Panjin Birding by the Old Fat Man (1 Viewer)

Owen Krout · Dec 11, 2015

Sounds great, Tom. I sometimes wonder if you have an even better job than the US Forest Ranger that I met in Colorado this summer. Her job, for the last several years, has been to spend her day monitoring the activities of the Peregrine Falcons in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, keep a journal and report her findings. I believe she said it started as a research grant when working on her doctorate and led to being hired as a Ranger to continue her work.

Owen Krout · Dec 13, 2015

Dec-12 & 13-2015

I returned to the irrigation canal yesterday, the 12th, and found little for much effort this time. Not sure why the sudden change, but as my wife reminded me when I was grumbling about it, "Birds fly." The temperatures look decent for the next week, but I know we will soon descend into about a month of it being too cold for extended birding and few birds to see anyway. All given that the weather follows the usual course.

The wind proved to be more cutting than I anticipated today and I wimped out and went back home shortly after starting to check out the city parks near us. Only stayed long enough to get (50+) Eurasian Tree Sparrow; (6) Common Magpie & (1) Hoopoe.

Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Dec 12, 2015 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
6.0 kilometer(s)
11 species

Gray-headed Woodpecker (Picus canus) 2
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) 30
Coal Tit (Periparus ater) 17
Japanese Tit (Parus minor) 5
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) 6
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) 1
Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) 4
Light-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) 15
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) 4
Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla) 4
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 30

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26247906

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Owen Krout · Dec 17, 2015

Braved the cold for awhile today and only a few hardy individuals hanging on:

Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Dec 17, 2015 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 kilometer(s)
10 species

Gray-headed Woodpecker (Picus canus) 1
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) 16
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) 1
Coal Tit (Periparus ater) 10
Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) 1
Light-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) 2
Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla) 4
Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans) 6
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) 16
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 26

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26336253

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Owen Krout · Dec 18, 2015

Just out of my own curiosity.... Yesterday, while out birding, I spotted a large all black squirrel with prominent ear tufts. A little larger than the American Red (Fox) squirrel, I would say. Unfortunately, no photo. It was a quick siting, but up close as it made it beat a retreat back into it's nest. I have not had any success in trying to find out the identity, so hopefully one of you can offer an answer. Of no importance other than that it annoys me not to know. I believe somebody else is keeping an eye on it as the tree that it's nest is in has two large red ribbons tied around the trunk. Plumbing emergency kept me occupied today, but the next week or so is forecast for warmer and dry, so will keep trying for an ID photo.

Dong Bei · Dec 18, 2015

Hi Owen, these are Eurasian Red Squirrels. They are much more red in Europe and darker/borderline black in northeast Asia. They should have a white chest as well. Very cool looking eh?

Tom

Owen Krout · Dec 18, 2015

Thanks, Tom. It was keeping itself flattened out against the trunk, so I didn't get a look at the chest. This one was definitely a dark black. I have seen all black squirrels in a few towns scattered around the States, but I don't remember them having the big ear tufts like this one. Indeed a cool looking fellow! (or gal).

Owen Krout · Dec 20, 2015

Still slow

Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Dec 20, 2015 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 kilometer(s)
4 species

Gray-headed Woodpecker (Picus canus) 1
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) 21
Coal Tit (Periparus ater) 1
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 20

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26371971

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Owen Krout · Dec 21, 2015

Planned outing for today to try for a pic of the black squirrel cancelled as we woke up to Beijing levels of smog. 363 pm2.5 and still rising as of noon. My eyes are burning even without getting out into it. :storm:

And now as I write this the wife reports the sewer line is backed up again.|8.|

Jeff Hopkins · Dec 21, 2015

That's more like Shanghai, Owen, but still you have our sympathies.

Owen Krout · Dec 22, 2015

Yea, well part of the reason for moving here was that it was warmer and the air cleaner than Shenyang. Not so much this year. Over 400 today. At least it is still cheaper to live here. I had a company several years ago that offered me triple the pay I was getting in Shenyang, but it was in Beijing. (They just wanted me because they wanted a figure-head white face to sit at a desk and glad hand people and for advertising. It helped that I looked like Santa Claus) I declined rather than have to live in Beijing. When it improves to merely "unhealthy" and isn't twilight all day long I'll get back out again.

Last time I was in Shanghai was over 15 years ago and it didn't seem too bad then. Of course it was summer, so I didn't see the worst. Hopefully, China will get serious sometime soon and make the same kind of progress that happened in other places. I remember Pittsburgh PA being just as bad in the late '50's and early 60's.

