Xinjiang, China’s largest province is not only a land of diversity but also a fascinating place for avifauna. It provides an opportunity for birders in the oriental region a taste of the Western palearctic avifauna. With various uncertainties surrounding the situation of this massive place, i thought i was ready to visit the place. Here comes the “but”, that was a grave mistake in my judgement. I can’t say that i have traveled in China extensively but i have been to the remote mountains of Jiangxi and Fujian, the massive grasslands and tundra forests of Inner Mongolia. These were very pleasant but “Pleasure” is a luxury when it comes to Xinjiang. I will try to keep it as simple as possible as I was already warned by the “Foreign Affairs Police Bureau” to not write anything about the ongoing situation in the province. Grab something to drink or eat, this is going to be a very long one.
Acknowledgments:
This trip would not have materialized without the efforts of Tang, Wenjing(Lily). Thanks to Wei, Yun (Kitty) for arranging a rental car at the last minute as my booking with the rental company(1hai) was cancelled due to a new policy from the local govt, that they should not rent car to the foreigners(only in Xinjiang). I’m also in debt to Paul Holt, who generously provided all the data which he has collected over the past 8 trips/years in Xinjiang and my trip purely shadowed his.
Xinjiang Itinerary :
June 16 : Flew Shanghai – Wulumuqi
June 17 : Morning at BaiHu reservoir, afternoon at BaiYangGou/NanShan
June 18 : Morning at MoguHu, afternoon drive to Bole
June 19 : All day around Sayram Lake (SalimuHu)
June 20 : Morning at HaiJing Park, Afternoon drive to Tekes
June 21 : All day enroute to Zhousu and back to Yili
June 22 : All day enroute to Zhousu and back to Yili
June 23 : All day drive to Karamay
June 24 : All day drive to Altai City
June 25 : Birding at Altai (XiaoDongGou, Qieerkeqixiang, TangbaHu, Hualin Park)
June 26 : Morning at Altai, Afternoon drive to Burqin
June 27 : Drive to Kanas, All day birding at Kanas
June 28 : Drive to Kanas, All day birding at Kanas and Hemu
June 29 : Drive back to Kuitun
June 30 : Drive back to Wulumuqi, Flew Wulumuqi back to Shanghai
Xinjiang Birding locations:
Kanas Park Entrance
Mountain road behind Chonghu village, joins shortly after Kanas airport
Alahake Marsh - A very good marsh with lot of breeding birds
Kelancun - A small birch forest with the river running through it.
Hualin Park
TangBa Lake
Qieerkeqixiang - Red-footed Falcon and probable location of Macqueen's Bustard
S304 - European Bee-eater, Roller, Greenfinch etc
Zhaosu Wetland - Common Stonechat, Black & White-winged Tern
YiZhao Gonglu
Yili SeaView Park - Numerous Cetti's Warbler, Little Bittern nesting at the entrance of the Park
X210 to Salimu Hu
HariwusuZhen - Pallas's Gull, European Oriole etc
Desert Finch and European Rollers
Gulls, Shorebirds and Waterfowl
Red-fronted Serin and other passerines along the tourist trail
White-headed Duck and other Waterfowl
Xinjiang Birding :
June 17 : The Xinjiang Experience
We were staying at he Wulumuqi Airport Hotel. Every Hotel, malls, restaurants in Xinjiang has a secuity insepction and it was so lame of me to think that’s all of it. We left he airport Hotel at 7AM and drove straight to BaiHu in search of the White-headed Duck. To our disappointment, the entire lake was fenced and there was no possibility of reaching the shores of the lake or the tiny fringes of reeds. Took a while for finding a right vantage point and soon Kevin found a lone female White-headed Duck. There were also Tufted Duck, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Northern Shoveler, plenty of Black-necked Grebes in breeding plumage. The woods adjacent to the lake produced Great Tit, Eurasian Hobby, Crested Lark, Pied Wheatear, House Sparrow, Red-tailed and Isabelline Shrike.
Finally, the major! – Great Tit (Parus major) at Baihu
The priced catch – White-headed Duck at Baihu
The commoner – Turkestan or Red-tailed Shrike
It’s Pied Time – Male Pied Wheatear
Our drive to BaiYangGou/Nanshan took around 90 mins. There was already 30+ cars queued up for security check and we were routed to a special lane given our different colors. The security check and the registration of our details barely took 15 mins and off we go. There were about 100 buses in the parking lot, that gave us a ball park estimate of the crowd. Still, it took only a short time to find out a trail away from the crowd and the rest of the afternoon gave us ample time to pick some new species on our day 1. Our pick of the day was Red-fronted Serin among Red Crossbill, Common Linnet, Mistle Thrush, vulpinus spp of Common Buzzard, Common WhiteThroat. On our way back to Wulumuqi, security check again. Bit different this time, i had to roll down all the windows, open the boot and engine hood and had to go through the security scanner. All took less than 15 minutes.
