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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Panjin Birding by the Old Fat Man (1 Viewer)

Nature watch -AUG 25

I also managed to get some nature shots over the last couple of days.

Yesterday I found a rather striking spider. And today I encountered an unknown snake crossing the road. And just to round it out some nice flowers on the edges of the wetland area.
 

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Congratulations on the parrotbill Owen - a great find!

Delighted to see some migration starting up your end of the country. We just got going here this week with the first Amur Paradise Flycatchers and Arctic Warblers plus some amazing typhoon-related records.

The best were John Allcock and Dylan Thomas adding an astonishing four species of tern - Common, Bridled Aleutian and Sooty - to the Lam Tsuen list, along with Redshank and Black-winged Stilt.

I saw none of these but a few birds have also been in Discovery Bay this week - see my Exploring Lantau thread for more.

Cheers
Mike
 
Just one of those days

Note to self, remember to put the battery in the camera before you lug it and the telephoto and the tele-extender lenses on a two km hike to (and then back from) the wetland area that always produces well. Also it would have been a good idea to remember to put your field notebook and a pen in your pocket as well. Of course other than a few Taiga and Dark-sided Flycatchers, nothing was to be found. :-C
 
September 11 & 12

Thunderstorms rolled through from the west across the bay in the early predawn hours of the 11th. The skies cleared to crystal blue with tremendous seeing for the next couple of days and while nothing amazing, it did lead to one new life list tic.

The storms had apparently pushed migrating birds with it concentrating Red-rumped Swallow over us for one day on the 11th which were immediately sighted on starting out flying at an altitude overhead that made them barely visible overhead, but low enough to be easily identifiable in the binoculars. I reported a count of 50 but that was just what I could make out at one moment directly overhead as they swirled about in a big ball mobbing a falcon. (More on that later)

The city park area next to us yielded some interesting arrivals. Immediately upon entering the park I saw a medium sized owl soar silently through the trees, but so briefly as to not allow any ID. It seemed too large for one of the Little Owls that have been in the area this summer. A pair of Yellow-browed Warbler absorbed me for a little while as they displayed much more distinct wing bars than normal, for here at least.

Moving on, there were numbers of flycatchers working the garden and as well as a nice Dark-sided Flycatcher. I was only able to view through the bins at distance, but did observe what I believe may have been a couple of Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, which would be a new tic, but just not close enough to get a positive ID. That did draw attention to another larger pair also hawking insects. Their flycatcher like behavior, very shy making it impossible to get close, constant movement and their forked tails, made me puzzle over an ID. The blurred photos from them being in deep shade and distant didn't help a lot. The ID forum help led to deciding they were just Chinese Bulbul juveniles apparently having a teenage identity crisis and thinking they were flycatchers. Makes sense as there was a nearby group of C. Bulbul juveniles nearby behaving more normally.

On the way out the previously mentioned falcon swooped lower with Red-rumped Swallow streaming behind. I got a good quick look through the bins and even managed a quick parting pic of what I feel confident proved to be my new tic as a Lesser Kestrel. I was able to observe a grey hood with no mustache, the black tips to the outer underside wing tips and the somewhat pointed rather than square tail. It also appeared slighter than the Eurasian Kestrel that I usually see and exhibited a more erratic flight with more turns and swoops than the E. Kestrel normally show. I theorize that the storm the night before also swept it east of the bay from where it would be more common.

The 12th produced nothing new, but for a return of the Spotted Dove that had disappeared this summer.

Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Sep 11, 2017 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.5 kilometer(s)
8 species

Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) 2
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) 12
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 10
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) 50 large numbers migrating through area at altitude - positive id with binoculars
Light-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) 6
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) 2
Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica) 4
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 5

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39122868

Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Sep 12, 2017 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.5 kilometer(s)
7 species

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) 6
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) 4
Gray-headed Woodpecker (Picus canus) 1
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) 16
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) 5
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 10
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 55

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39139380
 

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September 13

I decided to make the two hour round trip up to the Panjin Wetland Park yesterday and was surprised by finding myself almost entirely alone in what is normally a well used park and by there being a dearth of Passerines except for the Azure-winged Magpie which overran the place. Very unusual as I usually get good counts there.

