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BEIDAIHE – Autumn 2002

‘Mike…Mike…Mike!’ It was loud, it was urgent and this certainly wasn’t going to be another Stonechat. Mark had clearly found a major rarity. It was 09:25 on our last full day at Beidaihe, we’d just had breakfast and most of us were casually making our way back to the coach for an 09:30 departure. ‘Mike…Mike!’ Some of us were running now, though we needn’t have. Not that the bird, the first Siberian Accentor of the autumn, didn’t merit it, rather it performed superbly and there simply was no hurry. We studied it in depth and finally left nearly an hour and a half later. Satiated and smug! Mark and Mike’s perseverance in the hotel gardens had already paid dividends in the shape of a Grey-backed Thrush but this accentor was in a different league. A cracking little gem, just what rare birds are supposed to look like. It came as absolutely no surprise then that it was easily voted ‘Bird of the Trip.’ This was Beidaihe at its most enjoyable.

That wasn’t all we saw by any means. With up to 87 Falcated Ducks on five dates, 24 Baikal Teal, 56 Saunders’s Gull each on four dates and up to 65 Relict Gulls on three dates this, our fifth autumn tour to Beidaihe, was easily one of the best.

As usual the tour effectively started with a sightseeing excursion to two of Beijing’s premier historical treasures, the awesome expanse of Tiananmen Square and the sprawling Forbidden City. Our first encounter with White’s Thrush, Dusky Warbler and Red-throated Flycatcher followed on immediately during a brief visit to Jingshan Park while the following day saw us making the first of our two visits to the Great Wall. Birding there at Badaling produced excellent views of two Chinese endemics – Plain Laughingthrush and White-browed Chinese Warbler and a supporting cast of a dozen or so Daurian Redstarts and our first of nearly 100 Pallas’s Leaf Warblers. But it wasn’t all plane sailing – we struggled, despite Nancy’s best efforts, with a less than satisfying encounter with our only Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker and the small party of Vinous-throated Parrotbills just wouldn’t show quite enough of themselves. And then there was the Wall…

Beidaihe however was always going to be the focus of this tour and, as if to welcome us, an appealing array of shorebirds including Far Eastern Curlew, Terek Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler and six Great Knot greeted us on our first visit to the Sandflats. Moving on from there were headed to the comfortable Jin Shan hotel, home for the following five nights. It wasn’t long before were discovered the hotel restaurant. This soon proved to be another tour highlight with the first of several outstanding meals. It was with mounting excitement that we waited for dawn on what would be our first full day at this world renown migration site. Sure enough the day didn’t disappoint…the highlight being the fabulous mid-afternoon migration of tens of thousands of swallows and hundreds of raptors. Parked at the Yanghe we were perfectly placed to watch the movement that involved among others about 50 Pied Harriers, including several stunning males, 40 Amur Falcons and a single Goshawk. Not far away on the Sandflats other treats included two Ruddy Shelduck, our only Lesser Sand Plover of the tour and a very obliging Little Curlew.

The following day was almost as good with a ‘Black-throated’ Thrush providing the rarity, no less than six Siberian Rubythroats the colour and single Blyth’s and Pechora Pipits the challenge. (Although we recorded the latter on five dates it remained frustratingly elusive right until the end with all sightings being of birds actively migrating south!)

The next day saw us initially exploring sites, the Sandflats, Fishhook Point and the Yanghe, immediately around Beidaihe before venturing further south down to Qilihai. Again we were well rewarded – with a solitary juvenile Pallas’s Gull perhaps being the pick of the crop. The following day found us exploring the Lotus Hills to the west of Beidaihe where some careful team work provided us all with stunning views of a Rufous-tailed Robin. Hot on its heals was a Tristram’s Bunting, then a Blackbird, not your typical ‘common or garden’ Blackbird however. Instead this was the rather odd looking, large bodied, small-billed Chinese subspecies. A form that’s aptly named mandarinus. Minutes later we were all watching a Forest Wagtail. And that’s what it was like much of the time at Beidaihe as we moved from one good bird to the next. Initially many of them were unfamiliar or even confusing but as we went in to the second week the murk started to clear and it wasn’t long before we were all ‘getting our eyes in.’ Beidaihe’s a fabulous place to learn east Asian birds, be they ducks, raptors, shorebirds (we came away having seen 36 species!) or passerines.