Abundant Common Cuckoo’s
No Cross – Red Crossbill
Hulkster of Thrushes – Mistle Thrush
Northern Wheatears were common above 1600msl
Another commoner – Common Rosefinch
And the Gold medalist of Day 1 – Red-fronted Serin
June 18 : The Westward Drive
Our destination today is the small city of Bortala, about 500kms west of Wulumuqi. We also wanted to visit Paul Holt’s favourite site, MoguHu with a bit of a detour. We had to go through the security check at Shihezi, a bit different than what we went through in Wulumuqi. We were taken to the dungeon of the check post and the cop took his time to register all our details in a paper (visa details, latest entry in China, phone no etc) which took slightly more than 30 mins. To our surprise, the eastern end of the MoguHu was locked and the southern end as well. The security at the DaquanGou tourist complex told us that its been closed due to Ramadan. We then tried to access the northern end of the lake, the access road was very productive with Barred Warbler, Great and Eurasian Reed Warbler, Little Bittern, Black Terns, European Bee-eater, Eurasian Collared Dove, numerous Sand Martins. At the western side of the lake, the road bends and climbs on the top of the reservoir embankment. We picked several Black-headed Gulls, Caspian Gulls, bit of Shorebirds and a single Great White Pelican.
Noisy Barred Warbler
More of Barred Warbler
The biggest Acro – Great Reed Warbler
Young Turkestan
Reed Skulker – Paddyfield Warbler
Finally, Black Tern!
The Colorful European Bee-eater
Black-headed Gulls were numerous and mostly around crap
So far and so Common – Common Tern
House Sparrow – Majority, Eurasian Tree Sparrow – minority
At noon, we called it a day and decided to proceed on our westward drive. At TouTou Service area (Refer map), we picked up a flock of Desert finches, several European Rollers and Lesser Kestrels. We spent 3 good hours at the Bole security post as the cops had no clue about how to deal with us and they had a stack of questions for us. On top of this, Kevin who returned to Shanghai went through the electronic immigration counter resulting no entry stamp on his passport caused further delay even though we explained to them its impossible to fly to Wulumuqi from Shanghai without a clearance.
Overnight at ZhongYa Jiudian(中亚大酒店 ). The city is of the same size as Shanghai but only a fraction of popluation (250K opposed to 26million) had a massive police presence. Couple of cops in their knockoff electronic bikes pulled me over right in front of the hotel and asked for my “Chinese ID Card” and also to shave off my beard.
June 19 : Magical SalimuHu (Sayram Lake)
We decided to take the long route to SalimuHu through the laid back villages to enjoy the scenery and also to see some birds enroute. We were running low on gas and had to top up. Gas stations in XinJiang are very secured, the ones in cities have armed guards and in towns and villages have private security. Only the driver can drive in and rest of the passengers have to alight the vehicle but the problem was, one should have a Chinese ID card to gain access to the gas station through a facial recognition system and also scan the ID card(again) on the gas pump. Now, i got a certain clarity why rental companies won’t rent a car to a foreigner because it’s impossible to fill gas in Xinjiang without the Chinese ID card. Fortunately, we had two folks among us who were Chinese Citizens and we persuaded the cops to let me drive in. Another point of note, not all the gas stations in Xinjiang work around the clock, their work timings are from 9.30AM-11.30PM. Police Security Post and the Gas station, these were the majority of our time spent during tour two weeks in Xinjiang.
We had couple of stops enroute which produced Pallas’s Gull, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, White-winged Woodpecker. We took the road S304 from Bole and then X208 at HariBuhuZhen. After 28kms, there is a sign post for SalimuHu. County Road X210 starts on the left, the road is not paved for the first 5 kms and then it gets better once the ghat road starts. We had Our first massive flock of Rosy Starlings, Isabelline Wheatears, Singing Red-headed and Ortolan Buntings, Common Rock Thrush, single Shore Lark.
