Birds of Nanchang and Poyang Hu, Jiangxi Province (1 Viewer)

M

mjgrunwell

Well-known member

• Nov 7, 2013

• #1

Hello

Starting a new thread for sightings from:

City of Nanchang and surrounding area.

Poyang Hu

Wuyuan and other sites in Jiangxi Province

Start with reposting my list on bird species recorded in the city of Nanchang in my first three months.

Hope to travel to Poyang Hu this weekend, will report back.

 

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G

Gretchen

Well-known member

• Nov 7, 2013

• #2

Great to have you posting on a new area! Thanks for taking the time. I'll look forward to hearing about what you see.

 

D

Dong Bei

Tom

• Nov 7, 2013

• #3

Michael,

Welcome to the China section. Looking forward to reading through your reports. You're in a great area of China!

Tom

 

K

Kai Tse

Member

• Nov 8, 2013

• #4

Great to have you posting the birding about Nanchang.I have been studied and worked in Nanchang for 7years... and one of my friend who study in Nanchang mentioned you.
Aixi Lake is a good birding site, Dizihu (Dizi lake) in Changbei is better.
The People's Park is my favorite site in winter and spring, the north part have some great woods and bushes.
For Poyang lake, you could visit either Wucheng or Nanjishan Nature reserve for the first time.Ruihong bank is a good one as well.
Good Luck.

 

M

mjgrunwell

Well-known member

• Nov 10, 2013

• #5

Trip to Poyang Hu, 9 November 2013

Made my first visit to Wuchen area of Poyang Hu yesterday.

Higlights:

600+ Siberian Crane
130+ White-Naped Crane
2 Hooded Crane
3 Oriental stork
500+ Swan Goose

PROBABLE Swinhoe's rail

Please see attached pdf for all the details including full list.
Will update some photos shortly

 

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M

mjgrunwell

Well-known member

• Nov 10, 2013

• #6

Some photos and some queries

Not paying attention to incredibly distant geese but I think all(?) the bean geese at Poyang are Tundra Bean, serrirostris?

Some shockingly poor photos of cranes and boats. I am a birder who takes record shots, not a bird-photographer.

 

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M

mjgrunwell

Well-known member

• Nov 10, 2013

• #7

More photos

More cranes, can you spot the white-naped?

 

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MKinHK

Mike Kilburn

• Nov 11, 2013

• #8

Brings back great memories of the manificence of the cranes , and what a dump Wucheng is!

Cheers
Mike

 

Jeff Hopkins

Just another...observer

• Nov 11, 2013

• #9

I agree with Mike on both points!

 

K

Kai Tse

Member

• Nov 11, 2013

• #10

Jeff hopkins said:

I agree with Mike on both points!

Click to expand...

I hate the rubbish,seems all of the mainland is like this... but some birders told me it is better than India...

 

Jeff Hopkins

Just another...observer

• Nov 11, 2013

• #11

Kai Tse said:

I hate the rubbish,seems all of the mainland is like this... but some birders told me it is better than India...

Click to expand...

When I went to India a while ago, some other travellers were trying to give me directions. Those included, "When you get to the rubbish pile, turn left." Unfortunately, I had to clarify: "Which rubbish pile? The one with the pigs or the one with the cows?"

Kind of says it all.

 

M

mjgrunwell

Well-known member

• Nov 16, 2013

• #12

Wucheng, Poyang Hu, Sat 16 Nov 2013

Visited Wucheng this afternoon.
Lots of locals visiting, shorelines empty due to visitors walking up to water's edge shouting and waving to get birds to flush to make a nice photo on their iphones.
Did manage to see close views of Sibe cranes at least.

Highlights.
20+ Sibe white crane
10+ Common crane
No white-naped or hooded cranes seen

1000+ Eurasian spoonbill
500+ Swan geese

Many teal, 2 ruddy shelduck

3000+ Bewicks, is it me or are whoopers just not here?
No sign of Oriental stork

Happy with herring-type gull flying past, so Vega gull ticked today.
Many distant geese, lesser and greater white-front seen


Top tip for weekends: Arrive at Wucheng jetty and get on boat upstream by 7am

After looking for months finally saw Chinese Grosbeak today in People's park, central Nanchang then another flock at Polygolf area.

 

MKinHK

Mike Kilburn

• Nov 16, 2013

• #13

Its not you Michael - Whooper Swan is rare at Poyang - they winter far to the north. I did have a juvenile here in December 2001.

Cheers
Mike

 

M

mjgrunwell

Well-known member

• Nov 17, 2013

• #14

Aixi lake, Nanchang, today, Sun 17 November 2013

A three hour stroll down the east side of the lake produced:

2 Chinese penduline tit
Usual big flock of vinous-throated parrotbill, masked and wf LTs.
2 Brownish-flanked bush warbler. They have become common here since mid October. I hear them almost every walk out. Today I had best-ever views.

