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

DavidJStanton said:

Hi Gretchen - is the tree a Melia azedarach?

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I'm not sure, but seems possible. I will investigate further! Nice to have a lead at least.

Sighted!

I finally saw (one of) the tck tck-ing bird(s)! Thanks to Jonathan for a good suggestion:

jonathmartinez said:

I would also consider Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler regarding the "teck teck" bird. They often do a faint teck teck or sometime a more trilling call. They also not easily shows up and, I guess, must be fairly common in this part of Jiangxi

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I managed to get out a few days ago on a morning when the campus was still relatively quiet and found almost all the regularly seen birds, with the surprising absence of Long-tailed Shrikes and Little Grebes. (Those birds turned up elsewhere yesterday on a casual walk!)

The most notable observation regarding ordinary birds was that there were more Black-collared than Red-billed Starlings. The large flocks of Yellow-bellied Tits and Chinese Grosbeaks were also impressive! I was most pleased to get several minutes of good looks at the Brown-flanked Bush Warbler, to be able to confirm what it was and watch it meticulously working its way through a long row of brush. I was also glad to see a Black-headed Bunting - a bunting I can actually identify Speaking of which, I didn't really struggle over the half dozen phyllosc warblers, but did enjoy their songs

Feb 26, 2016 6:45 AM - 8:55 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Comments: Typical overcast, not too chilly. Gardens less disturbed than usual<br />Submitted from eBird Android 1.0.2
21 species

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) 7
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) 2
Yellow-bellied Tit (Periparus venustulus) 28
Japanese Tit (Parus minor) 1
Black-throated Tit (Aegithalos concinnus) 4
Light-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) 7
Brownish-flanked Bush-Warbler (Horornis fortipes) 2
White-browed Laughingthrush (Ianthocincla sannio) 8
Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) 2
Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) 3 All males
Gray-backed Thrush (Turdus hortulorum) 1
Black-collared Starling (Gracupica nigricollis) 11
Red-billed Starling (Spodiopsar sericeus) 7
Crested Myna (Acridotheres cristatellus) 2
White Wagtail (ocularis) (Motacilla alba ocularis) 1
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) 1
Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala) 1
Oriental Greenfinch (Chloris sinica) 4
Yellow-billed Grosbeak (Eophona migratoria) 40 Interestingly, these seemed to be feasting on willow buds (or just opened leaf buds)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 12
Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata) 5

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27824573

Happy May Day!

I knew it had been an especially busy spring, and I hadn't gotten out to see birds very much, but I hadn't realized it had been so long since I posted!

I had an especially nice outing on campus in the beginning of April. I really enjoyed the flocks of Grosbeak and Yellow-bellied Tits. The Grey Wagtail and the Tristam's Bunting were quite exciting, the latter was one of very few sightings I've ever had. Ebird list following:

• Yellow-bellied Tit (Periparus venustulus) 9
• Light-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) 20
• Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) 2 Male and female
• Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) 2 Female
• Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) 1 Female
• Chinese Blackbird (Turdus mandarinus) 10
• Black-collared Starling (Gracupica nigricollis) 5
• Crested Myna (Acridotheres cristatellus) 2
• Gray Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) 1
• White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) 2
• White Wagtail (White-faced) (Motacilla alba alba/dukhunensis) 1
• Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) 4
• Tristram's Bunting (Emberiza tristrami) 1
• Oriental Greenfinch (Chloris sinica) 2
• Yellow-billed Grosbeak (Eophona migratoria) 30
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 12

I think I saw a Pale Thrush as well, there are a few photos of a pipit and the thrush attached - please let me know if any questions on id!

Yesterday I got out for a couple hours on campus and saw a few new birds. I've been eager to get a good view of a Forest Wagtail for ages, and got to watch one for 15 minutes, as well as seeing perhaps my first Japanese Thrush. The wagtail was quite a walker, just going back and forth in the shaded wooded area. Interesting to see the Greenfinches and Munias in nesting mode and at the same time a young Blackbird flying about. Would these birds be working on a second nest? It seems late for a first one.

• Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus) 3 all seen in distance flying, apparently 2 in breeding plumage and 1 not
• Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) 2
• Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach) 1
• Japanese Tit (Parus minor) 1
• Light-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) 8
• Pallas's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus proregulus) 1
• Black-browed Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps) 1
• Japanese Thrush (Turdus cardis) 1
• Chinese Blackbird (Turdus mandarinus) 10
• Black-collared Starling (Gracupica nigricollis) 2
• Crested Myna (Acridotheres cristatellus) 2
• Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus) 1
• White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) 3 1 was baicalensis
• Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) 5 group together foraging on area between lawn and bushes
• Oriental Greenfinch (Chloris sinica) 6 One was gathering nest materials
• Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata) 1 Collecting nest materials

I was surprised about all the warblers still around - only two well identified, but obviously there were several types in the trees. I would have guessed they would be past us by now, up to breeding lands. Are these the stragglers? or are they not going too much further to breed?

Seems like you've been enjoying the spring Gretchen, and your IDs are spot-on.

The warblers should be coming to an end, but there are certainly May records of both in HK.

Cheers
Mike

Nice variety for you! Keeps it interesting when you can get a good mix like this.

I'm interested in your baicalensis wagtail. Not an easy bird to see in south China I think, with currently none accepted in Hong Kong. Did you get a photo?

Congratulations on the Forest Wagtail as well. I think they're great birds, and usually show unexpected behaviour for a wagtail, walking around under trees not in the open.

Black-browed reed warblers usually peak in May in Hong Kong (quite a few singing here at the moment), so you could get them around for a couple of weeks yet. Quite a late date for Pallas's though.

Hi John, thanks for your comments (as well as those of the others!). I'm attaching my picture of the wagtail - I'm no expert but thought it looked like the baicalensis in Brazil. When I saw the picture my husband took, I said "good" to which he replied "Only a birder trying to identify a bird would consider that good." Yeah, it won't win prizes, but should be enough to id the bird I think.

I was fairly sure I heard and saw a Pallas,' but those phyllos - I have a lot of trouble keeping track of them - it could have been another. Is there a rough list of when the warblers come through Hong Kong (either spring or fall)? I'm sure there's lots of overlap, but I'd love to have a sense of the order they are more likely to appear here in.

Hi Gretchen, The shoulders look too dark for baicalensis to me and I would favor adult male summer leucopsis. But then I'll often agonize over which sub-species myself and then just give up and report it without the sub-species.

Hi Gretchen
Thanks for posting the photo. That's definitely leucopsis - it's too dark for baicalensis, especially on the mantle. I suspect that it's an adult female given that the lesser coverts are dark grey rather than pure black, but I find it is often difficult to be entirely sure about the age and sex on these.

As for timings of warblers in HK, this is well documented from HKBWS data and published in books like The Avifauna of Hong Kong (Carey et al 2001). I'm not sure there is much easily available online, but you could look through some of the old Hong Kong Bird Reports (available for download up to 2011 here: http://www.hkbws.org.hk/web/eng/bird_report_eng.htm). Many of these contain some graphs, but the species covered are different in each report. The 2011 report includes a paper with seasonality of all Acrocephalus and Locustella based on trapping data, although this may not exactly represent what is seen in the field.

Another potential source is eBird. We're gradually building up the records in the eBird system, and some of the bar charts and line graphs are getting to be representative of the seasonality here - but still a long way short of the long-term data collection by HKBWS.

Thanks gents for keeping me honest! I was ignoring the back color, and focusing too much on the face. Perhaps I'll manage to keep that straight.