The Shanghai Student (1 Viewer)

Frogfish has kindly suggested that I make my own thread this to me a while ago, and so here I am I suppose. I'm a fairly regular commenter on many birding (and other animal or environment-related) forums, but I doubt I've actually started a thread before. So here goes!

As some of you know, I am Cypselurus, a 9th grade student studying at SAS Pudong, a school close to the once-mythical San Jia Gang. I have birded Shanghai quite frequently for the last 4 or so years, and found a few quite interesting birds over that time- the diminutive Speckled Piculet, and the Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher spring to mind. I have a history of missing vagrants, however, and the Slaty-backed Gulls, Black Scoters, and Chinese Thrushes have all eluded me :-C

But anyhow! I hope to post on this thread and update frequently with lists of birds I find on my every-other-weekly visits, and hopefully make an interesting discovery or two. I am not, unlike the big guns here on this forum, a photographer- I am not all that interested in photography (though I do admire a good photo, of which there are many here), nor do I have the equipment possible to take any satisfactory photos. However, if there really is a rare bird out there who would like to sit 2 feet from me and stay there while I snap a photo of it with my iPhone is very much welcome, and mealworms will be given to it as a reward

So yeah. Hopefully, I will post with some regularity here, sometimes about birding trips, sometimes just about birds in general, but I will do something about this thread, honest.

Add me to those "Eluding list". After a few days of sneaking out from office, i finally scored the Slaty-backed this winter (only advantage of having the office close to the bund). I guess the mealworm season is about to begin. Watch out for those big guns and "differing birders", they never gonna let you inside their studio.

That's quite lucky that you have an office close to the Bund. I'm assuming you see quite a few of the more 'common' gulls as well (Mongolian/Caspian, Vega, Heuglin's/Lesser Black-backed)? I actually somehow managed to miss Heuglin's up until this winter, when I scored a few amongst the Vegas and Mongolians on the Bund. Both the Slaty-backed and the Common Gulls (have you seen those yet) have eluded me this winter, alas, and the Glaucous Gull was never found on a second visit by any other birders to my knowledge :-C A great year for gulls, really, just not for me ^^;


Yeah, I've had some experience with those 'big gun photographers', and some of them do act like the way you stated, but a few are quite nice and kind, and will let my sit beside them as they give mealworms to a female Siberian Rubythroat hopping about less than 5 feet away. Its sad that the Nanhui Parking Lot might disappear soon though- that place holds so many old memories of interesting birds and such I've seen there: my life Japanese Paradise Flycatcher for one.

I'm hoping for Great Knot and Ruddy Turnstone tomorrow on a quick trip to Nanhui. Those two are two of the few seriously achievable Shanghai sandpipers that I've managed to miss (a third being Temmnick's Stint). The birders at shwbs still look at me all funny when I desperately ask them where the Great Knot they saw was...

Good to see another thread starting in the China section - welcome!

Should you think about a camera I would warmly recommend the Canon SX50 Superzoom. I cost me HK$2500 (half the cost of an iPhone)and while not providing the quality of the bazooka-size lenses is more than adequate for posting pix online (all my pix on the Magic Rdbt and Exploring Lantau threads since October have been with the SX50.

The guys who are really good with it actually get amazing results - the BF thread is here:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=240202.

Even if you don't go for a camera it will interesting to see what you turn up.

Cheers
Mike

Thanks for the welcome Mike!

I actually do have a camera- a Nikon D1500, I think. Its not a great camera, but it gets occasional record shots for me. I mostly use it for photography of plants and captive animals, however. If I do find something interesting or rare, I will take photos of it for the sake of recording, but I doubt I'll be turning up photos as good as the ones I've seen in the other China threads

Even documenting the unfolding disaster that is Nanhui...no more Secret Magic "Black Hotel" Car Park (?)...is worth doing...China moves so fast...check out the old (1980's is old??) pictures on here for evidence of the pace of change...https://www.facebook.com/shanghaiist

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hph...36_10152323878071030_875856282104494006_n.jpg

We lost Sanjiagang in the 18 months I was there...thanks to Uncle Walt Disney...

