WHAT: Birdwatching at Guanting Reservoir in Beijing's Yanqing District 北京延庆官厅水库, guided by Terry Townshend.

WHEN: Saturday September 28th. Bus leaves at 5.30am, returning 12.00 noon. (The trip will begin/end at a location near Guloudajie subway station; registrants will be notified of the address)

MORE ABOUT THE EVENT: Beijing is host to more birds than any other capital city during the seasonal migrations. RASBJ is very fortunate to offer a guided visit to the Guanting reservoir north of Beijing, led by Terry Townshend. Terry is Beijing's leading Western ornithologist and conservationist, and will introduce the general background of birding in China as well as provide expert commentary (including amusing anecdotes and factoids that will amaze as well as educate) about specific birds we will see – and he will help us see them!

The excursion will take just over six hours: 3 hours on-site at the reservoir, with 90 minutes ride each way on a private coach. The coach will leave at 5.30 am (sharp!) from a spot near Guloudajie subway station (Lines 2 & 8) and return there by 12.00 noon. Participants will be advised of the exact meeting location before the event date.

Walking may be rough but not arduous – we suggest you check the weather forecast and dress accordingly. Please bring your own refreshments, binoculars if you have them, and bird books.

At the request of Terry Townshend, CGTN will be filming this outing as part of a documentary on biodiversity in Beijing. Each registrant is required on the registration form to confirm explicitly "I consent to being filmed, interviewed and quoted by CGTN on this occasion".

The banner image was taken during RASBJ's Spring excursion to Shahe reservoir by RASBJ member Badr Mostafa.

HOW MUCH: Cost is RMB 200 for members and RMB 300 for non-members. Children are welcome, at full price if they take a seat on the coach. Payment by Alipay may be easier than by WeChat. Credit cards are also accepted. Interested in becoming an RASBJ member? Please sign up at https://rasbj.org/membership​

Instead of charging a fee for guiding us on this tour, Terry invites participants to support Shan Shui Conservation Center, a local NGO that focuses on community-based conservation on the Tibetan Plateau and runs urban biodiversity programmes in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou (please see http://en.shanshui.org/​ for more information). RASBJ will donate half of any surplus from this event to Shan Shui Conservation Center, as we did during RASBJ's previous birding excursions; therefore adult registrants who travel to the reservoir using their own transport are asked to pay full price.

HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Please click "Register" or "I Will Attend", no later than September 25th, and follow the instructions, which will include providing your WeChat ID and mobile phone number so that we can reach you with any last-minute information and updates – very important! After successful registration, you will receive a confirmation email. If you seem not to have received it, please check your spam folder. Places are limited to 15 and will be allocated in order of receipt of payment, so early booking is advised.

REFUND POLICY: If the event is cancelled or postponed by RASBJ, all registrants will receive refunds in full. Registrants wishing to cancel for their own reasons will be refunded if cancellation is received via email to communications@rasbj.org by September 25th, so that your place can be offered to those on the waiting list