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

Shanghai Perambulations (2 Viewers)

So another trip to my favourite Shanghai location (actually it's in Zhejiang but for the sake of this thread ....) ;)

Mark with his usual eloquence will do the write-up so here are just a few shots to kick off the report which I'll link to once Mark pulls his finger out :t:

Elegant Bunting (M)
Osprey
Kestrel
OBP
Red Billed Starling
 

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Far from Shanghai at the moment, in Hunan (Zhangjiajie) so that makes it exciting from both a birding and tourist perspective ! Lots of new bird calls and new birds. Highlights so far are a Blue Whistling Thrush (close up shots to come), Brown (or Pallas') Dipper, Fork Tails and White Capped Durian Redstarts ( all with photos to come ). I like it here ! Gorgeous scenery (think of the film Avatar) too.
 
I would like to move to Wulingyuan (Hunan), stunning scenery, clean air, forests, mountains, streams and farmland (and spicy food !) plus lots and lots of new birds (to me) to see.

Some of those spotted, though many more calls not recognised (this from just 3 x 1.5 hour early morning stints and a long 7 kms walk through a wooded canyon with streams) :

1. White Cheeked Starlings
2. Brambling
3. Siberian Stonechat
4. Chinese Grosbeak (Juv.)
5. Black Chinned Yuhina
6. G.S. Woodpecker
7. Green Backed Tit
8. Indo-Chinese (Striated) Yuhina
9. Black Headed Sibia
10. Oriental Magpie Robin (F)
11. Eurasian Magpie
12. Red Billed Magpie
13. Little Forktail
14. White Crowned Forktail
15. Slaty Backed Forktail
16. Tree Sparrows
17. Escapee Moscovy Duck
18. Eurasian Blackbirds
19. White Wagtails
20. Grey Wagtails
21. Blue Whistling Thrush
22. Brown Dipper
23. Plumbeous Water Redstart (M&F)
24. White Rumped Munia
25. Light Vented Bul Buls
26. Brown Breasted Bul Bul
27. Brown Crake (M&F)
28. Daurian Redstart (M&F)
29. Chestnut Eared Bunting
30. White Capped Water Redstart (M)
31. Collared Finchbill
32. Long Tailed Shrike
33. Red Billed Starling
34. Streak Breasted Scimitar Babbler
35. Common Kingfisher (M&F)
 

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Sounds like a great destination! Were there lots of people? Was there good weather? I'd love to hear more about it. What did your family spend the days doing?

Lovely photos so far, perhaps we get to see the Palla's dipper and a few more yet?
 
Sounds like a great destination! Were there lots of people? Was there good weather? I'd love to hear more about it. What did your family spend the days doing?

Lovely photos so far, perhaps we get to see the Palla's dipper and a few more yet?

Thanks Gretchen.

It was just myself, my wife and her friend (this gives me more time to shoot photos and keeps them both happy) ;)

People : quite a few but nothing like during weekends/holidays ! At least I had space to breathe and the queues were minimal (just don't try to go early - there were hundreds queuing when I went early morning birding and virtually no queues when we went up the mountains at around 10.00) :eek!:

Weather was gorgeous (ca. daily max of 23-25C though check before you go - I use Accuweather). Only time I was not in shirt sleeves was early morning birding when I needed a thin jacket. Take the same up the mountain just in case. They say the trees turn into their Autumnal colours late November so we only had green trees - it should be magnificent, though colder of course, when they turn red.

In 4 days we went to : Wulingyuan Mountain (5 stars - need 1 day), Tianzi Shan Mountain (5 stars - done at the same time as Wulingyuan), Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon (3.5 stars - 1/2 day), Golden Whip Brook (4 stars - 1 day), Tujia Cultural Park (1 star rip-off - 10 mins) and Tianmen Mountain (3.5 stars - 1/2 day). There is an excellent show, we went to one evening, in Wulingyuan and street food (5rmb for a big plate of delicious boiled Jiaozi) is excellent - avoid the 'speciality' restaurants catering to the tourist trade and rich Chinese.

We went to the Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie (where the airport is located, about 40 mins from Wulingyuan) on the last day - this, though still having impressive views and 600m drop precipices, was a let-down after the Wulingyuan area.

We missed out on the supposedly excellent Huangshi Village (in the mountains on the opposite side to Wulingyuan Mountain), Sandstone & Peaks Geological Park, Baofeng Lake and the highly rated Fox Fairy Show (in Zhangjiajie), all of which I'd like to see next time. Feng Huang Cheng (Phoenix Town) is a must according to many people but is a 4-5 hour drive away (and of course the same to return so you must stay there overnight and a friend we met along the way sent us pics and messages telling us it was packed with tourists) !

I'd stay away from Zhangjiajie itself - just another dirty dusty town under huge construction - and stay in Wulingyuan, picturesque and located in the cradle of the mountains.