Keep the reports coming regardless of pics or no pics

McM

Hey McMadd,

When I started birding around 5 or so years ago, the first place I ever visited was Nanhui, and seeing it deteriorate since then was pretty disheartening :/

The loss of Sanjiagang was something I was aware of, but not too much so, as I actually ever visited that place only once or twice. The second time, I ticked the Oriental Plovers on a tiny patch of grass which looked nothing like the massive grassy area in the photos I'd seen. 'Progress', I suppose, as that's what they call it now...

Thanks, I'll try to do so.

Hi Cypselurus. Nice to see another China thread. I haven't been in China since July, but like to keep up with the action even when I'm home in the States.

And like you, I'm not one of the big-lens photgraphers. I sometimes take pictures when I can remember to bring the camera, but usually I'm just content to see the birds.

Welcome to the gang!

Took a quick trip to Nanhui this morning, and it really does look like migration has begun! There were quite a few large flocks of different waders, with Godwits, Great Knot, Curlew, and almost all the plovers being present. While on the first of the wader ponds, I ran into Mr. Hammar and another gentleman whose name I remain uncertain of, who helped give me the names of the resting terns on the lake (Gull-billed, a lifer), so here's a thank-you to them for that!

Shorebirds were overall predominant, with almost no passerines save some Yellow Wagtails, a Richard's Pipit, two species of swallows, and the Tree Sparrows near the ranger's hut being observed. A list, in taxonomical order, is provided:

1. Eurasian Wigeon- 5-7+ birds flying over the first wader pond. Thank-you to the two gentlemen who gave me an ID to these far-flying ducks.
2. Rock Dove- One- with the appearance of a racing pigeon- came flying in over the wader ponds.
3. Common Moorhen- 2 birds on the road with the signage, resting on top of a mat of dead reeds.
4. Eurasian Coot- 1-2 birds in the same area as the moorhens, but closer to the ranger's hut. There were almost certainly more than this number, but as I wasn't looking for them specifically, I'm not sure what the exact number in that area was.
5. Common Snipe- 1 at the wader ponds.
6. Eastern Black-tailed Godwit- many at the wader ponds.
7. Bar-tailed Godwit- good numbers in the deeper ends of the wader pond.
8. Eurasian Curlew- large number sin the wader ponds (Far Eastern amactually, but rain and the distance they kept didn't exactly help in telling them apart).
9. Spotted Redshank- common, often in close quarters, at the wader pond.
10. Common Redshank- common, but seemingly scarcer than the former species.
11. Marsh Sandpiper- a few in the foreground at the wader ponds.
12. Common Greenshank- many in the wader ponds.
13. Wood Sandpiper- at least one in close quarters at the wader ponds.
14. Terek Sandpiper- in mid-sized numbers at the first wader ponds, and in much larger flocks at the dried-up lake near the entrance of the signage road.
15. Ruddy Turnstone- at least one male in breeding plumage in the dried-up lake.
16. Great Knot- many at the first wader pond.
17. Dunlin- many at both wader ponds.
18. Long-toed Stint- one at the dried-up lake.
19. Grey Plover- one to two at the first wader pond, and at least 3 at the dried-up lake.
20. Kentish Plover- reasonable numbers at the dried-up lake.
21. Lesser Sand Plover- many at the dried-up lake.
22. Greater Sand Plover- many at the dried up lake.
23. Gull-billed Tern- Several birds resting, and later flying over, at the first wader pond.
24. Little Grebe- a few near the signage road.
25. Barn Swallow- numerous
26. Red-rumped Swallow- only one confirmed, flocking amongst the Barn Swallows, but there may have been more.
27. Eurasian Tree Sparrow- a mid-sized flock near the ranger's hut on the signage road.
28. White Wagtail- a few near the first wader pond, foraging on the mud.
29. Yellow Wagtail- around 10 on the road to the first wader pond, including a stunning male.
30. Richard's Pipit- one slender, pale brown Pipit was of this species. Some others flying near the car got away before allowing themselves to be ID'd.

