This morning I received an email from An Yi, a Denmark-based birder who has been in Beijing visiting family. Yi visited Yeyahu NR on Wednesday 27 March and was lucky enough to see some cranes… but not just any cranes.. she saw 2 SIBERIAN CRANES together with some WHITE-NAPED CRANES. On top of that, she secured some fantastic images…. With her kind permission, I am reproducing them below. As far as I know, this is only the 2nd record of SIBERIAN CRANE at Yeyahu NR and the 4th in Beijing (following one at Yeyahu NR in March 2008, between 1 and 8 at Miyun in March/April 2012 and one at Miyun in March 2013). Congratulations to Yi and many thanks for allowing me to reproduce the images here. A fantastic record.
Siberian Cranes (Leucogenarus leucogenarus), Yeyahu NR, 27 March 2013. The bird on the right is an immature.Siberian Crane (Leucogenarus leucogenarus), right, with White-naped Crane (Grus vipio), Yeyahu NR, 27 March 2013White-naped Cranes (Grus vipio), Yeyahu NR, 27 March 2013
Today was one of those amazing days that makes birding such an enthralling hobby. I accompanied Paul Holt on a visit to Huairou and Miyun Reservoirs, sites that I had not – for some unknown reason – visited before. The highlights were undoubtedly the cranes. Top of the list comes the 3 Siberian Cranes (2 adults and an immature) that we believe constitute only the second record for Beijing. But perhaps more significant was the count of 256 White-naped Cranes, around 10 per cent of the known wintering population in China at one location on Spring passage. Add in 620 Common Cranes and it was a real crane bonanza. The other unexpected bird of the day was a single Oriental Stork, a real rarity in Beijing.
Highlights:
– second record of Siberian Crane in Beijing (2 adults and an immature)
– second highest (possibly highest) count of White-naped Cranes in Beijing
– seventh record of Oriental Stork in Beijing
– earliest Garganey and Common Shelduck in Beijing
– second earliest Fork-tailed Swift in Beijing
Siberian Cranes, Miyun Reservoir, 19 March 2012White-naped Crane, Miyun Reservoir, 19 March 2012. We saw around 10 per cent of the Chinese wintering population today at this important staging post.Common Cranes, Miyun Reservoir, 19 March 2012Oriental Stork, Miyun Reservoir, 19 March 2012
Detailed species list from Miyun Reservoir (courtesy of Paul Holt):
Xin Zhuang Qiao (bridge over the Chao He), Miyun. (40°35.11’N., 117°07.95’E.). Alt. 115 metres. (11h30-12h50)
Miyun Reservoir – south of Bulaotun satellite tracking station, Miyun. (40°31.75’N., 116°57.77’E.). Alt. 75 metres. (13h20-17h05)
Japanese Quail 2 at Bulaotun, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Common Pheasant 7 around Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Swan Goose 20 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Tundra Bean Goose 10 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Taiga or Tundra Bean Goose ca.400 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Tundra Swan 4 adults at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Whooper Swan 168 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. 146 birds were also counted at Bulaotun in the late afternoon – but some or possibly even all of these could have been among those seen at HBJZ earlier in the day.
Ruddy Shelduck 796 at Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. Most of these (780 birds) were at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang with just one being seen on the Chaohe near Taishitun & 15 at Bulaotun.
Gadwall 5 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Falcated Duck 12 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Mallard ca.600 around Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. Almost all of these were at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang.
Chinese Spot-billed Duck 14 around Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. Almost all of these were at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang.
Northern Pintail 5 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Baikal Teal 20 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Eurasian Teal 150 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Common Pochard 20 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Ferruginous Pochard 2 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Tufted Duck 2 males at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Common Goldeneye 13 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Smew 51 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Common Merganser 80 around Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. These involved 65 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, three in the Chaohe near the Xin Zhuang bridge, Taishitun & 12 at Bulaotun.
Little Grebe 7 at Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. Two of these were at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang & the other five in the Chaohe near Taishitun.
Great Crested Grebe 18 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Black Stork 1 flew high near Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Oriental Stork 1 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Oriental Stork is rare in Beijing – the other records that I’m aware of are –
1875
A small flock was seen near the city in summer 1875 (Wilder and Hubbard 1924, Wilder 1940b)
1924
1 collected in April 1924, probably south of the city in Nanhaizi (Nan Hai Tzu) hunting park (Wilder and Hubbard 1924, Wilder 1940b).
1955
1 specimen from Tongxian county on 8 June 1955 (Cai 1987). Mid-summer records must be exceptional!
