BREAKING! New study published in PLOS ONE by NYC Bird Alliance, Fordham University, American Bird Conservancy, and Stony Brook University confirms OVER 1 BILLION BIRDS die annually from #glasscollisions in the U.S.—far more than previously thought. Learn more: nycbirdalliance.org/blog/new-study…

Amazing news from "720 acre" roost site created at Tiaozini in China's Yellow Sea #WorldHeritage Site: Beijing Forestry Uni. counted 188546 waterbirds of 32 spp incl 86700 Great Knot, 1630 Nordmann's Greenshank, 5 Spoon-billed Sands & 240 Eastern Curlews! x.com/numenini/statu…

Latest watercolour - a late summer Dunlin (Calidris alpina 黑腹滨鹬 Hēi fù bīn yù). A passage migrant in Beijing, mostly April and August to October.

Latest watercolour - a snapshot of the autumn nocturnal bird migration over Beijing from the roof of AIIB using a Wildlife Acoustics digital sound recorder. Can you identify the species?

A stunning morning on the shores of Guanting Reservoir in Yanqing District included close encounters with adult and juv Red Knot (Calidris canutus 红腹滨鹬 Hóng fù bīn yù) and a juv Long-toed Stint (Calidris subminuta 长趾滨鹬 Zhǎng zhǐ bīn yù). These images by Lou Fangzhou.

Thrilled to see this Amur Hedgehog (Erinaceus amurensis 东北刺猬 Dōngběi cìwèi) as I was leaving the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing yesterday evening. This mammal is relatively common, even in urban areas, but primarily nocturnal, so most often encountered after dark.

On Thurs, the NZ Amb in Beijing, Grahame Morton hosted 'friends of the flyway' on Nat'l Ecology Day, bringing together officials, diplomats and int orgs to celebrate the incredible migratory birds that connect NZ with China, US and other flyway countries. wildbeijing.org/2024/08/17/new…

So cool to find my first Owlfly (Protidicerus sp.) in Beijing, along the Bai River in Miyun District. Owlflies are distinguished from the superficially similar dragonflies by their long, clubbed antennae.

This male Dragon Swallowtail (Sericinus montela 软尾亚凤蝶 Ruǎn wěi yà fèng dié) posed beautifully in the evening sun along the Bai River. Found only in East Asia, this species is relatively common in the mountains and hills around Beijing.

Another cool insect from this wkend was this Protohermes xanthodes, one of the so-called "Dobsonflies". The larvae live in streams for up to 5 years before emerging. In 1897 an entomologist wrote "In spite of its disagreeable appearance it is in some respects very interesting"

“Oh the road to Mandalay, ⁠Where the flyin’-fishes play, ⁠An’ the dawn comes up like thunder out China ‘crost the Bay!” I’d still like to think that Flappy got a little tied up on the road to Mandalay, playing w/ all the flying fishes

An adventure to spend a day w/ Dr Shi Jingsong. In 2017 he discovered a new species of pit-viper (紅斑高山紅 Gloydius rubromaculatus) on the Tibetan Plateau. Thanks to locals, we found a new site at c3,800m asl that hosted this young female. This snake feeds mostly on moths!

Surprised to find a small colony of Black Darter (Sympetrum danae 黑赤蜻 Hēi chì qīng) at 4,035m asl near Nangqian on the Tibetan Plateau. Temps down to around freezing at night but active in the sun.

At 4,600m above sea level on the Tibetan Plateau, these Saussurea sp. are thriving. Known locally as 雪兔子 Xuě tù zǐ, literally translated as "snow rabbit".

Surely a creature on the Tibetan Plateau with one of the highest cute factors - the Glover's Pika, or Chinese Red Pika (Ochotona erythrotis 红耳鼠兔 Hóng ěr shǔ tù).

A brief write-up of the 2024 Nature Watch Festival on the Tibetan Plateau. See URL: wildbeijing.org/2024/08/28/202…

A Wandering Glider (黄蜻  Huáng qīng, Pantala flavescens) doing its bit to control the flying insect population at the Wenyu River Park during a biodiversity survey on Thursday. #NaturalInsecticide

Lots of work now going on in China to understand the scale of the issue in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and to explore solutions. I hope very soon warnings such as this will be issued for Chinese cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenzhen and others.

Latest watercolour - a A Glover's or Chinese Red Pika (Ochotona erythrotis 红耳鼠兔 Hóng ěr shǔ tù). Common the Tibetan Plateau, where it inhabits rocky areas, usually close to trees.

A herd of Bharal, also known as Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur) near Yushu on the Tibetan Plateau.