Summary

 

This was WildWings twelfth, and Tony Marr’s thirteenth, spring visit to this world-renowned migration watchpoint. Beidaihe continues to provide western birders with unique opportunities to see a dazzling variety of far-eastern birds at their most colourful as they pass up the north-east coast of China en route to their breeding areas in Mongolia and Siberia. As with migration watching anywhere, weather plays a major part in what is to be seen, but Beidaihe in spring differs from many other migration hotspots around the world in that whatever the conditions, birds pour through every day. Hardly ever do you have a quiet day.

 

Every year is different, and this May’s migration was influenced by a late and cold spring, by unsettled weather far to the south-west and south of us (including a typhoon which reached nearby Beijing) and locally by mostly southerly winds and clear skies. These conditions produced a number of late wintering birds; several species not previously recorded which had overshot from Southern China; and a steady and unrelenting daily passage of migrants of all types. There was scarcely a dull moment, and on the penultimate day there was a spectacular fall of passerines, forced down by strong headwinds and murky conditions.

 

Our provisional species total (with final identification of a niltava still to be resolved) was 266, our highest yet. This included eight ‘write-ins’ on our list, some of which appear to be firsts for Hebei Province. The additions included Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula, Laggar Falcon Falco jugger (potentially a first for China of this apparently sedentary Indian species), Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus, Eastern Grass Owl Tyto longimembris (presumed to be of the race chinensis), Crested Lark Galerida cristata, Dark-throated Thrush Turdus ruficollis (of the Red-throated form ruficollis), White-tailed Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus davisoni and Grey-backed Shrike Lanius tephronotus. Descriptions and digital photographs were taken for most of these and several were seen by other groups of birders. A number of equally unprecedented vagrants were reported by these other groups, including Orange-headed Ground Thrush and Tickell’s Leaf Warbler.

 

There were so many highlights that only the highlights among the highlights can be included in this overall summary. These included three Temminck’s Cormorants; three Chinese Egrets; a drake Mandarin Duck; five Koklass Pheasants; a Ruddy Crake; a Swinhoe’s (Asian Yellow) Rail; 15 Little Whimbrel; 12 Grey-tailed Tattlers; three Relict Gulls; 17 Saunders’ Gulls; 16 White-throated Needletails; a Crested Kingfisher; three Mongolian Larks on the same day; 3-4 Pechora Pipits; 12 Japanese Waxwings; a singing male White-bellied Redstart; a Blue Whistling Thrush; 12 other species of thrush (10 species seen on one day); a Japanese Swamp Warbler; 6 Pallas’ Grasshopper Warblers, 70 Lanceolated and 120 Thick-billed Warblers on one day; two Grey-crowned and one Bianchi’s Warbler (recent splits from Golden Spectacled Warbler); 40+ singing Chinese Leaf Warblers in their breeding habitat; a total of 14 species of phylloscopus warblers; single male Blue-and-White and Asian Paradise Flycatchers; a Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher (our second ever); a Tiger Shrike; a Daurian Jackdaw and 20 Daurian Starlings; and a total of 12 species of colourful buntings.

 

 

Daily Diary

 

Thursday 4 May

 

The KLM 747 carrying our group of 30 landed twenty minutes early in Beijing after an excellent overnight flight from Amsterdam, on a typical misty smog-ridden morning. Within an hour, thanks to the efficiency of KLM, the Chinese Customs and Immigration Authorities, and our guide Jean Wang, we were on board our coach and off to the city and our hotel. We booked in, grabbed a snack lunch and then  for an afternoon’s sightseeing and birding in cool showery weather. In Tiananmen Square we saw more people than any of us had ever seen in one place and at one time before, this being the annual first-week-of-May holiday for the whole country. We passed through to the Forbidden City, or Imperial Palace, where Azure-winged Magpies, Large-billed Crows and Spotted Doves were to be seen among the impressive buildings. Fifteen Black-crowned Night Herons passed over, and two smart Amur Wagtails (White Wagtails of the race leucopsis) were flycatching. We escaped the crowds for a visit to a secluded and quiet area of trees, where we found a young male Siberian Blue Robin, a male Tristram’s Bunting and an exceptional rarity – a Grey-sided Thrush, usually seen only on its breeding area in the mountains well to the north of Beidaihe.

 

On our return to the hotel we visited the local Yuyuantan Park for a couple of hours, where there were plenty of interesting birds to be found despite the holiday crowds - single Naumann’s and Red-throated Thrushes, Crested Mynas and Chinese Grosbeaks, White-cheeked Starlings and Olive-backed Pipits, Grey-headed and Rufous-bellied Woodpeckers, Chinese Bulbuls and Taiga (Red-throated) Flycatchers, Yellow-browed Warblers, two Little Buntings, an Asian Brown Flycatcher and a Brown Shrike. It was an interesting mix of residents and migrants, and not bad for starters!