I did spot some distant gulls. On the other side of the lake of course and since I didn't want to make the 2 hour hike around the lake, all I have is some hazy shots that haven't helped me to ID.

I did catch some of the Daurian Ground Squirrel and a six legged spider.

Getting bored with counting Aw Magpie, I switched over to butterflies and that worked out well. I have posted on the forum for such at: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=3616207#post3616207 & http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=3616208#post3616208

Not finding a lot of help online with these as there are some good sights, but focused on either Britain or the USA. Since I still claim a residence in the State of Kansas in the US and hence am subject to Kansas state taxes which support Kansas State University which recently was bragging of their Entomology Department being rated as #4 in the world, I took a shot at asking them for any suggestions for materials, online or otherwise. Probably will be ignored as most university level professors are not interested in dealing with the public or in anything outside their narrow sub-field, but worth a try I figured.

Panjin Wetland Park, Liaoning, CN
Sep 13, 2017 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 kilometer(s)
6 species

Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) 3
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) 1
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) 60 Family groups of 10-20 were densely packed throughout the park
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 20
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) 10
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) 2

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39167052
 

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Getting bored with counting Aw Magpie, I switched over to butterflies and that worked out well. I have posted on the forum for such at: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=3616207#post3616207 & http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=3616208#post3616208

Not finding a lot of help online with these as there are some good sights, but focused on either Britain or the USA. Since I still claim a residence in the State of Kansas in the US and hence am subject to Kansas state taxes which support Kansas State University which recently was bragging of their Entomology Department being rated as #4 in the world, I took a shot at asking them for any suggestions for materials, online or otherwise. Probably will be ignored as most university level professors are not interested in dealing with the public or in anything outside their narrow sub-field, but worth a try I figured.

I can totally understand the frustration, Owen. I went through the same pain of not knowing what that is despite having seen nicely and got a better photo even.
So, earlier this year, i bite the bullet and bought the 4 volume handbook "Butterflies of China".
Pros:
Covers all the 1400+ species in China
Extensive sketches
Cons:
Only in Chinese except for scientific names
no distribution maps though the distribution range is mentioned in words (Chinese)
No details of ssp (or i haven't figured that yet)
Mega price tag (2800 rmb)

So, if you got something and need to know what it is, just post it here or the butterflies section, i will try my best to ID it.
 

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Gnatcatcher would be an amazing record for Asia, Owen. There aren't even any eBirds records for Alaska.

Maybe a long-tailed tit?

Not a Long-tailed Tit. I've seen a lot of them here and can quickly and immediately identify. As to what it was thought... I just can't say, hence I claimed nothing.
 
Hi Owen, good to see you are getting good action right now.

Also, the photo is of Asian Brown Flycatcher not Dark-sided.

Hi Dev,

I was going to argue with you on that one, but after carefully going over the field guides I decided that you were correct. :t: Dark-sided, Grey-streaked, Asian Brown, tough to distinguish, especially when I only see one or two during migration, but finally decided that indeed the bill length, primary length and off=center eye ring push it into Asian Brown Flycatcher.
 
Dev,

I'll take you up on that offer for the butterfly ID's. My immediate reaction was, "Oh, I've got to have those!", o:) but, especially considering the aprox. 25% import duty here on the mainland, my wife quickly corrected my thinking. :-C Especially since I've already mentioned that my 8+ year old Mac will need to be replaced soon. ;) Getting caught drooling over lenses on the internet the other day didn't help. :-C
 
Not a Long-tailed Tit. I've seen a lot of them here and can quickly and immediately identify. As to what it was thought... I just can't say, hence I claimed nothing.

Yeah, I suspected you'd know them, as common as they are there. Not sure what else it could be other than other tits or wagtails, or maybe a parrotbill, none of which would be uncommon or unfamiliar.
 
