This was WildWings 15th trip to this now internationally famous East-Siberian migration  hotspot and was once again a great success, perhaps not in the total number of species but in terms of quality, it was superb. It was the smallest group we’ve taken in a long time, but our group of ten were an enthusiastic, hard working, sharp-eyed and  knowledgeable  bunch. It was a real pleasure for me to work with and I thank you here for the hours of fun and many laughs we had together. There were many avian highlights, too many to mention here but the huge falls toward the end of the trip will always be remembered  fondly and the inspiration and reason I’m always keen to return. Of the specials, the Oriental White Stork over Magic Wood, the elusive Streaked Reed Warbler and the Brown Hawk Owl, staring back at us in the Jinshan Field were exceptional.  It is a shame that the Grey-backed Shrike did not hang around long enough for the group to see it. I think the main prize however  goes to the Grey-headed  Canary Flycatcher found in the late afternoon of the final day during a mega  fall, what  a corker to end the trip with !

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Thursday 7th May.

We arrived early morning after our non-stop British Airways overnight flight into Beijing’s very smart Olympic Airport terminal, all went incredibly smoothly,  the Brits could learn a thing or two here. We cleared customs and were met by Jean, our Chinese angel in disguise. The journey from the airport took about an hour as usual, seeing our first few Azure-winged Magpies and Tree Sparrows on the way, bearing in mind birders never switch off. After checking into our hotel, we introduced the group to the local mini supermarket and the challenges of identifying food. Most trusted us about the pot noodles but a few saw the challenge with aplomb choosing a variety of mysterious packages to sample through the day.  In the afternoon we took a trip to the Summer Palace, magnificent architecture with a number of lakes and a variety of vegetation, a great area to walk off any jetleg fatigue. By Summer Palace standards it was very quiet but we still managed to see a Mandarin Duck -  (probably slightly dodgy, as they seem to be resident here),  the first Amur Falcon; a White-breasted Waterhen;  a Crested Kingfisher; Yellow-bellied Tits and our first Olive-backed Pipits and Yellow-browed Warblers , not forgetting of course, lots of Azure-winged Magpies.  In the evening we visited a local restaurant were we enjoyed our first food extravaganza  with a superb  spread of local specialities.

 

Friday 8th May.

An early start for a relatively scenic two hour drive north of the city and the Bai He River,  otherwise  known  as the White River Gorge. An interesting journey in the early morning’s ever  present ‘mist’ surrounding Beijing, like one of those famous atmospheric eastern paintings. Fortunately it clears as we approached the mountains and the group enjoys it’s first view of an incredible feat in construction, the iconic Great Wall. This area like many parts of China has undergone some dramatic changes in recent years, a new superhighway currently being built in sections will soon be complete,  changes to the watercourse, new land development, luxury apartments etc.  A result of this, a seemingly endless array of trucks, people carriers and workers, make  it rather difficult and dangerous to stop for most of the uphill section. We have friends who keep an eye on our target species but it is always a relief when rounding the final bends to see that our favoured stretch remains intact , as it was left the previous year.  A couple of Hill Pigeons flying up to the road bridge were well spotted from our moving coach, Our primary target species, the unique and rather spectacular looking Ibisbill was soon found on their favourite stretch, perhaps the only real ‘braided’ section left, once again, four adults including a pair with two chicks that performed  really well at close range. Our other target species, the Long-billed Plover was also in residence and evidently breeding once again as the male put on a distraction display.  Unfortunately there were no Grey-headed  Lapwing  this year  so we didn’t quite get the set, we’d have to wait for this one, a Pintail Snipe skulking along the river was a welcome addition however . Also welcome, a pair of Mandarin Duck, despite yesterday’s bird, these we could guarantee were the real  McCoy!  It was also unusually quiet on the raptor front, a single passage Amur Falcon and Hobby, the skies were empty apart from a lone Black Stork which was actually the only one on this year’s trip. The scrub along the river edge  produced  it’s usual good views  of quite a few Vinous-throated Parrotbills, a much brighter race than those at Beidaihe.  Our first good views of Daurian Redstart were also appreciated. There was also a nice variety of warblers including Yellow-streaked, Dusky, Yellow-browed,  Claudia’s and an early Black-browed Reed. Buntings are always seemingly evident here and good views of both Godlewski’s and Siberian Meadow are always appreciated  as was a male Yellow-throated  and passage  groups of both Little and Black-faced though a number of overflying ‘tickers’ were quite rightly left as bunting sp. Our only Songar Tit of the trip was welcome but quickly overshadowed  by a group of six Japanese  White-eye. Add to this a nice variety of other passerines from Common  Rosefinch, Brown Shrike and Siberian Stonechat  and all in all it was a good morning’s work.  In the afternoon, after a late lunch/snack/pot noodle at the hotel, we walked down to our favoured and local Yuan Yuantan Park for a foray around the better planted areas to see if much was dropping in for the evening. Perhaps the star find was an elusive male Siberian Rubythroat, always one to get the heart racing but a species for those that missed it, could always be pretty much guaranteed  later on. A group of Olive-backed Pipit were found in their usual preferred area as were Chinese Bulbul and White-cheeked  Starling . Three thrushes gave us a bit of a runaround, as always elusive here due to the number of people ambling about but the first Dusky, Eyebrowed  and Chinese Song are always welcome. Amongst the expected  Yellow-browed Warblers  and the first Pallas’s, another two Claudia’s, and an Eastern-crowned  were  a nice surprise as was another trio of Japanese White-eye.  A wonderful and varied  meal in a local restaurant washed down with local beer  capped  a very successful and enjoyable day.

 

Saturday 9th May.