 

And talking of starters – in the evening we ended a long and busy day with a delicious and inexpensive meal in a local restaurant, arranged by our old friends in Beijing, Professor Xu and his wife. After the meal, Tony conducted the completion of the checklist for the day’s birds. He explained that this traditional WildWings ritual was not an exercise in statistical accuracy, but an attempt to involve everybody in the group in contributing to agree totals for the day’s birds. This is invaluable for compiling the trip report, enabling comparisons to be made from year to year, and helping participants to record their own and the group’s sightings. Luckily it was a short list this evening, enabling everyone to have an early night, very welcome after the long journey and an exciting first day in China’s capital city.

 

 

Friday 5 May

 

On a cool misty morning, we had an early start to our visit to the Summer Palace, with its lovely willow-pattern scenery of lakes, bridges, temples and trees. This provided a gentle introduction to far-eastern birds which was slow to warm up, like the weather, and initially we had to work very hard to find the typical migrants such as Pallas’ Leaf and Radde’s Warblers, Olive-backed Pipits and Little Buntings. Overhead passed a steady movement of passerines, including over 200 buntings and many pipits, among which were 20 Red-throated, 12 Olive-backed and three Richard’s, identified on call. A pair of Tufted Ducks was a surprise, and our first-ever! As the clouds cleared away and the temperature rose in mid-morning, so did the number of birds, and soon they were coming at us thick and fast – a drake Mandarin, our second-ever Crested Kingfisher, Grey-capped Pygmy and Rufous-bellied Kingfishers, singing Oriental Great Reed and Black-browed Reed Warblers, a Vinous-throated Parrotbill, and a White-breasted Moorhen. Overhead passed several small raptors – 16 Amur Falcons, 8 Eurasian Hobbies and 6 Eurasian Sparrowhawks – but surprisingly no harriers or honey buzzards. An Oriental Pratincole and a Grey Nightjar were seen by a few lucky people. It was a very satisfying morning.

 

After a couple of hours rest back at the hotel, most of the group returned to Yuyuantan Park for another visit, which was more successful than the first. The Naumann’s and Red-throated Thrushes were still present, and their confident behaviour towards people suggested that they might have wintered here. A lovely flock of seven Ashy Minivets, calling and feeding in the treetops, was unusual, as were a Daurian Redstart (female) and a Crested Honey Buzzard passing over very high. This was first spotted by the Red-throated Thrush, which turned its head to look up into the sky – we did the same, followed its line of vision, and found the raptor! The big trees in the more secluded area of the park held a variety of more regular migrants, including Pallas’ Leaf, Yellow-browed and Dusky Warblers; Asian Brown and Taiga Flycatchers; and a Black Drongo. Grey-headed Woodpeckers, White-cheeked Starlings and Crested Mynas were probably local residents. We later returned to our restaurant, where in our private room we celebrated a great day with Peking Duck and many bottles of the excellent local beer.

 

 

Saturday 6 May

 

An even earlier start was necessary today for our four-hour coach journey down to the coast. This ensured that we arrived at the Jin Shan Hotel in Beidaihe in time for a cooked breakfast to set us up for the first day’s birding here. It was a lovely sunny day with a light southerly wind, and very clear. In Britain these conditions would typically not produce many migrants, but Beidaihe is different, and although many days start slowly, by the end of the day you realise just how much you have in fact seen. Today proved that point. By the end of the day, the group had been introduced to the main birding areas in and around the town, and had racked up a good selection of the main species to be found in them.

 

With an extensive range of habitats, from The Sandflats and sea shore to the nearby Reservoir with its adjacent pools and marshy areas; from the above two hotel gardens with thick ground and tree cover, to Lighthouse Point and its trees and cover welcoming migrants coming in from the sea; and with the Jin Shan Hotel, where we stay, offering its own gardens and the renowned open area of the Jin Shan Field; we found a commensurately wide range of birds. Highlights included a flock of six adult summer-plumaged Saunders’ Gulls at the mouth of the Sandflats channel; two Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, four Great Knot and five Lesser Sandplovers; seven Garganey; three Rufous-bellied and four Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpeckers; eleven Olive-backed Pipits; superb prolonged views (for about half the group) of a feeding Forest Wagtail on the ground; three Siberian Rubythroats and a Bluethroat; two Dusky Thrushes, one Naumann’s and one Chinese Song Thrush; a Zitting Cisticola (the race here sounding more like a ‘Seeping’ Cisticola); 100 Yellow-browed, 10 Pallas’ Leaf and an Eastern Crowned Warbler; a Grey-streaked Flycatcher; three Tristram’s and four Little Buntings; and a female Chinese Grosbeak. There was much to celebrate at the first of our excellent and inexpensive dinners in the Jin Shan, where the checklist session underlined for everyone just how much we had seen.

