China July - August 2010, Beijing

My summer holiday in 2010 was spent travelling through China. This trip was not focused on birds, like most of the travels I did recently. It was more of a cultural trip, however I still did some birding and that yielded not much, but at least some species worth noting. We started (and ended) our trip in Beijing. This gigantic city has many cultural highlights, but also holds a surprising amount of interesting birding sites and birds (I learned this only when I was back in the Netherlands...) For more up to date and better information about birding in Beijing, visit this excellent blog.

Almost all the birding I did within Beijing was within the massive parks that are spread throughout this city. I spent most of my time in the massive Beihai Park. This gave me a small introduction to the local avifauna. I noted among others Mandarin Duck, Common Swift (ssp. pekinensis), Great Spotted Woodpecker, Spotted Dove, Asian Azure-winged Magpie, Large-billed Crow and Crested Myna within this park. Beihai park is located in the center of the capital and is rather easy to reach and find from any direction.

Juvenile Asian Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus)

The world famous Temple of Heaven, which truly is a sight to behold, is surrounded by another large park. I also spent a day walking through this park, noting similar species as observed in Beihai park. Furthermore I also observed Eurasian Hoopoe, Red-billed Blue Magpie and Grey-capped Greenfinch here. The Temple of Heaven is located in the South of city center and since it is one of the most famous tourist sites of the city, it should be no problem to find it.

Red-billed Blue Magpie (Urocissa erythrorhyncha)

Apart from the above mentioned sites within the city, we also spent a day at the Chinese Wall. We arranged this day-trip through our hostel (Drum Tower Hostel) and they brought us to a wonderful and authentic part of the Chinese Wall. It had not yet been repaired and therefore was still in its original state. This also resulted in no other tourists being present. We enjoyed a tough 10 km walk over this part of the wall and I managed to see some birds here as well. Species observed here included Ring-necked Pheasant, Red-billed Chough, Coal Tit (of the weird crested subspecies), Japanese Tit and Meadow Bunting.

Record shot a singing male Meadow Bunting (Emberiza cioides)

We enjoyed our time a lot in Beijing and I must say it is a pleasant city. However we barely did any birding, so I am looking forward to an opportunity to go back there and have a proper look at Beijing's birds. I mean even Ibisbill can be seen within the city! For more posts on my trip to China see the posts in the section "China (Southern)" in the "Oriental " section, as China is part of two biogeographical regions. This post and other posts concerning my 2010 China trip can be downloaded as PDF here.

United Kingdom June 2009, Farne Islands

A long lasting wish of mine was to visit a major seabird colony in Britain. We don't have those in the Netherlands and the only way to see seabirds in Holland is to spent long hours looking over sea, hoping some to fly by, often in a rather quick and unsatisfactory fashion. Therefore visiting a big seabird colony would be a way to obtain those satisfactory sightings that are so rare in the Netherlands. One of those big seabird colonies are the Farne Islands. It has a rough 20.000 pairs of Atlantic Puffins, 16.000 pairs of Common Guillemots, 5.000 pairs of Black-legged Kittiwakes, 2.000 pairs of Arctic Terns, 1.000 pairs of European Shags, 500 pairs of Razorbills and 250 pairs of Northern Fulmars. This makes it the perfect destination to fulfill this wish of mine.

In June 2009 we spent a weekend in Northumberland. We flew to Newcastle and drove to Seahouses. Here we based ourselves for the weekend. In the evening we went to the shore and already enjoyed a small colony of Black-legged Kittiwakes and Northern Fulmars, next to some Pied Wagtails and Common Ringed Plovers.

Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Picture taken by Hartmut Fischer.

Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis). Picture taken by Hartmut Fischer.

Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis). Picture taken by Hartmut Fischer.

The next day however we got to enjoy much larger numbers of seabirds after a very tasty English Breakfast. We had booked a full day bird watch trough this site. This full day bird watch includes a visit to Staple Island and Inner Farne and sails around the Grey Seal colonies as well. This trip costs £35.00 per adult. We first landed on Staple Island. This islands hosts the majority of Atlantic Puffins, Guillemots and Razorbills. Even before we landed on the island we already saw many of these auks swimming on the seas and the closer we got the island the more we saw (and smellled). Staple Island was absolutely amazing. The sheer numbers were dazzling. Puffins were flying absolutely everywhere and certain rocks were completely covered in Guillemots. It was bettered than I had ever imagined.

Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) on Staple Island. Picture taken by Hartmut Fischer. 

Cliffs at Staple Island

Bridled and Non-bridled forms of Common Guillemot (Uria Aalge)

Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula Arctica)

Razorbill (Alca Torda)

A couple of thousand Guillemots (Uria Aalge) on Staple Island. Picture taken by Hartmut Fischer.

