I suffered three full days of the "worst winter in 40 years" in Beijing before I was off again to warmer climes.

I had flown to Guangzhou, where the pollution levels combined with an unrelenting drizzle scuppered my plan for an early-morning trip to the university grounds (which, I understand, can be good at this time of year).

I took a two hour drive via fast expressway to Shenzhen, which as many will know is on the other side of Deep Bay from Mai Po in Hong Kong.

Last year, I had managed to "persuade" the gate-keeper to allow me to access the Mangrove Bird Reserve, and was able to get close enough to Mai Po's Black-faced Spoonbills for a "mood shot". But this year, the smiling gate-keeper had been replaced by an unsmiling People's Liberation Army border guard. I know he was a border guard because he had proudly pointed to his border guard badge, while telling me that I was in a restricted "border area". This annoyed me somewhat and I couldn't help reminding him of the "One China" policy. This confused him to the extent that he started playing nervously with the handle of his gun as he tried to explain the logic of something that makes no sense.

So, resigned to not seeing one of the rarest and most beautiful birds in the world today, I made a tactical retreat to the public park that abuts the bay.

This must be one of the best places in China to photograph Masked Laughingthrush and Black-collared Starling, which as you can see from the photo has the silliest of silly walks.

During my visit last year, the low-tide mud of Deep Bay held thousands of waders. This time the tide was high, and most of the waders had congregated in the shallows, miles away. But, just as I was cursing my bad-timing, I saw that a pair of Black-faced Spoonbills were actually on the Shenzhen side of the bay. After twenty minutes or so, they waded close-enough for me to take a couple of photos. Not quite frame-filling (!) but any encounter with this delightfully elegant bird is always a pleasure.

Photos of 7 species today (6 "new" for 2010 are highlighted).

181 Red-whiskered Bulbul (nom. ssp jocosus)
182 Masked Laughingthrush (monotypic)
183 Black-collared Starling (monotypic)
184 Oriental Magpie Robin (ssp prosthopellus)
185 Black-faced Spoonbill (monotypic)
186 Red-billed Starling (monotypic)
Long-tailed Shrike

Other birds seen:

Japanese White-eye, sev
Shoveler, several hundred
Wigeon, c200
Avocet, c150
Greenshank, c40
Great Cormorant, c30
Little Egret, c500
Great White Egret, c100
Tufted Duck, 2