We started Big – White-winged Woodpecker
Pick of the day – Pallas’s Gull
Neighborhood Watch – Rook
First bunting of the trip – Red-headed
The Carrion! (crow)
Grass(Up)land Buzzard
Once we gained elevation of 2000 MSL, Alashan ground squirrels were abundant. We picked up Pine Bunting, Red-billed Chough, several Northern Wheatears before arriving at the SalimuHu police Check post. The cops had an app in their mobile phones to register the foreigners, despite tech-savy, they took solid 120 minutes to register our details. Birding around SalimuHu was bit dry. We saw several Upland Buzzards, Whooper Swans, Hill Pigeon, Pallas’s Gull and a single Demoiselle Crane. Kevin also found a single male Hen Harrier on the western side of the lake gliding over the steppe. By the end of the evening, we decided to drive through the picturesque Guozigou (fruit) Valley and then to our next destination, Yining. Once again, we spent good 60 minutes at the Guozigou security check post and another 45 minutes at Yining check post. Overnight at Jiangsu Hotel(江苏大酒店) at Yining. We had a surprise visit from police of the “foreign affairs bureau” who gave us a class on not to photograph any police security posts, police personnel on duty, the procedures of security check, any government buildings, government hoardings and emphasized on not to use drone for photography (Usage of drones is illegal in XinJiang and the punishment can be up to 6 months imprisonment).
June 20 : First day in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous prefecture
We tried to access Hebian GongYuan but all the access points were closed and the only way is through the HaiJing Park and it doesn’t open untill 8.30am. We saw 4 juvenile Little Bitterns on the reeds from the entrance bridge of the park and also plenty of Great crested Grebes with young ones. We also picked our first Azure and Turkestan Tit. We had no difficulty in hearing the park’s speciality, Cetti’s Warbler but seeing it took lot of work. Afternoon, we decided to visit Kalajun prairies and it turned out to be disaster. The entire route of S220 was being relaid made a horrible journey and on our way back, we were held at the Gongliu security check for a full 120 minutes as the cops had no idea how to deal with our registration. The security checks in Xinjiang now grown from annoying to painful. When i was thinking, the cops was taking the photo of my ID’s for registration puropose, he was busy uploading it to his WeChat moment.
Kids to the left, Parent on the Right – Little Bitterns
Great crested Grebe with its Young
Another Turkestan – It’s a Tit
The sweet songster of Yili – Common Nightingale
June 21 : Access Denied!
I was bit reluctant of visiting the Hebian GongYuan as we saw very little activity in the park. So decided to visit some of the reservoirs and sites west of Yining. So, the plan was to visit the 63rd village (63团) of Chabuchaer but we were denied access at the Chabuchaer security check post and they summoned diplomats from Kazakhstan to inquire us. It took forever for the Kazakhstan diplomats to arrive, to save whatever of the early morning time left, we decided to head south of Chabuchaer away from the Kazakh border. They put a patrol car infront of us so that we don’t go to Chabuchaer. With a little knowledge, i thought the ghat road towards Zhaosu will yield something and it turned out to be fantastic. The mountain road climbs upto an elevation of 3300 msl. Eurasian Griffon, Rock Bunting and breath taking landscape saved us from a painful morning.
Common Whitethroat – The most commonest bird of the trip
Goldie Locks- Female European Goldfinch
Balancing Act – European Roller
Pristine Grassland backdrop – Common Rock Thrush
Red-billed Chough at Zhaosu
Preening time after rain – Sand Martin
June 22 : YiZhao Gonglu – Zhaosu
Given our previous rapport with the police at both ends of the security check post, we decided not to venture to a new place and wasting time again for the registration. We travelled the entire stretch of YiZhao highway starting from Chabuchaer to Zhaosu. We din’t see any new bird but that was bit of a relaxing day without any shenanigans in the security check post as the cops remembered us from the previous day.
Griffon and it’s Himalayan
Wheatear of elevations – Northern
Another Grassland Effect – Common Linnet with Zhaosu grassland in the backdrop
Common Stonechat at Zhaosu
Rosy Starling at Zhaosu
White Wagtail ssp personata
Corn Bunting at Yizhao Gonglu
Lesser Gray Shrike – Upperside
Lesser Gray Shrike – Underside
June 23 : The Oil City of Karamay
The whole day on the road to reach the city of Karamay. A very well known city known for its Oil wells. We spent a little time in the security check post and the cops were very polite and humble. The city had very less police presence compared to the places we have visited before and to all our surprise, there was 4G spectrum as well. Later, we found that majority of the population in the city were Han Chinese. Overnight at Henglong International Hotel(恒隆国际酒店).
We had couple of stops before reaching Karamay along the county road S304, north of 130tuan. We picked our first European Turtle Dove, Common Nightingale, plenty of Cetti’s Warbler etc.