Two days later it was time to leave Beidaihe and head south for our eagerly anticipated four day, three night Happy Island excursion. Fears about the state of the accommodation were soon dispelled and it wasn’t long before were back in our stride. Happy Island is always an exciting place to visit. The extensive tracts of scrub seem to attract and hold far more passerine migrants than any single site closer to Beidaihe while the high tide roost usually provides additional appeal in the shape of a variety of shorebirds and gulls. We weren’t disappointed…Relict and Saunders’s Gulls both fell quickly, as did Broad-billed Sandpiper and, for a lucky few, a cooperative Manchurian Reed Warbler. Other goodies included an elusive male White-throated Rock Thrush, both Siberian and Asian Brown Flycatchers and fabulous studies of both Bull-headed and Chinese Grey Shrikes. Larry found us what was probably our best bunting of the tour in the shape of a strikingly patterned female Yellow-throated.

Returning to the mainland we stopped to explore a small, isolated coppice not far from the quay. Here, largely thanks to sterling work by both Mark and Mike, we were treated to excellent views of two more buntings – a Yellow-browed and an equally obliging Rustic. Both performed superbly and heralded our return north.

New birds continued to turn up back at Beidaihe. For a few of us several of these new birds, species such as Black-necked Grebe, Bean Goose, Little Owl and Brambling weren’t totally unfamiliar. Though all of us relished the two Saker Falcons that performed for almost half an hour, tumbling and diving overhead when we visited the great Wall for our second time. Back at Beidaihe we also had time to catch up on species that had eluded us earlier, Vinous-throated Parrotbill fell in fine style, as did Pallas’s Reed Bunting. But it was Mark’s Siberian Accentor that stole the show. Superb!

But hold on a minute…what else did we do besides bird? Well we did a lot. We met some excellent people. We explored a number of world renowned historical sites - the Wall at two places, the tourist centres at Badaling and again where it enters the sea at Lao Long Tou. We also walked on a genuine, un-renovated section of Wall just inland from Shanhaiguan. What else? We ate…yes we certainly did that and had some excellent meals to boot. We drank, and at times we were probably the bar’s best customers. And most memorable of all we had a brilliant group and some excellent laughs.

Bird List:

There have so far been five autumn Sunbirder trips to Beidaihe. All the birds seen on these trips are listed below. As on all Sunbirder trips, in order to be included on the list birds must been seen by at lease one participant and one leader.

Key:

1^st column = number of tours that the species has been seen on.