Another early start and departure from Beijing for the four hour or so journey across to the coast and the lure of Beidaihe. We used to do this by train, but now with a modern highway available to us the journey is now stress free and comfortable by chartered bus. We do tell the group that there is very little to see in the relatively bird-free zone through the mono-culture at least until the comfort stop and with this in mind, most quite rightly went back to sleep. We arrived at our hotel in good time for a welcome, Western-style cooked breakfast before checking  into our rooms. We normally decide, depending on winds, how to deal with the conditions and where to go first. Today’s arrival coincided with relatively little wind and not too much obvious visible migration, so a familiarization tour of the best local areas seemed a wise choice. Initially on foot, we visited the Jinshan Field, Lighthouse Point and onto the Friendship Hotel and then in the afternoon covered the Sandflats and the Reservoir area. Although it appeared initially quiet, we still managed to dig out a number of good birds including two pairs of Amur Falcon which had taken over a couple of Magpie nests at the reservoir and appeared in constant display right over our heads.  A rather tatty first summer  Saunder’s Gull together with six Mongolian and a Vega at the Sandflats. Four of the five woodpeckers; three Forest wagtails; two Siberian Blue Robin; a White’s Thrush; a good variety of warblers; the first stunning Yellow-rumped Flycatcher along with Asian Brown, Grey-streaked and Taiga Flycatchers; Chinese Penduline Tit; Chestnut-flanked White-eye and two Chestnut-eared Buntings, not bad for a quiet day! Another superb  evening meal, Beidaihe style, was again consumed with some very cold local beer, lovely.

 

Sunday  10th  May.

We do like to suggest that our tour participants go out and find their own birds,  cover their own areas, find new ones and this way, by keeping  in touch, we all see a lot more. This group certainly didn’t need much encouragement and were soon spread out covering most of the sites in an around Beidaihe throughout the morning. Friendship and those adjacent areas produced some excellent finds with some of those most-desired, putting in their first appearances. A male Siberian Thrush with a male Grey-sided Thrush and a Chinese Song Thrush were typically skulking, often frustrating as was a large flock of Eye-broweds, the ‘ carrier’ thrush species. Warblers were building up with a steady flow of Pallas’s, Yellow-browed, Radde’s and Dusky and a couple of Claudia’s plus the first Pale-legged leaf Warbler. Overflying small groups of White-eye couldn’t be specifically identified but there was also a good movement of Black-naped Oriole and evidently Common  Rosefinch as fifteen birds were found. The first Tristram’s Bunting alongside yesterday‘ s Chestnut-eared and a Daurian Starling pointed to an increase in migration. In the afternoon we visited,  the area south of Nan Dai He and the Yanghe Estuary. We did find a Grey-tailed Tattler at the bridge before  venturing onto the coastal strip and the small wood but before  we could really do much I received a phone call from Dr Martin William’s who’d just found an Asian Dowitcher at the Sandflats. Asian Dowitcher’s have been  increasingly difficult in recent years and one at Beidaihe was not to be missed. We were however  sadly too late, it was the weekend  after all and a number of beach walkers/worm diggers  had obviously disturbed the bird and it was nowhere to be seen. We did however find a Chinese Egret, which a few years ago was harder to find than rocking-horse ****,  but has been  steadily increasing in numbers  thanks to a variety of protective measures.  We scoured the Sandflats to the north, checked  the roadside  pools but it seemed that the dowitcher had moved on so for the remainder of the day,  the group once again split up, some going back to the Jinshan area, others to the Reservoir and covered  pretty much all available sites until dusk and the lure of another excellent meal. Perhaps the best bird found was a male White-throated Rock Thrush in thrush-central aka the Friendship Hotel, though most would have to wait overnight before connecting with this one.

 

Monday  11th  May.

Pre-breakfast at the Jinshan Field and Lighthouse Point was relatively quiet though it does get you in the mood for a full English! Conditions once again were not right for venturing further afield and so everyone  spread out and worked  all of the peninsula sites down to the Sandflats. The Chinese Egret remained in the favoured corner and despite poor raptor conditions a couple of Eastern Marsh Harriers and a 2cy Pied Harrier put in welcome appearances.  A Watercock was found and observed legging it onto the “Private“ area at Lighthouse Point, a rather early bird. Three Oriental Scops Owls were found, though none particularly easy to see, especially the one calling by the guard house that had all of ten leaves to hide behind!   Ten Pacific Swifts were encouraging,  as you need these to offer a chance of the big, superfast one. Around ten Rufous-bellied Woodpeckers were found including several sapsucking at a favoured tree on Lighthouse Point, are these the same individuals returning year after year or does that particular tree, which looks like every other have a sign we can’t see? The White-throated Rock Thrush  performed  well eventually but whilst it was being looked for, an impressive five Siberian, a White’s, a Grey-backed  and three Chinese Song were found amongst the Eye-browed Thrushs. Both Yellow-browed and Pallas’s Warblers were visibly on the increase as were the Brown Shrikes that often target them. The first Pallas’s Reed and Yellow-breasted Buntings, a very smart male were also found today. In the evening, I personally was expecting a rather low key affair at a small reception as the results of the International Bird Race were to be announced. I had agreed to do the closing speech and being one of the adjudicators, was already aware that WildWings had managed to come second despite a very limited time in the field due to arriving into the competition late. I think we were all shocked at just how many Chinese officials were present, quite encouraging really, and I’m sure the group enjoyed my moment of terror as I realised I was actually going to have to “address the nation“ without actually preparing a speech!  I’d like to thank the group here for doing a sterling job on individually accepting a number of awards on behalf of absent competitors in face of all the Chinese paparazzi,  you all looked very good in the media! The participants and dignitaries buffet dinner was really quite an over indulgent extravagance that was a memorable for the good stuff as it was for trying to identify the bizarre. A great evening, which I think, everyone thoroughly enjoyed, the free beer of course helped….

 

Tuesday 12th May.