Cett’s Warbler – Behaved like a typical locustella
The vocalist – Common Nightingale
Azure Tit – The best looking tit
Common Nightingale – Wasn’t skulking now
European Greenfinch – Female
European Turtle Dove!!! Finally!!!
June 24 : Arid Karamay & Altai
Our destination is the Altai City and we had couple of spots enroute to bird before we finally arrive at Altai city. The first stop was at he Police check post at the Wuerhe (Urho) district. The morning was very productive as we snatched couple of firsts for the trip starting with a nesting pair of Desert Wheatear followed by a small family of Saxaul sparrow, scattered flocks of Stock Dove and good views of Tawny Pipit. We had a brief stop at Jili and Ulungur lake at mid day as we spent most of the morning looking for the desert warbler without any luck. Overnight at Golden Bridge Hotel (金桥大酒店).
Early break – Saxaul Sparrow (Female)
Sand Martin Colony
Male Saxaul Sparrow
Desert Wheatear – Male
Greater Short-toed Lark
Greater Short-toed Lark
June 25 : Altai
Met with our good old friend Roger who arrived a day earlier from Hongkong. Our plans to go into the mountains came crashing down as the Police put a strict leash and restricted our movement anywhere north of Altai city.They even tried to install a tracking application on my mobile, which wasn’t successful and hence they kept calling us every hour to give them our location. We decided to go south of Altai, to looks for desert birds. We hit Qieerkeqixiang and spent the entire morning looking for Mcqueen’s Bustard and any sandgrouse. Despite, our extensive search, we came short of finding our target birds. We found some interesting birds in a small pool, an odd flock of Demoiselle Cranes, Northern Lapwing, Red-crested Pochard, Ruddy Shelduck and Red-footed Falcon. In the afternoon, we explored the Tangba reservoir, we picked our first Red-backed Shrike of the trip. Evening was spent in the Hualing park, picking up the Chaffinch, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Spotted Flycatcher, plenty of European greenfinches and goldfinches.
Another Early break – Red-footed Falcon
Ruddy in Flight
European Bee-eater near a abandoned nesting colony
Crane of the Buzzards – Long-legged
Another Grassland backdrop – Red-backed Shrike with Altai grassland in the background
Horned Lark in the grassland
Common Blackbird of Hualin Park
Lesser spotted Woodpecker
Voice of the forest – Chaffinch
June 26 : XiaoDongGou & BuerQin
Roger had an early morning meeting with his clients. So me and Kevin decided to bite the bullet and head North towards XiaoDongGou. We stopped at a small patch of woods and decided to bird there rather than going all the way to XiaoDongGou to invite trouble. It was the same batch of birds we had in Hualing park, additional birds were fly over flock of Whooper Swans, Lesser spotted woodpecker.
We picked Roger from the hotel and headed towards Buerqin. We made numerous stops enroute, most of them were brief to scan the pools, birds on the wire etc. Our major stop over was at the Alahake lake. Despite, the heat picking up we came with an assortment of species and produced us good no of birds and something positive to remember and to negate the constant harassment of the police of the Altai city. We picked our first Western Marsh Harrier, Common Shelduck, Bar-tailed Godwit, Bluethroat, and Bearded Tit. At BuerQin, we quickly dropped our stuff into the Sutong Holiday Hotel(苏通假日酒店) and head straight to the woods along the Buerqin river. We heard atleast 3 Owls upon arrival and our “owl expert” Roger, found the first Eurasian Scops Owl and i cannot fathom till date how we tracked the owl.(And all the 16 Owls on the final day)
Spotted the Flycatcher
Hobby says Morning
Lesser Kestrel – Female
Lesser Kestrel – Male
Bearded Tit at Alahake Marsh
Western Yellow Wagtail
European Scops Owl – The first of many
June 27 : Kanas Geo Park
We left the hotel at 4.30AM in the morning.The drive took to Kanas scenic spot took about 3.5 hours from our hotel in Buerqin. The day started with dark clouds and we also spent 30 minutes at the Kanas security check post as the cop in duty went to wake up some one who knows the procedure and as usual they have a new procedure by handing us a form which needs to be stamped by the police inside the Kanas park. We picked up Tree Pipit, Ortolan Bunting, several Eurasian Jackdaws and a family of XinJiang Marmot’s enroute.