 

 

 

Sunday 7 May

 

After yesterday’s clear and sunny day, today was misty and cleared only in the afternoon. The wind was again light southerly or south westerly. There was a quiet start around the Jin Shan before breakfast, as was often to be the case, but that is a relative term. A flock of 30+ Oriental Pratincoles and one of 25 Pacific Golden Plover passed north over Lighthouse Point, with 10 Heuglin’s Gulls and seven Caspian Terns. A mixture of passerines included nine Eyebrowed and two White’s Thrushes, five Blue Rock Thrushes, a Black-naped Oriole, 12 Chinese Grosbeaks and a female Yellow-throated Bunting, and on the Jin Shan Field an obliging Blyth’s Pipit (with the distinctive ‘chip – chip – chip’ flight call) where there were also two attractive Chestnut-eared Buntings.

 

Things hotted up steadily after that. We had the use of the coach for the day, and after breakfast headed off westwards to Lotus Hills. We made our way up to the top of the lower hill for a raptor and swift watch, which was surprisingly good for the conditions – a northerly wind is usually required to bring birds down lower.

 

In the hazy sky, Crested Honey Buzzards were appearing out of the mist and passing over northwards, totalling 19 in an hour and a half. Two harriers caused intense debate, and were probably one Eastern Marsh and one female Pied, but we agreed we needed a bit more practice for these. Two separate Grey-faced Buzzard-eagles passed over, looking like a cross between a large falcon and a large accipiter – so close was one that even its gular stripe could be seen. Four Hobbies passed through, and a male Blue Rock Thrush was seen. Star bird was undoubtedly the lone White-throated Needletail which powered north over our heads, pausing for one quick twirl over us, and seemingly about twice as fast as a Pacific Swift seen earlier.

 

After this excitement, it was back to the coach and lunch on board as we travelled the few miles south to the Yang He Estuary, wood and pools. This is a good migrant area, and we spent all afternoon here. On the estuary were 70 Whiskered Terns, three Lesser Sandplovers, 18 Pacific Golden Plovers and 20 Black-tailed Gulls. In the wood and adjacent marshy pools were small numbers, but the variety was good, with two Siberian Blue Robins, three Bluethroats, four Rubythroats, a Pale-legged Leaf Warbler and numerous Yellow-browed Warblers (contributing to the day’s total of 200+). The banks and reedy edges of the pools held some 20 Black-faced Buntings, a male and three female Pallas’ Reed Buntings and five lovely male Yellow-breasted Buntings, the latter undoubtedly one of the most colourful birds of the day. An Asian Short-toed Lark and a Japanese Quail were also seen. There was much to discuss and toast with the good local beer at dinner in the evening.

 

 

Monday 8 May

 

By now everyone knew where the best birds were likely to be found, and broke up into smaller groups to cover the whole Beidaihe area. On a still, slightly misty morning, the day’s birding began slowly and just got better and better. There was a light easterly wind later as the day warmed up. Top birds were probably the two Japanese Waxwings found in the new hotel grounds, and thanks to our use of mobile phones for texting messages, and two-way radios for closer contact, we managed to inform most people in time to see them before they became more mobile and elusive. This is a species seen rarely here. In the same area were six White’s, four Eyebrowed, two Dusky and a female Siberian Thrush; while elsewhere were two Chinese Song Thrushes, a male Blue Rock Thrush and, another major rarity here, a male Blue Whistling Thrush which flew over the Jin Shan Hotel grounds. Warblers were well represented, with early Arctic, Pallas’ Grasshopper and Lanceolated; 250+ Pallas’ Leaf and 100+ Yellow-browed; 50 Dusky and 25 Radde’s; and five Eastern Crowned. Two Goldcrests were extremely rare here.  Flycatchers included 12 Asian Brown, five male Yellow-rumped and a male Mugimaki.

 

Over 100 each of Chinese Penduline Tits and Chestnut-flanked White-eyes passed through, 50+ Brown Shrikes, 10 Black-naped Orioles, a Black-capped Kingfisher and small numbers of buntings included a handsome male Chestnut, first of several on the trip. Most people got to grips with Siberian Rubythroats (10 recorded), Bluethroats (10) and Siberian Blue Robins (12), while 50 Chinese Bulbuls, six Richard’s and 12 Olive-backed Pipits were found. The Sandflats and Reservoir area contained some nice waders (a Long-toed Stint, two Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, a Pintail Snipe, five Pacific Golden Plover, two Far-eastern Curlew, eight Marsh Sandpipers, and two Terek Sandpipers) and a Purple Heron, three Japanese Quail and two Baillon’s Crakes.

 

It was a brilliant day – and the list above includes just the highlights…

 

 

Tuesday 9 May

 

Today was cold, clammy and foggy in the early morning, with a light south-easterly wind and some drizzle at times. As yesterday, migration started slowly but by the end of the day we had found plenty of birds. We covered the Beidaihe area and the Yang He area.  The latter produced some of the best records – three Eurasian Spoonbills, a second Long-toed Stint (the first one was still at the Sandflats Bridge), 16 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 4 Grey-tailed Tattlers, and an adult summer-plumaged Little Gull, which is extremely rare here.

