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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Dalian (Jinshitan) Birding Reports (2 Viewers)

Mike,

I haven't checked it off yet but am almost sure I had one in the Wafangdian area here 6 years ago. The China records (only a few) are mostly from eastern Jilin Province. Every time I go back I have a look. That would make my year! That's the kind of China record where you retire from birding!

Heavy snow storm keeping me inside at the moment or I'd be in the "backyard".

Tom
 
Dalian Bay and Jinzhou Bay Jan. 21, 2013

Three hours at each bay today. Light snow in the morning after a good dump yesterday and last night. The temperature was just below zero but the wind picked up a bit in the afternoon making it hard to keep the scope still and perhaps dropping to -5 without the wind chill. The visibility wasn't the best with overcast skies and fog, maybe 1 km at the most.

Dalian Bay: An ice-free bay on the Yellow Sea side that has deep water quite close to shore. There is also a sewage (and who knows what else)channel that empties into it and that's where a person would find the only Grey Heron in town in January.... Any liquid that isn't frozen by now is certainly suspect:eek!:

Common Shelduck - 6
Mallard - 25
Common Pochard - 167
Tufted Duck - 1
Common Goldeneye - 125
Smew - 3 females
Common Merganser - 112
Red-breasted Merganser - 4
Little Grebe - 7
Great Crested Grebe - 26
Slavonian Grebe - 2
Grey Heron - 1
Black-tailed Gull - 100
Common Gull - 75
Vega Gull - 3
Mongolian Gull - 50


Jinzhou Bay: A completely frozen chunk of ocean on the BoHai Bay side that also has a sewage channel emptying into it. It's a ten minute drive from Dalian Bay but a different ocean and often gets a completely different shake of gulls, etc.. There is a large garbage dump there also and that is what occupies the gulls. The ducks feed in the mud that is exposed by the sewage water that winds out into the bay. The eagles feed on the ducks and gulls and generally just sit on the ice looking mean. Whenever they flinch the whole sky fills with ducks and gulls. I have to be in Jinzhou to order a motorcycle part tomorrow morning so will most likely return here tomorrow. Anything can show up and today the weather was bad so hopefully I can get back with better visibility.

Common Shelduck - 4
Ruddy Shelduck - 150
Mallard - 50
Spot-billed Duck - 200
Northern Pintail - 1
Eurasian Teal - 1 flyby
White-tailed Sea Eagle - 5
Hen Harrier - 2 males
Black-tailed Gull - 50
Common Gull - 50
Vega Gull - 100
Mongolian Gull - around 2000
Black-headed Gull - 1
Great Tit - 1
Eurasian Skylark -
Oriental Greenfinch - 1 flyby
Pallas's Reed Bunting - 4
 

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More pics

From today.
 

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Whoa...that Common Gull looks well seedy! Not the cute-faced, gentle bird we're used to!

Liking the eagle shots too!

ATB
Mark
 
Jinzhou and Dalian Bays January 22, 2013

Visited both sites again today. Three hours at Jinzhou Bay and 20 minutes at Dalian Bay. I also was with a friend who lives in Jinzhou this morning and we went north up the Bohai side of the peninsula about 30 kms or so. I had never been up that way and, like most places around here, a brand new road made it possible. There is a lot of beautiful looking mudflat right beside the road for later in the year. Today there were only a few groups of gulls here and there. I forgot my book in the car so can't do a full list. Basically the species were the same as yesterday except:

Add 1 adult Slaty-backed Gull up the new road.
Add 1 Merlin
Add 1 Falcated Duck
Add several Heughlin's Gull
Add 1 Pallas's Rosefinch, several Brambling, and at least 5 Naumann's Thrush up the new road
Minus 1 Horned Grebe
Minus almost all of the Black-tailed Gulls
 

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Dalian Bay and Jinshitan January 24, 2013

I had to be near Dalian Bay this morning so popped over for a quick look. The only new birds seen were 6 Saunders's Gull mixed in with about 25 Black-headed Gulls.

After lunch I went north of Jinshitan for a 3 hour drive. I covered a lot of habitat but never really went far from the car.