After that we landed on Inner Farne. This islands also hosts large numbers of auks, but next to those it also has several colonies of terns, mostly Arctic Terns, but also some Sandwich and Common Terns. The Arctic Terns vigorously attack the birders that come close to their nests. This isle has a complete different vibe from the previous one, but it is still an incredible place to walk around.

Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula Arctica) carrying fish. Picture taken by Hartmut Fischer.

Me getting attacked by an Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea). Picture taken by Hartmut Fischer

Angry Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea). Picture taken by Hartmut Fischer.

Angry European Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)

Gannets (Morus bassanus)

After six hours of enjoying ridiculously close-up views of all species breeding at both islands, we headed back to Seahouses. On the way back we also enjoyed some Gannets flying past the boat! We had an absolutely perfect day. I highly recommend visiting the Farne Islands to everyone, birder or non-birder, as everybody will be amazed by this nature spectacle! This blog post can be downloaded as PDF file here.

Grey Seals (Halichoerus grypus) in front of Staple Island. Picture taken by Hartmut Fischer. 

Poland July - August 2007, Dojlidy Fish Ponds

During the family holiday we also visited Bialistok, so I paid this birding site a short visit. It is famous being a good spot to see all five European grebe species together. Furthermore Little Crakes, White-tailed Eagles, Ospreys and several tern species can be seen here. The Dojlidy Fish ponds are located just outside of the city and are easily reached by car. How to reach the fish ponds by other ways of transport I don't know as I visited this by car. There are several trails leading around the fishponds, enabling birders to check to ponds from various angles. Unfortunately all the species mentioned above proved not to be present during mid August. Furthermore I only saw a single grebe species: Great Crested Grebe. Besides some tame juvenile Red-backed Shrikes there was little else worth noting. I guess this site is well worth your time in spring, but in my opinion it can be skipped during summer. This blog post and other posts concerning my visit to Poland can be downloaded as PDF file here.

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

Poland July - August 2007, Biebrza National Park

During the summer of 2007 I spent my holiday with my parents in Poland. After a while I managed to convince them to take a detour, so we could visit the Biebrza national park. We spent three days within the national park. I can't say how easy it is to reach this park by public transport or how to get around within the park, as we did everything by our own car. Even though August is not the prime time for the birds here (for example most warblers are silent, Corn Crake is silent, Great Snipe is more or less impossible and all the terns were gone) we managed to observe several interesting species.

The first day was spent in the South Eastern part of the national park. There was a board walk leading from the road towards the East into the Marshes. We checked out these marches carefully as they looked suitable for Aquatic Warblers and towards the end of the boardwalk we were proven right. We got to enjoy five of these beautiful birds while they were singing around us. This was surprising for it was rather late in the year. Other birds of interest observed here included Montagu's Harrier, Great Grey Shrike and Spotted Nutcracker.

Adult Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola)

Adult Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola)

Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

The next morning we spent a bit further North, but still in the Southern part of the national park. Here was a place that was quite good (according to locals) to see Greater Spotted Eagles. Unfortunately it was very rainy and misty that day and no eagle showed itself. However we got to enjoy a female Eurasian Elk and a calling Thrush Nightingale.

Female (Alces Alces) Eurasian Elk

The next day we went to the Northern part of the national park into an area called the Red Marsh. Here we enjoyed lots of good birds, including a male Montagu's Harrier, a female Barred Warbler, Eurasian Hoopoes and loads of Common Cranes and White-tailed Eagles. However best of all were the two Greater Spotted Eagles that flew over and allowed reasonable views. We even could exclude Greater Spotted Eagle X Lesser Spotted Eagle hybrids, as both birds were tagged with satellite transmitters and their antennas were clearly visible! We stayed in the area until the evening and when it got dark we even heard an Eurasian Eagle-owl calling and observed several European Nightjars!

A crappy record shot of one of the Greater Spotted Eagles (Clanga Clanga)

Common Crane (Grus grus) in the typical Biebrza setting

This park is truly a magical place and I can recommend to everybody to visit it. However, as lucky as we were with the species we saw, I still feel that this park should be visited in spring when much more specialties can be observed and the bird activity is truly at is peak. This blog post and other posts concerning my visit to Poland can be downloaded as PDF file here.

Poland July - August 2007, Masuria

During the summer holidays I visited Poland together with my family. The majority of our time in Poland was spent in Masuria. This is a very beautiful area in North Poland, dotted with countless lakes and old growth forests. Although it is not on the "birder radar" and we did not spent much of our time birding, it proved to hold several interesting bird species. We had based ourselves in a nice home-stay in Ruciane-Nida, a small town in the South of the area. All sites mentioned here are easily reached by car, however I do not know how to get there by other means of transport,

Even simply around the town several nice bird species could be observed with ease. The garden of our home-stay held Spotted Nutcracker, Hawfinch, Spotted Flycatcher, Common Redstart, Whinchat, Red-backed Shrike and several species of Woodpecker, including Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Furthermore White Storks seemed to be the most common bird in the village as well as in the entire area.

Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos medius)

Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes)

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

A visit to the lake Jezioro Mokre, that lies to the east of Ruciane-Nida proved a good site to look at soaring raptors. Several White-tailed Eagles (both adult and sub-adult), some Northern Goshawks, some Western Marsh Harriers and a single Lesser Spotted Eagle were observed here.

Lesser Spotted Eagle (Clanga pomerina)

Subadult White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)

The small Jezioro Luknajno proved a good spot for marsh bird like Common Crane, Western Marsh Harrier, Savi's, Grasshopper and Marsh Warbler, next to some nice European Golden Orioles, Middle Spotted Woodpeckers and Red Kites. Furthermore a small peninsula on the south shore of the gigantic Jezioro Sniarwy held more Savi's Warblers and Common Cranes, next to some Great Reed Warblers and Eurasian Penduline Tits. The lake itself also held Goosander and Common Goldeneye.

Common Cranes (Grus grus) in flight

In total we observed almost a hundred species in the Masuria area, so even though it is not a classic Polish birding site, I found it surprisingly entertaining, Furthermore it is a very scenic area, so if you are looking for a site to extend your stay in Poland, Look no further! This blog post and other posts concerning my visit to Poland can be downloaded as PDF file here.

Egypt December 2006 - January 2007, Hurghada

After the Nile Cruise, we spent a couple of days at the beach in Hurghada. Here we spent most of the time at the beach and just relaxed. This city is very easily reached as it has its own international airport. However we still managed to see several Red Sea specialties. Some of those could be easily seen just from the Hurghada beaches like Red Sea (Western) Reef Heron, White-eyed Gull and Striated Heron. We also spent one day snorkeling and for that we went out onto the Red Sea. During this trip we also saw some interesting birds including White-eyed, Sooty, Yellow-legged, Caspian and Armenian Gull, Lesser Crested Tern and Osprey.

Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis)

Red Sea Reef Egret (Egretta (gularis) schistacea)

White-eyed Gull (Larus leucophtalma)

For birders who keep a WP list, Hurghada as a very accessible place to see some Red Sea specialties without major difficulties. However besides that and the beaches there is very little of interest. I would not even recommend the snorkeling here as most of the coral is already dead.
This post and other posts concerning my trip to Egypt can be downloaded as a PDF file here.

Egypt December 2006 - January 2007, Nile Valley

During late December and early I spent my holiday with my parents. They had booked a Nile cruise starting in Luxor and ending in Aswan. This Nile Cruise took four days. During those four days we stopped at many historically and archaeologically interesting spots at places like Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo. These sites are of course breathtakingly interesting, but next to visiting archaeological sites I spent most of my time, both on board and off board, looking at birds. The Nile cruise proved to be a rather convenient way to get a good look at both the local waterbirds as well many migrants.

During those four days resident birds like Brown-necked Raven, Pale Crag-martin, Laughing Dove, Pallid Swift, Pied Kingfisher, Egyptian Goose, African Swamphen, Common Bulbul, Greater Flamingo, White-tailed Lapwing, Spur-winged Lapwing, Black-winged and Yellow-billed Kite were much enjoyed. However the best find of all was an African Skimmer at Kom Ombo, which was resting in between Gull-billed Terns! Obviously the boat did not stop for this critter, so I got to enjoy this bird for a rather brief period.

African Skimmer (Rhynchops flavirostris) together with Gull-billed Terns (Gelchelidon nilotica) and Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata) in the foreground. 

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)

Brown-necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis)

Yellow-billed Kite (Milvus aegyptius)

Next to the resident birds, myriads of winter visitors could be seen on and around the Nile. Large groups of Eurasian Wigeons, Northern Pintails, Common Shelducks, Ferruginous Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Tufted Ducks, Eurasian Teal and Eurasian Coots were regularly encountered. Waders were also present everywhere and Black-tailed Godwit, Marsh Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Little Stint, Black-winged Stilt, Common Ringed Plover and Green Sandpiper among others were observed almost all the time. White-winged Terns were also omnipresent together with Gull-billed Terns. Larger migrants included Osprey, Great White Pelican and Glossy Ibis.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

I did enjoy the Nile cruise, but now I think for birders it would be much wiser to visit several sites at the Nile, simply by car, so you can observe birds longer, scan groups more carefully and search more focused to find rarities. This approach will undoubtedly yield more and rarer species as well as better and longer views. This post and other posts concerning my trip to Egypt can be downloaded as a PDF file here.

Typical view from the boat. Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca), African Swamhen (Porphyrio madagascariensis), Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) and Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)