 

At Beidaihe the most noteworthy birds included two Striated Herons (one arrived from the sea at Lighthouse Point), two Baillon’s Crakes, 18 Lesser Sandplovers, four Red-necked Stints, two Grey Nightjars, an Ashy Minivet, ten Japanese Waxwings, a female Red-flanked Bluetail (and another at Yang He), a female White-throated Rock Thrush, no fewer than seven Eastern Crowned Warblers and three Hume’s Leaf Warblers. There were also a small number of other warblers, flycatchers and buntings, two Vinous-throated Parrotbills, a Daurian Starling and, star bird, a White-tailed Leaf Warbler which was found in the Jin Shan Hotel gardens at dusk. However it was to be the following day before other observers saw the last-named, which was another first for the area. So ended another busy and enjoyable day’s birding…

 

 

Wednesday 10 May

 

Today again started quietly, which was welcome as we were off for a visit to the Great Wall.  We were clearly becoming blasé by now, as people reported ‘only’ a Wryneck, two Pacific Swifts, a Northern Goshawk, a female Mugimaki Flycatcher, another Black-capped Kingfisher, a Blyth’s Leaf Warbler, a male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher and a female White-throated Rock Thrush.

 

After breakfast the coach left for the hour’s journey to the Great Wall at Jiaoshan Mountain, north of Quinhuangdao. Here the Wall comes down from the mountains and you take a chairlift up to the top. In addition to several interesting mountain species, it offers the chance for some visible migration, and with a brisk northerly wind today this was very likely. 

 

There were few other visitors, as the public holiday week was over and it was a weekday. The Wall looked very impressive in the sunshine as we travelled up in the chairlift and then made our way quickly to the small pagoda near the temple at the top. Here we settled down to enjoy a modest passage overhead. In an hour and a half, three Black Storks, 25 Crested Honey Buzzards, and several Hobbies and a male Amur Falcon passed northwards, most at great height on this warm, sunny day. We found the hoped-for mountain species, but they were quite hard work and unfortunately not everyone saw everything. We eventually managed to see two Pere David’s Laughing Thrushes, three Chinese Hill Warblers, two Yellow-streaked Warblers, Eastern Rock and Siberian Meadow Buntings and three Vinous-throated Parrotbills, one in particular giving marvellous views in a tree. As we re-gathered at the foot of the chairlift, a large falcon passed northwards overhead – a Laggar Falcon, an Indian species known well to at least two members of the group, and very far off course.

 

We returned to Beidaihe just in time to receive a message from one of the other groups that they had seen a Chinese Egret, Pechora Pipit and two Mongolian Larks on the Sandflats. We stopped there and looked for these, but in vain. We agreed to make a dawn return trip in the morning.   However, we were back at the Jin Shan Hotel in time to see the re-found White-tailed Warbler, roosting in a tree where it was comprehensively watched, described and photographed before the light went and it was time for us to go for dinner. It had been another rewarding and varied day!

 

 

Thursday 11 May

 

We organised the coach to take us to the Sandflats at 5.00 am on a lovely still sunny morning, and while boarding we spotted a Short-eared Owl soaring over the Jin Shan Hotel. We were at the bridge by 5.15 am, where we managed to find two of our three target species, missing the Pechora Pipit. The Chinese Egret was feeding in the main channel with a group of Little and one Great Egret, and could be separated from the Littles by its yellow bill and different posture and jizz. The Mongolian Larks gave us a real run-around, with two seen flying away to the west soon after our arrival, but one magically returned about an hour later and gave us great views on the ground and in flight. It was an immaculate and wild bird, not allowing close approach. There were plenty of other good birds to be seen, including a Black-capped Kingfisher, very colourful in the sunshine, and close views of two other handsome and colourful birds, a male Siberian Rubythroat sitting on a low wall and a male Chestnut-eared Bunting watched feeding on the tideline.  With a Peregrine passing over, two Pintail Snipe and a Japanese Quail flushed, and at least ten Pallas’ Reed Buntings in the reed strip on the flats, we enjoyed a very successful two hours before returning for a hearty breakfast.

 

After breakfast, a few of the group just made it to Lighthouse Point in time to see a Pallas’ Grasshopper Warbler found earlier in the morning, before it was back into the coach for a five-day visit to the south. This was to include Happy Island and the legendary Magic Wood. We made several stops on the journey where we enjoyed some great birding on another lovely sunny morning. First was at Da Pu He, an attractive area of mature trees, open grassland and marshy pools, which had a varied variety of birds to offer. An obliging Forest Wagtail was heard calling in the treetops, followed up, and seen well by most of the group. Also in the woods were a Grey Nightjar, seen perched, and a Chinese Song Thrush. A very wild Mongolian Lark flew up from a bank, circled over the grassland, and then headed off high to the north-west out of sight – our third one today. The marshy areas held a Schrenck’s Bittern (unusually early), three Cattle Egrets, Intermediate and Great Egrets, Grey and Purple Herons, 20 Common and 10 Pintail Snipe, and among the passerines, two Oriental Reed and our first Thick-billed Warbler, three Red-throated and a Pechora Pipit, some 40 Yellow Wagtails of three races, and a stunning male Citrine Wagtail.

