Pulau Pantara at dusk
|
|
Autumn migration at Beidaihe 1986-1990 - species |
|
Written by Martin Williams
|
|
Saturday, 20 May 2006 |
| Article Index |
|
Autumn migration at Beidaihe 1986-1990 - species
|
|
Bitterns, egrets and herons
|
|
Spoonbills, Ibises, Storks
|
|
Swans, Geese, Shelducks and Ducks
|
|
Raptors
|
|
Partridges, pheasants and quail
|
|
Cranes
|
|
Rails, Crakes, Coot and Bustards
|
|
Shorebirds
|
|
Skuas, Gulls and Terns
|
|
Sandgrouse and Doves
|
|
Cuckoos, Owls and Swifts
|
|
Kingfishers, Dollarbird, Hoopoe, Wryneck and Woodpeckers
|
|
Larks, Martins and Swallows
|
|
Wagtails and Pipits
|
|
Minivet, Bulbuls, Shrikes
|
|
Waxwings, Orioles, Drongos and Starlings
|
|
Crows
|
|
Wrens and Accentors
|
|
Robins and Chats
|
|
Rockthrushes and Thrushes
|
|
Laughinthrushes, Parrotbill and Bush-Warblers
|
|
Marsh-, Grasshopper, and Reed Warblers
|
|
Phylloscopus warblers, Cisticolas, Kinglets, hill warbler
|
|
Flycatchers
|
|
Tits
|
|
Nuthatches, Wallcreeper and White-eyes
|
|
Finches
|
|
Buntings
|
Page 14 of 29
Mongolian Lark Melanocorypha mongolica LT—not usually of common occurrence in the vicinity. ‘On the 14th and 15th of November, 1914, however, myriads of these birds flew over, from an easterly or north-easterly direction going west. Flocks upon flocks composed of hundreds of these handsome birds went by during these two days. On the 16th I saw a large flock a few miles inland also going west, and was told that the birds had been passing for four days.’ WH—’Never saw it on the Peking plain even in winter, except once and that was probably a bird escaped from captivity.’ H—seen on 23 December 1944 (many) and 29 January 1945 (17).
1989: ca. 250 were at YH on 16 November. This record and ca. 120 seen at the Luanhe estuary during a visit on 18 October suggest that there was an irruption of this species during autumn 1989.
Asian Short-toed Lark (Lesser Short-toed Lark) Calandrella (rufescens) cheleensis LT—breeds abundantly; ‘I do not know that any winter, but flocks travel past with the Skylarks in autumn.’ H—seen in all months, though apparently much scarcer during August and September; common again, in flocks, in October and November. COE—common breeding species.
1986: 827 bird-days, 23 August to 19 November; 278 were recorded from LH, flying south. A dearth of records to mid-September (only 76 bird-days) supports Hemmingsen’s comment on the species relative scarcity at this time. Numbers picked up during the second half of September and from 22nd to the end of the first week of October 388 bird-days were logged, making this the peak passage period. One hundred bird-days were logged in the second week of October, 47 in third and 45 more to the end of the month; November produced 78 bird-days. The highest day totals were 67 (45 at SF, one at FP, 21 recorded from LH, flying south) on 22 September and 108 (46 at YH, 62 recorded from LH, flying south) on 4 October.
1987: 1101 bird-days, throughout the survey period; 76 were recorded flying south; highest day totals 50 on 16th, 57 on 23 October, 58 on 2nd and 70 on 3 November.
1988 (Ho): 126 bird-days, throughout the survey period.
1989: small numbers at YH and TH in September and early October; 246 bird-days (41 flew south), 9 October to 16 November; highest day totals 32 (30 flying south) on 13th and 30 at YH on 25 October and 40 at YH on 16 November.
1990: before 23 October, 86 bird-days, highest day total 23 on 20 October. From 23 October, 82 bird-days, 26 October to 16 November; singles at SF on 26 October and 3 November, and 20 on 15th and 60 on 16 November at YH.
The development of the new resort of Nandaihe has destroyed much of the former breeding habitat of this species at Beidaihe.
Crested Lark Galerida cristata LT—common resident in the hills but only two on the coast, both in October. H—common in winter, most often in minor flocks of 5-20 birds; earliest date 4 October. COE—eight to ten birds, including a possible breeding pair.
1986: 67 bird-days, 13 September to 17 November. Only three were seen in September; the period 2-9 October produced 47 bird-days, 13 were logged during the rest of the month and four during November, from 8th-17th. The highest day totals were 22 (18 at YH, four at TH) on 4th and 19 (ten at YH, nine at SF) on 7 October. YH was the favoured locality, followed by TH.
1987: 82 bird-days, 29 September to 11 November; 61 bird-days from 13-30 October; highest day total ten on 22 October.
1988 (Ho): nine bird-days, 20 September to 1 November; highest day total four on 1 November.
1989: 21 bird-days, 17 October to 16 November; other than singles at Re on 20th and 27 October, all at YH/TH, where the highest count was six on 17 October.
1990: no records.