Once again, everyone seemed to be up for pre-breakfast visits to the Jinshan, Lighthouse and Friendship and a few good birds were picked up, Ashy Minivets, Siberian Rubythroat and Blue Robins, excellent starters for the day ahead. Conditions seemed very good for  raptor passage and perhaps a much wanted needletail or two, so post breakfast we headed off for the short trip to Lotus Hills and the excellent watchpoint at the top of the hills. With our new found fame,  we had a television crew in tow, who seemingly amused by our relatively alien behaviour and had a chance to up the station’s ratings, filmed just about everything  we did.  There were a few migrants along the watercourse on the way up, Olive-backed Pipits launching from the forest floor, phylloscopus warblers flitting about all over the place, mostly Yellow-browed  and Pallas’s but also an increase in Radde’s and Dusky, a Pale-legged Leaf and the first Two-barred  Greenish plus Taiga Flycatchers and a Yellow-bellied Tit. We stopped to enjoy the Greater-necklaced  Laughing Thrush group around the outer edge  of the aviary, shame they’re not wild birds but at least it gave the film crew something avian to film, big enough to find in the camera anyway! We finally made  it to the top,  set up camp and waited…..and waited. A Japanese Sparrowhawk  followed by a couple of distant sparrowhawk  sp, some Amur Falcons including eye to eye views of a stunning male, equally so a number of Hobby  which were constantly screaming around looking for incoming prey but no hoped for bigger raptors. A Dollarbird made a brief fly-through heading north, much to the annoyance of those on the wrong side of the rocks.

We scanned and then all of a sudden‚….whoooshh…….A White-throated Needletail comes straight at us, head on, barely giving us time to think, travels just above our head  height, stiffly flicks from side to side showing that glorious orca-style white and black pattern before  hitting the afterburners and powering off north, superb, an avian jetfighter!

We descended as it seemed  we couldn’t really better this sighting and the skies had gone very quiet to go back to Beidaihe and find more new birds. I think most people went off to Friendship but for me the lure of Lighthouse first was greater and I promptly bumped  into two Japanese  Grosbeaks  and a Japanese Waxwing within the space of about eighty metres followed by two very welcome Yellow-browed Buntings. Despite getting quite a few of the group onsite, both the grozzers and the waxwing seemed  extremely difficult to pin down.  Even being able to hear the grosbeaks  several times, they still proved  very difficult to observe.  Elsewhere,  a White-breasted Waterhen and Black-capped Kingfisher were found at the Reservoir. Locally there were now two White-throated Rock Thrush, two White’s, two new Siberian all thankfully performing well and still present but very elusive was the Grey-backed Thrush, still frustrating many keen to see it.

 

Wednesday  13th May

The pre-breakfast  routine of Jinshan Field and onto Lighthouse Point with others checking Friendship and Suzi Wongs indicated early signs that today was going to be interesting. The Chinese Egret was found at the point feeding on the rocks whilst the beginnings of a steady stream of passerines flew in overhead.  A couple of Hobby were constantly dashing out over the sea on hunting forays and several Amur Falcon also passed over. A Brown Hawk Owl was seen briefly in Suzi Wongs before hurtling across the road with a group of magpies in pursuit and we lost it in the Jinshan Hotel. Passerines were popping up everywhere  with Siberian Rubythroats  and Blue Robins and our first Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler all delaying breakfast. After breakfast, the group split up and covered basically all of the sites Beidaihe has to offer. The Brown Hawk Owl was refound at the top of the steps in Jinshan Field of all places, sitting out in the open against the wall allowing everyone a superb opportunity to study this magnificent species. Elsewhere birds where being found thick and fast and it was one of those days where you didn’t really know where to go next. Whilst checking the Dongshan, a few of us heard something struggling to clamber through one of the many low ornamental hedges . I’m sure none of us present expected  it to be a male Watercock which shot out into the air like a missile before circling above our heads, surreal! Also in the vicinity, another Dollarbird cruised through and four Oriental Scops Owls were found. It was the chats however that most evidently  were on the move today with five Rufous-tailed Robin, fifteen Siberian Rubythroat, five Bluethroats and an impressive forty Siberian Blue Robin and seventy five Siberian Stonechat. The thrushes weren’t to be outdone either with an amazing ten White-throated Rock and White’s, six Siberian, two Grey-sided , fifty five Eye-broweds, one each of Dusky and Naumann’s, two Chinese Song and perhaps the best of all, a Pale Thrush. An Asian Stub-tailed Warbler was typically elusive but it was a good day in general for warblers with five each of Black-browed, Claudia’s and Two-barred,  an Eastern-crowned, eight Pale-legged Leaf, twelve Arctic, twenty Pallas’s, sixty Yellow-broweds,  six Raddes and thirty Dusky Warblers! Flycatchers were also very much in evidence,  zipping around in all suitable areas and again some very good numbers with at least twenty Yellow-rumped, three male Mugimaki, forty Taiga, thirty Asian Brown and four Grey-streaked. More problematic and exceptionally hard to pin down were probably two Elisae’s Flycatchers but with everything else, I don’t think many people cared. Add to this at least fifty Brown Shrikes and a good sprinkling of buntings including three Japanese Reed , a very good day was had by all. I think we’d  all earnt the delicious nine dish evening meal copiously washed down with the excellent local beer again.

 

Thursday 14th May.

Today was going to be our journey south and the lure and legend of Magic Wood and Happy Island was very much in people’s minds. Pre-breakfast forays produced an elusive Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler again in Suzi Wongs, Chestnut-eared Bunting in the favoured Jinshan Field  and a Black-capped Kingfisher probably being the best birds. After breakfast we boarded the coach for our journey south stopping first at should have been the wet grasslands of Da Pu He. There has been a long term drought in NE China and this was fairly evident as much of the area and pool network had dried out. Undaunted we still did our usual sweep of the area seeing a few nice birds though it wasn’t until we’d  made  it back to the coach that the star bird was found in the form of a male Red-billed Starling. Unfortunately it didn’t linger and few people saw it as we were concentrating on the trip’s first Oriental Reed Warbler. Fortunately, we were to get this rarity back onto everyone’s  list a little later in the trip. Onward to Qilihai, otherwise known as Seven Mile Sea and a scan of the mud to see if we could find a dowitcher or perhaps something rarer. Always a difficult area to watch, we did manage to find three Chinese Egrets whilst carefully scouring the waders which in itself is quite a remarkable  record but other than these and another Broad-billed Roller it was quiet.

