Birding in Beijing is brilliant at any time of year but, during spring migration, it’s hard to beat and there are so many highlights from Sunday’s trip to Yeyahu Nature Reserve with Per Alström and Zhao Min that it’s hard to know where to begin.
Birding with Per has many advantages, one of which is his encyclopaedic knowledge of China’s birds, especially pipits and wagtails. So perhaps it should not be a surprise that an encounter with a mixed flock of more than 70 pipits and wagtails at Ma Chang produced Beijing’s second ever MEADOW PIPIT (草地鹨). Initially found by Min and identified by Per, this bird was the undoubted rarity highlight but there were so many other great moments – the 21 ORIENTAL PLOVERS (东方鴴), displaying EASTERN MARSH HARRIERS (白腹鹞), GREATER SPOTTED (乌雕) and SHORT-TOED EAGLES (短趾雕), SAKER (猎隼), a flock of 90+ BAIKAL TEAL (花脸鸭), displaying ASIAN SHORT-TOED LARK ((亚洲) 短趾百灵), a flock of 52 WHITE WAGTAILS (白鹡鸰) that included 3 subspecies – leucopsis, ocularis and baicalensis – and a flock of ‘eastern’ ROOKS (秃鼻乌鸦) – a possible future new species?
We started at Ma Chang, a reliable spot for ORIENTAL PLOVER (东方鴴) in early April. It’s important to arrive here early as this site is extremely popular with horse-riders, motorised buggies and even people driving imitation tanks, so it’s hopeless as a birding destination at the weekend after around 0800. We were fortunate to find a single ORIENTAL PLOVER (东方鴴) with a flock of 30+ KENTISH PLOVERS (环颈鴴) and, later, we found a flock of 21 OPs in agricultural fields just east of the main site. These birds – that winter in Australia – are special and one of the signs that Spring has arrived in Beijing.
After enjoying the pipits, wagtails and plovers, as well as a beautiful male MERLIN (灰背隼) that buzzed us before sitting up on a stand of maize, we headed off to Yeyahu Nature Reserve.
At Yeyahu we enjoyed the spectacular sight of displaying EASTERN MARSH HARRIERS (白腹鹞), newly arrived and preparing to breed. These are stunning raptors, the males in particular, and this adult male made a close pass when were in one of the tower hides.. awesome!
Two GREATER SPOTTED EAGLES (乌雕) added to our raptor list which, by the end of the day, had reached 10 species and bizarrely missing COMMON KESTREL (红隼)!
In stunning spring weather (and clean air!) we enjoyed so many other highlights on a day that produced a total of 81 species. Just before dusk we were treated to a magnificent flight of ducks that included MALLARD (綠頭鴨), SPOT-BILLED DUCK (斑嘴鴨), PINTAIL (针尾鸭), COMMON POCHARD (红头潜鸭), FERRUGINOUS DUCK (白眼潜鸭), SHOVELER (琵嘴鸭), GARGANEY (白眉鸭), COMMON TEAL (绿翅鸭) and, just as we had hoped, BAIKAL TEAL (花脸鸭). A flock of at least 90 of the latter wheeled around in the fading light – a magnificent sight and a fitting end to a wonderful day at this world-class birding site.
Big thanks to Per and Min for their company on a day that will live long in the memory…!
Full species list below:
JAPANESE QUAIL Coturnix japonica 鵪鶉 1
COMMON PHEASANT Phasianus colchicus 雉雞 4
SWAN GOOSE Anser cygnoides VU 鴻雁 1
GREYLAG GOOSE Anser anser 3
RUDDY SHELDUCK Tadorna ferruginea 赤麻鴨 6
MANDARIN DUCK Aix galericulata 鴛鴦 9
GADWALL Anas strepera 赤膀鴨 94
FALCATED DUCK Anas falcata 罗纹鸭 14
MALLARD Anas platyrhynchos 綠頭鴨 500
CHINESE SPOT-BILLED DUCK Anas zonorhyncha 斑嘴鴨 38
NORTHERN SHOVELER Anas clypeata 琵嘴鸭 13
NORTHERN PINTAIL Anas acuta 针尾鸭 6
GARGANEY Anas querquedula 白眉鸭 4
BAIKAL TEAL Anas formosa 花脸鸭 a flock of 90 plus a separate flock of 70, which could have been different birds.
