Miyun Reservoir
11th May - There was a small park and lake by the hotel so an early walk there started the ball rolling with Mandarin and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Black-crowned Night-heron, Yellow-browed Warbler, Gt Spotted Woodpecker, and overhead the pekinensis race of Common Swift. The destination for today was the very large Miyun Reservoir, which is about 80km NE of Beijing and supplies its water. A fuel stop en route here gave us our first Daurian Redstart, and 4 Oriental Greenfinch. After negotiating various dirt roads we arrived at an area overlooking the northern, shallower end of the reservoir. We met up with Terry Townshend, a UK birder and ecologist who lives and works in Beijing. He has an excellent informative blog www.birdingbeijing.com. The expanses of shallows here produced a feast of water birds – Eastern Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Little Egret, 100 Grey Herons, 1 Black Stork, 18 Eurasian Spoonbill, 1 Greater White-fronted Goose, 3 Bar-headed Geese, 2 Shelduck, 30 Ruddy Shelduck and 4 Red-breasted Merganser. An excellent selection of waders comprised 30 Black-winged Stilt, 60 Oriental Pratincole, 40 Greater Sand Plover, 5 Lapwing, 50 Pacific Golden Plover, 1 Red-necked Stint, 12 Long-toed Stint, 7 Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Common Snipe, 18 Bar-tailed Godwit, 6 Redshank, 1 Marsh Sandpiper, 4 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper, 1 Terek Sandpiper, an amazing 200 Wood Sandpiper, and 10 Common Sandpiper. Raptors seen comprised Oriental Honey-buzzard, 5 Eastern Marsh-harriers, 4 Pied Harriers [3f, 1m], 1 Japanese Sparrowhawk, 1 Grey-faced Buzzard, a Greater Spotted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, 1 Common Kestrel, up to 20 delightful Amur Falcons, a Saker, and a Peregrine. Diminutive Japanese Quails flushed almost from under our feet. Terns were represented by 10 Common, 4 Little and 6 White-winged Black Terns. Oriental Reed Warblers sang nearby and Terry found us a couple of Bluethroats. A few Hill Pigeons with their distinctive black terminal tail bands were seen and many Red-rumped Swallows flew overhead. Other stars on the passerine front were Siberian Stonechat, 3 Blyth’s Pipits, around 80 eastern Yellow Wagtails of the race simillima and 8 Citrine Wagtails including a couple of absolutely stunning males, a few Vinous-throated Parrotbills [closely related to our Beaded Tit], and a Long-tailed Shrike. The area was also heaving with Little Buntings of which we saw around 100, plus a couple of Meadow Buntings. Another important target bird here was the skulking Chinese Hill Warbler [aka Beijing Babbler] and we had good views of one in the scrub beside one of the tracks. The session ended with an excellent picnic lunch.
After this amazing first session we moved to a nearby scenic gorge with a road bridge over a river, where the diligent Kevin eventually found us a Crested Kingfisher, just before we were about to give up. We also found a couple of Godlewski’s Buntings in a picturesque side ravine, and plenty of Eurasian Tree Sparrows, the latter being the most common bird wherever we went. I also found a Rock Thrush sp on a telephone wire which Bill identified as a Blue Rock Thrush of the subspecies philippensis in which the belly and vent are orange. A quick glance and it could be passed off as a Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, but the orange underparts are limited to the belly and vent, whereas on Rufous-tailed they extend up to the bottom of the throat. After a long day we eventually made our way back to the hotel in Beijing.
Some photos below of the reservoir and environs and the gorge
After this amazing first session we moved to a nearby scenic gorge with a road bridge over a river, where the diligent Kevin eventually found us a Crested Kingfisher, just before we were about to give up. We also found a couple of Godlewski’s Buntings in a picturesque side ravine, and plenty of Eurasian Tree Sparrows, the latter being the most common bird wherever we went. I also found a Rock Thrush sp on a telephone wire which Bill identified as a Blue Rock Thrush of the subspecies philippensis in which the belly and vent are orange. A quick glance and it could be passed off as a Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, but the orange underparts are limited to the belly and vent, whereas on Rufous-tailed they extend up to the bottom of the throat. After a long day we eventually made our way back to the hotel in Beijing.
Some photos below of the reservoir and environs and the gorge