Today was the first day this week that was not too misty to venture out.  I toyed with the idea of dashing over to Wild Duck Lake (in the far north-west of Beijing municipality), where there have been amazing numbers of some very special birds recently: 

   More than 300 Pallas's Sandgrouse, 200 Mongolian Larks, and 300 Pine Buntings have presumably been pushed down from the north-west of China, where there has been a significant amount of snow lately.  But with a high of minus three and a windchill factor perhaps 10 degrees colder than that, the thought of Wild Duck Lake was not an enticing one.  Decided to stay much closer to home.

   The Botanical Gardens held plenty of birds despite the cold.  Highlights of the day were three Pere David's Laughingthrushes.  As I was crawling on the snowy ground to get closer to one, I heard a "there's one here with a yellow eye-brow."  "Ssshhhhh, I'm trying to get a shot of the laugher," I pleaded.  It's only when I checked my photos that I found that I had inadvertently also got a shot of the "yellow-browed" bird as it fed on the ground among a flock of Brambling.  It was a Siberian Accentor!  I hadn't even noticed it at the time (shame, I would have tried for a better shot).  Serves me right for ignoring the call.

   Other highlights were 2 Chinese Hill Warblers, 4 Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpeckers, 2 Chinese Nuthatches, and a flock of 5 Collared Finchbills.  Despite being several hundred kilometres further north than they supposedly should be, the Finchbills seem to be surviving one of the coldest winters in Beijing for many years (if they were introuduced here, as some suspect, then their resiliance is particularly remarkable).

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