EURASIAN TEAL Anas crecca 绿翅鸭 350
RED-CRESTED POCHARD Netta rufina 赤嘴潜鸭 1
COMMON POCHARD Aythya ferina 红头潜鸭 3
FERRUGINOUS POCHARD Aythya nyroca NT 白眼潜鸭 8
TUFTED DUCK Aythya fuligula 凤头潜鸭 4
COMMON GOLDENEYE Bucephala clangula 鹊鸭 6
SMEW Mergellus albellus 白秋沙鸭 24
LITTLE GREBE Tachybaptus ruficollis 小鸊鷉 4
GREAT CRESTED GREBE Podiceps cristatus 凤头鸊鷉 8
GREAT BITTERN Botaurus stellaris 大麻鳽 1
GREY HERON Ardea cinerea 苍鹭 16
PURPLE HERON Ardea purpurea 草鹭 2
EASTERN GREAT EGRET Ardea modesta 大白鹭 1
GREAT CORMORANT Phalacrocorax carbo 普通鸬鹚 12
SHORT-TOED SNAKE EAGLE Circaetus gallicus 短趾雕 1
EASTERN MARSH HARRIER Circus spilonotus 白腹鹞 7
HEN HARRIER Circus cyaneus 白尾鹞 1 adult female
EURASIAN SPARROWHAWK Accipiter nisus 雀鹰 2
NORTHERN GOSHAWK Accipiter gentilis 苍鹰 2
EASTERN BUZZARD Buteo japonicus 普通鵟 19
GREATER SPOTTED EAGLE Aquila clanga VU 乌雕 2
MERLIN Falco columbarius 灰背隼 1
SAKER FALCON Falco cherrug EN 猎隼 1
PEREGRINE FALCON Falco peregrinus 游隼 1
COMMON COOT Fulica atra 骨顶鸡(白骨顶) 44
BLACK-WINGED STILT Himantopus himantopus 黑翅长脚鹬 4
NORTHERN LAPWING Vanellus vanellus 凤头麦鸡 33
GREY-HEADED LAPWING Vanellus cinereus 灰头麦鸡 1
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER Charadrius dubius 金眶鴴 2
KENTISH PLOVER Charadrius alexandrinus 环颈鴴 48
ORIENTAL PLOVER Charadrius veredus 东方鴴 21
COMMON SNIPE Gallinago gallinago 扇尾沙锥 9
BLACK-HEADED GULL Chroicocephalus ridibundus 红嘴鸥 39
ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE Streptopelia orientalis 山斑鸠 4
EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE Streptopelia decaocto 灰斑鸠 6
COMMON KINGFISHER Alcedo atthis 普通翠鸟 2
EURASIAN HOOPOE Upupa epops 戴胜 2
GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER Dendrocopos major 大斑啄木鸟 1
GREY-HEADED WOODPECKER Picus canus 灰头绿啄木鸟 1
AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE Cyanopica cyanus 灰喜鹊 1
COMMON MAGPIE Pica pica 喜鹊 30
DAURIAN JACKDAW Coloeus dauuricus 达乌里寒鸦 400+
ROOK Corvus frugilegus 秃鼻乌鸦 33
CARRION CROW Corvus corone 小嘴乌鸦 2
MARSH TIT Poecile palustris 沼泽山雀 1
JAPANESE TIT Parus minor 大山雀 2
CHINESE PENDULINE TIT Remiz consobrinus 中华攀雀 15
GREATER SHORT-TOED LARK Calandrella brachydactyla (大) 短趾百灵 8
ASIAN SHORT-TOED LARK Calandrella cheleensis (亚洲) 短趾百灵 1
EURASIAN SKYLARK Alauda arvensis 云雀 14
BARN SWALLOW Hirundo rustica 家燕 8
VINOUS-THROATED PARROTBILL Sinosuthora webbianus 棕头鸦雀 40
WHITE-CHEEKED STARLING Spodiopsar cineraceus 灰椋鸟 26
COMMON STARLING Sturnus vulgaris 紫翅椋鸟 1
RED-THROATED THRUSH Turdus ruficollis 赤颈鸫 1
DAURIAN REDSTART Phoenicurus auroreus 北红尾鸲 1
EURASIAN TREE SPARROW Passer montanus (树) 麻雀 150
CITRINE WAGTAIL Motacilla citreola 黄头鹡鸰 1
WHITE WAGTAIL Motacilla alba 白鹡鸰 63
RED-THROATED PIPIT Anthus cervinus 红喉鹨 1
BUFF-BELLIED PIPIT Anthus rubescens japonicus 黄腹鹨 18
WATER PIPIT Anthus spinoletta 水鹨 20
MEADOW PIPIT Anthus pratensis 1 *** the 2nd record for Beijing***
GREY-CAPPED GREENFINCH Carduelis sinica 金翅 (雀) 4
LITTLE BUNTING Emberiza pusilla 小鹀 1
PALLAS’S BUNTING Emberiza pallasi 苇鹀 22
REED BUNTING Emberiza schoeniclus 芦鹀 1
TOTAL NUMBER OF SPECIES 81