 

Next up was Chi Li Hi, a large tidal lagoon, where we were able to catch the tide at the right point for watching from the road. Among the hundreds of Bar-tailed Godwits and Grey Plovers we found few other waders, but a distant Chinese Egret, a sub-adult Vega Gull, two Kamchatka (Eastern Mew) Gulls and 20 Little Terns. We headed on south into a cloudy afternoon with a cool breeze, stopping at a recognised wader habitat on a river beside a road running down to the Bihai or Blue Beach. This was excellent, with a marvellous wader bonanza, and good views. Most numerous were sandpipers, with 100+ Marsh, 50+ Wood and 40 or so each of Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpipers. Shanks included 40 Common Redshank and 30 each of Greenshank and striking summer-plumaged Spotted Reds. Also present were ten Avocets, five Black-tailed Godwits, two Dunlin, two Long-toed and one Red-necked Stint, while two drake Garganey and three Eurasian Wigeon were also seen. Three Asian Short-toed Larks were singing, a Taiga Flycatcher was flycatching from a bridge over the river, and a beautiful male Daurian Redstart looked rather out of place among some buildings. Migrants can appear just anywhere on this flat featureless coast.

 

We headed on south, passing some flooded fields with 40 White-winged Black Terns swooping and dipping over the water, before arriving at our final destination – the Magic Wood! Fortunately, and miraculously, this unique little stand of mature trees and extensive ground cover remained untouched, despite inroads made in recent years. It is an oasis of cover in a sea of flatlands and fishponds, over which tired and hungry northwards-moving migrants pass as they reach land after their crossing of the Gulf of Bohai, and they make straight for it. This afternoon was fairly quiet by its own high standards, but we still saw two White’s Thrushes; Eastern Crowned, Two-barred Greenish and Hume’s Leaf Warblers among the Pallas’ Leaf and Yellow-browed; a male Mugimaki; and several buntings including two Tristram’s and single Yellow-browed and Chestnut. A Japanese Sparrowhawk was roaming the wood, and excited flocks of Curlew Sandpipers were calling as they passed overhead.

 

Tired after a very long and bird-filled day, we headed off to our hotel, half an hour away in a rather unappealing industrial development area. A few beers and dinner revived our energy sufficiently to tackle a long checklist session, before it was off to bed in anticipation of four more days still to come down here.

 

 

Friday 12 May

 

Breakfast was at 6.00 am, and then it was back to the Magic Wood. We could spend only an hour here, as we had a boat booked for the trip over to Happy Island, so we made the most of our limited time. It was now really full of birds which had obviously arrived overnight, some still arriving. There was still one White’s Thrush, now joined by a stunning male Siberian Thrush, top of many people’s wish-list, which gave some excellent views while perched in the open. There were also four Eye-browed and a lovely male White-throated Rock Thrush; six Siberian Blue Robins, two Siberian Rubythroats and a Rufous-tailed Robin; a Wryneck, a Black-naped Oriole, and two White-cheeked Starlings. Warblers included a Lanceolated, two Pale-legged Leaf, a Two-barred Greenish, 100+ Pallas’ Leaf, 50+ Yellow-browed and two Dusky. There were 20 Asian Brown, five Taiga, five Mugimaki, two Grey-streaked and a male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher; six Brown Shrikes and an Isabelline; and a miscellany of buntings, a Brambling, three Common Rosefinches, a Chinese Grosbeak and three Japanese Grosbeaks. It was quite an hour…

 

On our short journey to the harbour at Lao Yu Jian, we stopped at a viewpoint over the mudflats to check for waders and gulls. Within minutes an interesting gull came flying past us – it was a first-summer Relict Gull!  It made four passes, landing briefly on the mud, and could not have been programmed better (some people suggested it had been.). Among the small groups of waders were 70 Lesser Sandplovers, 35 Dunlin of the smart race sakhalina, 30 Far-eastern Curlew, six Terek Sandpipers, five Great Knot, two Grey-tailed Tattlers and rather incongruously on open mudflats, a Ruddy Turnstone. All these birds were in summer plumage, red being the predominant colour in recognition of the need for camouflage in their nesting sites in the mosses and lichens of the Arctic tundra towards which they were heading.

 

The half-hour boat journey over to Happy Island was uneventful, and at the pierhead we were soon met by several electric vehicles to take us down to the wooded centre of the island. Here Jean was to establish a base for us in a building by the temple, looking after our gear and supplying us with food and drinks. How very civilised! But even before we could board the vehicles, a flock of six Yellow-browed Buntings was found in trees near the quay, a rare number to see together. This level of birding was to be maintained throughout our six-hour stay. One of the first activities was a fast walk to the south of the island to the high tide wader roost. This produced 70 Great Knot, 30 Terek Sandpipers, 200+ Dunlin and five adult Saunders’ Gulls, but no Asian Dowitchers – none were to be seen this year, the first year ever.