Eurasian Skylark (Common Skylark) Alauda arvensis LT—migrates from the end of September well into November; many remain on the plain during winter. WH—very common in fields on the plain from 15 August throughout the winter. H—frequently noted from as early as 18 August throughout the autumn and winter; migration directly observed 28 September to 14 October 1944. COE—recorded from beginning of survey to 29 April.
1986: 181 bird-days were logged from 22 August to the end of the survey period. The first record—one flying south over LH—was not followed until 20 September and significant passage commenced on 24th; 32 bird-days were logged during the last week of September and 118 from 4-16 October; recorded on only five dates during the remainder of the passage period, when 30 bird-days were logged. It seems likely that the majority of the 10,136 unidentified larks were this species (previous authors indicate that this is the commonest of the larks, and observers in autumns after 1986 have identified the great majority of the passing larks as Eurasian Skylarks).
1987: 24,345 bird-days, throughout the survey period though only five bird-days to 17 September; 23,866 birds were recorded flying south; 23,288 bird-days were logged from 2-31 October. Highest day totals 5500 on 3rd, 6000 on 7th, 1500 on 14th and 2500 on 19 October.
1988 (Ho): 11,377 bird-days, 19 September to 18 November; highest day total 4500 flying south on 13 October.
1989: recorded from the end of September; 3199 bird-days (2188 flew south), 8 October to 16 November; 1992 flew south from 8-26 October (373 on 8th and 378 on 13th); highest count of birds present 200 at YH on 16 November.
1990: before 23 October, 2312 bird-days, highest day total 670 on 6 October. From 23 October, 734 bird-days (634 were recorded flying south); highest totals of birds flying south 209 on 25th and 77 on 26 October, and highest count of birds present 50 on 15 November.
Unidentified larks Calandrella/Galerida/Alauda sp.
1986: 10,136 unidentified larks were recorded from 23 September to 20 November. The peak day count was 1298 on 11 October. The vast majority were recorded from LH, flying south. As noted above, it seems likely that most were Eurasian Skylarks.
1987: 20 bird-days.
Sand Martin (Bank Swallow) Riparia riparia LT—passes in great numbers from about 10 August to early or mid-October. Most pass by mid-September. ‘Without doubt, this bird breeds in the vicinity.’ H—11 dates in two autumns, 3-25 August, plus probable on 2 October; only noted commonly in autumn 1944, sometimes in flocks up to 20 but mostly only a few. COE—at least 2097 birds, 30 March to 29 May.
1986: 730 bird-days were logged from 20 August to 31 October; most were recorded flying south, including 703 recorded from LH. Eighty bird-days were logged to the end of August. The maximum day total—195 birds—was recorded on 8 September, which heralded the beginning of the main passage period. This continued for two weeks and produced 542 bird-days. A further 96 bird-days were logged to 5 October, and there were only two more records—singles on 9th and 31 October.
1987: 891 bird-days, 19 August to 25 October; only seven bird-days after 3 October; 860 were recorded flying south. Highest day totals 165 on 20th and 430 on 28 August.
1988 (Ho): 157 bird-days, 8 September to 8 October.
1989: common during 16-27 September, maxima 500 flying south on 18th and 200 on 27th; five at TH and one south past LH on 9 October, and singles south on 19th, 20th and 25 October.
1990: 69 bird-days, highest day totals 17 on 22 August and 15 on 17 September; all before 23 October.
Though the Sand Martin is common, it evidently does not pass in ‘great numbers’ as reported by La Touche.
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica LT—passes from the first week of September to mid-October. H—seen commonly in summer; last autumn dates range from 28 September to 1 October. COE—at least 7222, 1 April to 1 June.
1986: 15,159 bird-days were logged from 24 August to 10 November; most were recorded flying south, including 13,188 recorded from LH. Though this species was seen commonly at most localities, it was only systematically recorded at LH in an effort to ensure a standard for gauging the passage; exception was made only where it was felt significant numbers of actively migrating birds were involved which would not be logged at the LH watchpoint. To 6 September, 845 bird-days were logged, and during the subsequent four weeks—the main passage period—the numbers noted were: 1986 during 7th-13th, 2375 during 14th-20th, 4489 during 21-27 September, and 3057 during 28 September to 4 October. Thereafter, passage dropped markedly, coinciding with a sharp fall in the maximum temperature: 814 and 987 bird-days, respectively, were recorded in the subsequent two week periods. November produced a total of 66 bird-days, with 45 birds recorded on 1st. The highest day total was 1495 on 24 September.
1987: at least 65,532 bird-days, beginning of the survey to 9 November; 61,530 were recorded flying south. Highest day totals were 2000 on 17th, 1400 on 21st, 4500 on 25th, 1200 on 26 September, 13,000 on 2nd and 10,000 on 3 October. Identification of distant swallows (this species and the following, Red-rumped Swallow) was often based on ratios of specifically identified birds (passing close enough for diagnostic features to be seen); on days of heavy passage, numbers were gauged by making five minute counts and multiplying these to cover following intervals without counts.
1988 (Ho): not systematically recorded.
1989: common from 15 September to early October, highest numbers 13,000 flying south on 18th and 2000 on 27 September and 2000 on 5 October; 480 recorded from LH watchpoint, flying south (not systematically recorded at other localities, though not noted in large numbers), 8-29 October, when highest day totals 93 on 15th and 104 on 19 October.