Not much, but overall not a terrible number for a short morning's birding. The three bolded birds were lifers- Gull-billed Tern, Great Knot, and Ruddy Turnstone- were really ones that I should've gotten my first or second migration season, but which I had always seemed to miss somehow. Pinning them down at last allows me a sigh of relief :king:

I also saw what I think might've been a Ringed Plover at the dried-up lake, but it was gone before I could check its ID, and had probably flown off with the Terek Sandpipers with which it was feeding, sadly.

Has anyone seen that bird in that location recently?


EDIT: It appears that I have forgotten Pied Avocet, somehow- 5 at the first wader pond. Also present were the typical Egrets and Grey Herons, which must've slipped my mind as I made the list.. (so that would be +5 species)

Ringed Plover would be a very good bird...Kentish or Little Ringed Plover more likely although Lin had Ringed up in Yangkou last spring I think...Dev will confirm I'm sure...

Hey McMadd,

Yeah, I considered Little Ringed Plover, but the bird I saw was quite a bit more heavily built than a LR, and it didn't have the markings of a Kentish. I saw a large, burly bird with thicker facial markings than a LR, foraging with Terek Sandpipers and seemed around the same size as the other birds...still not sure though.

Cypselurus92 said:

. . . I am not all that interested in photography (though I do admire a good photo, of which there are many here), nor do I have the equipment possible to take any satisfactory photos. However, if there really is a rare bird out there who would like to sit 2 feet from me and stay there while I snap a photo of it with my iPhone is very much welcome, and mealworms will be given to it as a reward
. . .

Click to expand...

Welcome, Cypselurus. I don't agree that you lack the equipment for taking satisfactory photos. That's because the best photos tell a story--they relate information. Knowing what you want to show your viewers is more important than the photographic equipment in your hands.

For a birder, even an iPhone can be a valuable tool. iPhones can take good landscape photos, and landscape photos can be useful in illustrating a bird's habitat.

You can also make movies with a smartphone. Even if the bird is tiny in your frame, the combination of habitat and the gait or flight or other action of the bird that the movie will record will relate much information.

With my iPhone, I've made movies of nightjars flying buoyantly across the darkening sky. The bird is just a shadow, but it's readily recognizable as a nightjar, and the way the bird moves is appreciable.

I always have my iPhone and iPad with me on birding trips, and I use them often.

Craig, thanks for that useful comments on identification not always depending merely on magnification.

Glad to see you start the thread Cyps!

Congrats on your Lifers Larry ! And great to see you start your own thread to keep a record of your sightings and thoughts.

Hey Jeff and Gretchen,

Thanks for the welcome! I'll try and post what I can whenever I have the opportunity to do so. I might be dropping down to Nanhui this weekend again to check out the waders- last time I went, it was raining pretty bad, and I probably missed some nice species while trying to keep the scope dry.

Hey Craig,

You make a very good point, and I'm reconsidering my standpoint on using cameras and/or phones to photograph what I see. Although its true that I most likely can't keep up with distant waders or fast leaf warblers, I can (hopefully) keep up with photographing the habitat of the Nanhui birds, and hopefully to demonstrate to others who might be interested in how its been changing (mostly negatively so, it now seems, but there's always hope for a better future).

Thanks for the advice!

Thanks Frogfish Its always great to see a bird you've never seen before- especially the 3 I saw that day. Gull-billed Tern, Great Knot, and Ruddy Turnstone (especially the last two) were almost my nemesis waders- I've gone time and time again, seen Little Curlews, Red Knot, and Asian Dowitchers and a whole host of great birds, but never those (comparatively) common three.

Speaking of which, had anyone seen Little Curlews last year? With the destruction of San Jia Gang, it seems fewer are being observed in Shanghai- at least from what I can gather from the shwbs forums.

Cypselurus92 said:

Thanks Frogfish Its always great to see a bird you've never seen before- especially the 3 I saw that day. Gull-billed Tern, Great Knot, and Ruddy Turnstone (especially the last two) were almost my nemesis waders- I've gone time and time again, seen Little Curlews, Red Knot, and Asian Dowitchers and a whole host of great birds, but never those (comparatively) common three.

