It's theoretically possible to see 7 (yes, seven) species of crane in a day in Beidaihe: Red-crowned, Siberian, Hooded, White-naped, Demoiselle, Common, and Sandhill.

So how many of them did I see today you may be wondering. Well, er... none to be precise.

6.30 and straight down to the Da Pu river (about 40 minutes' drive).

Delighted to see a grey shrike here. One day I'll find a Great Grey, but today I had to make do with a stunning Chinese Grey. It was far too busy hunting large insects to notice me, so I was able to get quite close.

Qilihai didn't disappoint (depite the lack of cranes). A resplendant pair of adult, summer-plumaged Saunder's Gulls kindly plopped down in front of me for 20 minutes or so.

Also at Qiliahai: a flock of 11 Eastern Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Oystercatchers, and 2, yes indeed, Siberian Meadow Buntings (fingers crossed they stick around).

I saw the bird of the day just as I was leaving here, a Great Bustard had somehow managed to get to an altitude of several hundred metres and was heading north. It's the first time I've seen this species in the Beidaihe "recording area".

Here's the list of the birds I saw today (birds photographed appear in bold, species new for the 2010 photograph year book are numbered)

Chinese Grey Shrike, Da Pu River
Teal, c10
223 Eastern Spot-billed Duck, c20
224 Grey Heron, 1
225 Little Egret, 4
Pallas's Reed Bunting, c20
Pheasant, few
225 Avocet, 12 (1 Dapu River, 11 Qilihai)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 226 Saunders' Gull, a pair of adults in summer plumage
Black-headed Gull, c3000 (very rough estimate), Qilihai
Vega/Mongolian Gull, c100
Kamtchatka Gull, sev
Great Cormorant, flock of 14 (all with white heads)
Great White Egret, 1
Siberian Meadow Bunting, 2
Hen Harrier, 1 male
Shelduck, c10
227 Eurasian Skylark, c10
228 Eastern Black-tailed Godwit, flock of 11
229 Oystercatcher, 1 pair
230 Little Ringed Plover, 1
Goldeneye, c50
231 Great Bustard, 1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       232 Garganey 1 pair

233 Tufted Duck, 5 (4 males)
234 Heuglin's Gull, 3
Common Snipe, 2 (Nandaihe)
Hoopoe, 4
White-cheeked Starling, 2
Daurian Redstart, sev
Red-flanked Bluetail, c40 (c35 at Lotus Hills)
Reed Bunting, 2
Chinese Bulbul. sev, Stone Garden
Chinese Grosbeak, 4
Naumann's Thrush, c10 (sev at Lotus Hills)
Yellow-bellied Tit, sev
Eurasian Sparrowhawk, 1, Lotus Hills
Red-billed Blue Magpie, c20
Grey-headed Woodpecker, 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker, few
Brambling, sev
Eastern Great Tit, c20
Elegant Bunting, c20