A foreign birder’s life wandering in nature in Beijing

Four years of birdwatching in Beijing, a variety of experience gained

In 2010, Terry came to Beijing to take a job related to environmental regulation at a non-profit organization. Meanwhile, he kept up with his birdwatching in his new home. He started a blog called “Birding Beijing,” onto which he uploaded his birdwatching notes. In his blog, Terry patiently updates and collates every detail in Chinese, English, and pinyin. According to his statistics, he and other Beijing's birdwatching enthusiasts have sighted 459 species or subspecies of birds. Every time Terry witnesses one of these species, he marks a small cross in front of the corresponding species name. He also notes each species in his articles, using Chinese characters which even many Chinese are unable to read, like bunting and redstart. In May 2013, Terry spotted an Anthus trivialis (tree pipit) in the garden of a friend. "This kind of bird has been observed only once in eastern China, and no one had seen them in Beijing yet. The bird’s only habitat is in Europe, so it’s hard to imagine how far it had flown before it arrived in Beijing. It stayed in front of me for just 5 minutes and then flew away!" Those five minutes still make Terry excited after more than a year, and he showed his photos of various precious birds to our journalist proudly. Hard work and good luck have allowed Terry to fortunately observe a kind of bird that had never before been found in Beijing each year.

Evidence of Terry’s interest in birds jumps out of every corner of his apartment. A quaint Chinese-style bookcase filled with dozens of books about birds stands in the corner of the room. During our interview, no matter whether we were talking in the living room, the bedroom or the kitchen, Terry was able to reach out and pick up an atlas or book to illustrate the birds he just mentioned.