Speaking of which, had anyone seen Little Curlews last year? With the destruction of San Jia Gang, it seems fewer are being observed in Shanghai- at least from what I can gather from the shwbs forums.

Click to expand...

The destruction of San Jia Gang was a cruel blow. When I saw it being destroyed, I said, "Well, some birder is going to find some alternative place. It may not be as good as San Jia Gang, but we'll still be able to glimpse our Oriental plovers and little curlews there." Sadly, as far as I know, no one has found a replacement for San Jia Gang. In my 40 or so visits to San Jia Gang, little curlews were among the more readily seen shorebirds; since the destruction of San Jia Gang began, I haven't witnessed any little curlews in Shanghai. And don't even ask me about Oriental plovers. I've seen none, zero, nada since those magical days at San Jia Gang back in 2010.

thrush said:

The destruction of San Jia Gang was a cruel blow. When I saw it being destroyed, I said, "Well, some birder is going to find some alternative place. It may not be as good as San Jia Gang, but we'll still be able to glimpse our Oriental plovers and little curlews there." Sadly, as far as I know, no one has found a replacement for San Jia Gang. In my 40 or so visits to San Jia Gang, little curlews were among the more readily seen shorebirds; since the destruction of San Jia Gang began, I haven't witnessed any little curlews in Shanghai. And don't even ask me about Oriental plovers. I've seen none, zero, nada since those magical days at San Jia Gang back in 2010.

Click to expand...

Hey Craig,

Yeah, San Jia Gang really was a great loss for Shanghai's birds, as well as birders and photographers. As far as I am aware of, there has been no such area where one could observe grass-loving waders like Oriental Plover and Little Curlew so reliably and in sizable numbers. The first and last time I saw Little Curlews was at Nanhui, where the birds landed in water that came way up to their bellies. I'm not sure if this is ordinary Little Curlew behavior? You mostly see photos of them standing in grassy areas- not up to their bellies in murky water.

When I found my first (and probably last for quite a while) Oriental Plovers, they seemed to be on their bare ends, skittering away from working farmers and planters to the edge of the grassy area- some 10 meters away. These tired shorebirds which have come all the way from Australia were being forced to rest on a piece of grass no bigger than the average lawn. A very sad sight :-C

I sure hope that there will be another site where the plovers and curlews can rest undisturbed, but judging by the way at which Shanghai's natural habitat is being literally smothered and drained away... :/

Hi Cypselurus,

Jocko and Anders had Little Curlew in Nanhui over the weekend. Mark n Kevin had the Oriental Plover right next to the Holiday Inn last year. Birds show up there from time to time. Last year, a good no of 25+ birds in Fengxian district, may be you can dig this up from SHWBS site or use your Chinese influence with one of the local guides to know the exact location but Nanhui has its own Glory.

Despite all the disturbances, we had Asian Dowitchers n Great Knot in the same pool just before the dried up lake. With ever changing habitat of Nanhui it takes bit of an effort to find new spots, which we always put more time to find the birds than take a selfie using an iphone or a xiaomi.

Hey Dev.,

That's great to hear! Did they say in what type of habitat the Curlews were found? There are some patches of grassy plain in Nanhui, but not as extensive as former San Jia Gang. If I can run down there this weekend, I might check it out.

Actually, now that you mention it, I've seen records for Oriental Plover this year on shwbs- it was on some farmland area in Songjiang district. I don't recall the finder saying there were many of them, but there seemed to be an at least reasonable number. I hope to see one again soon- they are lovely birds.

I had Asian Dowitchers only once- with some other birders, on the once-flooded signage road mudflats. Great Knot were present in a flooded muddy area that I dubbed 'the wader ponds' and which Frogfish seems to have visited previously as well. It seems that most of the larger waders were in that area, while the smaller Sand Plovers, Turnstones, and such were in the dried-out lake, which was still at least somewhat wet from the rain.

I agree that it might take some effort to find new places in Nanhui, but for at least a while, its still a reliable place for shorebirds. Not as good as Yangkou perhaps, but still fairly decent.