1990: not systematically recorded before 23 October. From 23 October, one was at Re on 26 October, and singles recorded from LH, flying south, on 24th and 29 October, 5th and 14 November.
Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica LT—passes first week of August to first week of October, the majority having passed by 21 September. H—breeds at Beidaihe; last autumn dates in three years ranged from 28 September to 1 October. COE—at least 1468, 2 April to 1 June.
1986: 7812 bird-days, 26 August to 23 October, making this species about half as numerous as the Barn Swallow (cf. spring 1985 totals). As with the Barn Swallow, emphasis was placed on recording birds migrating past LH; 6079 were recorded flying south past this locality. Locally breeding birds were present at the beginning of the survey and passage was not evident until 26 August, when the first birds were seen flying south at LH. Numbers peaked a week later than for the Barn Swallow, with 5385 (about 69 percent) of birds occurring from 28 September to 4 October, ahead of a sharp fall in maximum temperature; 561 were recorded flying south in the week prior to this period and 925 during the week after. The maximum day count was 2701 on 4 October.
1987: at least 65,489 bird-days, beginning of the survey to 25 October; 65,069 were recorded flying south. Highest day totals 18,500 on 25th, 4800 on 26th, 1000 on 27th and 30 September, 7000 on 2nd and 30,000 on 3 October. The latter date marked the end of the main passage; 610 were recorded after this day. See also Barn Swallow, re recording methods.
1988 (Ho): not systematically recorded.
1989: common from 15 September to early October, when maxima 2000 migrating on 18th and 5000 on 27 September and 2000 on 5 October; 494 recorded from LH watchpoint, flying south (not systematically recorded at other localities, though not noted in large numbers), 8-28 October; highest day totals 305 on 9th and 119 on 12 October.
1990: not systematically recorded before 23 October. From 23 October, one recorded from LH, flying south, on 26th, and two at Se on 30 October.
Barn Swallow/Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo rustica/H. daurica COE—at least 2055.
1986: 49,099 unidentified swallows were recorded flying south from 20 August to 29 October. Tallies included 14,489 from 7th-13th, 5380 from 14th-20th and 11309 from 21-27 September, and 8438 from 28 September to 4 October. The peak day count was 5615 on 12 September.
1989: 182 recorded from LH watchpoint, flying south, 11-12 October.
Common House-Martin Delichon urbica LT—one record, 18 May 1913 (was D.u. whiteleyi); notes that Wilder had reported seeing a few pairs of house-martins breeding on rocks in the mountains to the north of Qinhuangdao. WH—’The name house martin seems a misnomer as it is found here only in remote mountains with high rock cliffs and running water. It is a summer resident in colonies across the province from Shanhaikuan to Hsiao Wu T’ai Shan. … This seems a new subspecies much smaller than [D]. urbica urbica or [D]. urbica whiteleyi.’ Later (Wilder & Hubbard 1926) noted that the specimens were D.u. nigrimentalis, not previously known in the Palaearctic. H—no records. Sh—’Fohkien House Martin’ D.u. nigrimentalis is a summer visitor to Hebei, ‘Siberian House Martin’ D.u. whiteleyi is a rare summer visitor. COE—21 birds, 10 April to 20 May.
The literature seems contradictory over which species, or sub-species, of house-martin breeds in Hebei. Cheng states that D.u. nigrimentalis is sometimes regarded as a race of the Asian House-Martin D. dasypus, but only gives records for southeastern and southern China, and lists a race of Common House Martin, D.u. lagopoda as breeding in and migrating through Hebei. He notes that this race has also been called D.u. whiteleyi; yet Wilder and Hubbard note this is larger than the birds they found breeding. Meyer de Schauensee suggests that house-martins found breeding in northern Hebei by David and Oustalet (1877) may have been Asian House-Martins D. dasypus dasypus, which have been recorded on migration on the coast of Jiangsu and in Fujian province—and in Hong Kong, where Common House-Martin has not been recorded. He does not mention the records by Wilder and Hubbard.
The following records are for birds believed to be Common House-Martins.
1986: 30 birds were recorded from 26 August to 4 October: 18 during 26-31 August, five from 5th-12th, three on 22nd, one on 25th and two on 29 September, and finally one on 4 October. All except two were seen from LH. As in spring 1985, we checked when possible for features that might suggest birds were Asian House-Martins, especially the smoky grey wash on the underparts (mentioned by de Schauensee 1984, and evident on Asian House-Martins seen in Hong Kong). On all birds seen well, the underparts were clean white, in accordance with them being Common House-Martins.
1987: 78 bird-days, 28 August to 18 November; 69 were recorded flying south, including 54 on 19 September.
1988 (Ho): nine birds, 30 September.
1989: three flew south: two on 9th and one on 13 October.
1990: five were seen on 29 September.
Asian House-Martin Delichon dasypus
1987: a bird considered to be this species, 20 November.
1988 (Ho): a bird considered to be this species, 9 November.
See also Common House-Martin.
|
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 21 May 2006 )
|
|
|