1	Chukar	Alectoris chukar
2	Daurian Partridge	Perdix dauurica
5	Japanese Quail	Coturnix japonica
5	Common Pheasant	Phasianus colchicus
3	Bean Goose	Anser fabalis
1	Greater White-fronted Goose	Anser albifrons
3	Ruddy Shelduck	Tadorna ferruginea
4	Common Shelduck	Tadorna tadorna
2	Mandarin Duck	Aix galericulata
3	Gadwall	Anas strepera
5	Falcated Teal	Anas falcata
5	Eurasian Wigeon	Anas penelope
5	Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos
5	Spot-billed Duck	Anas poecilorhyncha
4	Northern Shoveler	Anas clypeata
5	Northern Pintail	Anas acuta
5	Garganey	Anas querquedula
4	Baikal Teal	Anas formosa
5	Common Teal	Anas crecca
2	Common Pochard	Aythya ferina
3	Baer's Pochard	Aythya baeri
1	Tufted Duck	Aythya fuligula
4	White-winged Scoter	Melanitta fusca stejnegeri
2	Common Goldeneye	Bucephala clangula
3	Red-breasted Merganser	Mergus serrator
1	Common Merganser	Mergus merganser
5	Yellow-legged Buttonquail	Turnix tanki
4	Eurasian Wryneck	Jynx torquilla
4	Grey-capped Woodpecker	Dendrocopos canicapillus
4	Rufous-bellied Woodpecker	Dendrocopos hyperythrus
5	Great Spotted Woodpecker	Dendrocopos major
5	Grey-headed Woodpecker	Picus canus
5	Eurasian Hoopoe	Upupa epops
1	Dollarbird	Eurystomus orientalis
5	Common Kingfisher	Alcedo atthis
5	Black-capped Kingfisher	Halcyon pileata
1	Crested Kingfisher	Megaceryle lugubris
1	Large Hawk Cuckoo	Cuculus sparverioides
5	Common Cuckoo	Cuculus canorus
1	White-throated Needletail	Hirundapus caudacutus
1	Barn Owl	Tyto alba
3	Oriental Scops Owl	Otus sunia
5	Little Owl	Athene noctua
2	Long-eared Owl	Asio otus
3	Short-eared Owl	Asio flammeus
2	Grey Nightjar	Caprimulgus indicus
3	Feral Pigeon	Columba livia
1	Hill Pigeon	Columba rupestris
5	Oriental Turtle Dove	Streptopelia orientalis
3	Spotted Dove	Streptopelia chinensis
5	Eurasian Collared Dove	Streptopelia decaocto
1	Siberian Crane	Grus leucogeranus
2	Common Crane	Grus grus
1	Red-crowned Crane	Grus japonensis
1	Slaty-breasted Rail	Rallus striatus
2	Water Rail	Rallus aquaticus
3	Baillon's Crake	Porzana pusilla
2	Ruddy-breasted Crake	Porzana fusca
1	Watercock	Gallicrex cinerea
5	Common Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus
5	Eurasian Coot	Fulica atra
4	Eurasian Woodcock	Scolopax rusticola
3	Pintail Snipe	Gallinago stenura
2	Swinhoe's Snipe	Gallinago megala
4	Common Snipe	Gallinago gallinago
5	Black-tailed Godwit	Limosa limosa
5	Bar-tailed Godwit	Limosa lapponica
3	Little Curlew	Numenius minutus
5	Whimbrel	Numenius phaeopus
5	Eurasian Curlew	Numenius arquata
5	Eastern Curlew	Numenius madagascariensis
5	Spotted Redshank	Tringa erythropus
5	Marsh Sandpiper	Tringa stagnatilis
5	Common Greenshank	Tringa nebularia
1	Nordmann's Greenshank	Tringa guttifer
5	Green Sandpiper	Tringa ochropus
5	Wood Sandpiper	Tringa glareola
5	Terek Sandpiper	Xenus cinereus
5	Common Sandpiper	Actitis hypoleucos
5	Grey-tailed Tattler	Heteroscelus brevipes
2	Ruddy Turnstone	Arenaria interpres
1	Long-billed Dowitcher	Limnodromus scolopaceus
1	Asian Dowitcher	Limnodromus semipalmatus
5	Great Knot	Calidris tenuirostris
1	Red Knot	Calidris canutus
5	Sanderling	Calidris alba
5	Red-necked Stint	Calidris ruficollis
3	Temminck's Stint	Calidris temminckii
3	Sharp-tailed Sandpiper	Calidris acuminata
5	Dunlin	Calidris alpina
3	Curlew Sandpiper	Calidris ferruginea
4	Broad-billed Sandpiper	Limicola falcinellus
1	Ruff	Philomachus pugnax
1	Red-necked Phalarope	Phalaropus lobatus
1	Greater Painted-snipe	Rostratula benghalensis
3	Eurasian Oystercatcher	Haematopus ostralegus osculans
4	Black-winged Stilt	Himantopus himantopus
5	Pied Avocet	Recurvirostra avosetta
5	Pacific Golden Plover	Pluvialis fulva