We all paid the expensive park entrance fees and got on to one of the park buses to drop us at Kanas lake. Few “Common Goldeneyes” gave us a tough time to figure what they were but after a while they came up pretty close, sadly only females were present. First views of Eurasian Nuthatch, Nutcracker were duly rewarded along the lake edge. A “Siberian Chipmunk” rolled over to us and also sent exciting waves among the tourists. With a pair of “Common Redstart”, we said bye to the lake as more people started to coming in. There are several stops enroute to the Kanas lake and can use the buses to get to any of these places. We decided to hit the first stop and then proceed to the next, to spoil our plans a huge thunderstorm gathered over the mountains and started unleashing the rain. We had no chance other than heading out of the valley to utilize the time and weather left. To top the frustration, the cops pointing fingers across when we asked for the police station to get a stamp and there was no definite answer on which police station it needs to be stamped. We decided to bite the bullet and leave without the stamp.
Tree Pipit enroute to Kanas
House Martins collecting mud at Kanas village
Lady’s Feud – Common Goldeneyes at Kanas Lake
Common Redstart – Male
Sweet singer of the mountains – Ortolan Bunting
Coal Tit after a bath
Demoiselle Cranes of Burqin
Bluethroat in its breeding grounds
June 28 : Hemu Village
Hemu Village is on the same road as Kanas and takes a small diversion to the right when going for Buerqin and its well sign posted. Weather has much improved compared to the previous day with Sun already smiling at us at 7AM and were well greeted by a pair of “Aquila’s”, our first of the trip. Two Steppe Eagles were soaring well close to the road and mobbed by Black Kites and corvids. Shenanigans again at the Checkpost, despite registering yesterday, we were still made to wait half an hour. While waiting at the Gas station, near the Kanas scenic spot, Kevin picked couple of pale morph “Booted Eagles” soaring right above the gas station. We also, got our first Black-throated Thrush, Eurasian Treecreeper here. On the Hemu road, a Golden Eagle glided parallel to the car sending excitement shrills to us. Further, it was joined by another individual making the count to two and also the second Aquila of the the day. The road to Hemu looked very promising but the temperature has climbed past 30 and we had tough time finding any birds. Roger, flushed out one of our most wanted bird of the trip “Yellohammer”, unfortunately i din’t see it and we couldn’t find any other birds. We also, had our first Black Redstart, Fieldfare along the Hemu road. On our way back, at the security post the cops asked for the stamped paper which was given yesterday(?), after a long quarrel with them, they finally let us go. To ease our frustration, we had few more Steppe Eagles and a mega Altai Falcon to calm us down.
1st Aquila – Steppe Eagle
Black-eared Kite
2nd Aquila – Eastern Imperial Eagle with a Steppe Eagle in the background
Eurasian Jackdaw
3rd Aquila – Booted Eagle
Sulphur-bellied Warbler
Black Redstart – Male
4th Aquila – Golden Eagle
Kestrel wasn’t too happy about the kite
The charismatic enigma – Altai Falcon
June 29 : Drive back to Kuitun
Before heading our way back, we had couple of hours to spend and Roger who has already scouted the BurQin woods notified that White-backed Woodpeckers are present. It took a while to retrace them with all the mosquito and gnats but we did find couple of them along with a Blyth’s Reed Warbler perched on the top branch of a 25ft tall tree. Roger, who went deep in the woods located 16(cough) Eurasian Scops Owls. We bid adieu to Roger, as he had flight from Altai and ours was at Wulumuqi.
We had couple of stops enroute and we picked up few Grey-necked Buntings and Mongolian Finch to wrap our birding in Altai. Overnight at HuiQuan LiDou(汇泉丽都酒店 ) Hotel. Surprisingly, there was no security check at the Kuitun entry as the police waved me through but later that night a cop showed at the hotel door at 11.45 to complete the formalities and again on the next day morning.
Grey-headed Woodpecker Family
The final woodpecker of the trip – White-backed
(Not) Canopy dweller – Blyth’s Reed Warbler
Surprise!!! Grey-necked Bunting
Another Surprise !!!! Mongolian Finch
June 30 : Drive back to Wulumuqi and flew back to Shanghai.
XinJiang, the mystic far west province, was it worth the trouble? Ofcourse, its differs vastly from East China. There is a huge diversity in terms of culture and nature, for instance the grassland around Yining are breathtaking. The small fast flowing rivers like Yili, Irtysh, Tekes are very contrary to the wide rivers of the east. The kazakh ethnic people are very friendly and called me the “Hindustan” fella, a term which i haven’t heard in a very long time. No one looked down on me as i’m of different color rather people were very curious about the foreigner. So, the cons and the only cons are the administrative shenanigans surrounding the security check and the harassment of the cops. Around, Wulumuqi the procedures were clear as water and consumes very little time but once outside of Wulumuqi, every police check post has their own procedure or simply doesn’t know what to do with foreigners.