We continued south, stopping off at a favoured staging post for Little Whimbrel when they are passing through. We checked  all the fields very carefully, especially as it was windy with many furrows hiding birds which initially seemed to be empty. However drawn by good numbers of White-winged Black Terns feeding over the back we soon located a pocket of waders. There were sadly no whimbrel but we were more than compensated  by a group of at least five Oriental Pratincole. Onward again, passing Magic Wood to look at the area of mudflats close to Laoyujian Pier opposite Happy Island. Always worth checking first as it’s very tidal dependant, we’d  hit it just right and there were plenty of waders close in to scrutinise. These included twelve very smart Mongolian Sandplover and at least seventeen equally dapper Great Knot. A little further out and in amongst the twenty odd Curlew Sandpiper fed four Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, seven Red-necked Stint and a single Red Knot. A small group of waders flew toward us and landed just to the right which we assumed were stints, however  on close inspection proved to be nine very smart Broad-billed Sandpipers. As the tide pushed up it became an excellent wader fest with good numbers of godwit mostly Bar-tailed, Eurasian and Far-eastern Curlew plus Terek Sandpiper and Grey-tailed Tattler all being picked up from the watchpoint. We then moved onto Magic Wood which actually proved a bit of a shock to me as the heronry from Big Wood had upped  sticks and moved into our favourite patch. WildWings named the Little Wood about ten years ago after the mother of all falls involving over six and a half thousand birds  in an area about the size of a football pitch! The small copse (it used to be bigger) was now so full of nesting Night Herons and egrets whose droppings  littered the floor and the smell of ammonia  filled the air, it might never be quite the same again. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were more birds around the perimeter than there were in the fabled ‘patch’ which was just as well as we didn’t want to be responsible  for a mass panic. We soon found good birds of course,  another Brown Hawk Owl dwarfed the Oriental Scops, two Grey Nightjars, Black-capped Kingfisher, Yellow-legged Buttonquail, Siberian Rubythroats and Blue Robins, a male Siberian and Grey-sided Thrush with both Dusky and Eye-broweds.  A scuttling mouse-of-a-bird, when eventually seen well, turned out to be  a Chinese Bush Warbler,  was an excellent find indeed. There was a good supporting cast of the more regular warblers, another Daurian Starling and yet another Yellow-browed Bunting, excellent stuff. We departed  as the light levels dropped  for the short journey to Jingtang and our hotel for the next four nights, entering the main drag via a country short cut due to work on the road during rush hour in what could only be called the wacky races!

 

Friday 15th May.

After an early breakfast,  loosely termed, the breakfast bit not the early, we headed  off for our first visit to Happy Island via Magic Wood. Now because the authorities had closed the main road, we were having to use a  village track along with everyone else trying to go to or get from work which resulted in leaving one thinking we were part of the latest Mad Max movie. Not only this, but we were stopped by a group of ancient folk who demanded  money  for our safe passage, refusing to allow us any further unless it was paid. Now as we were in a coach, travelling through very narrow lanes, they could have made  life difficult, so the money was paid shortly followed by some angry phone calls by local guide, Ginny. Arriving at Magic Wood for a very quick sortie produced a number of cuckoos including Indian and Oriental, an Oriental Scops, the first Lanceolated and Thick-billed Warblers amongst the now daily plethora of thrushes, including another Siberian and much desired chats. Always difficult to leave, but with the need to catch the boat over to Happy Island before the tide dropped,  we departed for the harbour and our awaiting transport. Fully loaded with the WildWings group and various sight seeing Chinese, a couple of off duty monks and a policeman, we chugged our way across the expanse through a narrow channel enjoying the feeding waders as we passed.  Now this was an unusual route and the area is notoriously shallow so I was slightly disturbed as we approached the dredger unit which appeared to be floundering in the water but still the boatmen know these waters ‘like the back of their hands’. Sadly not Capt Jack Sparrow Wang, who promptly grounded the back end of the Black Pearl on a sandbank.  Now normally in these situations you would expect that if you moved the weight from the back to the front you’d have a chance but oh no, the crew promptly forced everybody to move to the rear, despite protestations and basically wedged  us in so deep, we weren’t  going to going anywhere. We needed  another boat and despite being so close to Happy Island, this was frustratingly going to take some time. Another boat did actually appear rather quickly and apart from initial attempts to first ram us, then get stuck themselves we were eventually removed to leave Mr Sparrow with cigar and the Pearl grounded  until the tide was high enough to lift them off, to eventually get onto the island with the new boat. Firstly I was quite astonished that neither I or Martin, who had been  here before, could actually recognise the place, so much had changed  in such a short time. As we boarded  our electric buggies to journey on the new coastal road, lined with street lights for our short trip up to our temporary  HQ, at the temple it was evident that there was much new work underway. The New England style buildings on what is basically a mosquito infested plot were an interesting decision. Anyway, it doesn’t stop the birds and as soon as we arrived I checked with friends on the island to find out what was about and whether it was worth trying for the wader roost. The wader roost was apparently a no go as the birds were too distant and in those circumstances, the chances of picking up dowitchers very limited. There was however  a Mongolian Lark close to the new rubbish tip area and so quite a few of the group departed  on a successful but frustrating foray for this rather flighty individual but saw a number of good birds in the process including a male Pied Harrier and a pair of Eastern Marsh Harriers. Others decided to do the inner sanctum, the mature circular wood behind the Temple  which has the ability to lure large numbers  of passerines. Being in touch by radio and mobile allowed most to catch up with a good variety of birds throughout the day though some species such as Relict Gull were missed by most. A female Red-flanked Bluetail was greatly appreciated despite most being familiar with the species. The island’s first spring Siberian Thrushes caused quite a stir with the resident birders and a cheeky grin from most of us as not only had we seen many well, but to slight annoyance, we kept bumping into them whilst they were frantically searching. There were good numbers of White-throated Rock Thrush also causing a stir and it appears to me,  that Beidaihe seems to score these forest denizens as well as the other thrushes earlier than this fabled rarity hotspot. There was a good fall of phylloscopus warblers with counts of three hundred  Pallas’s, a hundred and fifty Yellow-broweds,  two Hume’s  and smaller numbers of the other regulars, many feeding within touching distance throughout the day, both here and back at Magic Wood. The woods and surrounding area also held good numbers  of buntings especially Tristram’s, Little, Black-faced, Chestnut and Yellow-browed with single Yellow-throated and Yellow-breasted thrown in. Our journey back to the mainland late afternoon was smooth and after quickly scouring the Magic Wood area we journeyed back to our hotel, more than happy with the day’s results. During the evening log, it was apparent that it was one of the best wader counts for many years with  good totals, the highlights  being four hundred  Great Knot, a thousand Bar-tailed Godwit,  a hundred  Far-eastern Curlew and at least fifty Terek Sandpipers.  A celebratory beer was had by all again.