5	Grey Plover	Pluvialis squatarola
5	Little Ringed Plover	Charadrius dubius
5	Kentish Plover	Charadrius alexandrinus
4	Lesser Sand Plover	Charadrius mongolus
1	Greater Sand Plover	Charadrius leschenaultii
5	Northern Lapwing	Vanellus vanellus
5	Grey-headed Lapwing	Vanellus cinereus
5	Oriental Pratincole	Glareola maldivarum
1	Parasitic Jaeger	Stercorarius parasiticus
5	Black-tailed Gull	Larus crassirostris
5	Common Gull	Larus canus
5	" "	Larus canus heinei
3	" "	L. canus kamtschatschensis
1	Glaucous Gull	Larus hyperboreus
4	Siberian Gull	Larus heuglini taimyrensis
5	Vega Gull	Larus vegae
3	Yellow-legged Gull	Larus cachinnans mongolicus
1	Pallas's Gull	Larus ichthyaetus
2	Brown-headed Gull	Larus brunnicephalus
5	Black-headed Gull	Larus ridibundus
5	Saunders's Gull	Larus saundersi
5	Relict Gull	Larus relictus
2	Little Gull	Larus minutus
5	Gull-billed Tern	Sterna nilotica
5	Caspian Tern	Sterna caspia
5	Common Tern	Sterna hirundo
4	Little Tern	Sterna albifrons
4	Whiskered Tern	Chlidonias hybridus
5	White-winged Black Tern	Chlidonias leucopterus
5	Osprey	Pandion haliaetus
5	Oriental Honey-buzzard	Pernis ptilorhyncus
1	Black-shouldered Kite	Elanus caeruleus
5	Black Kite	Milvus migrans lineatus
5	Eurasian Marsh Harrier	Circus aeruginosus spilonotus
2	Hen Harrier	Circus cyaneus
5	Pied Harrier	Circus melanoleucos
5	Japanese Sparrowhawk	Accipiter gularis
5	Eurasian Sparrowhawk	Accipiter nisus
4	Northern Goshawk	Accipiter gentilis
3	Grey-faced Buzzard	Butastur indicus
5	Common Buzzard	Buteo buteo
2	Upland Buzzard	Buteo hemilasius
4	Greater Spotted Eagle	Aquila clang
1	Golden Eagle	Aquila chrysaetos
5	Common Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus
5	Amur Falcon	Falco amurensis
2	Merlin	Falco columbarius
5	Eurasian Hobby	Falco subbuteo
4	Saker Falcon	Falco cherrug
5	Peregrine Falcon	Falco peregrinus
5	Little Grebe	Tachybaptus ruficollis
5	Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus
2	Black-necked Grebe	Podiceps nigricollis
5	Great Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo
1	Japanese Cormorant	Phalacrocorax capillatus
5	Little Egret	Egretta garzetta
2	Chinese Egret	Egretta eulophotes
5	Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea
5	Purple Heron	Ardea purpurea
5	Great Egret	Casmerodius albus
4	Intermediate Egret	Egretta intermedia
5	Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis
5	Chinese Pond Heron	Ardeola bacchus
4	Black-crowned Night Heron	Nycticorax nycticorax
5	Yellow Bittern	Ixobrychus sinensis
2	Von Schrenck's Bittern	Ixobrychus eurhythmus
3	Great Bittern	Botaurus stellaris
2	Eurasian Spoonbill	Platalea leucorodia
1	Black Stork	Ciconia nigra
1	Oriental Stork	Ciconia boyciana
3	Bull-headed Shrike	Lanius bucephalus
5	Brown Shrike	Lanius cristatus
5	Chinese Grey Shrike	Lanius sphenocercus
4	Eurasian Jay	Garrulus glandarius
5	Red-billed Blue Magpie	Urocissa erythrorhyncha
5	Azure-winged Magpie	Cyanopica cyanus
5	Black-billed Magpie	Pica pica
2	Daurian Jackdaw	Corvus dauuricus
5	Large-billed Crow	Corvus macrorhynchos
3	Black-naped Oriole	Oriolus chinensis
5	Ashy Minivet	Pericrocotus divaricatus
4	Black Drongo	Dicrurus macrocercus
2	Spangled Drongo	Dicrurus hottentottus
5	White-throated Rock Thrush	Monticola gularis
5	Scaly Thrush	Zoothera dauma
3	Grey-backed Thrush	Turdus hortulorum
1	Eurasian Blackbird	Turdus merula mandarinus
4	Eye-browed Thrush	Turdus obscurus
5	Dark-throated Thrush	Turdus ruficollis ruficollis
1	" " "	Turdus ruficollis atrogularis
4	Dusky Thrush	Turdus naumanni eunomus
1	Naumann's Thrush	Turdus naumanni naumanni
1	Chinese Thrush	Turdus mupinensis