1964
1 specimen from Niulanshan, Shunyi on 22 January 1964 (Cai 1987). Mid-winter records are probably also exceptional.
1999
14 on a flooded area in Shunyi, January 1999 (Qian Fawen in litt. 1999 to BirdLife International [2001]
2004
1 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang Miyun reservoir on the 1/10/2004. It was circling high up with a party of 5 Black Storks and would have been an early date even on the Hebei coast.
2009
3 at WDL on 21/3/2009 (Brian Ivon Jones, Spike Millington & Richard Carden – BIJ in litt. to PH on 20 March 2012)
Grey Heron 12 at Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. Seven of these were at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, one besides the Chaohe near Taishitun & the other four near Bulaotun.
Great Egret 2 besides the Chaohe when viewed from the Xin Zhuang bridge near Taishitun, Miyun on the 19/3/2012.
Great Cormorant 1 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
White-tailed Eagle 1 juvenile at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Eurasian Sparrowhawk 2 singles near Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Common Kestrel 3 near Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. Two were seen just south of Miyun reservoir dam while the third was at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang.
Great Bustard 3 distant birds at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Eurasian Coot 108 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Siberian Crane 3, a family party with two adults and a first year, at Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. First seen at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang in the late morning what were undoubtedly these same three birds were later seen at Bulaotun. Rare in Beijing – the only previous sighting from Beijing was of a bird at Wild Duck Lake in March 2008. Terry suggested that the easterly winds of the previous weekend might have drifted this bird, and the White-naped Cranes, inland from the Hebei coast.
White-naped Crane 256 at Bulaotun, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. 240 had been counted at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang earlier in the day but these were probably part of the group later seen at Bulaotun. Possibly only the second three figure count for Beijing – but not the largest as 500 birds were reported at Miyun reservoir one day later that our sighting in 2011 (fide “Xiaoming” in a BirdForum posting of 20 March 2011)
Common Crane 620 at Bulaotun, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. 100 had been estimated at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang earlier in the day but these were probably part of the group later seen at Bulaotun.
Northern Lapwing 6 around Miyun reservoir (four at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang & two at Bulaotun) on the 19/3/2012.
Long-billed Plover 1 besides the Chao river when viewed from the Xin Zhuang bridge near Taishitun, Miyun on the 19/3/2012.
Kentish Plover 2 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Black-headed Gull 61 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Mongolian Gull 2 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Oriental Turtle Dove 2 around Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Eurasian Collared Dove 1 near Bulaotun, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Chinese Grey Shrike 1 at Bulaotun, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Black-billed Magpie 80 around Miyun reservoir & Miyun town on the 19/3/2012.
Carrion Crow 4 flew north high over Bulaotun, Miyun reservoir at 16h45 on the 19/3/2012.
Eurasian Skylark 2 singles at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
White-cheeked Starling 2 in Hou Ba Jia Zhuang village, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Common Starling 1 at Hou Ba Jia Zhuang, Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Present but not counted around Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
White Wagtail 14 around Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012. These included 12 besides the Chaohe when viewed from the Xin Zhuang Bridge. Seven birds were seen well enough to racially assign & they were all leucopsis.
Meadow Bunting 3 around Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Pallas’s Bunting 8 around Miyun reservoir on the 19/3/2012.
Apologies for the lack of updates in recent weeks – work has been rather all-consuming! To be honest, it’s not been so bad to be indoors – a persistent high pressure system, combined with very slack winds, have seen a blanket of smog covering Beijing with poor visibility and, at times, appalling air quality. The US Embassy ‘twitter feed’ is updated hourly and rates the pollution levels of PM2.5 (a particulate pollutant) and ozone.
This is the US Environment Protection Agency’s definition of PM2.5:
“Particulate matter, or PM, is the term for particles found in the air, including dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. Particles can be suspended in the air for long periods of time. Some particles are large or dark enough to be seen as soot or smoke. Others are so small that individually they can only be detected with an electron microscope.
Many manmade and natural sources emit PM directly or emit other pollutants that react in the atmosphere to form PM. These solid and liquid particles come in a wide range of sizes.
Particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) pose a health concern because they can be inhaled into and accumulate in the respiratory system. Particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) are referred to as “fine” particles and are believed to pose the greatest health risks. Because of their small size (approximately 1/30th the average width of a human hair), fine particles can lodge deeply into the lungs.”
Sounds nice, eh?