 

In the shady centre of the island on a hot sunny day were numerous migrants, pursued by many birders from several countries. Top birds included a male Blue-and-White Flycatcher, a Grey-backed Shrike, a Grey-crowned Warbler (one of the splits from Golden Spectacled Warbler) and a Yellow-streaked Warbler, the Radde’s lookalike. These were against a very varied mix of chats, thrushes, warblers, flycatchers and buntings, with eleven species of phylloscopus and a total of 150 Pallas’s Leaf Warblers being particularly impressive.

 

Soon it was time to leave, board the boat and return to the mainland. Another visit was made to the Magic Wood, where many of this morning’s birds and some new ones were present, before journeying back to our hotel for dinner, the checklist and bed.

 

 

Saturday 13 May

 

This was a day spent on the mainland and started with one of the most dramatic species of the trip. As we climbed out of our coach at the Magic Wood, some Chinese and Taiwanese birders told us they had seen two Grass Owls on the far edge of the wood. Soon we had located them, and had great flight views before they dropped into the long grass, where we left them. These were Eastern Grass Owls, here doubtless of the race chinensis, and like dark, bulky Barn Owls with more powerful, direct flight and long legs projecting beyond their tails. A breathtaking bird! They were quickly followed by another, as a Needletail appeared from nowhere, circled low over the trees and headed on northwards. This was a fine start to our morning spent here. What could be next?

 

The accumulation of birds in such a small area – not much larger than a football pitch – was remarkable. The totals from our morning four hours, and a return visit for two hours in the late afternoon, included three Japanese Quail, two Pintail Snipe, single Common and Oriental Cuckoos and two Wrynecks; 18 Eyebrowed Thrushes, single White’s, White-throated Rock and Chinese Song Thrushes; and male and female Siberian Thrushes. There were many warblers, including a Bianchi’s (a second split from Golden Spectacled); a Chinese Leaf Warbler among the 50+ Pallas’ Leaf, very rarely seen on passage to its mountain breeding areas; and a Lanceolated. There was the usual range of flycatchers and buntings. It was magic indeed….

 

To recover from this overwhelming experience, we drove down to the harbour at Lao Yu Jian for a break. As we watched the tide slowly rising, waders came steadily closer, and we had good views of 138 Far-eastern Curlew, 100+ Lesser Sandplovers, five Great Knot, four Broad-billed Sandpipers (very briefly, before they flew off), four Tereks and the usual commoner species. A Relict Gull was feeding on the tide’s edge.

 

We then headed back northwards just a few miles, to visit the area of flooded fields by the main road we had passed on our first day and where we had seen White-winged Black Terns. There were some 300 or more over distant fields, and two female Amur Falcons on the telephone wires. An Oriental Pratincole passed over, and a handful of Pacific Golden Plover were feeding in the ploughed fields. While watching these, we noticed several Eurasian Whimbrel among them – and then some paler, smaller Whimbrel among those. They were, indeed, Little Whimbrel, and eventually we counted 11 of these dainty little birds at close range from a path.

 

Our next call was to ‘The Big Wood’, where we spent a successful hour. About 400 Night Herons flew out of the trees, where we could see ten occupied Chinese Pond Heron nests. There were three White’s Thrushes, one perched bird watched and photographed for many minutes; eight Eye-browed; 20 Pallas’ Leaf Warblers; a Mugimaki Flycatcher; and a Hair-crested Drongo. Then it was back to the Magic Wood before heading back to the hotel at the end of yet another busy day.

 

There was no time on our return to do any more birding, but just before we had left the hotel in the early morning, five Grey-headed Lapwings had flown over. This species is always unpredictable and elusive, and this year proved to be no exception, with only one other one being seen.

 

Sunday 14 May

 

The fourth day of our visit to the south started with an early visit to the Magic Wood, followed by a day on Happy Island. The hot, sunny day, with a fresh south-west wind, provided us with the by-now-usual great variety of migrants. The Magic Wood held five Japanese Quail, two White’s and three Eye-browed Thrushes; small numbers but a good variety of warblers, flycatchers and buntings; and 35 Brown Shrikes, while the trip’s only Daurian Jackdaw flew over northwards.

 

Happy Island was also busy, and although numbers of most species were quite small, the range was great. Outstanding was a male Siberian Thrush with an identity crisis – it didn’t realise that it was supposed to skulk in the trees, but came down to the ground and hopped about in the open, in full view. A Blunt-winged Warbler sang from thick cover, and occasionally showed. Just before we left, we enjoyed watching two Yellow-bellied Tits and nearby a male Japanese Grosbeak with the most enormous yellow bill – described by one of our group as ‘the Steller’s Sea Eagle of the finch world’.

