Blog
Mirrored from my WeChat Channel: light, campus life, and thoughts.
2026
Autumn raptor migration 2026: Booted Eagles among the clouds of Black Kites
Fog pressed down on the raptors all morning after a night of rain; then at one in the afternoon, over a thousand Black Kites poured out of the clouds, with Booted Eagles and a Short-toed Snake Eagle hidden among them.
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Another autumn migration: where have all the shorebirds at Guanting gone?
Halfway through autumn migration, Guanting's mudflats look better than they have in years, yet the shorebirds are almost gone. One Far Eastern Curlew catching three frogs was the season's best reward.
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Birders Around Me: Fangzhou Lou, Part 2 - Photography, the Environment, and the Meaning of Birding
Fangzhou Lou discusses his photographic style, memorable lenses and encounters, a decade of change in Beijing, the limits of AI identification, and what birding means to him.
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Birders Around Me: Fangzhou Lou, Part 1 - A Birding Journey That Began in Fourth Grade
From a primary-school birding club and a well-worn field guide to birding across China, Fangzhou Lou reflects on the value of learning gradually and starting with the birds around him.
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Summer 2026 in Sichuan: partridges in Yibin and Rufous-tailed Babblers in Wenchuan
The last two stops of summer break in Sichuan: Sichuan Partridges scratching at a hide at dawn in Yibin, then Rufous-tailed Babblers singing after the rain in Wenchuan, leaving my China list just 7 species short of a thousand.
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Summer 2026 in Sichuan: a Purple Cochoa at Wawu Mountain!
Twenty-one thousand steps on Wawu Mountain: parrotbills everywhere, bush warblers hunting on a fallen log, and then, at the quietest moment, a Purple Cochoa glided down the valley right behind us.
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Summer 2026 in Sichuan: frogs of Wawu Mountain and Watercocks in Hongya
After heavy rain, Wawu Mountain belongs to the frogs: a stately Emei horned toad by the road, and the endemic Wawu Mountain keelback in the night. The next day the rain lifted and Watercocks crossed the road in Hongya.
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Birders Around Me: Anna, an Aspiring Avian Veterinarian
Anna began exploring wild birds after bringing home a monk parakeet. She hopes to become an avian veterinarian and has found new meaning in nature, conservation, and everyday birdwatching.
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First visit to the horse ranch: searching for the Oriental Plover
Three years and five days after my only encounter, the annual tradition begins again: the horse ranch at dawn, a down jacket, a scope, and Oriental Plovers that haven't arrived yet.
Read more →2025
Guanting Reservoir: 81 species recorded
A full day at Guanting over the Qingming holiday: Oriental Storks and a Greater Spotted Eagle in turn, 81 species by day's end. Yet I would have traded all 81 for one Oriental Plover.
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Pochard gatherings and raptors in flight: birding at the horse ranch and Wild Duck Lake in wild winds
Gambling on the weather forecast at the horse ranch, I found a pochard gathering with two Baer's Pochards, then raptors hunting over Wild Duck Lake. Still no sign of the Oriental Plover.
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Guanting Reservoir: searching for the Oriental Plover
First weekend after exams, and I planned to stay until sunset and search every corner of Guanting. Baer's Pochards and a Common Gull showed up, but the Oriental Plover didn't.
Read more →2024
Qingming holiday: so close to the Oriental Plover
Week three of the plover hunt. Mongolian Short-toed Larks fed obliviously by the car and a Hen Harrier struck prey, yet minutes after I left, the Oriental Plover finally showed.
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Back to the horse ranch
A 5:30 am start: first the two Siberian Cranes resting at Shahe, then on to the horse ranch. Ducks and raptors everywhere, but still no Oriental Plover.
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Early spring, time for the horse ranch again
Spring migration is underway, so back to the horse ranch to try my luck again. A Ruff as a Beijing lifer, and a drone harassing the birds that spoiled the evening.
Read more →2023
Qingming holiday: searching for the Oriental Plover again
With only one day of holiday, I spent the morning with swans and Garganeys at Shahe; then news of Oriental Plovers sent us racing to Guanting. Lifers kept coming, but the plover never did.
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A Leopard Cat brushed right past me!
At a wind-blasted Guanting Reservoir, the first shorebirds of the season had just arrived. Two Leopard Cats exploded from beneath my feet, and the few 'Kentish Plovers' that flew off turned out to be Beijing's first Oriental Plover record of the spring.
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