The verdict – “I will never return”.
Below is a gallery of phone captures in Xinjiang. List of mammals and butterflies will follow shortly as its still a work in progress.
Species List :
| Species | Count | Location | Date | |
| 1 | Greylag Goose | 10 | Ulungur Lake | 24-Jun-18 |
| 2 | Whooper Swan | 4 | Zhaosu Wetland | 20-Jun-18 |
| 3 | Ruddy Shelduck | 4 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 4 | Common Shelduck | 1 | Alahake Lake | 26-Jun-18 |
| 5 | Northern Shoveler | 4 | Ulungur Lake | 24-Jun-18 |
| 6 | Mallard/Mexican Duck | 4 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 7 | Red-crested Pochard | 10 | Qieerkeqixiang | 25-Jun-18 |
| 8 | Common Pochard | 2 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 9 | Tufted Duck | 3 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 10 | Common Goldeneye | 1 | Burqin Magic Forest | 26-Jun-18 |
| 11 | Common Merganser | 4 | Burqin Magic Forest | 29-Jun-18 |
| 12 | White-headed Duck | 1 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 13 | Chukar Partridge | 14 | Arid Country S of Burqin | 29-Jun-18 |
| 14 | Common/Green Pheasant | 2 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 15 | Little/Tricolored Grebe | 2 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 16 | Great Crested Grebe | 6 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 17 | Black-necked Grebe | 6 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 18 | Black Stork | 1 | Chong Hu’er | 28-Jun-18 |
| 19 | Great/White-breasted Cormorant | 4 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 20 | Great White Pelican | 1 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 21 | Little Bittern | 2 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 22 | Grey Heron | 3 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 23 | Great Egret | 2 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 24 | Black-crowned Night Heron | 2 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 25 | Cinereous Vulture | 2 | Chong Hu’er | 28-Jun-18 |
| 26 | Himalayan Vulture | 1 | Forest Protection Station, Kanas | 22-Jun-18 |
| 27 | Booted Eagle | 2 | Chong Hu’er | 28-Jun-18 |
| 28 | Steppe Eagle | 5 | Chong Hu’er | 28-Jun-18 |
| 29 | Eastern Imperial Eagle | 1 | Suwuke Basitao-Kanasi Airport | 27-Jun-18 |
| 30 | Golden Eagle | 2 | Chong Hu’er | 28-Jun-18 |
| 31 | Western Marsh Harrier | 1 | Alahake Lake | 26-Jun-18 |
| 32 | Hen Harrier | 1 | SalimuHu – West Side | 19-Jun-18 |
| 33 | Shikra | 2 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 34 | Black/Yellow-billed Kite | 30 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 35 | Common Buzzard | 1 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 36 | Long-legged Buzzard | 1 | YiZhao Gonglu | 22-Jun-18 |
| 37 | Upland Buzzard | 6 | SalimuHu – West Side | 19-Jun-18 |
| 38 | Common Moorhen | 2 | Zhaosu Wetland | 20-Jun-18 |
| 39 | Eurasian Coot | 4 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 40 | Demoiselle Crane | 1 | SalimuHu – West Side | 19-Jun-18 |
| 41 | Black-winged Stilt | 5 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 42 | Pied Avocet | 2 | TuoHongtai Reservoir | 28-Jun-18 |
| 43 | Northern Lapwing | 2 | Qieerkeqixiang | 25-Jun-18 |
| 44 | Kentish Plover | 5 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 45 | Little Ringed Plover | 2 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 46 | Black-tailed Godwit | 1 | Alahake Lake | 26-Jun-18 |
| 47 | Terek Sandpiper | 2 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 48 | Common Sandpiper | 1 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 49 | Wood Sandpiper | 2 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 50 | Common Redshank | 6 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 51 | Black-headed Gull | 60 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 52 | Pallas’s Gull | 12 | Hari Wusu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 53 | American Herring/European Herring/Vega Gull | 20 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 54 | Little Tern | 2 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 55 | Gull-billed Tern | 1 | Alahake Lake | 26-Jun-18 |
| 56 | Black Tern | 10 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 57 | White-winged Tern | 2 | Qingbei Gonglu | 23-Jun-18 |
| 58 | Common Tern | 5 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 59 | Rock Dove | 4 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 60 | Hill Pigeon | 2 | SalimuHu – West Side | 19-Jun-18 |
