Shanghai Perambulations (5 Viewers)

Frogfish said:

Thanks Jocko .. and bit of a coincidence as I was down there today too (as was Dev with some other friends).

Saw the SB's this afternoon (both Eurasian and Black-faced) but the guys working these 'pools' spooked them and Dev & Co. only saw the 4 Black-faced I think.

We also went past the Wind Farm turbines to the 'Wader Pool', as we call it, and there were hundreds of ducks off-shore, we scoped them and they were mainly Teal (300+) but also Wigeon, Garganey, Shoveler and Spot-billed ... and someone called Ferruginous in jest ! Is that where you saw it ? It doesn't seem to be the same location from your photo.

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Kevin,

"my" Ferruginous was a single alone bird, lying on the inside of the seawall, in the "small canal" on the side below the road.

Didnt see any euro spoonbill, but got 20 really stonking BFSB in full breeding gear!

Cheers
jocko

jlhammar said:

Kevin,

"my" Ferruginous was a single alone bird, lying on the inside of the seawall, in the "small canal" on the side below the road.

Didnt see any euro spoonbill, but got 20 really stonking BFSB in full breeding gear!

Cheers
jocko

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Ah thanks. I didn't see anything in that drainage ditch (I'm sure i know the one, by the dry Shrimp ponds) and I was checking it as it is a good place for waders (and Reed Parrotbills along the edge) when the water's low there.

Yep those BFSBs were gorgeous !

Just a quick note on today's trip to XYS and Nanhui (I'm still buzzing after Liverpool's win so even after 21 hours since the last shut-eye the next is not going to happen just yet)

I met up with Dev., Roger, Anders and Michael (the last two guests of his visiting Shangers) at XYS.
I had already been there for an hour or so before they arrived, having my ears nearly drop off after listening to the lovely very old lady who lives there talk for at least 20 mins non-stop (although she speaks in a distinct and idiosyncratic island dialect with a smattering of Shanghainese, she still clearly believes I understand every word)

XYS was quiet but delivered a few nice birds (see below - XYS), we then moved on to Nanhui to concentrate on anywhere except the Magic Carpark which, on this national holiday (for Qing Ming) weekend, was absolutely heaving and was more akin to a carnival than the quiet bird haven we have come to know and love !

That however didn't stop all having a very successful and pleasant day - and although not everyone saw everything on the list below (though 95% at least) it was great to have 5 pairs of eyes !

85 Species (pretty damn wonderful considering Migration has hardly started) !

Dev. - thanks I've updated from your list - cheers !

Avocet, Pied
Blackbird, Chinese
Bluetail, Red-flanked (2xM, 2xF)(on XYS)
Bulbul, Light-vented (on XYS)
Bunting, Black-faced (on XYS)
Bunting, Chestnut-eared (on XYS)
Bunting, Meadow (on XYS)
Bunting, Pallas' Reed
Bunting, Yellow-throated (on XYS)
Buzzard, Common (1) (on XYS)
Coot
Curlew, Eurasian (9)
Curlew, Far Eastern
Dove, Oriental Turtle
Dove, Spotted (on XYS)
Duck, Spot-billed
Dunlin
Egret, Great
Egret, Intermediate
Egret, Little
Flycatcher, Asian Brown
Garganey
Godwit, Black-tailed (1)
Great Knot (40)
Grebe, Great
Grebe, Little
Greenshank, Common
Grosbeak, Chinese
Gull, Black-headed
Gull, Mongolian
Heron, Grey
Hoopoe (1)
Kingfisher, Common (1) (on XYS)
Lapwing, Grey-headed (1)
Lark, Eurasian
Lark, Oriental
Magpie, Eurasian
Martin, Pale (on XYS)
Myna, Crested
Parrotbill, Reed
Parrotbill, Vinous-throated
Pipit, Buff-bellied
Pipit, Olive-backed (on XYS)
Plover, Greater-ssand
Plover, Kentish
Plover, Little-ringed
Prinia, Plain (on XYS)
Redshank, Common
Redstart, Daurian (on XYS)
Reed Warbler, Manchurian (on XYS)
Reed Warbler, Oriental (on XYS)
Sandpiper, Green
Sandpiper, Marsh
Sandpiper, Wood
Shrike, Brown
Shrike, Long-tailed (on XYS)
Shoveler, Northern
Snipe, Common
Sparrow, Tree
Spoonbill, Black-faced (8)
Spoonbill, Eurasian (2)
Starling, White-cheeked (1) (on XYS)
Stilt, Black-winged
Stonechat, Stejneger's (1xM)
Swallow, Barn (on XYS & Nanhui)
Teal (300+)
Tern, Caspian (total of 300+ terns - mixed species)
Tern, Gull-billed
Tern, Crested (possible - waiting on confirmation from pics. Not included in the total above)
Thrush, Dusky (on XYS)
Thrush, Eye-browed (on XYS)
Thrush, Grey-backed (on XYS)
Thrush, Pale (on XYS)
Thrush, Scaly (1) (on XYS)
Tit, Great (on XYS)
Tit, Penduline
Turnstone, Ruddy
Wagtail, Grey (1) (stunning bright yellow breeding colours)
Wagtail, White (Ocularis & Leucopsis)
Warbler, Brownish-flanked Bush (2) (on XYS)
Warbler, Manchurian Bush (1) (on XYS)(I'm going to check the photos of this but I believe this is correct)
Warbler, Pallas' Leaf (on XYS)
Whimbrel (1)
White-eye, Oriental (2) (on XYS)
Wigeon, Eurasian
Zitting Cisticola

Great job guys! Looks like the headers of the migrating shorebirds are here :king: I might pop down there myself this weekend and check it out.