 

Saturday 16th May

Today we were going to stay on the mainland, unless news of a monster broke on the islands of course, and tour around the area covering all the sites. We left early, and followed the route through the narrow village lanes and the ongoing mayhem  only this time our translator Ginny stopped the coach and forced the local mafia to pay back the money with a little interest. How our pint sized hero managed  it I have no idea but the looks on the elders faces was an absolute picture, an amazing result. Our first port of call was of course the Magic Wood, the first of two visits today. Amost immediately  we spotted a lone Hawfinch at the top of the tallest bare tree, very late for this wintering bird and encouraging  for the possibility of other late birds. We scoured the area finding a pair of Ashy Minivets, for once not overflying but feeding up in the plantation allowing close views of this lovely shrike-like passerine.  Elsewhere, a Japanese Reed and a couple of Corn amongst a sizeable group of Chestnut Buntings were fresh in but movement was generally slow. The male Siberian Thrush was suprisingly still around but always difficult to pin down in the open as the rather jumpy Eye-broweds always seem to spot folk first. There had obviously been a good passage of cuckoos and with calling birds everywhere  Oriental, Common,  Indian and for some Little meant that unless it was small, we could ignore them. We moved on to the harbour area as we knew the waders were being pushed in, the main target being Asian Dowitcher. Very carefully going through the godwits, it didn’t seem to take very long as one very sharp-eyed  teamster suddenly announced, here have a look at this with a wry smile. It was a great find as the tide was going to slowly push it toward us, allowing us to swing back and forth with scopes and study the subtle differences between  it and the godwits. Once again there were some impressive counts with seven hundred and five Bar-tailed Godwit, thirty Black-tailed, fifty two Curlew and two Broad-billed Sandpiper, seventy four Mongolian Sandplover and three hundred Great Knot plus two Grey-tailed Tattler . High numbers  compared  with recent years relatively low counts at this site. Also encouraging was a group of sixty three Red-necked  Stint which in recent years have really been dipping down. Could have been a late Spring for many of these birds or an indication of problems to the south but the fact they were busily feeding at least indicated that the estuary still contained enough food to assist this lot. We did of course scrutinise every stint just in case one had a spoon on the end of its bill!

Happy, we moved on to the Big Wood, which actually isn’t quite as big anymore, and surrounded by new industry, given grants to setup here rather than Beijing during the Olympic year have had their effect, Nevertheless, with so little habitat in the area, this green patch is still a magnetic staging post. It was all fairly relaxed, we had our packed lunch, charged up the caffeine levels and leisurely birded the area. The heronry was actually still here, albeit much reduced as most pairs had seemingly moved down to the Magic Wood. For the first time in many years we didn’t actually find any biggies here but two Forest Wagtails, an elusive Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler and male Mugimaki Flycatchers were well appreciated.  Back to Magic Wood for the remainder of the day, we were determined to find Long-toed Stint which was sadly missing from the list so far. The group split up and several of us scoured the labyrinth of fishponds alongside the main road and off into the distance. One adventurous sole decided to check the newly built and monstrous concrete basin of a water holding tank, which we all assumed to be full of water. It wasn’t, the water was very low and surrounded by some very attractive mud on which, twelve very smart summer plumaged  Long-toed Stint fed, oblivious to their increasing number of admirers  above  them. In amongst these, a couple of Citrine Wagtails dashed about picking off flies. Spreading out we continued to scour the area where another intrepid sole discovered a new hotspot, promptly finding a B52 in the shape of a fine male Japanese Grosbeak and a lovely male Grey-sided Thrush, a species which had frustrated many so far. I think in reality, this species is easily overlooked amongst first summer Eye-browed s as several people realised they had probably seen the species before. The grosbeak was typically elusive for such a large bird and shot off in the direction of the main wood and was missed by several people. We spent the remainder of the day searching for this to no avail but enjoyed close views of a wide variety chats and warblers in the process.

 

Sunday 17th May.