| 61 | Stock Dove | 20 | Arid Country S of Wuerhe | 24-Jun-18 |
| 62 | European Turtle Dove | 2 | Qingbei Gonglu | 23-Jun-18 |
| 63 | Oriental Turtle Dove | 1 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 64 | Eurasian Collared Dove | 4 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 65 | Common Cuckoo | 4 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 66 | Eurasian/Cyprus Scops Owl | 4 | Burqin Magic Forest | 26-Jun-18 |
| 67 | Common Swift | 50 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 68 | Eurasian/African Hoopoe | 2 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 69 | Common Kingfisher | 1 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 70 | European Bee-eater | 6 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 71 | European Roller | 6 | TuoTuo Service Area | 18-Jun-18 |
| 72 | Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 1 | Kelancun | 26-Jun-18 |
| 73 | White-backed Woodpecker | 3 | Burqin Magic Forest | 29-Jun-18 |
| 74 | White-winged Woodpecker | 4 | Hari Wusu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 75 | Grey-headed Woodpecker | 4 | Hualin Park | 25-Jun-18 |
| 76 | Lesser Kestrel | 6 | TuoTuo Service Area | 18-Jun-18 |
| 77 | Common Kestrel | 1 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 78 | Red-footed Falcon | 10 | Qieerkeqixiang | 25-Jun-18 |
| 79 | Eurasian Hobby | 1 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 80 | Saker Falcon | 1 | Chong Hu’er | 28-Jun-18 |
| 81 | Red-backed Shrike | 2 | TangBa Lake | 25-Jun-18 |
| 82 | Red-tailed Shrike | 6 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 83 | Isabelline Shrike | 1 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 84 | Lesser Grey Shrike | 2 | YiZhao Gonglu | 22-Jun-18 |
| 85 | Eurasian Golden Oriole | 1 | Hari Wusu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 86 | Eurasian Magpie | 2 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 87 | Spotted Nutcracker | 2 | Guanyu Tai-Kanasi River | 27-Jun-18 |
| 88 | Red-billed Chough | 1 | X210 County Road to SalimuHu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 89 | Western Jackdaw | 20 | Suwuke Basitao-Kanasi Airport | 27-Jun-18 |
| 90 | Rook | 30 | X210 County Road to SalimuHu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 91 | Carrion Crow | 2 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 92 | Northern Raven | 2 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 93 | Bearded Reedling | 4 | Alahake Lake | 26-Jun-18 |
| 94 | Horned Lark | 1 | X210 County Road to SalimuHu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 95 | Greater Short-toed Lark | 4 | Arid Country S of Burqin | 29-Jun-18 |
| 96 | Eurasian Skylark | 2 | SalimuHu – West Side | 19-Jun-18 |
| 97 | Oriental Skylark | 3 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 98 | Crested Lark | 4 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 99 | Sand Martin | 20 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 100 | Barn Swallow | 10 | TuoTuo Service Area | 18-Jun-18 |
| 101 | Common House Martin | 20 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 102 | Asian House Martin | 10 | Chong Hu’er | 28-Jun-18 |
| 103 | Coal Tit | 1 | Guanyu Tai-Kanasi River | 27-Jun-18 |
| 104 | Azure Tit | 20 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 105 | Great Tit | 6 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 106 | Eurasian/Siberian Nuthatch | 4 | Guanyu Tai-Kanasi River | 27-Jun-18 |
| 107 | Eurasian Treecreeper | 1 | Chong Hu’er | 28-Jun-18 |
| 108 | Sulphur-bellied Warbler | 1 | Guanyu Tai-Kanasi River | 27-Jun-18 |
| 109 | Cetti’s Warbler | 10 | HaiJing Park | 20-Jun-18 |
| 110 | Paddyfield Warbler | 10 | Alahake Lake | 26-Jun-18 |
| 111 | Blyth’s Reed Warbler | 1 | Burqin Magic Forest | 29-Jun-18 |
| 112 | Eurasian Reed Warbler | 2 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 113 | Great Reed Warbler | 5 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 114 | Barred Warbler | 3 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 115 | Common Whitethroat | 3 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 116 | Spotted/Mediterranean Flycatcher | 2 | Hualin Park | 25-Jun-18 |
| 117 | Common Nightingale | 3 | Qingbei Gonglu | 23-Jun-18 |
| 118 | Bluethroat | 2 | Alahake Lake | 26-Jun-18 |
