Northern China

Pallas¡¯s Sandgrouse (Nik Borrow)

Birdquest

pick up a new bird or two during our visit to the wall, such as Grey-faced Buzzard.

Day 8 Early this morning we will pay a visit to the famous Terracotta Warriors, the strange but very impressive army of clay guards that surrounded the huge mausoleum of China¡¯s first emperor, Qin Shihuang. Not only is this one of those cultural sites that are a real ¡®must¡¯ to see, but the gardens that surround the museum buildings offers some interesting birding, with likely species including Spotted Dove, Indian Cuckoo, Barn and Red-rumped Swallows, Chinese Bulbul, Marsh Tit, Black-naped Oriole, Brown Shrike, White-cheeked Starling, Russet and Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Grey-capped Greenfinch, the impressive Yellow-billed Grosbeak and migrants such as Arctic Warbler and Dark-sided Flycatcher. Later we will drive through the forested Qinling Shan range to the town of Yangxian for a two nights stay, being whisked along on the new expressway and taking but a fraction of the time it took to reach this remote area just a few years ago. We may arrive in time for some initial exploration.

Day 9 Our purpose in coming to the remote market town of Yangxian is to see the near-mythical Crested Ibis, a species that until just a few years ago was thought to have become extinct in the wild (after the last elderly Japanese specimens were taken into captivity from the island of Sado). It is now known that a small colony survived in these remote mountain valleys in northern China and the population is currently estimated to be around 60 individuals. We will visit the captive breeding centre and also some regular spots for seeing wild birds and be able to marvel that these beautiful but rather prehistoric-looking creatures still survive. Other good birds in the area include the beautiful Chinese Goshawk (which we may well witness in display flight), the often elusive endemic Chinese Bamboo Partridge, the strange tree-climbing Forest Wagtail, the breeding-endemic Swinhoe¡¯s Minivet, the near-endemic Collared Finchbill, the near-endemic Chinese Bulbul, Brown-breasted Bulbul, the near-endemic Chinese Blackbird (split from Common), the hulking Manchurian Bush Warbler, Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, the stunning Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, the near-endemic Red-billed Starling and Meadow Bunting, while more widespread species include Black-crowned Night Heron, Chinese Pond Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret (split from Western), Little Egret, Grey Heron, Oriental Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo, the smart Black-capped Kingfisher, Amur Wagtail, Plumbeous Redstart, Siberian Stonechat, White-crowned Forktail, Zitting Cisticola, Striated Prinia, the lovely Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Spot-breasted and Streak-breasted Scimitar Babblers, Rufous-capped Babbler, Black-throated Tit, Japanese White-eye, Black and Ashy Drongos, and Eurasian Magpie. If we are lucky, we will find a Crested Kingfisher along one of the rivers, and we may also see some northbound Crested (or Oriental) Honey Buzzards.

Day 10 After some final birding around Yangxian we will return to Xi¡¯an and catch a flight to Beijing for an overnight stay.

Day 11 This morning we will explore the pleasant grounds of the Summer Palace on the western edge of Beijing, which incorporate a series of lakes and causeways. Here amongst the reedbeds, park-like woodland and shrubbery we could well find migrants such as Thick-billed Warbler and Asian Brown Flycatcher as well as breeding species such as Little Grebe, Yellow Bittern, Mallard, Common Moorhen, Oriental Reed and Black-browed Reed Warblers, Asian Azure-winged Magpie and perhaps also Ruddy-breasted Crake or Blunt-winged Warbler. After visiting the famous Forbidden City, the main palace of the Qing Dynasty (where Common Swifts of the interesting pekinensis form wheel overhead and Azure-winged Magpies lurk in the gardens), and the infamous Tiananmen Square, we will board a sleeping car train bound for distant Baicheng in the region once known as Manchuria. The journey will provide a fascinating introduction to the Chinese way of life, for train is the means by which most Chinese travel long distances. As the light slowly fades we will pass through rural towns and villages, dry hills and intensively cultivated valleys.

