[McMadd]

Geese, cranes and late-afternoon scenery...

[Jeff hopkins]

Mark, the ducks on the river were goosander.

Bringing back great memories.

I've also put a trip report in the Vacations thread.

[McMadd]

and see Jeff's trip report here for further details

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=249637

McM

[thirudevaram]

"Three amigos" digging the graves in Poyang

Dark morph shrike looks like it just got out of a coal mine in "Taiyuan". Did i jus gave your next destination?

[Jeff hopkins]

Originally Posted by thirudevaram

"Three amigos" digging the graves in Poyang

Dark morph shrike looks like it just got out of a coal mine in "Taiyuan". Did i jus gave your next destination?

Certainly on my list of places to go. But I still haven't been to Yancheng, yet. And I haven't gotten over my case of "crane fever"

[Jeff hopkins]

Originally Posted by McMadd

and see Jeff's trip report here for further details

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=249637

McM

And I finally got the time to add some photos to my report.

[McMadd]

Sunday 13th saw us up at ridiculous o'clock and checking out fairly painlessly. Laolin was refreshed after a solid nights sleep which was good news. Rain changed the plans but off we went headed towards Nanjishan. Grey and misty still, Grey Herons were plentiful and a small company of Common Cranes on the marshes provided initial interest. Stopping at a slightly scrubbier patch of marsh we began to tempt the relatively recently discovered population of Japanese Swamp Warbler (aka Marsh Grassbird) into view...a false start with a Zitting Cisticola and some ubiquitous Black-faced Buntings gave way to responsive target birds...eventually they posed to show the limitations of low light and high ISO on picture-taking...”record shots” then...

Fly-over geese revealed themselves...just...as another of my wanted species...the uncertainly named Swan Goose...poor shots taken and wishes for better views later expressed! A pylon summited with a watchful Peregrine was worth a stop before the bird got bored with us and flicked off to steel and powered away across the marshland...power and beauty...

Next up a temple atop a sandstone rock feature. A path wound round the base leading to a hidden quarry pool of several bays sporting two pairs of frisky Pied Kingfishers...lots of to-ing and fro-ing as they divided up the territorial rights...also present but relatively wary were a Red-flanked Bluetail; Elegant and Black-faced Buntings; an elusive Bush-warbler we eventually decided would be Brownish-flanked; an interesting fungi swathing a dead stump; a couple of cautious Grey-backed Thrushes.

Retracing our steps we paused for an obliging Zitting Cisticola, legs akimbo across a couple of reed stems. Next a low-flying raptor gave itself up as a Hen Harrier intent on breakfast quartering the reeds. Shortly after my wish for better views of Swan Goose was granted as we found a close flock on the deck with a few Greater White-fronted Geese mingled within..but no diminutive cousins with them this morning...an interesting pipit rather grey of back and head with a strong, pale supercilium perhaps didn't get enough attention...thoughts welcome on that bird...

Soon our destination of NanJiXiang was upon us and we parked up to give the locals some entertainment while we scoped the flats across a small canal where c.5% of the global population of Siberian Cranes was busy feeding...I counted just shy of 200 birds so you “do the math”...eventually sated we boarded our vehicle again and I turned to the trusty Powershot to try for “candid street photography out of the van window...the peculiar conical grave markers were in bountiful supply which can't be good viewing for the current occupants of the area...? Improved light gave the chance to bag pleasing shots of a Plain Prinia allowing us to appreciate it's subtle beauty...

Some off piste driving saw us slithering and sliding through the scrubland outside the habitation as we tried to get close to what became one then two duelling Eastern Marsh Harriers...yes, yes...I know...one harrier will find it difficult to duel...shuttters whizzed as they sparred above us...a Richard's Pipit stood on it's hind legs to view our progress...

On our way again we paused once more for a posing Zitting Cisticola and then we were trying to make good time when Laolin hammered the brakes...untangling ourselves we tried to figure out what the cause of the sudden stop was...lets say it took a while from a standing start for first Kevin, then me and finally Jeff to see what Laolin had spotted from our hurtling vehicle (digression...for those etymologists out there...”hurtling”...a definition..http://www.gillan.com/friends1.html)...like a “magic eye” thing, slowly a frozen Eurasian Bittern, bill skywards, body at one with the reeds clicks into place...truly amazing eyesight from our man LaoLin...eventually we are deemed no threat and the bird relaxes it's pose and slowly, haughtily steps away through the reeds and scrub as though we didn't exist...

We get going only to stop briefly for an open body of water that yields naught but Little Grebe, then, a little further again, on more Swan Geese. Driving along the lake shore we were able to appreciate the numbers of waterfowl on show as we conservatively estimated “several thousand” geese...Beans in the main...loafing, coming and going in the distance...

Another stop finally brought Jeff and Kevin some joy as firstly Chinese Penduline Tits sat still long enough and close enough for Kevin to get his pictures then, finally a Pallas's Reed Bunting sat up and showed itself off to Jeff. Chestnut-eared Bunting also gave 'scope views here to all...