Today we were once again going across to Happy Island though a bit later than usual due to tides and having made  it down to Magic Wood rather quickly, we had time for a relatively thorough search. We checked  on the reservoir finding nine Long-toed together with four Red-necked  and a Little Stint. Elsewhere, whilst walking the bunds surrounding the fishponds,  there had evidently been a good fall of warblers, particularly acrocephalus and one bird in particular had caused quite a stir appearing to exhibit features that warranted closer scrutiny as it looked like the rather enigmatic Streaked  Reed  Warbler.  We gathered  in the troops and divided along several causeways slowly edged our way through the vegetation. There were unfortunately too many Black-browed’s skulking through the vegetation diverting attention from the target which was actually hiding close to the junction of the main walkway. I don’t know who saw what but I had a brief but very good view of a bird that instantly reminded  me of a dull Sedge warbler, the streaked  crown and mantle ruling out Black-browed. The bird was behaving  in the manner of a locustella warbler as it flicked through the vegetation  and out of view. At this point we disturbed several  birds which shot off in different directions and we unfortunately concentrated on the wrong bird loosing this monster in the process. Time was ticking away and birds were literally everywhere, so I made perhaps  the unwise decision to let things settle and return later in the hope that the bird would remain. We congregated on the bank opposite the wood and close to the coach to gather the troops. A shout of ‘crane?’ coming at us drew all eyes to the sky behind  us and the second of the shockers today materialised in the form of an Oriental Stork which drifted low right over our heads, circled the wood several times eyeing the heronry very carefully before drifting off south. This was a very late individual for this endangered  species and the views could not really be bettered, what  an amazing start to the day! Our trip across to Happy Island beckoned and with relief was without incident. We once again set up HQ at the temple where we were told by resident birders that a Red-billed Starling had been hanging out around the tip area. Battling ridiculous winds, everyone who’d missed the first one managed to get to grips with this one albeit several flybys, one of two seen today. In a sheltered corner, trying to search for Relict Gull we found our first phillipensis Blue Rock Thrush and a multitude of warblers along the bunds trying to seek shelter from the winds. Around the inner sanctum, two Japanese Grosbeaks eventually allowed everyone to catch up with this gorgeous species. The winds dropped and it was evident that this would be a classic day for visible migration so most of us headed for higher ground to watch the skies, which proved a very good move indeed as most had excellent views as birds drifted overhead. By the end of the session we had recorded four Eastern Marsh Harrier, two Pied Harrier, a Japanese Sparrowhawk,  a Grey-faced Buzzard, an Osprey, seven Amur Falcon, six Hobby, forty Pacific Swift and a White-throated Needletail.  On our return to the mainland, the focus was obviously on trying to find the warbler but despite extensive searching, we sadly failed to nail this one down. Tired but elated, we returned to the hotel for a very welcome hot shower, an excellent meal and a nice cold beer or two.

 

Monday 18th May

Departure day for our return back to Beidaihe, via all our favoured sites around Laoting. First port of call was of course Magic Wood where an Eastern Water Rail and male Watercock set the ball rolling nicely. Good numbers of thrushes involved all of the rather spectacular and much desired species, more White’s and Siberian, another  Grey-sided, Pallas’s Grasshopper and a couple of Lanceolated Warblers, good numbers of Black-browed Reed  where quickly eclipsed by seven Thick-billed Warbler allowing everyone excellent views of this rather endearing, perhaps gormless looking species. The first two Dark-sided Flycatchers amongst a massive fall of Taiga Flycatcher were appreciated as were two perched  Daurain Starlings. A Grey-headed  Lapwing found in one of the abandoned  fish ponds promptly flew south and after searching the area briefly we decided to check the harbour area just in case.  To our relief, and surprise,  we found another just sat on the mud flats close to the watchpoint allowing everybody scope views of this excellent vanellus.

Travelling north, we checked  Big Wood finding another Grey-sided Thrush and a  Hair-crested Drongo before moving on to the area favoured by Little Whimbrel.  With deteriorating conditions as a front came through and visibility dropped a quick scan revealed nothing new so we continued on to Beidaihe and an improvement in the weather. I can’t quite remember  how  it happened  but most of us ended up at the Sandflats mid-afternoon. I saw in the distance a 1st summer  Relict Gull amongst a large group of gulls at the waters edge, which I then promptly lost. Deciding to walk out was a good move and others did the same from different directions. Despite going through the gulls several times which had split and were now all along the coast the bird couldn’t be refound. A close group of stint warranted closer scrutiny and although they were all Red-necked, that delay actually proved very fruitful as on turning around, a distant passerine running around on the mud was evidently going to be something good . A quick scope and the radios were once again cackling, a very smart Mongolian Lark, the second of the trip but the first that could actually be enjoyed feeding out in the open. If you half closed your eyes you could almost imagine it in the Gobi desert. Whilst this was being studied a group of four Greater Sandplover flew in to join the party. After great views of these, several of the group went to search the reedy  area finding both Pallas’s and Japanese  Reed  Bunting whilst others checked the reservoir or ventured back towards Lighthouse Point. Around the Jinshan there were literally Brown Shrikes everywhere with an end of day count of three hundred  and fifty gives this some perspective. Having checked  Lighthouse Point whilst others visited Friendship I decided to do Jinshan Field last thing before calling it day, almost immediately  finding a stunning male Grey-backed Shrike. Unfortunately, the now resident Browns didn’t like this intruder and chased it off into the hedge  bordering  Suzi Wongs. Despite the teams very quick arrival, we couldn’t relocate it before dusk.

 

Tuesday 19th May.

