the Yinggeling Tree Frog (first described in 2003).  Scientists believe that there are still many discoveries to be made in this relatively unspoiled part of China.

We are privileged to have been invited into the heart of the nature reserve (no wifi or mobile phone signal and not even electricity or running water!), where we will be hosted by staff from the conservation organisation, Kadoorie Farm, and local minority people.  The aim is to demonstrate to the students the beauty and value of a forest ecosystem and the intricate dependencies, from the smallest leaf-ant to the mammals and birds of prey at the top of the food chain.  Activities will include exploring the forest looking for, and studying plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and, of course birds, as well as learning about the local Li minority’s culture and how they have lived in harmony with the environment for generations.

It’s going to be an adventure…  and with three Chinese endemics possible – Hainan Peacock-pheasant, Hainan Partridge and Hainan Leaf Warbler – as well as a host of amazing wildlife, I can’t wait!

Here are a couple of photos of the reserve to whet the appetite…

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