P1 - Wulingyuan Mountains (a 2 shot vertical pano), P2 - dawn on the birding farmland in Wulingyuan, P3 - early morning at the birding stream bed in Wulingyuan

More photos to come when processed !
 

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View to a Kill

A quiet day with one or two highlights - for me this was one :

Eurasian Kestrel on Yang Shan Island.
 

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Frogfish, thanks very much for the detailed mini trip report. I've heard just a bit about this destination, so quite interesting to hear your experiences!

Nice shots of the Kestral - do you know if the prey was a dragonfly (caught in air) or cricket (from ground)?
 
Frogfish, thanks very much for the detailed mini trip report. I've heard just a bit about this destination, so quite interesting to hear your experiences!

Nice shots of the Kestral - do you know if the prey was a dragonfly (caught in air) or cricket (from ground)?

Ah I wondered what the prey was and I think you've just nailed it. It was taken from the ground - the bird came down just 15m away from me as I had got out of my car and I was setting up, so a hand-held and shaky with excitement 500mm !
 
The Dog's Dinner

Or to put it another way, Mark's leftovers :eat:

My favourite spot, the Secret Oasis was relatively quiet for the first time ever (the only bird of note being a G.S Woodpecker) ! Though the scrub in the surrounding area yielded plenty of thrushes, robins and buntings.
Eye Browed Thrush (M&F)
Siberian Thrush (F)
? Take a look at the pic (Pic #5) and confirm or deny !
Siberian Rubythroat (M&F) (pic#8)
And the bunting below (Pic #4) that needs an ID. Rustic or Elegant perhaps ?


Moving onto the Magic Woods a group of 4 friendly Chinese togs meant I was only going for a cursory look see before I scurried over the hill to follow the path all the way along the ridge to the ruins.
Varied Tits (now it seems only 3-4 remain), Chinese Bul Buls, Tree Sparrows, White Wagtails, a Grey Wagtail, Bluetails, a huge White's Thrush sitting in a bush that dropped onto the ground and vanished as soon as I appeared, Daurian Redstarts (I saw them in every location, both Yang Shan and Nan Hui, today), a pair of Kestrels up high, a lovely L.T. Shrike ( I keep hoping that one of these days it will be a Rufous Backed), Yellow Browed Warbler (please confirm from pic here : http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Categor...ow Browed Warbler - XYS - November 2012-M.jpg), Japanese Thrush, what I thought was a Sib. Chiffchaff but now I'm not so sure because of the bright rufous underside of the tail (see poor pic #6!), 4 Yellow Browed Buntings (pic #1), a pair of Elegant Buntings, Tristram's Bunting (F) and a Sib. Stonechat (please confirm or deny via pic #7).

A quick 7kms dash to the outlaying islands provided those Kestrel shots 5 posts above this, a L.T. Shrike, some thrushes scurrying away into the undergrowth and this Bunting (see pic #2) that I can't ID. Another Kestrel (or the same one) and close by 13 Grey Herons.

The car park in Nan Hui contained a few thrushes that I didn't chase down as they played hide and seek on the other side of the low bushes staying only long enough to park my car. On the other side of the hedge was where the action was with a flock of 20+ Elegant Buntings and a bevy of Bluetails plus one lost AB Flycatcher. and what looks like another flycatcher but it's tough to pull and ID from the two shots I have and I'll try the ID section here for confirmation.
As I left the car park area I flushed a Pheasant which quickly flew low out of sight. A side road detour picked up the lovely bird below that I'm seeking the ID for (pic #3).

The pool with the most activity contained 50+ Grey Herons
100+ Egrets
The Greenshank flock that Maddy had the day before,
Eastern Spot-billed Ducks (20+ see pic, in a different pool) but sadly even the bins couldn't pick out the 2 Black-faced Spoonbills ... if they were still there.
Great-crested Grebes and Little Grebes a plenty plus Moorhens brought the day to an end !
 

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For the post above.
 

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Kevin

Your thrush is a Dusky
The Yellow-browed Bunting is a Siskin
The Sib Chiffchaff is female Daurian Redstart
The Siberian Stonechat is correct - pic 3 is also one of these - they can be very variable
The rufous streaking on your first bunting suggests Rustic
The second bunting is Black-faced
The Yellow-browed Warbler looks good to me

There's no arguing whatsoever with your Rubythroat!

Cheers
Mike
 
Thanks Mike - much appreciated !

It looks like it's back to Brazil's and MacKinnon's for me (I just wish the birds looked the same as they do in the illustrations) ;) Still, if I have a go each time I'm sure I'll get closer and improve my ID skills (or lack of) 3:)
 
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A magic day (for all but the last 10 mins) with Mark today. First shot I've processed.
 

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A few shots from last weekend's escapade with 3M.

Japanese Robin & Japanese Thrush
 

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