 

Other observations during the day included the usual variety of waders at Lao Yu Jian Harbour, and in the early morning near the hotel, 12 Red-throated Pipits flying north and on the nearby pools, 50+ Curlew Sandpipers and 25 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. A search was made in the adjoining gardens for mist nets, often found here in the past, and although none was seen, there were three cage traps set in one garden, with two Siskins and a Black-faced Bunting as decoys.

 

 

Monday 15 May

 

Our last day in the south was another hot and sunny one, with a south westerly wind again. We spent much of the morning in the Magic Wood, where we started with a small flock of Daurian Starlings in the trees. We later had an Upland Buzzard, a superb Large Hawk Cuckoo, two Grey Nightjars, and a range of thrushes – six Eyebrowed, three White’s, two male Siberian, and single White-throated Rock, Grey-backed, Dusky, Chinese Song and Pale Thrush. Warblers included a Pallas’ Grasshopper, six Lanceolated, a Blunt-winged, a Manchurian Reed (or Eastern Paddyfield), 10 Radde’s and 40 Dusky, and another Grey-crowned. A surprise was a Hawfinch sitting high in a tree just before we left.

 

The Big Wood was visited next, and although we saw some good birds here, it was also very frustrating trying to see certain others. A White-breasted Waterhen, Hodgson’s Hawk Cuckoo, and at least 11 White’s Thrushes were found, with eight Eye-browed, a male Siberian, a Grey-sided, a Grey-backed, a Red-throated and a Naumann’s. One more brought the total to ten species for the day – this was a female Brown-headed, seen well by just a handful of people during a long hot wait for better views. An even more frustrating search was for a Brown Hawk Owl seen here yesterday. We located it and followed it to an isolated part of the wood, where it joined another, but only fleeting flight views were had by most people.

 

Hot and exhausted, we piled back into the coach and headed for Beidaihe after five very rewarding days. Returning to the Jin Shan Hotel was like coming home! There was still time to do some final birding before the day ended, which produced a few regular species plus a flock of four Little Whimbrel passing over the hotel gardens.

 

 

Tuesday 16 May

 

A day back at Beidaihe showed that many more species were now arriving as we were well into the second week of our trip. New arrivals included the first Yellow Bitterns and Yellow-legged Buttonquail, and our only Swinhoe’s (Yellow) Rail, two Greater Sandplovers, Japanese Swamp Warbler and three Japanese Reed Buntings of the trip. Some species were present in good numbers, such as 11 Red-necked Stints (only eight others were seen this year), four Grey Nightjars, 15 Bluethroats, 40 Radde’s and 100+ Dusky Warblers, 26 Asian Brown Flycatchers, 35 Black-naped Orioles and 100+ Brown Shrikes. Another Chinese Egret, White-breasted Waterhen, Broad-billed Sandpiper and Hair-crested Drongo were seen; single Brown Hawk Owl, Dollarbird, Pechora Pipit and Forest Wagtail; and a niltava which has yet to be finally identified. It was a very enjoyable day, warm and sunny with a light westerly wind.

 

 

Wednesday 17 May

 

It was a quiet early morning in Beidaihe, luckily, as we were off to Old Peak after breakfast. ‘Quiet’ by this point in the trip means that in fact a lot of birds were seen, but the only new one was a Pere David’s (Spotted) Bush Warbler found below a hedge in the Jin Shan gardens. Everyone in the group managed to see this ace skulker before we left.

 

On a dull morning with threatening rainclouds and a brisk north-east wind, we reached the entrance gate of the forest park before noon, and spent a couple of hours around there as the weather warmed up, adding several new species to the list. A singing Manchurian Bush Warbler responded magnificently to a playback, and sat right out on a treetop for all to see.  A Blunt-winged Warbler was far less obliging, and very hard to see. Yellow-streaked Warblers showed well, along with Siberian Meadow and Godlewski’s (Eastern Rock) Buntings, Daurian Redstarts, Red-billed Choughs and Hair-crested Drongos.

 

After a snack lunch by the gate, we drove up the steep mountain road to the main valley, and booked into our hotel. Chinese Nuthatches and Yellow-throated Buntings were found close to the hotel, after which we drove in minibuses to the top of the valley to look for the other special birds expected here. The weather was warm, sunny and not too windy, so we made the most of the conditions. A pair of Bull-headed Shrikes and singing Blyth’s Leaf and Chinese Leaf Warblers were soon UTB (Under The Belt), and we then concentrated on trying to see a singing male White-bellied Redstart in a regular location. Playback of its song enticed it towards the track, but it was a monumental skulker, and it took a long time before everyone had seen it satisfactorily. It was a beautiful bird, and well worth the wait!