The usual routine of pre-breakfast looks at Jinshan Field, Lighthouse Point and Friendship Hotel didn’t really give any indication of what was to come later in the day. The group split up and spread out covering all sites that Beidaihe has to offer but around mid-morning it became apparent that we were in the eye of a big fall. Starting as usual at Lighthouse Point we were suddenly  hit by a phenomenal  fall of passerines, the magic carpet treatment was finally underway, radios cackled, mobiles thumbed, everyone needed to get down to the point and the immediate surrounding area. Wherever we looked, birds were passing through, one of those magical days! It started with the first of an astonishing seven Siberian Bush Warblers at Lighthouse and from there the movement progressively built up. It is easier just to show the totals and although much of it was estimated, we were careful about being conservative. Most obvious were Black-browed Reed warblers with around five hundred  being  noted, inevitably bringing in a Manchurian Reed Warbler, observed well in a small ditch on the seafront, the trees all contained feeding birds  with an estimated one hundred  Thick-billed Warblers  unusually out numbering  Oriental Reed  Warbler by ten to one. At least fifteen Lanceolated  Warbler were located scurrying around like tiny winged rodents. Both Radde’s and Dusky warbler were literally everywhere but came in two distinct and separate waves with around three hundred  of each vying for attention. At least a hundred  Pallas’s Warblers flitted about whilst fifteen Arctic Warblers characteristically took more time, thinking about their next move. Amongst these, an Eastern Crowned, a couple of Pale-legged, six Two-barred  Greenish and twelve Yellow-browed  added  to the day’s phylloscopus list. A male Japanese  and five Chinese  Grosbeak  lent a touch of the exotic and a White-breasted  Waterhen at Lighthouse, the bizarre. By late afternoon it was obvious that waders were on the move with Whimbrel audibly evident. A watch from the Jinshan Field produced four hundred and seventeen with at least two Little Whimbrel being  picked up amongst the passing groups. To add to the unusual list for the day, eighty two Asian White-winged Scoter also flew straight over the peninsula high much to the surprise of those counting Whimbrel  from  Jinshan. Add to this everything from high counts of seventy  one Black-tailed Gulls through to an estimated four hundred  Brown Shrike  and sixty Black-naped Oriole. It was a day of exceptional diversity that should remain memorable  to everyone  who witnessed  it and in the evening we had a few more beers.

 

Wednesday  20th May.

Another day spent in the Beidaihe area, which was always going to be a hard act to follow the previous one’s avian extravaganza.  Despite this there were still some very good birds found. The first Yellow Bittern appeared at the reservoir, an Oriental Honey Buzzard that came down several times in the Dongshan gave excellent views as it sailed low overhead, as did both Eastern Marsh Harrier and Chinese Goshawk. A first summer Little Gull which passed  Lighthouse Point was a good record as were the four Grey-tailed Tattlers in terms of numbers at this time of year. Blyth’s Pipit was finally cemented  onto this year’s list with five being seen today along with a Red-throated, unusually scarce this year. One of the star birds, a very elusive individual that would take some several days to catch up with in the form of a male Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike. A  Red-flanked  Bluetail was an unusually late bird for this traditionally early migrant as perhaps was an Asian Stub-tailed Warbler. Three of yesterdays Siberian Bush Warblers remained  with a further twelve Lanceolated being found.  Only six Black-browed Warblers were seen today illustrating just how much had cleared out. Two Elisae’s Flycatchers had been found in the Dongshan by another group of birdwatchers and despite a very good chance of seeing them on the breeding  grounds  in the next couple of days,  everyone ventured down to have a look. Surprisingly awkward and elusive, most did eventually get reasonable views. I received a phonecall from Steve Bale, a British birder living in Beidaihe about a male Tiger Shrike he’d just found in the little wood south of Nandaihe. This was promptly succesfully twitched by Alex. Back at the Jinshan it was evident that once again, tail-end of the day that the Whimbrel  were on the move with a steady stream of passing groups. Just at the moment I’d locked onto another group containing Little Whimbrel, the phone again rang only this time Mr Bale thought he’d found a Baer’s Pochard! Aaargh, radios cackled, no response, mobiles used,  quickly gathered with Jean driving, a group of us very quickly made our way to the area collecting Alex by the roadside.  Steve was watching the bird, but looking into the sun and daring not to move in case it flushed he evidently couldn’t see it properly. Sadly from our angle, with much better light it was clearly just a White-winged Scoter…whoops!

We went to see if we could see the shrike but despite scouring the area, it had evidently disappeared.  Meanwhile, back at the Jinshan Field, the Whimbrel counters had logged an impressive five hundred  and two with around fifteen Little Whimbrel accompanying them.

 

Thursday  21st May

Today  was the day for our traditional trip up to Old Peak, or Zushan Forest Park as it’s officially known for an overnight stay. Little had been seen before  breakfast so there was no reason to delay  and we were soon off on our journey, which as expected was relatively quiet. A comfort stop by the river allowed another photo opportunity to capture another section of the Great Wall and its associated hill forts before we snaked along the valley and started to ascend the mountain. A traditional stop off point to look for Manchurian Bush Warbler failed, as although we could hear the bird, it refused to come up the hillside to have a look and in windy conditions, was probably best left. We did however managed to lure out three Pere David’s Laughing Thrush which are normally relatively scarce here ( I discovered afterwards that there was a snippet of call on my own recording of the bush warbler),  a nice result. We also tried and failed to get a response to playback of Blunt-Winged Warbler but again poor conditions, a cold wind and evidently a lot of disturbance from new construction probably had an effect. Walking down to the main gate we enjoyed close views of Daurian Redstarts and a couple of Hair-crested Drongo but again it was all generally very quiet, spectacular views but few birds. After a brief lunch stop, we made our way onwards and upwards, arriving at our hotel with a rather disturbing stage and sideshow  being erected  right outside our rooms. After checking in we had a quick look around the back of the hotel quickly locating a pair of Chinese Nuthatch,  several members of the group had seen a bright orange mammal  run across the forest floor which I suggested was a Siberian Weasel, a rather large predator that we had seen here before,. They were adamant that it looked like a fox, there aren’t any here I said, bemused, how little did I know!