Finally we caught up with the Peregrine again and it posed for a few pictures before repeating the powerdrive out of sight...

The clock ticking we headed slowly back towards Nanchang airport with two final stops...one a stretch of river that gave some “padders” to the trip list in the form of Black-winged Stilts, Avocets, Spotted Redshanks, Common Sandpiper and some Kentish Plovers that had caused us to stop in the hope they had slightly “longer” bills than they did. A second dark morph Long-tailed Shrike here was good to see...the second was a roadside hedge just like any other that LaoLin promised would bring good things...a short “invitation” from him and out pops a Black-faced Bunting but then laughers...White-browed and Masked Laughingthrushessharing the same bush! Nervous though, they wouldn't sit still to have their photies taken...

Time for a final meal to see us through and to give our thanks to LaoLin and then it was off to the departures drop off zone. Final farewells and thanks, some sprucing up and to check-in then security and to our separate gates...Jeff to his date with work in Wuxi and Kevin and myself back to Hongqiao...and...four out of four...this flight joined my 100% record of not travelling on time in 2013..not bad for four flights in 13 days...!

[McMadd]

Birds in low light make for...photographs...

[McMadd]

Siberian Cranes and local streetlife...

[McMadd]

No birds here...nothing to see...move along please...

[McMadd]

Subtle beauty...bit like me good self eh?

Duelling harriers...plural and singular...

[McMadd]

Local life...ain't easy...

Posing Cisticola...

Now you've seen the file name so you know it's in there...now try it from a hurtling vehicle...

[McMadd]

Little Grebe...part of the goose flocks posing well...Poyang marshlands...buffalo...also posing well...

[McMadd]

Awesome predator and remnants of slightly less agressive but messy omnivores scoffage...

[thirudevaram]

The look of the Peregrinator is so soft jus like the "Magneto" of X-Men. Love the shot of the Wild Mushroom. By the way what's your China count?

[firstreesjohn]

Originally Posted by thirudevaram

Love the shot of the Wild Mushroom.

I presume you’re referring to the shot in #457, rather than the mostly consumed morsels (rather than morels) in the dish, Dev !

I believe the photo to be of a Bracket fungus, or Polypore. With these, it is often important to note the host tree, as an aid to ID.

However, my fungal novitiate has hardly begun and a quick GoogleImage search didn’t further assist.

[McMadd]

Originally Posted by firstreesjohn

I presume you’re referring to the shot in #457, rather than the mostly consumed morsels (rather than morels) in the dish, Dev !

I believe the photo to be of a Bracket fungus, or Polypore. With these, it is often important to note the host tree, as an aid to ID.

However, my fungal novitiate has hardly begun and a quick GoogleImage search didn’t further assist.

Wotcha John

Doubt these will help other than to establish the host is a stump but feel free to give it a go!

I was after the "arty" rather than the identificational meself ;D

cheers
Mark

[McMadd]

Originally Posted by thirudevaram

The look of the Peregrinator is so soft jus like the "Magneto" of X-Men. Love the shot of the Wild Mushroom. By the way what's your China count?

Think I'm on about 396...depends on some double checking when I rescue me notebook from the 2008 trip and that's not until September...

cheers
McM

[firstreesjohn]

Originally Posted by McMadd

Doubt these will help other than to establish the host is a stump but feel free to give it a go! I was after the "arty" rather than the identificational meself

As I said, my qualifications for fungal ID are less than minimal ! I believe the ‘stump’ once to have been a tree, but that’s as far as I get.

I quote from a helpful portion of a post re a similar quandary on another thread:

“rule #1 for photographing fungi is to try and photograph underneath as well as the cap.

Other important things to note are substrate (alive wood, dead wood, soil, dung, pine cones etc), trees nearby (many species are associated with specific trees, but just deciduous/coniferous will help), smell, and if your specimen is growing singularly, spread out or many from one base ("trooping").”

I have posted a pic of the front cover of a basic, photographic field guide ($38) to Chinese mushrooms below, in case anyone is interested. There are two other and larger tomes available- one for around $170 and the other for over $350. I’m sure members resident in the Middle Kingdom will know where to source such books.

[McMadd]

Hmm...seems to be an increase in gull numbers on the Huangpo at the moment...anyone think of why this could be so...is there more to scavenge at this time of year...

I mean..checkout this porker...I mean...I nearly dropped me bacon sarnie...err...camera when I saw the gut on this y'un...hence the blurred image!

[MKinHK]

Read the news dude - the river's full of diseased and decomposing pigs.

Cheers
Mike

[McMadd]

Whooooshhh...over Mike's head it went

[MKinHK]

Doh!

More seriously it may be worth keeping an ear out for reports of Black Vultures (proper ones - not that stunted New World cross between a crow and a manky black leather glove) - they are good at materialising at the site of a nice meal.

Cheers
Mike

[Jeff hopkins]

Hey! Keep your anti-condite biases to yourself.

[MKinHK]

Black Condite would be a great name for it, Jeff!

Cheers
Mike