Congratulations on the Manchurian Reed Warbler (if thats what it is)! Those aren't very common in Shanghai, and I think the good record-keepers at SHWBS might be interested in it.

Also, can you please send me a note regarding the location of the shorebirds? The old spot where they used to flock has now since been sucked dry- are they up at the big mudflat near the Shanghai-XYS Bridge in the south?

Thanks,

Larry C.

I've PM'd you Larry.

Note : Those were Japanese White-eyes in the report above and not Oriental (Sorry - my mind is still in 'Yunnan-mode') :eek!:

A few shots from last weekend Part 1.

#1 - pair of Reed Parrotbills
#2 - Manchurian Bush Warbler
#3 - Manchurian Bush Warbler preparing to warble (note the engorged throat area)
#4 - Richard's Pipit (thanks Jonathan) !
#5 - Scaly Thrush

A few shots from last weekend Part 2.

#1 - Red-flanked Bluetail (F)
#2 - Black-faced Spoonbills (sorry, heavy crop)
#3 - Eurasian & Black-faced Spoonbills (sorry, heavy crop)
#4 - Caspian Terns (thanks again Jonathan) !
#5 - Eurasian Curlew

I guess you mean Manchurian Bush Warbler rather than reed warbler, the lark is a Richard's Pipit.
Very nice pic of the Parrotbill...

and the tern are Caspian

jonathmartinez said:

I guess you mean Manchurian Bush Warbler rather than reed warbler, the lark is a Richard's Pipit.
Very nice pic of the Parrotbill...

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Thanks for the corrections Jonathan - indeed in that location they are Bush-warblers !

Spring is really in Yangshan with the upper slope with all purple flowers n the lower slope with yellow and your Scaly Thrush reminds me how interesting those boring old stone rocks were in winter. I hope it stays away like this for a while. With the new facelift to Nanhui, magic park will be lost soon.

After a long search of looking for something reliable on the tide timings, i finally hit something tht's bit useful for us.

http://ocean.cnss.com.cn/

This site gives tide time for most of the ports including Rudong but unfortunately it's in chinese. （As per Kevin's saying, anything within 2.5-3 hours drive is our local patch. So Jiangsu n Zhejiang is officially our local patch.）
You can get the tide time for next 24 hours without registering in their website， registration is free though. Upon registration, can get the tide time for next 7 days.

Hope this helps

thirudevaram said:

Spring is really in Yangshan with the upper slope with all purple flowers n the lower slope with yellow and your Scaly Thrush reminds me how interesting those boring old stone rocks were in winter.

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It is lovely - I took some shots of those areas whilst walking around.

thirudevaram said:

After a long search of looking for something reliable on the tide timings, i finally hit something that's bit useful for us.

http://ocean.cnss.com.cn/

Hope this helps

Click to expand...

Perfect !

I'd like to ask shanghai birders if there is any place (not to far from Shanghai, about 2 or 3 hours by car) where Kentish Plover are or could breed?

I'll send a usefull link cocerning tide in China once back home.

Thanks for the help,

Jonathan

Depending on where you are in Shanghai, Nanhui Dongtan does have large numbers of Kentish Plovers. They seem to be year-round residents, and I presume they do breed, though I have yet to see a chick (though this is most likely due to lack of active searching).

jonathmartinez said:

I'd like to ask shanghai birders if there is any place (not to far from Shanghai, about 2 or 3 hours by car) where Kentish Plover are or could breed?

I'll send a usefull link cocerning tide in China once back home.

Thanks for the help,

Jonathan

Click to expand...

Hi Jonathan,

Me n Kevin, saw a pair of adult and a chick at Luchaogangzhen of Pudong district on 22 June 2013.

Thanks Cypselurus and thirudevaram, it means I have good chance to find some if I looked in these area.
What is the habitat over there?
Does anybody know if there is any beaches around Shanghai as well or nay large sandy area along the sea.... I guess there is no, but I could be wrong...

Here is the link for the tide table I usually used. If you browse the map, you will find the different places along the coast for wich very clear information of tide is given. It is usually very accurate....

http://www.tides4fishing.com/as/china/hai-ling-shan-harbor

All the best,

Jonathan

Hey Jonathan,

According to the book 'Shanghai Waterbirds', some 100 breeding pairs of Kentish Plovers have been recorded in Nanhui in the summer of 2007. I'm not sure if that figure will remain the same, as the habitat there has changed somewhat, but I don't think they'll be completely gone from the area either. Good luck finding them!

