Beidaihe: Chairman Mao Was Here

The Kennedys put Martha's Vineyard on the holiday map, George Bush gave Kennebunkport its 15 minutes of fame, the late British prime minister Harold Wilson will be forever associated with vacationing in the Scillies, Mikhail Gorbachev — though he might prefer it were otherwise — is indelibly linked with Foros on the Black Sea coast. And summer retreats by the upper echelons of the Communist Party have helped make Beidaihe, some 280 km east of Beijing, China's highest-profile seaside resort.
Which is not to say Beidaihe is a household word in the west. (Can you even say it?) It might be visited by three to five million people each summer, and known throughout the world's third largest and most populous country, but outside China, Beidaihe rates few mentions other than when the leadership is in town.

HAZARDS FACING MIGRANT BIRDS AT BEIDAIHE
Martin D. Williams

Beecroft (in Williams 1986, pp. 114-120) describes hazards, such as hunting and trapping, which faced migrant birds at Beidaihe. Similar hazards were evident during autumn 1986, when observa-tions of the local people’s interactions with birds were again recorded.

Hunting for food and ‘sport’ As in spring 1985, there were a few occasions when men with guns were hunting birds, with waterfowl and shorebirds the main targets. On 21 September, one of two hunters at the Henghe Reservoir was carrying four dead Common Moorhens Gallinula chlo-ropus, and on 22nd a hunter at the Henghe Sandflats killed a Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica and maimed a Far-Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis. The only other date when hunting was noted at these localities was 23 August, when shorebirds were, apparently, the quarry. These, and the waterfowl, were presumably taken for food. However, it seems likely that a Blue Magpie Urocissa erythroryhncha which was found at the Lotus Hills on 13 October, and had evidently been shot at close range, had been killed for ‘sport’.

Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata LT—one seen in game shop, end of November. Other (unidentified) divers seen in spring and autumn. H, COE—no records. Ch—migrant and winter visitor to the coast from Heilong River, Heilongjiang, south to Guangdong; status: extremely rare.
1986: singles were recorded off King’s Point on 9 November and off FP on 20 November.
1987: one bird, 3 November.
1988 (Ho): no records.
1989: 29 bird-days, 4-8 November; highest day total 17 on 5 November; all records from the coast; most were in flight.

Autumn bird migration at Beidaihe, China, 1986-1990
(incorporating the report on China Cranewatch 1986)

Edited by Martin D. Williams

CONTENTS

SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
THE HABITATS AT BEIDAIHE
METHODS
Methods used to record passing migrants
Variation in the degree of daily coverage
RESULTS
The timing of the migration in autumn 1986
The routes used by migrants observed passing Beidaihe
Correlations between weather and migration
Species systematically treated
Divers
Grebes

I first visited Beidaihe, a resort on China's east coast, in spring 1985, and have returned each year since, mostly as leader or co-leader of migration surveys and birding tours, a couple of times for a holiday. In all, I have spent over a year at the town, garnering a Beidaihe list with over 300 Asian migrants, and experiencing superb spells of birding. In addition, trying to stimulate conservation work — it was partly on my urging that, in spring 1990, the town established an unimpressive nature reserve.

Introduction

This plan was prepared following a visit I made to Beidaihe in May 2005, at the request of Mr Cao Ziyu, Director of the People’s Government of Beidaihe. Here, “Beidaihe” covers the coastal area south from the Sandflats (Henghe) to the vicinity of the Yanghe – ie including Beidaihe Haibin (Beidaihe-by-the-Sea) and Nandaihe.

Though the emphasis here is on birds, conservation measures could achieve several positive outcomes, including:

Just back from Beidaihe (east China) - for bird race commemorating 20th anniversary of team including me pitching up for first survey since 1940s. Was in China 10-16 May; as well as Beidaihe, also made it to Happy Island.

Some info here, as just sent to my family, which I hope will be of interest. Plan to do more, inc for this website.

Following suggestion from Dr George Archibald, director of International Crane Founation, I mentioned idea for another survey, inc cranes. Didn't push for it - wasn't much time given all other things going on; but I have a few ideas. Maybe a mix of some Chinese birders, who mostly I hope might have some free time from work (weekends), and perhaps see if can encourage some overseas birders to stay for a while.