There is a scale of descriptors ranging from “Good” to “Hazardous”. Last week saw several days with the pollution at “hazardous” levels. I am not exactly sure what “hazardous” means but at these levels, you can taste and smell the pollution when you step outside. Not pleasant.
Of course, the Chinese media describes the smog as “fog” and on one dark day last week, it was laughable that the media was saying that there were “boundless blue skies over Beijing”… Of course….
Fortunately, this smoggy period seems to be breaking now and on Sunday I visited Ma Chang/Wild Duck Lake with Libby and a couple of UK friends John and Sarah Gallagher. They have been keen to accompany me on one of my birding trips for some time and so, with a window of decent weather and visibility, we grabbed the chance before the winter sets in. We enjoyed a very good day.
The visibility was above average and, when the cloud broke in the afternoon, it turned into a gorgeous late autumn day….
0645-1530, 6 November 2011.
Cloud 8/8 and 5 degrees C at 0640 with very light north-easterly wind. 13 degrees C, cloud 3/8 and light north-easterly at 1500. Visibility above average all day.
The highlight was my first Great Bustard in China (a flyover), 2 Black Storks, 6 White-naped Cranes, 58 Common Cranes, Upland Buzzard, 2 Short-eared Owls, 2Common Starlings.
Full species list (52 in total):
Common Pheasant 12
Bean Goose 115
Whooper Swan 1
Gadwall 5
Falcated Duck 4
Eurasian Wigeon 2
Mallard 48
Chinese Spot-billed Duck 10
Northern Pintail 42
Eurasian Teal 25
Tufted Duck 8
Common Goldeneye 2
Smew 10
Goosander 12
Little Grebe 23
Great Crested Grebe 8
Black-necked Grebe 2
Black Stork 2 (high west @ 1455)
Eurasian Bittern 1
Grey Heron 3
Eurasian Kestrel 2
Peregrine 2
Hen Harrier 4 (1 adult male, 1 immature male, and 2 females)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk 3
Common (Eastern) Buzzard 1
Upland Buzzard 1
Great Bustard 1 in flight (flew west over Ma Chang @ 0910)
Common Coot 4
White-naped Crane 6
Common Crane 58, including 2 groups arriving from the mountains to the north (9 @1445 and 35 @1440)
Mongolian Gull 2
Black-headed Gull 68
Eurasian Collared Dove 14
Short-eared Owl 2
Common Kingfisher 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2
Grey-headed Woodpecker 1
Chinese Grey Shrike 5
Azure-winged Magpie 1
Common Magpie lots
Carrion Crow 11
Great Tit 2
Asian Short-toed Lark 12
Eurasian Skylark 7
Chinese Bulbul 2
Vinous-throated Parrotbill 100+ in a single flock
Common Starling 2
Eurasian Tree Sparrow lots
Buff-bellied Pipit 3
Pine Bunting 2
Little Bunting 2
Pallas’s Reed Bunting 23
Finally, we enjoyed excellent views of this yellow butterfly, the only butterfly we saw. It was a little sluggish, allowing close photography, in contrast to the many times when I have tried to photograph this species in the spring/summer.. I am not sure what the specific species is but it’s pretty common in the area. EDIT: Thanks to John Furse for identifying the butterfly as a Clouded Yellow.
Yellow butterfly sp, Yeyahu, 6 November 2011Close up... I love those eyes!
This week, Birding Beijing is brought to you by the letter “M” and the number “2”.
“M” because there was a distinctly Mongolian feel to Saturday’s birding, and “2” because I saw two new birds!
Spike and I visited Wild Duck Lake (Ma Chang to Yeyahu) again on Saturday. We were buoyed by last week’s hints of Spring and, on the bus to Yanqing, our conversation revolved around the possibility of seeing early migrants – would there be a first Little Ringed Plover, or even an Oriental Plover? A Mongolian Lark or Great Bustard? Or something rarer like a Pallas’s Sandgrouse? As usual, speculation about just what might be was pretty outrageous..!
In the end, the reality was much better than I could have reasonably expected with two new birds for me – a single Mongolian Lark (yess!) and 2 White-naped Cranes that were seen cohorting with the local Common Crane flock – whilst the rarest bird must be the all-too-brief probable Lesser White-fronted Goose that was associating with around 3,000 Bean Geese (mostly of the subspecies serrirostris but with a few middendorffii mixed in).
