20-25 Sept - A really excellent (short!) trip to China with Jesper Hornskov for the coastal migration, with a night at Beidaihe and 3 nights on Happy Island. Rain while at Beidaihe produced a big fall of migrants on Happy Island on our first day - including rarities such as Oriental White Stork - and a dramatic visible migration at first light - this included flocks of Pied Harriers moving south. Many passerines were moving and included Richard's, Blyth's, Pechora, Olive-backed and Red-throated Pipits. Brown Shrikes were numerous as were Warblers including Yellow-browed, Pallas's, skulking Radde's and Dusky, Two-barred Greenish and Thick-billed. Several Lanceolated Warblers were seen creeping rodent-like on the ground. Bluethroats and Wrynecks sat up and at least 8 Siberian Rubythroats were seen, including 4 superb but retiring males. Thrushes were elusive but several White's were present, including 1 drinking at a ditch where 3 Eyebrowed Thrushes also came in to drink. Red-flanked Bluetails were present in all the wooded areas. Buntings were in general rather flighty but included Yellow-browed, Yellow-throated and Chestnut-eared as well as the more common Little and Black-faced. Other raptors included Eastern Marsh and Hen Harriers as well as a steady stream of Hobbies and Amur Falcons and a pulse of Oriental Honey Buzzards on one afternoon when 50+ passed in an hour when the NW wind freshened.
The sandflats off Happy Island gave mostly fairly distant views of Gulls, Terns and Waders, but at high tide we had excellent views of 4 Relict Gulls, one of my main targets for the trip. The typical deep-chested and small-headed appearance was seen with the black bill and legs, and extensive black on the primaries seen in flight.
Waders totalled 28 species and included Far-Eastern Curlew - several of which were seen well with the distictive buff underparts and rump - Great Knot, Terek Sandpiper, eastern Bar-tailed Godwit and Oriental Pratincole. The nearby Dapu river held Pacific Golden Plover, Long-billed Plover and Marsh Sandpiper, as well as Pallas's Reed Buntings and both Pied and Eastern Marsh Harriers.
An amazing experience to be in a place where all the common migrants are those Siberian species that UK birders dream of seeing!
Photos; 1 - Great Wall at Mutianyu. 2,3 - Happy Island. 4,5 - Relict Gull. 6, Saunder's Gull. 7 - Mongolian Gull. 8 - Gull-billed Tern. 9 - Oriental White Stork. 10 - Purple Heron. 11 - Brown Shrike. 12 - Bluethroat. 13 - White's Thrush. 14 - Lanceolated Warbler. 15 - Two-barred Greenish Warbler. 16 - Yellow-browed Warbler. 17 - Pallas's Warbler. 18 - Dusky Warbler. 19, 20 - Radde's Warbler. 21 - White Wagtail (leucopsis).
See part 2 (separate post) for more photos.
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