Afternoon List:

Common Pheasant
Ruddy Shelduck - 2
Mallard - 50
Common Goldeneye - 10
Red-breasted Merganser - 2
Eurasian Kestrel - 8
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Hen Harrier - 2 females
Eastern Buzzard - 4
Upland Buzzard - 3
Black-tailed gull - 10
Common Gull - 4
Mongolian Gull - 25
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1
Chinese Grey Shrike - 1
Great Tit - 10
Coal Tit - 2
Eurasian Skylark - 50 Heard something else in the group that was different. Sounded like a sparrow and then I read that Mongolian Lark sound similar to sparrows.....no pictures of it...couldn't get on it and the group kept moving around. I spent at least an hour in the area trying to see what it was.
Chinese Hill Warbler - 2
Chinese Bulbul - 2
Naumann's Thrush - 1
Pallas's Rosefinch - at least 20 in trees along the roads. Big year for them this year.
Yellow-throated Bunting - 15
Pallas's Reed Bunting - 1
 

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Black Mountain January 25, 2013

Black mountain is in the Dalian Development Zone about 20 minutes from my house. It is quite near the Jinzhou Bay gull site. I have birded here before in the winter but nothing prepared me for the 2 lifers that I would find today! Without sounding pompous, I have a feeling that some of the birds on this list are going to make you drool, so prepare the drool cups accordingly....

Common Pheasant
Mallard - 10
Spot-billed Duck - 10
Red-breasted Merganser - 1
Eurasian Kestrel - 2
Rough-legged Buzzard - 1
Eastern Buzzard - 1
Upland Buzzard - 1
GOLDEN EAGLE - 1 (China lifer #1)
Oriental Turtle Dove - 10
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1
Great Tit - many
Varied Tit - 1
Chinee Hill Warbler - 1
Chinese Bulbul - 2
Brown-eared Bulbul - 2
Vinous-throated Parrotbill - 1 group
Naumann's Thrush - 4
Alpine Accentor - 8 (first Dalian record for me)
Siberian Accentor - 10
Long-tailed Rosefinch - 10
Pallas's Rosefinch - 3
EURASIAN BULLFINCH - 6 females (lifer #2)
Hawfinch - 4
Chinese Grosbeak - 1
Yellow-throated bunting - 5
 

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the rest

The Bullfinch recording is short because it flew right after the few notes recorded.

The Hill Warbler recording has a Siberian Accentor calling clearly near the end.
 

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What a fantastic day Tom!

Two top accentors, plus Rough leg, plus Golden Eagle, plus Bullfinch, plus plus plus plus!

Hoping for something as special as one of these my first day birding on Lantau tomorrow.

Cheers
Mike
 
Splendid, Tom! The new high-speed rail means I will definitely be down for a weekend once the Spring migration heats up. Can't wait! :)
 
Jinshi Golf Club Jan. 28, 2013

I had just over 2 hours at this prime winter location this afternoon. The weather was absolutely horrible as far as visibility goes. I did a lot of birding by ear. What happened was the weather forecast said it was supposed to be above zero at 2 degrees. When this happens in the middle of the winter it often turns into a kind of freezing fog and doesn't get anywhere near the predicted high. Despite the bad weather, the birds turned up. 42 Hawfinch in one place and seen all at the same time! I was thinking it would be a great time to record them but they were mostly silent except for a few flight calls when they would take off.

I spent another hour searching the rocky coast areas near the golf course for Harlequin Duck but came up empty handed.

Common Pheasant - abundant! (tracks in the snow in there look like Pheasant rush hour)
Japanese Quail - 2
Mallard - 35
Common Goldeneye - 2
Red-breasted Merganser - 4
Pelagic Cormorant - 18
Northern Goshawk - 1
Mongolian Gull - 5
Vega Gull - 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1
Bull-headed Shrike - 1 very friendly guy hunting along side of me
Azure-winged Magpie - 5
Great Tit - 25
Bohemian Waxwing - 19 on the way home from the bus stop this morning on our apartment complex property.
Chinese Hill Warbler - 1
Chinese Bulbul - 4
Vinous-throated Parrotbill - 2 groups
Goldcrest - 3
Eurasian Treecreeper - 1
Naumann's Thrush - 3
Daurisn Redstart - 1
Siberian Accentor - 15
Brambling - 10
Oriental Greenfinch - 1
Pallas's Rosefinch - 15
Hawfinch - 42 all in one group.
Meadow Bunting - 10
Yellow-throated Bunting - 5
 

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the

rest
 

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A very nice Bull-headed Tom! I haven't seen one for a few years now in Beidaihe or on the old breeding grounds at Old Peak where they seem to have vanished, for whatever reason. Wouldn't mind catching up with another one or two this spring though I suspect we'll probably draw another blank. Great Accentors also, with Alpine one I've missed in the past. Good luck with the Harlequin search, hope when you find one, its a cracking male!
 
That's a nice variety of birds. Sounds like Dongbei is alive again. How did you spot those Pelagic Cormorants in that kind of weather?
 
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