| 119 | Common Redstart | 2 | Guanyu Tai-Kanasi River | 27-Jun-18 |
| 120 | Black Redstart | 2 | Chong Hu’er | 28-Jun-18 |
| 121 | Common Rock Thrush | 2 | X210 County Road to SalimuHu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 122 | Siberian/Stejneger’s Stonechat | 5 | Zhaosu Wetland | 20-Jun-18 |
| 123 | Northern Wheatear | 6 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 124 | Pied Wheatear | 8 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 125 | Desert Wheatear | 3 | Arid Country S of Wuerhe | 24-Jun-18 |
| 126 | Isabelline Wheatear | 2 | X210 County Road to SalimuHu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 127 | Common Blackbird | 5 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 128 | Black-throated Thrush | 1 | Guanyu Tai-Kanasi River | 27-Jun-18 |
| 129 | Fieldfare | 2 | Kelancun | 26-Jun-18 |
| 130 | Mistle Thrush | 1 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 131 | Common Starling | 4 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 132 | Rosy Starling | 100 | X210 County Road to SalimuHu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 133 | Common Myna | 2 | TuoTuo Service Area | 18-Jun-18 |
| 134 | Western Yellow Wagtail | 2 | YiZhao Gonglu | 22-Jun-18 |
| 135 | Citrine Wagtail | 2 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 136 | Grey Wagtail | 2 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 137 | White Wagtail | 2 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
| 138 | Richard’s Pipit | 2 | Zhaosu Wetland | 20-Jun-18 |
| 139 | Tawny Pipit | 4 | YiZhao Gonglu | 22-Jun-18 |
| 140 | Tree Pipit | 2 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 141 | Pine Bunting | 2 | X210 County Road to SalimuHu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 142 | Rock Bunting | 4 | YiZhao Gonglu | 22-Jun-18 |
| 143 | Grey-necked Bunting | 4 | Arid Country S of Burqin | 29-Jun-18 |
| 144 | Ortolan Bunting | 10 | X210 County Road to SalimuHu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 145 | Red-headed Bunting | 1 | X210 County Road to SalimuHu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 146 | Common Reed Bunting | 2 | Ulungur Lake | 24-Jun-18 |
| 147 | Corn Bunting | 1 | YiZhao Gonglu | 22-Jun-18 |
| 148 | Common Chaffinch | 10 | Kelancun | 26-Jun-18 |
| 149 | Common Rosefinch | 4 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 150 | Great Rosefinch | 2 | Chong Hu’er | 28-Jun-18 |
| 151 | Mongolian Finch | 40 | Arid Country S of Burqin | 29-Jun-18 |
| 152 | Desert Finch | 4 | TuoTuo Service Area | 18-Jun-18 |
| 153 | European Greenfinch | 2 | Hari Wusu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 154 | Common Linnet | 4 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 155 | Red Crossbill | 2 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 156 | European Goldfinch | 4 | Hari Wusu | 19-Jun-18 |
| 157 | Red-fronted Serin | 12 | Baiyanggou | 17-Jun-18 |
| 158 | Saxaul Sparrow | 6 | Arid Country S of Wuerhe | 24-Jun-18 |
| 159 | House Sparrow | 10 | Baihu | 17-Jun-18 |
| 160 | Eurasian Tree Sparrow | 50 | Mushroom Lake | 18-Jun-18 |
There are 4 comments on this post
Looks to be a cracking trip.
I found your checklist on eBird and I wondered if you would support World Shorebirds Day with your shorebird counting results from between 5-11 September 2018? Global Shorebird Counting is under way and our target is to get as may eBirders involved as possible. Please consider sharing your cheklist with the eBird account WorldShorebirdsDay.
Please find more information about the initiative here: https://worldshorebirdsday.wordpress.com/globalshorebirdcounting/
https://worldshorebirdsday.wordpress.com/2015/08/28/shorebird-counting-data-submissions/
Thanks for your consideration. Best wishes, Gyorgy Szimuly
United Kingdom
Thanks Gyorgy. Unfortunately, i'm tied up with work now. Would you be interested in the records from 1-2 September?
Hi,
Two pictures of Cetti's Warbler (the first and the 3rd) are in fact Common Nightingale
Best
Thanks Marc. Infact, those were very confusing and i have kept going back and forth regarding the ID. The first one was very much skulking in the undergrowth and the third one was circling right above me. The problem was there were both Cetti's and Nightingale calling from the same bush and i didn't see the bird while singing. Although, i have labelled the 3rd one Nightingale, i captioned it wrong. Thanks for the confirmation, really appreciate it.