Laurel and Hardy showed up to snake out the drain yesterday. I am sure I saw the routine on one of their old films. They managed to get the snake stuck for about 3 hours and completely unnecessarily totally destroy the floor drain while making a total disaster area of the bathroom. They were about to remove the toilet bowl when our son-in-law paid them to leave. They then announced that "somebody else" would have to fix the floor drain and left. Amazingly, sometime in the process they did get the pipes cleared and flowing properly.
Over three hours of scrubbing before it didn't make my skin creep just to look in that direction.

Owen Krout · Dec 23, 2015

Smog or not, I decided to get out for a little bit today. Not much over two kilometers, but what I did find was mostly clustered together in the middle of a village. I could hear what sounded to be a large mixed flock feeding noisily, so having little luck otherwise, followed the sound into a village area and found a large group of Tree Sparrow, Light-vented Bulbul, Coal and Long-tailed Tit that were ground feeding behind the two meter high wall of one of the residences. Counts were the best I could do since all I could actually see were the birds which showed themselves in the trees inside the yard. The rest were one flock of Spotted Dove looking forlorn as the roosted in a tree next to another village area and a flock of Azure-winged Magpie with two Common Magpie hanging around them on the outer edges. I did see what I think was one Eurasian Kestrel, but it was barely visible as something moving fast in the smog.

Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Dec 23, 2015 12:15 PM - 1:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 kilometer(s)
7 species

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) 12
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) 20
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) 2
Coal Tit (Periparus ater) 2
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) 5
Light-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) 10
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 100

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26417575

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Owen Krout · Dec 26, 2015

Dec-26-2015

A Christmas gift from Siberia today with clear blue skies prevailing. This prompted me to head out, but it was also accompanied by a high of -10 ( -20 wind chill) which drove me back in after only half an hour. One interesting observation though.

At distance I spotted an unidentified form take flight ahead of me with CM in pursuit. Medium sized body with large bill and very short tail. Getting closer I was able to see the unfamiliar form was a Common Magpie with almost no tail feathers. I managed a couple of photos including one not great on in flight. I don't know if he had lost his tail feathers to the mobbing or not. My wife suggested that they were the fashion police and didn't want such a poorly dressed member in their flock.

Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Dec 26, 2015 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.5 kilometer(s)
4 species

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) 2
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) 11
Coal Tit (Periparus ater) 1
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 10

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26453432

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Dong Bei · Dec 26, 2015

Owen, I have jammed on the brakes many a time for the tail-less magpies only to find out they are not some new type of woodpecker, nutcracker, or chough! I feel your pain....

Cold here as well.

Tom

Owen Krout · Jan 4, 2016

The cold weather here is continuing to keep the bird counts so low that I hadn't made a posting here.

Dec. 28th - 1.5 hrs 3 km
8 Spotted Dove - 3 Azure-winged Magpie - 3 Long-tailed Tit - 3 Light-vented Bulbul and 13 Tree Sparrow

Dec 29th was even lower with 1hr 3km
7 Spotted Dove and 1 Common Magpie

January 1st was better weather and I decided to make the 2km hike over to the irrigation canal as it has the best habitat. By the time the light started to fail I was ready to head home to get out of the cold. A few surprises were in order. I was not expecting to see the Olive-backed Pipit although in small numbers. One lone Hawfinch must have missed the memo about moving further south as I haven't been seeing them for awhile now. One Hoopoe especially surprised me as I had not seen any for a few weeks.

Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Jan 1, 2016 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 kilometer(s)
13 species

Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) 1
Gray-headed Woodpecker (Picus canus) 2
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) 6
Coal Tit (Periparus ater) 3
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) 23
Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) 1
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) 2
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) 4
Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla) 4
Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica) 7
Yellow-throated Bunting (Emberiza elegans) 8
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) 1
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 40

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26572452

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

January 3rd I returned back to the canal again.
Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Jan 3, 2016 12:15 PM - 2:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 kilometer(s)
7 species

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) 7
Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) 4
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) 3
Coal Tit (Periparus ater) 2
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) 8
Light-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) 2
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 7

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26633688

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Owen Krout · Jan 6, 2016

Check your equipment before you leave folks! I now have added to my check list that I automatically run through whenever I pull the camera out of the bag. Check to make sure the mounting threads are tight!

It turns out that the big lens hood doesn't just make you look like you are a real photographer and know what you are doing. I moved to using an expensive shoulder strap with my Canon 7D and 100-400 zoom to remove the strain from my arthritic neck. This utilized the tripod mount threads as the attachment point and when I first obtained the rig I obsessively checked to make certain that the threads had not loosened. Having never found a problem I eventually got lax about checking it, which as it turned out, was a mistake. As I was leaving my birding area a few days ago with my camera hanging on my right side the thread backed out and the camera dropped. Since I have never had a problem in the past I suppose that with the cold weather and differential coefficients of expansion caused the threads to loosen up.

