Jinshitan Sea-farming Ponds October 11, 2012
Pulled myself away for a quick hour just before dark. This place is amazing during migration time. There are lots of species that I see during the day that i don't report here. For example, while getting my motorcycle out of my garage this morning I had 2 Olive-backed pipits, 2 Red-throated Pipits, 15 buntings, some Wagtails, 2 Coal Tits, a few Eurasian Skylarks, Swallows, etc.. At lunch I noticed 18 Amur Falcons over work in a thermal. If someone was on the ground here only birding during migration time, the list would be amazing. Today, during my hour, I got about 50 feet from my motorcycle. Usually I do a set loop around a few key ponds and pass a few reed areas. I immediately heard Common Reed Buntings which are not a common bird here by any means. Shortly after this I spotted a Ferrigunous Duck (my second record) and flushed a tiny rail/crake like bird from the reeds that rose up and dropped in a different spot in half a second. It was entirely dark and had some grey somewhere on its underwing and was the size of a Common Kingfisher. I have no idea what it was and after talking with Terry Townshend and Paul Holt, am convinced it was not a Swinhoe's Rail (which I thought it could have been for a short time). While talking to Terry on the phone, a Baillon's Crake landed literally 30 feet away. This was enough to tie me up for an hour! I left with that feeling that I left a lot there unseen but unfortunately birding isn't my day job..... I plan to scramble to the same ridge early Saturday morning as last week.
List is small but contains some quality birds for the area here:
Common Pheasant - 2
Gadwall - 3
Mallard - 200
Spot-billed Duck - 50
Eurasian Teal - 4
Ferrigunous Duck - 1 (second record for me in Jinshitan)
Little Grebe - 10
Yellow Bittern - 1
Grey Heron - 3
Purple Heron - 1
Great Egret - 3
Little Egret - 1
Eurasian Kestrel - 1
Amur Falcon - 18 in and around lunch
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Baillon's Crake - 1
Common Coot - 5
Green Sandpiper - 4
Oriental Turtle Dove - 1
Chinese Grey Shrike - the same vocal one. Today it was sounding like a cat...
Great Tit - 2
Chinese Penduline Tit - many flyovers
Sand Martin - 1
Barn Swallow - hundreds
Red-rumped Swallow - hundreds (huge amount on the way home)
Eurasian Skylark - 2
Zitting Cisticola - 1
Black-browed Reed Warbler - 1
Yellow-browed Warbler - 1
Vinous-throated Parrotbill - 1 group
White Wagtail - 15
Pallas's Reed Bunting - 5
Common Reed Bunting - 20