Bird watching in Beijing
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A common kingfisher. |
My New Year's vacation plan to spend a day watching birds in Shidu, in Fangshan district, didn't seem like an inauspicious start until I realized how unconfident I was when questioned about it.
"Are you really going bird watching in this freezing cold winter?" "Yeah."
"Will there be any birds waiting for you to watch? " "Not sure."
"Do you have binoculars?" "No." At the end of December, as far as I was concerned, bird watching was only a concept that existed in fi lms and TV programs, until I picked up a magazine in a taxi. An article introducing some Beijing birders struck my fancy, and I thought that perhaps a bird watching trip might be a nice way to start o. 2010.
From there, it only took one small step to sign up for a bird watching excursion organized by Friends of Nature (www.fon.org.cn), a Beijing based environmental protection NGO.
As a bird watching beginner and city dweller, the number of bird species I could identify o. hand was extremely limited: the black-billed magpie, the sparrow and the swallow. Still, I was looking forward to seeing birds in an outdoor space and expanding my knowledge.
On January 2, I rose early and had a quick breakfast. But when stepping out of the elevator with a light heart, the unexpected scene before my eyes stopped me short. It was snowing heavily, everything covered with fleecy, frigid snow. At that moment, a sense of worry swept into my stomach.
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