Day 12 This morning we will arrive at the town of Baicheng in the far west of Jilin province. From here we will drive out across the wide Manchurian plain, real ¡®big sky¡¯ country reminiscent of the American prairies. The steppes in this area provide one of the last refuges for the near-endemic Jankowski¡¯s Bunting. This almost mythical species was discovered breeding in this region in the 1990s and has subsequently been found at a scattering of locations where extensive areas of grassland or scrub-grassland survive. These are habitats which have been largely cleared for cultivation elsewhere in Manchuria, so the species is now thought to be highly endangered. We shall enjoy searching for and watching this unusual species, which very few people have ever observed. These grasslands also hold a healthy population of Great Bustards, as well as Japanese Quail, Pallas¡¯s

Northern China

Jankowski¡¯s Buntings (Nik Borrow)

Birdquest

Sandgrouse, the huge Mongolian Lark with its striking white wing patches, Asian Short-toed Lark and Eurasian Skylark. Around the periphery of this interesting area we may encounter and the impressive Chinese Grey Shrike and Daurian Jackdaw. we will head for Xianghai reserve for a three nights stay.

Days 13-14 Xianghai is a huge reserve in northwestern Jilin on the border of Inner Mongolia and consists of a mixture of dry, open grasslands, rivers, lakes and marshes surrounded by reedbeds and scattered elm woodlands. Xianghai is renowned for its breeding cranes and we can expect to see the striking Red-crowned (or Japanese) Crane during our visit, but drought conditions in recent years have led to the disappearance of White-naped Cranes. Watching the Red-crowned Cranes calling and dancing in their marshland home is an evocative experience. The threatened Swan Goose, Falcated Duck, Chinese Spot-billed Duck and the endangered Baer¡¯s Pochard all breed in the reserve, although the last is now at a low ebb and is easier to see at Zhalong. Of the many other breeding birds, the more interesting species we are likely to see include the splendid little Amur Falcon, Daurian Partridge, Oriental Pratincole, Grey-headed Lapwing and Chinese Penduline Tit. Yellow-legged Buttonquail also breeds here, but we will have to be exceptionally lucky to find this secretive species. Many waders and passerines will now be passing through the region, adding to its ornithological interest. Other species we may well encounter at Xianghai include Great Crested and Black-necked Grebes, Great Bittern, Great Egret, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbill, Greylag Goose, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, the attractive Eastern Marsh and Pied Harriers, Eurasian Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Little Ringed, Kentish and Pacific Golden Plovers, Northern Lapwing, Red-necked and Long-toed Stints, Sharp-tailed, Curlew, Marsh, Green, Wood and Common Sandpipers, Common and Pin-tailed Snipes, Black-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Spotted and Common Redshanks, Black-headed Gull, Common and Little Terns, beautiful Whiskered and White-winged Terns, Eurasian Hoopoe, Sand Martin, Richard¡¯s Pipit, Eastern Grey-headed, Alaska and Green-backed Wagtails, Siberian Rubythroat, Lanceolated Warbler, Rook (of the eastern form pastinator which is now sometimes split as Oriental Rook), Oriental Crow (split from Carrion), and Chestnut-eared and Yellow-breasted Buntings. In fine weather most passerine migrants heading for the boreal forest of Siberia, the immense Taiga, keep on going, but if we have a spell of cloud, wind and rain the poplar shelter belts at Xianghai can harbour such migrants as Bluethroat, Two-barred (split from Greenish), Pallas¡¯s Leaf, Yellow-browed, Radde¡¯s and Dusky Warblers, Red-throated (or Taiga) Flycatcher (split from Red-breasted), Common Rosefinch and Black-faced, Tristram¡¯s and Chestnut Buntings. If we are particularly fortunate we will find a Rufous-tailed Robin or a Yellow-browed Bunting.

Day 15 After some early morning birding at Xianghai we will return to Baicheng and catch a train up the line to Qiqihar in Heilongjiang province. From there we will transfer the short distance to the Zhalong reserve for a two nights stay.

Day 16 The huge Zhalong reserve has suffered less from drought than Xianghai and still holds both Red-crowned Cranes and the equally beautiful White-crowned Crane, so we should come across the latter species here. Even more notably, Baer¡¯s Pochard, a critically endangered species, still breeds in the extensive marshes and we have a good chance of encountering this rapidly vanishing bird during our visit. Of the smaller species, the poorly-known Manchurian Reed Warbler (split from Paddyfield Warbler) can be found here and Japanese Reed Buntings are positively common, but we will need some luck if we are to encounter the uncommon Reed Parrotbill.

Day 17 After some final birding at Zhalong we will drive to the city of Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, and catch a late afternoon flight to Beijing for an overnight stay.

Day 18 Morning flight bound for London, arriving in the late afternoon.