Sep-20

The excellent weather made a good excuse to make a trip to the Gedalou Reservoir. Total numbers were low, but at least there was a decent variety. The large numbers of herons/egrets that I have seen in the past at this time of year were not present despite there being several fish ponds that had been recently drained and would have been good feeding areas. The wife and I had an argument over the two Grey Heron that we spotted as she was insisting that they were green. Not looking green to me and not being able to think of what would be green just ended up with us sounding like an old married couple, which we are. Turned out after downloading the images we figured out that my neutral tint polarized sunglasses were giving me a pretty true color and not so much her fashionable and colored sunglasses. I did spot what I am sure by size and good look in the bins were a couple of Great White Egret, but they were in the rice fields across the main road running north of the lake. The Litttle Egret showed the yellow feet in flight and the long leg extension showed the legs to be too long for Chinese Egret/Swinhoe's.

The only birds with large numbers were Barn Swallow who were in two large flocks almost a kilometer apart that were splashing down on the surface of ponds to bathe and then perching on electric wires to dry off and preen. I made a large number of tries but only managed one decent shot of a Swallow just before it hit the water.

Gedalou Reservoir, Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Sep 20, 2017 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 kilometer(s)
11 species

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) 2
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) 1
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea) 2
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) 2
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 1
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) 4
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) 8
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) 2
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) 5
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 240 Two large flocks about a kilometer apart. Both flocks were splashing down onto the surface of ponds and perching on the overhead wires to preen and dry off.
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 30

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39306097
 

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Gedalou 'development'

I believe the big reason for the reduced numbers of birds at Gedalou Reservoir is due to the disturbance from a 'development' project. Apparently the government privatized the large city park area on the west side of the reservoir as the main entry is now gated and well fenced off to ensure collection of entry fees. The little village which was between that area and the lake had tried to spin itself into a tourist (scenic) destination a couple of years ago but had failed to attract any attention unlike nearby villages which successfully spruced themselves up (with government money for improvements) and become popular places for city dwellers to go to buy fresh vegetables, fruits, etc. That village is now gone, bulldozed flat. In its place is a small 'ghost village' of large individual houses, obviously intended for the rich people who could afford such, but only one of which is occupied with the rest abandoned unfinished.

Some of the locals stayed on rice and fish farming as before. BTW, I get around the gate entry fee by entering along the dirt path through the little village along the north side of the lake.

I also just noticed a shot of the single Little Grebe that I saw as we entered through the village and threw it in here.
 

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September 24

Today's mid-day walk through the park produced a nice variety of birds. The main players were a large family group of at least 30 Azure-winged Magpie, as noisy as ever. A surprisingly larger number of five Hoopoe were also seen, mixed in with the A-wM. Hiding in the bushes were a pair of Japanese Tit which drew attention to the four Red-flanked Bluetail females who were hiding quietly deeper into the foliage. I also saw all three of the Great-spotted Woodpecker that I know to inhabit that particular park as well as a Grey-headed Woodpecker. A couple of Chinese Bulbul and about ten Eurasian Tree Sparrow rounded things out.

Unfortunately, there has apparently been a decision to develop the village alongside that park, which is isolated between high-rise apartments right now. I don't know at this point whether it is to be raised and replace with more unneeded high-rises or to receive the refurbishing that many villages in Dawa County are getting recently. Whichever it is to be, they were busily cutting down trees and brush and hauling in large, insulated, mainfeed line type hot water heating supply pipes and marking out the path right through the heart of the park where they will go.

On a more amusing note that those dog lovers among us will appreciate, I am sharing the contents of an email I sent out to my family this morning that I entitled "Fetch!"

