🦅9.22 Raptor Station: Breaking News | The Rare Rufous-bellied Eagle is back in Longmenshan!!!

Did a Rufous-bellied Eagle come to Chongzhou last fall? We didn’t recognize it at the time (or perhaps didn’t dare to think it was). After lying on the hard drive for ten days, it was rediscovered in March. After careful verification, it was confirmed as a new record for Sichuan Province and the first known record for inland China. Feeling regretful about my mistake on the spot last year, I boldly declared: next time, I will definitely recognize it immediately! But deep down, I didn’t expect it to come back. But who would have thought that just 344 days later, the Rufous-bellied Eagle would make a return—this time, an adult. After enduring an extraordinary autumn heat (unusually hot for fall), Longmenshan rewarded us with this amazing sight! Whether it was the first time for some, or for me, a volunteer who had been here for nearly a month, no one went home empty-handed. The Rufous-bellied Eagle shared its visit with everyone.

At 9 AM, Yao and Comet sent two messages in the volunteer group: "The Rufous-bellied Eagle is here, it’s here!" No one asked questions like, "Is this the Rufous-bellied Eagle?" I thought, how can they be so casual? They must have made a mistake (I was actually jealous). Then they added, “It’s perched on a tree at the campsite, come quickly!” At that moment, I was preparing materials for decorating our new campsite two kilometers down the mountain, and when I saw the message, I almost dropped my phone in excitement—there was still a chance! While thinking that, my legs were already running on their own, and I grabbed my dad, who was helping me carry things, and we rushed to the car, speeding up the mountain. Don’t talk, just go!

By the time we got there, the Rufous-bellied Eagle was still calmly perched on a branch, facing away from us. Its black, slightly bluish back was so distinctive. After confirming the location with a quick photo, I hurried back to the car, took out the monocular, and was ready to enjoy the view. But before I could focus, the eagle took off and circled above the ridge twice. It then glided along the tree line a few times before disappearing back into the forest. I sprinted back and forth twice, jumping in excitement on the spot, then fist-bumped with the three others nearby.

In fact, they almost mistook the eagle for a Crested Honey Buzzard. Yao was the first to spot a raptor flying out from behind the ridge and called Comet and Kongshi, who had just arrived. Comet quickly took a few pictures and identified it as a Honey Buzzard, intending to put the camera down. But while it was circling, they couldn't resist taking more shots. Upon zooming in, they realized it had a brown belly—an adult bird. No wonder they were so confident in their identification. At that moment, it was exactly 9 AM. CB had just locked the car and was five minutes from the observation deck. Those who had been up on the mountain top since 4:30 AM to watch the sunrise were already halfway up.

After disappearing into the forest, we guessed the eagle might take off again, so we called everyone to come quickly. CB returned first, and we excitedly showed the pictures we had just taken. She playfully remarked that we had “sacrificed her to get to see the eagle,” to which we agreed. “The end of science is metaphysics,” this idea planted itself even deeper in Comet and Kongshi’s minds. They had originally planned to go to Niuxin Mountain for monitoring today, but Comet asked Kongshi, "What if we miss the Rufous-bellied Eagle?"

After a while, I had to leave to organize the decorations. The Rufous-bellied Eagle still hadn’t appeared. Just two minutes after I left, at 9:58 AM, the eagle took off again, this time circling for about the same amount of time as before, then disappeared in roughly the same area. Our test confirmed that mutual “sacrifices” are effective.

The earliest arrivals at 990 couldn’t hold back anymore and began to descend. The Rufous-bellied Eagle gave them a full 50 minutes to descend, and by the time they arrived, it had been circling above the campsite for a while.

For those still on 990, they weren’t forgotten. After finishing its display above the campsite, the Brown-bellied Buzzard Eagle flew directly towards 990. The descending group missed the shot, but those on the mountain top got to witness the rare visitor. The eagle disappeared in a northern direction, opposite to the autumn migration. Will there be more stories to follow?