2	Dark-sided Flycatcher	Muscicapa sibirica
5	Asian Brown Flycatcher	Muscicapa latirostris
5	Red-throated Flycatcher	Ficedula parva albicilla
1	Blue-and-white Flycatcher	Ficedula cyanomelana
1	Verditer Flycatcher	Eumyias thalassina
5	Rufous-tailed Robin	Luscinia sibilans
5	Siberian Rubythroat	Luscinia calliope
5	Bluethroat	Luscinia svecica
5	Siberian Blue Robin	Luscinia cyane
5	Orange-flanked Bush Robin	Tarsiger cyanurus
5	Daurian Redstart	Phoenicurus auroreus
5	Common Stonechat	Saxicola torquata stejnegeri
2	Purple-backed Starling	Sturnus sturninus
5	White-cheeked Starling	Sturnus cineraceus
3	Crested Myna	Acridotheres cristatellus
5	Chinese Penduline Tit	Remiz consobrinus
5	Marsh Tit	Parus palustris
3	Willow Tit	Parus songarus
1	Coal Tit	Parus ater
4	Yellow-bellied Tit	Parus venustulus
5	Great Tit	Parus major
3	Long-tailed Tit	Aegithalos caudatus
5	Sand Martin	Riparia riparia
5	Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica
5	Red-rumped Swallow	Hirundo daurica
5	Light-vented Bulbul	Pycnonotus sinensis
4	Zitting Cisticola	Cisticola juncidis
4	White-browed Chinese Warbler	Rhopophilus pekinensis
4	Chestnut-flanked White-eye	Zosterops erythropleurus
3	Asian Stubtail	Cettia squameiceps
4	Spotted Bush Warbler	Bradypterus thoracicus davidi
5	Lanceolated Warbler	Locustella lanceolata
4	Rusty-rumped Warbler	Locustella certhiola
3	Japanese Swamp Warbler	Locustella pryeri
5	Black-browed Reed Warbler	Acrocephalus bistrigiceps
4	Manchurian Reed Warbler	Acrocephalus (agricola) tangorum
1	Blunt-winged Warbler	Acrocephalus concinens
5	Oriental Reed Warbler	Acrocephalus orientalis
4	Thick-billed Warbler	Acrocephalus aedon
5	Dusky Warbler	Phylloscopus fuscatus
2	Yellow-streaked Warbler	Phylloscopus armandii
5	Radde's Warbler	Phylloscopus schwarzi
5	Pallas's Warbler	Phylloscopus proregulus
1	Chinese Leaf Warbler	Phylloscopus sichuanensis
5	Yellow-browed Warbler	Phylloscopus inornatus
4	Arctic Warbler	Phylloscopus borealis
5	(Two-barred) Greenish Warbler	Phylloscopus trochiloides plumbeitarsus
2	Pale-legged Leaf Warbler	Phylloscopus tenellipes
5	Plain Laughingthrush	Garrulax davidi
3	Vinous-throated Parrotbill	Paradoxornis webbianus
5	Asian Short-toed Lark	Calandrella cheleensis
5	Eurasian Skylark	Alauda arvensis
5	Eurasian Tree Sparrow	Passer montanus
2	Forest Wagtail	Dendronanthus indicus
5	White Wagtail	Motacilla alba
3	“ “	Motacilla alba leucopsis
4	“ “	Motacilla alba ocularis
5	Yellow Wagtail	Motacilla flava
4	“ “	Motacilla flava macronyx
4	“ “	Motacilla flava taivana
3	“ “	Motacilla flava simillima
5	Grey Wagtail	Motacilla cinerea
5	Richard's Pipit	Anthus richardi
2	Blyth's Pipit	Anthus godlewski
5	Olive-backed Pipit	Anthus hodgsoni
5	Pechora Pipit	Anthus gustavi
5	Red-throated Pipit	Anthus cervinus
5	Buff-bellied Pipit	Anthus rubescens japonicus
2	Siberian Accentor	Prunella montanella
5	Brambling	Fringilla montifringilla
5	Grey-capped Greenfinch	Carduelis sinica
5	Common Rosefinch	Carpodacus erythrinus
1	Japanese Grosbeak	Eophona personata
1	Pine Bunting	Emberiza leucocephalos
5	Godlewski's Bunting	Emberiza godlewskii
4	Meadow Bunting	Emberiza cioides
4	Tristram's Bunting	Emberiza tristrami
5	Chestnut-eared Bunting	Emberiza fucata
5	Little Bunting	Emberiza pusilla
5	Yellow-browed Bunting	Emberiza chrysophrys
4	Rustic Bunting	Emberiza rustica
5	Yellow-throated Bunting	Emberiza elegans
5	Yellow-breasted Bunting	Emberiza aureola
5	Chestnut Bunting	Emberiza rutila
5	Black-faced Bunting	Emberiza spodocephala
5	Pallas's Bunting	Emberiza pallasi
5	Reed Bunting	Emberiza schoeniclus
2	Ochre-rumped Bunting	Emberiza yessoensis
1	Lapland Bunting	Emberiza lapponicus