My wife had gone out into our little garden this morning and my peaceful early Sunday morning was interrupted with her screaming. I dashed out to see the neighbor’s 8-9 month old Golden Retriever had pushed its way through the fence they put up and was, obviously to me, eager to play with our little Terrier who was trying to chase it away from my wife. I distracted it with some pets and ‘chase the stick’ fun, but then the panicked young lady owner appeared and started yelling at it to come home. Apparently living up to its retriever breeding, it seemed to think it was being told to fetch and it gently took my wrist in its mouth, living up to Golden’s reputation for having a soft mouth, and tried to drag me back home with it. Failing that it tried pulling on my t-shirt, which did earn it a smack. It then dashed off towards its home snatching our terrier up on the way and ‘retrieved’ her back to its owner. It deposited her gently and unharmed, though throughly confused, at its panicked owners feet. Obviously expecting to get praised for a job well done it became the one thoroughly confused when it got just the opposite.

I had to spend time after that explaining to my wife that, no, it wasn’t trying to eat LuLu, it was just doing the job it was bred for and that, no, it didn’t bite me, it was just like taking your hand to lead you where it wanted you to go. She finally accepted that it was friendly and correctly assessed that it was “Too friendly”.
 
September 30

Your dog sure has an interesting life!

Yea, well I have to admit that I am becoming the old man with his terrier at his heals that treats the dog and talks to it like a child. Since I retired and am home all day, my wife found things to do to keep her busy outside the home. I suppose the same thing as when my mother told me that she was relieved that my father had found part time work to keep him occupied as he had been driving her nuts since retiring. Unfortunately there are not other foreigners here and I've learned that anytime a Chinese person wants to be "friendly" they really are wanting something from you and for free.

On the birding though; I started out yesterday around noon for the dog's walk, not taking the camera since I hadn't planned on any serious birding. Being so nice out we went further than she usually wants to go though and ended up near enough to one of the reed beds that I decided to at least give it a quick look. Turned into one of the more delightful excursions I have made. Not for quantities of birds but for the quality of the experience.

Spotting what proved to be ten Little Grebe and what I thought to be five Spot-billed Duck at the far end of a channel, I decided to walk around and come back in on the far end just behind the fire department station house where I knew there was a narrow walkway along the top on the embankment between the channel and a small pond the fire department uses for an emergency water supply. The walkway was almost overgrown since the government people have once again started protecting the area from attempts to drain and farm it. However that proved perfect as the reeds have recovered remarkably from the earlier drought and are now well over two meters high, thus providing a natural blind from which I could observe the Grebe and what were indeed Spot-billed Duck through my bins. The really neat part of the day was after I had been standing there for five or ten minutes a flock of Reed Parrotbill moved into the reeds around me and for the next 20 minutes or so I was delighted to be able to stand there quietly and have Reed Parrotbill all around me, often with a meter. They were so active as to often sound like an animal walking through rustling the reeds. I was even able to hear the constant cracking of seeds in their heavy parrotbills! Some other Reed Warbler were also nearby, but I was not able to tell exactly which one, though possibly Black-browed by their songs.

One Eurasian Coot and three Pallas's Leaf Warbler as well as about ten stray Barn Swallow rounded out the numbers. The big numbers of Barn Swallow have moved south by now with only a few seen high up and generally working their way south.

During the move around the edges of the reed bed I notice the openings of two dens dug into the ground that were too large for the Daurian Ground Squirrel that are found in the Panjin area but based on past sighting in that area were probably Siberian Weasel or possibly Little Weasel, though the opening hole looked too large for that.

The reed beds that were so badly damaged a couple of years ago have made remarkable recoveries this year once the rains returned and I even heard a few frogs calling yesterday. The Heron and Egret that frequented them during this time of year have not returned however. A couple of pairs each of Chinese Pond Heron and Black-crowned Night Heron nested this year in hidden corners, but no Lapwing, Great, Little or Intermediate Egret though.
 
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OK, I ran across one just now that I would have called B.S. on except for it being a well known source and most importantly, for having good photographs.

It seems that the larger full grown Praying Mantis have an appetite for Hummingbird brains. You read that correctly. From the Audubon Society: http://www.audubon.org/news/praying-mantis-vs-hummingbird or: https://youtu.be/ep6vmpcUQR8 The New York Times version of the story included note that there are reports of mantis predatory behavior towards small birds on all continents except Antarctica where there are no mantis.
 
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