The supporting cast included c400 Swan Geese, 2 Hooded Cranes, the first Shoveler and Wigeon of the year, a stunning drake Baikal Teal, 9 Kentish Plovers, a single Grey-headed Lapwing, my first 3 White Wagtails (ssp leucopsis) of the year, 20 Mongolian Gulls (18 of which were migrating west), 10 Black-headed Gulls, c300 Smew, 2 Upland Buzzards, 2 ‘ringtail’ Hen Harriers, 2 Siberian Accentors, 4 Chinese Grey Shrikes and 3 White-cheeked Starlings.
The day started at Ma Chang at around 0645 and we were greeted by a big flock of Common Cranes by the side of the track. Amongst them were 2 Hooded Cranes, spotted as they took flight. A good start! Then, just as I had set up my telescope to go through the flocks of wildfowl on the far side of the reservoir, everything took flight. This had to mean one thing – a major raptor. Sure enough, a White-tailed Eagle lumbered low over the reeds and settled on the ice. Looking at the sky revealed the sheer scale of the wildfowl present – the sky was full of birds. Bean Geese were everywhere… The sight and sound of the geese in flight shortly after dawn was something to behold. I tried to capture some of the atmosphere on video and you can view a short clip of the Bean Geese here. We just stood and marvelled at the sight for a couple of minutes and then I thought it would probably be a good idea to go through the flocks to see if there were any other geese mixed in.
I began to check the flying flocks with my telescope and, in the third flock I checked, I saw a significantly smaller ‘white-fronted’ goose in a flock of serrirostris Bean Geese. I watched it for about 10 seconds in flight before the flock landed on the ice. I could see the relatively small size (at the time, I estimated it was 20 per cent smaller than the serrirostris Bean Geese), dark belly markings, the white base to the bill and I could just make out an eye-ring. I called out “I think I have a Lesser White-front!”. After a scan of the flock on the ground I picked it up at about 200-300m distance, and was again struck by the noticeably smaller size, relatively small head and very peaked forehead. Unfortunately many other serrirostris Bean Geese landed in the same area and several birds walked in front of the LWFG and it was lost to view. I couldn’t get Spike onto the bird… very frustrating! After several minutes of waiting to see if it would reveal itself, we decided to walk to another vantage point to try to view the flock from a different angle. This proved fruitless when the flock flew up to join another flock of Bean Geese heading west and was lost to view.
I have seen LWFG in Copenhagen in Spring 2010 (a flock of 50+) and I am confident that the bird was that species, although I would have liked to have studied it for longer to rule out hybrids, taken more notes and, ideally, photographed it.. a little frustrating but hopefully it will hang around and be seen by others.
It was shortly after this sighting that we began the walk towards Yeyahu and it was on the shore of the reservoir that we encountered a large flock of larks feeding out in the open. A Kentish Plover called and we soon picked up two, three, then four of these dainty plovers. I set up the telescope to go through the flock with the main aim of counting the KPs (9 in total) when I suddenly got onto a very striking lark mixed in with the Eurasian Skylarks. Slightly larger than the Skylarks and with a black mark at the top of the breast bordered with a rusty wash on the sides of the upper breast, rusty colouration to the median and lesser coverts and a rusty stripe on the head, this could only be one thing – a Mongolian Lark! This is a bird I had hoped to see around Beijing in winter and I was beginning to think my luck was out. To see one in mid- to late March was a nice surprise! After only about a minute it took flight on its own and, with its very distinctive ‘floppy’ flight, it looped over to a more shrubby area and dropped to the ground. Despite a brief search of the area, it never showed again.
We walked round to the east side of the reservoir to try to view the flocks of wildfowl that were congregating on the northern shore. Lots of Whooper and Bewick’s Swans, Swan Geese and masses of duck. Most surprising of all was the sight of 4 cormorant fishermen who paddled out into the middle of the reservoir and released their cormorants to begin fishing. I thought this practice had all but died out so was surprised to see it being used less than 90 minutes from the capital… (and there wasn’t a tourist in sight!).
The onward walk was relatively quiet with just a couple of Upland Buzzards, a few Japanese Quail, 3 Meadow Buntings, 2 Siberian Accentors and lots more Pallas’s Reed Buntings. We were met by our driver at Yeyahu and began the journey home, tired but exhilarated. That first 3 to 4 hours at the reservoir on Saturday morning will stay with me for a long time – fantastic birding.
This site has bags of potential in Spring and I can’t wait to return.
Mixed flock of Bean Geese and Swan Geese, Ma Chang, 19 March 2011Cormorant fisherman with wildfowl flock in background, Ma Chang, 19 March 2011