Cheers,

Cypselurus

thanks Cypselurus, I've in touch with people who are banding bird at Nanhui who also told me that some were breeding there.
I think I will start to look overthere.

All the best,


Jonathan

Sunday the weather was very blustery and there were showers after the previous night's rain - all perfect for keeping migrants in situ

After weighing our options Dev and I had decided a trip to Hengsha Island was in order since we hadn't been back for quite a while and we considered that the huge pools that held ducks over the Winter could/should be perfect for waders and maybe other species were starting their runs to the North too.

When we heard from friends that they had had Brown-headed Thrush, Chinese Thrush (actually they had 7 thrush species that day), Grey Nighjar, Narcissus FC and so on, we began to have serious doubts about our choice of location for the day ! We needn't have worried.

It takes a while to get to Hengsha. First we have to drive from the far side of Shanghai to the Yangtze, then over the bridge from Shanghai to Changxing Island, then traverse the island to get to the ferry to Hengsha, then from dockside on Hengsha it's another ca. 20 mins to the coastal area (assuming we don't stop at the orchards - which we missed out this time) and then it's maybe 12-13kms straight out into the Yangtze Estuary (at least according to Google Maps thats where we are, with no land in sight !) on the dead straight road of the land reclamation project (it's about 2 kms wide). This ca. 25 sq.kms is riddled with shallow ponds/lakes both large and small, marshes and reedbeds and when you get back onto the Hengsha 'mainland' there are more huge pools, marshes and reedbeds.

Today took us an hour longer because unfortunately on Sundays there are ferries only once an hour and with a long queue we missed getting on the first one by just 3 cars

So much later than hoped or expected we started along the Land Reclamation road, there wasn't much to see, an odd wader or gull here and there .. until we reached the final huge pool (guesstimate 2km x 1km).
I have only once ever seen another birder on this island .. a lovely Chinese guy who has helped us out in the past, but there was just no-one around today bar the odd worker on the project.

As we drove across one of the transecting roads we started to see huge flocks of waders, and later more, and more. In the end a very rough estimate would be 8,000+ birds, it could have been much more.

The highlight of the day for us was a Lifer for Dev and I in the form of a Red Knot (well not one but twelve, and we heard there were another 15 in Nanhui). And also getting some great shots of the Great Knot (but not the Red, sadly).

Total 66 species plus one raptor to be ID'd. Considering we didn't hit any passerine habitats at all that was pretty damn good !

Ducks, Geese and Swans (Anatidae)
Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope
Garganey Anas querquedula
Eurasian Teal Anas crecca
Common Merganser Mergus merganser

Grebes (Podicipedidae)
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis

Ibises, Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia
Black-faced Spoonbill - EN Platalea minor

Herons, Bitterns (Ardeidae)
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Eastern Cattle Egret Bubulcus coromandus
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Great Egret Ardea alba
Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia
Little Egret Egretta garzetta

Ospreys (Pandionidae)
Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus

Kites, Hawks and Eagles (Accipitridae)
Eastern Marsh Harrier Circus spilonotus

Rails, Crakes and Coots (Rallidae)
Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra

Stilts, Avocets (Recurvirostridae)
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus

Plovers (Charadriidae)
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus

Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae)
Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa (Possible. This bird was not in breeding plumage and views were limited).
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica
Far Eastern Curlew - VU Numenius madagascariensis
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus
Common Redshank Tringa totanus
Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes
Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus
Great Knot - VU Calidris tenuirostris
Red Knot Calidris canutus
Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis
Long-toed Stint Calidris subminuta
Dunlin Calidris alpina
Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus

Gulls, Terns and Skimmers (Laridae)
Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris
Vega Gull Larus vegae
Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida

Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae)
Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis

Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

Caracaras, Falcons (Falconidae)
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus

Shrikes (Laniidae)
Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach

Crows, Jays (Corvidae)
Eurasian Magpie Pica pica

Penduline Tits (Remizidae)
Chinese Penduline Tit Remiz consobrinus

Larks (Alaudidae)
Asian Short-toed Lark Calandrella cheleensis

Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae)
Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis

Swallows, Martins (Hirundinidae)
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Cettia Bush Warblers and allies (Cettiidae)
Manchurian Bush Warbler Horornis borealis

Cisticolas and allies (Cisticolidae)
Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis
Plain Prinia Prinia inornata

Starlings, Rhabdornis (Sturnidae)
Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus

Thrushes (Turdidae)
Grey-backed Thrush Turdus hortulorum
Japanese Thrush Turdus cardis
Common Blackbird Turdus merula

Chats, Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae)
Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa latirostris
Narcissus Flycatcher Ficedula narcissina

Old World Sparrows, Snowfinches (Passeridae)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus

Wagtails, Pipits (Motacillidae)
Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis
White Wagtail Motacilla alba

Finches (Fringillidae)
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla

Buntings, New World Sparrows and allies (Emberizidae)
Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla
Black-faced Bunting Emberiza spodocephala
Pallas's Reed Bunting Emberiza pallasi