2 Pallas's warbler, calling and well seen.
Few YB warbler, Daurian redstart.
Plain prinia, usual huge flocks of red-billed starling over at dusk.

On Wed I found that the huge island in the middle of the Han river holds large numbers of both eurasian and oriental skylark.

I am assuming the larks singing at Poyang are wintering Eurasian skylark, any comments?

Any suggestions for the smallish pipits in grassland at Poyang?. The call was a meadow pipit like pit. They were not red-throated, OBP or richards. Did not get any deck views, suspect buff-bellied.

Thanks

 

MKinHK

Mike Kilburn

• Nov 17, 2013

• #15

Buff bellied is the most likely pipit, but I believe Water Pipit (black legs) also occurs.

Cheers
Mike

 

Jeff Hopkins

Just another...observer

• Nov 17, 2013

• #16

MKinHK said:

Buff bellied is the most likely pipit, but I believe Water Pipit (black legs) also occurs.

Cheers
Mike

Click to expand...

Those would be the best options. We had big numbers of both species at Poyang. Usually not mixed flocks. Each area seemed to have one species only. Buff-bellied more in grassy areas, water in muddy areas.

 

S

Steve Lister

Senior Birder, ex County Recorder, Garden Moths.

• Nov 17, 2013

• #17

At Bang Hu last week (Nov 7th) there were lots of Oriental Skylarks singing but some Eurasian too, though I never actually noted the latter singing.

Buff-bellied Pipit was the main one in the grassy areas around the lake. The Water Pipits sound just like European birds.

Enormous flock of Black-tailed Godwits there that day, impossible to be accurate but 15,000 +, maybe 25,000.

And is this the same MJGrunwell who used to visit Filey Brigg ?

Steve

 

M

mjgrunwell

Well-known member

• Nov 18, 2013

• #18

Pipits

Thanks for your replies.

I was originally happy with water pipit for dark-legged birds on muddy shoes, very familiar with these birds in Qatar. However Brazil, birds of East Asia gives the impression that water pipit is not likely?

Think buff-bellied for the grassland ones is likely, need to spend more time and get views.

Need to compare song of Oriental v Eurasian skylark,

Steve, indeed Filey Brigg has always been my local patch in the past and will be so again when I retire or return to the UK.

Michael

 

M

mjgrunwell

Well-known member

• Nov 18, 2013

• #19

Waders in Nanchang, 18 Nov 2013

For lunch today I cycled to the Polygolf development of expensive houses and a golf course. It is surrounded by a river which holds many waders.
Today I saw
150+ Spotted redshank
5+ Greenshank
10+ Green sand
1 Wood sand
1 Marsh sand
30+ Common snipe
1 Avocet, a new bird in China for me
8 Long-billed plover, I had seen them here last week but overlooked them as LRP!
They look like a fat LRP at distance. Leg colour now is greyish pinky yellow.
Back is colder grey brown than LRP.
100+ BW stilt

 

M

mjgrunwell

Well-known member

• Nov 24, 2013

• #20

Trip to Poyang Hu, 24 November 2013

Spent the afternoon in a cab with Stephen Ang driving around the southern shore of Poyang hu. We drove as far as the hill marked Beibiancun on google maps, this is where the road cuts through very narrow gorges, we also got almost to the main village of Nanjixiang.

The rain finally stopped around 4pm and we had good light for scoping the ducks and geese.

Birds seen (CT= chinese tick, WT = world tick)
10+ Swan geese
1000+ Tundra bean geese, got some close views, seems to be closer to serrirostris
100+ greylag
50+ greater wf goose, no sign of lesser today
200+ Tundar swan
10+ Wigeon (CT)
30+ Mallard
1500+ eastern spotbill, by far the common duck
8 Pintail
10+ Teal
40+ GC grebe, many dabchick
One very distant flock of 34 Oriental stork in flight.
200+ Grey heron
Few great corm
1 peregrine
Eastern marsh harrier (WT) A non adult male, can't say cream crown for this species. Like western marsh in general size and jizz. Grey brown tail with creamy upper tail, upperparts mottled not solid brown. Nice
Eastern buzzard (WT) One on a pole
Brown crake 2 on road at dusk
Common coot (CT) 700+
Common crane 30+, some very close views
Spot red and northern lapwing common
100+ black-headed gull
Best landbirds were a few white-cheeked starling and a close flock of chinese grosbeak
Finally had good close views of water pipit (CT)

A nice, though too short a day.