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Countries with No Bird Value? (1 Viewer)

Nice couple of days Mac. The shrines / castles / palaces in Japan do tend to be the only decent bits of 'greenery' in urban areas so they hold some cracking birds, particularly in the winter. I'm a bit bitter about the Japanese Waxwing, I had a look at some regular sites on the Kanto, when I was in Tokyo, but no luck. As for Wryneck, everyone on Okinawa, even non-birders, see's them, apart from me. BTW The Eurasian / Water Rail, in Japan, is now Brown-eared Rail. Another tick if you've seen them in Europe. :t:
 
MacNara said:
....and Eurasian Rails (three or four) which are there were wandering around in the open quite unconcerned.
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Out of curiosity, may I ask if these were (Western) Water Rail Rallus aquaticus korejewi or (Eastern Water/Brown-cheeked) Rail R. indicus?
MJB
 
Capercaillie71 said:
Vatican City must rate pretty low on the list of birding destinations.
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Pallid Swift nesting in Vatican building in 2013. Much more interesting than the painted ceilings - well, I thought so anyway!

At least you can look up in the Vatican rather than looking down as you have to do on Roman streets. "dogs, we salute you"

Andy

p.s. not that I accept that the Vatican is a "country" anyway!
 
Larry Lade said:
"Iowa"! Ouch!
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Haha. You have to admit it's not at the top of anybody's list, with much of the native grassland converted to soybeans and corn. But it's all about perspective... as a newbie birder I spent an enjoyable summer there working as a field technician years ago, got lots of lifers (Bobolink, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Sedge Wren, Vesper Sparrow, Nelson's Sparrow, and plenty more), and ALMOST saw my "life" tornado.
 
Well a winter trip would still net me new birds, as I have only been there in July and October. And I could net some new species in Scotland for instance...

So I wouldn't turn down another trip, and in all likelihood with my research I will probably end up in Great Britain again sooner rather than later (Both trips were organized around research and conferences, not birding)
 
MJB said:
Out of curiosity, may I ask if these were (Western) Water Rail Rallus aquaticus korejewi or (Eastern Water/Brown-cheeked) Rail R. indicus?
MJB
Click to expand...

Sorry, my mistake: I meant to write Eastern Water Rail, not Eurasian! And I think Eastern WR is the name of the split that Chris Butterworth mentions above (but aka Brown-cheeked Rail, not Brown-eared as Chris says).
 
chris butterworth said:
Nice couple of days Mac. The shrines / castles / palaces in Japan do tend to be the only decent bits of 'greenery' in urban areas so they hold some cracking birds, particularly in the winter. I'm a bit bitter about the Japanese Waxwing, I had a look at some regular sites on the Kanto, when I was in Tokyo, but no luck. As for Wryneck, everyone on Okinawa, even non-birders, see's them, apart from me. BTW The Eurasian / Water Rail, in Japan, is now Brown-eared Rail. Another tick if you've seen them in Europe. :t:
Click to expand...

My personal list for this spot (over the last eight years or so) is now 104 species, which is pretty good considering how small it is, the total number of species in Japan, and the fact that we are more or less as far from the sea as it gets here (though not so high). And in fact, only four species of my 104 have not been seen in the smaller part of the patch where I usually go - a 1.8km circuit around a pond, some old kofun tombs, some fields and some low wooded hills. And of these four, three might as easily appeared in the smaller area as the larger (Wood Sandpiper is the exception). A few species are much more common in the larger area, however.

I keep thinking I must have exhausted the patch and then something else shows up. Of course, ten or twenty of the birds are more or less accidental, but still. And there are still three or four that I think could or should be there but do not seem to be, or that others have seen, but I have not.

I'm so glad I discovered birding ten years or so ago. It's really made my life much better and given me a greater appreciation of our planet, and of beauty in general.
 
For comparison, during 11 years I have seen 116 species in the country/on the island where I live. I sometimes wish I was living in a mainland area ...