 

Common, Oriental and Large Hawk Cuckoos were all singing, but few seen. The same could be said of Koklass Pheasant, although two people from another group watched two males fighting on the track. A Grey-sided Thrush was singing its two-note song from near the hotel and the occasional Eurasian Jay and Yellow-bellied Tit was seen. Old Peak is at 1,348 metres or 4,422 feet, so it cools down quite rapidly in the late afternoon and we were soon back at the hotel for dinner and an early night. Tomorrow needed an extra early start…

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday 18 May

 

About half the group were up at 4.00 am and away by 4.30 on a steady walk up the mountain road, the target species being the elusive Koklass Pheasant. This has always proved to be very hard to see, and this year they weren’t even calling much, so just a very few lucky people saw a male and a female about half way up the mountain, later in the morning. At the top of the pass into the next valley, where we had spent some time yesterday afternoon, it was blowing a near-gale, with low cloud and fog, so little was to be seen there. By contrast, everything else was in full song in the main valley. At least 80 Blyth’s Leaf  and 40 Chinese Leaf Warblers (a record for us) were singing loudly, with three Hume’s Leaf Warblers. Three Asian Stub-tailed Warblers were heard and seen and three Elisae’s Flycatchers. Cuckoos, too, were active, and Large Hawk, Common, Oriental and our first Indian and Little Cuckoos were heard and or seen.

 

We returned to the hotel in mid-morning for a substantial breakfast and left before midday. We had an excellent journey back to Beidaihe in an hour and a half, giving us plenty of time to see what had been brought in by the very strong southerly wind (Force 5-6). There were a few interesting finds. A female Grey-sided Thrush, a lucionensis race Brown Shrike, an Ashy Drongo and the first Siberian Flycatchers were the most significant, along with three Long-toed Stints and three Grey-tailed Tattlers. Otherwise it was business much as usual, and another day came to an end.

 

 

Friday 19 May

 

This was our last full day, and what a day – probably the best of the whole trip for many people! A strong (Force 6) north-west wind, cloud and poor visibility brought Needletails down low before breakfast, totalling 14 in the early part of the day, with most at tree top height. After breakfast we discovered that there had been a big fall on Lighthouse Point, mostly of acros and locustellas, which was reflected at Yang He which some of the group visited. Numbers were impressive. At Lighthouse Point were 100 Black-browed Reed, 50 Thick-billed, 40 Lanceolated and a number of other warblers including 30 Pallas’ Leaf, 25 Two-barred Greenish, three Arctic, three Pallas’ Grasshopper, two Manchurian Bush and two Manchurian Reed Warblers. At the Yang He were 50 Black-browed Reed, 30 Thick-billed, 30 Lanceolated, three Pallas’ Grasshopper and a single Manchurian Bush Warbler. There were several other star birds at Lighthouse Point – three Temminck’s Cormorants, a first-summer Glaucous Gull (another write-in), a Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike, a Long-tailed Minivet, a Common Chiffchaff (extremely rare here), and probably best of all, a stunning, exotic, male Asian Paradise Flycatcher with a full tail which stayed for most of the day.

 

There were plenty of other great birds and good totals, including ten Yellow Bitterns (Reservoir), three Yellow-legged Buttonquail (two on the Jin Shan Field), a Ruddy Crake (Yang He), Grey-headed Lapwing, Dollarbird, 10 Richard’s and three Blyth’s Pipits, two Pechoras (Sandflats), 19 Rufous-tailed Robins, a Red-flanked Bluetail, four Japanese White-eyes, and a small flycatcher in the new hotel gardens which has since been identified as a first summer Rufous-gorgeted, our second ever. It was a celebratory dinner, with plenty of beers, and a long checklist session, in the Jin Shan during the evening.

 

 

Saturday 20 May

 

We had the morning in Beidaihe before leaving by coach for Beijing after lunch. Luckily things were fairly quiet, and many of the birds seen had probably arrived yesterday. Two Schrenck’s Bitterns, a Tiger Shrike, a high of 25 Arctic Warblers and a low of 15 Pallas’ Leaf and two Yellow-browed Warblers were among the more interesting records. The Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher was still present in the new hotel much to the relief of those who missed it yesterday. After a group photograph, the coach departed just before 2.00 pm for the four-hour journey back to the capital. We enjoyed our final meal out, an overnight stay in Beijing (despite the complete lack of water in the hotel rooms in the morning), an early coach ride to the International Airport, and then we were off on our nine-and-a-half hour flight back to Amsterdam. Suddenly the trip was all over… but what a trip!

 

 

Conclusion

 

After our experience over thirteen years, and despite development and other pressures, spring migrants of an amazing variety of species pour through Beidaihe each May. Every year is different. This one will be remembered for a larger-than-usual species list; a number of overshoots from southern China; a wider-than-usual range of thrushes and warblers; and an exciting fall of birds on the penultimate day in Beidaihe.

 

 

The Top Ten species

 

Each year, we ask everybody at the end of the trip to list their ‘Top Ten’ species. This is the result this year:-

 

1. Siberian Thrush
2. Lanceolated Warbler
3. Siberian Rubythroat
4. Eastern Grass Owl
5. Yellow-rumped Flycatcher
6. White’s Thrush
7. Little Whimbrel
8. Siberian Blue Robin
9. White-throated Needletail
10. Blue-and-White Flycatcher

 

 

Participants

 

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