We organised a lift to the top to concentrate on the upper specialities and it was then that the mammal sighting was resolved. Unbelievably, the local monks had released a large number of Silver and a few hybrid Arctic Foxes onto the mountain as it seemed like a good idea and a ‘tourist’ attraction, The sheer stupidity of this act will probably put an end to most of the vicinities ground nesters including Kocklass Pheasant which not surprisingly was neither seen or heard during our visit, a first for me. They rely on humans feeding them I was told later, they can’t even hunt. They actually followed us around, we should make it easy to remove them, and we actually watched one stalking and trying to catch a Yellow-streaked warbler!  Anyway, despite the worsening conditions, we soon located  singing Chinese Leaf Warbler, Yellow-streaked Warbler and plenty of displaying Claudia’s Leaf Warblers. We tried for our usual male White-bellied Redstart but despite getting a good response, he refused to show himself. All of the cuckoos seemed to be in, the loudest, the Large Hawk Cuckoo or brain-fever bird the most obvious, with their resonating call. We could hear Grey-sided , Chinese Song and a single Grey-backed Thrush singing but in worsening conditions it was difficult to see much. The walk down was interesting with at least three Stub-tailed Warblers singing, and several more Chinese Leaf, Yellow-streaked  and a Hume’s Warbler seen as well as three Elisae’s Flycatcher and a Yellow-throated  Bunting. The hot water regime  here is bizarre and I think most remained  unwashed  as some part of the plumbing  system failed to work, in my case, all of it! Due to problems in the hotel, we ate in the restaurant in the hotel next door, the party outside started and the heavens opened.. big time…

 

Friday 22nd May.

A very early start, especially after a night of fireworks, cold weather and heavy rain perhaps might have not been the best idea but we had no choice and in reality, proved rather succesful. We succeeded  in luring out not one but two White-bellied Redstart, never easy to see, perhaps the ultimate skulker on this trip, but what a bird when you do see it! We had great views of a number of singing Grey-sided and up to ten Chinese Song whilst some also saw a male Grey-backed  Thrush. Eight singing Chinese Leaf , an amazing six singing Yellow-streaked  and four Hume’s Warblers  were observed, one especially performing well. Unfortunately, singing Asian Stub-tailed Warblers could not be lured out above the noise of the ongoing construction work. Another four Pere David’s Laughing Thrush were seen so this species appears to be on the increase here. Despite a thorough search of the favoured areas, no Bull-headed Shrike could be found this year, an unfortunate Wildwings first. Of the buntings, Yellow-throated, Siberian Meadow and Godlewski’s were all found breeding.  After a breakfast of sorts, a fried egg, fried spam and some bread and jam, not my ideal choice, I told the management a few home truths and we then had another look at the Chinese Nuthatchs and left. We stopped at the area for the Manchurian Bush Warbler, played the call and had stunning views of the male sat on top a small sapling for quite some time, many of the group getting some excellent photographs. We had decided to call in on the Great Wall at Shanhauiguan on the way back to have a crack at Chinese Hill Warbler which doesn’t occur at Old Peak. Despite the road being closed and having to negotiate a track through vegetable  plots much to the bewilderment and obvious amusement  of local farmers we actually made  it in time. I had heard that there was a pair nesting very close to the bottom of the chairlift but despite trying very hard, we couldn’t find them, and in reality, they had probably fledged already.  We took the chair lift up to try an area close to the top and again drew a blank, returning, again to the amusement of the operators, soon after, it was almost closing time anyway. As we were going to have a look at the wall itself, a few of us thought we‘d  try the scrub on the way anyway ,finding both the Hill Warbler and another group of Laughing Thrush. The best was yet to come though for as we were leaving, a quick look at the final area of decent vegetation held a very smart, and evidently tired, female Tiger Shrike.

 

Saturday 23rd May.

Our last day, always full of surprises and sudden  panic, what was this one about to bring? It was like a firework, light the fuse, a slow fizzle before an almighty bang, that pretty much sumed up our day. Pre-breakfast was fairly quiet and so after our plated English, many headed  off to the reservoir to try and see the Chinese Yellow Bittern,  which eventually proved highly successful with between  six and eight birds seen. Those same observers then found up to three Greater Spotted Eagles and a couple more Dollarbirds. Visits to the sandflats recorded three Pechora Pipit, a species that had been unusually lacking so far. Around the Jinshan area, the, or another male Black-winged Cuckoo Shrike was finally nailed, singing away from cover. Brown Shrikes were still coming in with sixty birds recorded, amongst these, a superb pair of Tiger Shrike, probably  the best year ever for this species. We all visited the Lighthouse Point at various stages but around mid afternoon if was once again evident that we were having another fall. Once again, Black-browed Warblers  were the primary species with over two hundred  birds  counted, the bushes were literally alive with this species. Equally impressive were around a hundred  Arctic Warblers, interestingly having a slightly different song to earlier birds it seems, possibly a different population ? Lanceolated Warblers seemed to be everywhere  with at least forty eight birds counted, amongst these at least three Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler. Thick-billed Warblers seemed to be in every tree top with another high count of forty birds. I was half way down the point when I flushed a large locustella out of a gulley and onto the rocks before it skulked into vegetation. I certainly won’t forget the moment that when gathering a few of us together for an organised flush, the radio cackled with a message from Mike. – „ I’ve got an odd yellow flycatcher here with a grey head, don’t know what it is but it’s bloody brilliant!“ Two of us looked at each other and announced ****, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher!  It wasn’t far, literally just around the corner in fact, but it was difficult, zipping around like an exocet, very difficult to pin down. Eventually it settled, and everybody  obtained really good views, thankfully down to the bird being faithful to one, albeit large area. We tried to find the mysterious locustella, but sadly it couldn’t be relocated, one for another day. During our send off, many of those special birds that draw Europeans  half way  around the world were still present, amongst these three each of Siberian Thrush and Rubythroat, and four Siberian Blue Robins, what a fantastic day to end the tour!

 

Sunday 24th May.

A very early departure for Beijing International Airport and our return flight home.

 

 

Beidaihe Birding TopTen

Every year we ask everyone to write down their top ten birds of the trip. Each bird is then given points, ten for top down to one point for number ten bird.

 

1. Siberian Thrush
2. White-throated Needletail
3. Oriental Stork
4. Siberian Bush Warbler
5. Mongolian Lark
6. Lanceolated Warbler
7. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher
8. White’s Thrush
9. Siberian Blue Robin
10. Ibisbill