Niels
 
njlarsen said:
For comparison, during 11 years I have seen 116 species in the country/on the island where I live. I sometimes wish I was living in a mainland area ...

Niels
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Proof that humans can complain about everything and anything!

You don't fool me Niels:

Wikipedia said:
Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest hot spring, Boiling Lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. Dominica is the only country in the world with a count of 365 rivers. The Sisserou Parrot (also known as the Imperial Amazon), is found only on the Caribbean Island of Dominica and is the island's national bird. It is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on both tourism and agriculture.
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And you are only a short swim away from even more nature and variety (well, if you have long, strong arms).

Of course, much as it would sadden me to be away from my patch, I could see my way to doing a house-swap for a few weeks if you like Niels?
 
njlarsen said:
For comparison, during 11 years I have seen 116 species in the country/on the island where I live. I sometimes wish I was living in a mainland area ...

Niels
Click to expand...

If your looking for sympathy Niels, its between shit and syphillis in the dictionary!;) But I suppose grass is always greener on the otherside of the fence.
 
njlarsen said:
I could certainly help with arrangements for a visit to Dominica ;)
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Obviously, I was just teasing a little. Though that doesn't mean I wouldn't be delighted to visit Dominica, or all sorts of other places in your area.

The weird thing is, Niels, that there are no direct flights from Japan to anywhere in South or Central America (and the Caribbean, even moreso). You have to go via Miami, Houston or Dallas, and as well as the long flights, there is a hotel overnight in at least one of the two directions. If you have a maximum ten days per holiday, the total flight time for us - plus the cost - means it will be after retirement. There are four days of travel, and if you have only nine or ten days total, the ratio of holiday to travel doesn't work out.

I would love to visit Peru, but the same thing applies - ten days of holiday involves four days on a plane. I suppose we could go the opposite way, via Dubai; but then Africa is so close after Dubai, and we have been there five times in the last few years (Kenyax2, Uganda, Ethiopia, Namibia) and plan to go again as many times as we can before we are in wheelchairs!

But, if you are coming to Japan, we could find you a room. You can see the Unesco World Heritage sites of Nara from outside our house, and it's a short train ride to Kyoto and Osaka. And only ten minutes in the car to the bird site I described earlier (but you really have to be lucky with your days)!
 
sicklebill said:
Corsican Citril Finch also
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Think that's been covered already? (as Corsica, but it's also France wrt Corsican Nuthatch). Valid point though for this exercise is the subspecies/species argument - more countries would have to be visited for variations on a theme that wouldn't have been before (from Citril finches and Reed Warblers to Antpittas and so on).

Choosing just a handful of European countries to 'in theory' clean up Europe, either as WP or world listing not quite as straightforward as it could be - eg seasonality a factor. European Storm Petrel as an example - yes it may be a passage bird off Spain/France, but you'd be lucky to get that and all the other seabirds on the same trip as getting the wintering birds and summer migrants!

Same goes for some other species (talking Europe again here) - to choose just 4 or so countries would have to entail multiple visits in reality and a degree of luck in getting some trickier species which may just be easier elsewhere.
 
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David Ferguson said:
The least interesting South American country is probably Paraguay as most of the forests have been turned into soya plantations.
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Not having been there, but having spent a teensy bit of time in Chile (and Ecuador - I know, not comparable), I would just have to guess... but I think this would make Paraguay just slightly more interesting than Canada, the U.S., and the UK combined. ;)

Unless you're a Paraguyan birder, of course.

P.C.
 
Of course Portugal is not Spain!
Sorry if it sounded that way!
In fact Portugal is one of the greatest places to visit (not only for birdwatching): wolves, vultures, eagles, lynxes..., gastronomy , history, (the list could go on and on)...

As to the endemics, if sub species are not considered endemics, and we don't count the Canary Islands as Spain, yes, there might not be any.


But like yours, I'ts just another opinion.

I'm just trying to help, not to argue.
 
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