The heavy lens causes the camera to hang with the lens pointing straight down and I have the Mark I lens which has the sliding zoom, both of which were in my favor as it turns out. I generally collapse the lens and fully tighten the tension to keep it from drooping as I leave the birding area and walk home. This time however I had luckily neglected to do this and still had the lens extended and the tension set midway making it stiff but still able to slide. When the threads backed out the camera landed on the concrete, on the lens hood and the lens shortened up absorbing some of the shock. At the same time the lens hood, being plastic, deformed and finally popped loose, absorbing even more energy. Watching all this happen, seemingly in slow motion and horrified, I saw that the assembly then just slowly fell over on it's side.

After uttering a few well chosen invectives and expecting ruination, I picked up the equipment to discover within a few minutes that the camera had landed softly enough to be unmarked and that in fact other than some heavy marking of the end of the lens hood, no damage was evident at all. Remounting the hood I found that the camera powered up and everything performed fine. Use since continues to show no adverse effects from my mishap with the auto-focus working well and the lens continuing to capture crisp and clear images. I had been sold on spending the money on the 7D over the 70D based to a great degree on better weather sealing and better shock resistance and now I am glad I did. An insurance policy, which does cover drops, accompanied the purchase, but it would involve shipping the camera back. Shipping an expensive luxury item is something that I am not really comfortable with doing in China.

The lesson learned, now added to the checklist before leaving home includes checking the mounting threads at the same time that I check to see that I have a fresh battery installed.

Owen Krout · Jan 7, 2016

January-6-2015

Seems that most of the bird life is concentrated around the irrigation canal a couple of kilometers from our apartment. A trip over there yesterday turned up mostly various Tits. An interesting note is that often I have found there to be different species directly opposite each other on opposite banks of the canal. This time I found that the Coal Tit were concentrated on the west bank while immediately across on the east bank I found a small flock of Japanese Tit but no Coal Tit.

Panjin, Dawa County, Liaoning, CN, Liaoning, CN
Jan 6, 2016 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
6.0 kilometer(s)
9 species

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) 2
Gray-headed Woodpecker (Picus canus) 2
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) 2
Coal Tit (Periparus ater) 16
Japanese Tit (Parus minor) 10
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) 26
Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) 3
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) 5
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 195

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26730437

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

thirudevaram · Jan 12, 2016

Owen Krout said:
Check your equipment before you leave folks! I now have added to my check list that I automatically run through whenever I pull the camera out of the bag. Check to make sure the mounting threads are tight!

It turns out that the big lens hood doesn't just make you look like you are a real photographer and know what you are doing. I moved to using an expensive shoulder strap with my Canon 7D and 100-400 zoom to remove the strain from my arthritic neck. This utilized the tripod mount threads as the attachment point and when I first obtained the rig I obsessively checked to make certain that the threads had not loosened. Having never found a problem I eventually got lax about checking it, which as it turned out, was a mistake. As I was leaving my birding area a few days ago with my camera hanging on my right side the thread backed out and the camera dropped. Since I have never had a problem in the past I suppose that with the cold weather and differential coefficients of expansion caused the threads to loosen up.

The heavy lens causes the camera to hang with the lens pointing straight down and I have the Mark I lens which has the sliding zoom, both of which were in my favor as it turns out. I generally collapse the lens and fully tighten the tension to keep it from drooping as I leave the birding area and walk home. This time however I had luckily neglected to do this and still had the lens extended and the tension set midway making it stiff but still able to slide. When the threads backed out the camera landed on the concrete, on the lens hood and the lens shortened up absorbing some of the shock. At the same time the lens hood, being plastic, deformed and finally popped loose, absorbing even more energy. Watching all this happen, seemingly in slow motion and horrified, I saw that the assembly then just slowly fell over on it's side.

After uttering a few well chosen invectives and expecting ruination, I picked up the equipment to discover within a few minutes that the camera had landed softly enough to be unmarked and that in fact other than some heavy marking of the end of the lens hood, no damage was evident at all. Remounting the hood I found that the camera powered up and everything performed fine. Use since continues to show no adverse effects from my mishap with the auto-focus working well and the lens continuing to capture crisp and clear images. I had been sold on spending the money on the 7D over the 70D based to a great degree on better weather sealing and better shock resistance and now I am glad I did. An insurance policy, which does cover drops, accompanied the purchase, but it would involve shipping the camera back. Shipping an expensive luxury item is something that I am not really comfortable with doing in China.

The lesson learned, now added to the checklist before leaving home includes checking the mounting threads at the same time that I check to see that I have a fresh battery installed.

Can totally understand that feeling, Owen. Been there and done that, not once but twice in a slightly different way. Both times, my gimbal head came of from the monopod. Luckily, my glass survived both times, "medical miracle" i guess.

Owen Krout · Jan 12, 2016

January-12-2016

I braved the cold for a short hour and a half and 3 km today finding two locations with small numbers.

(4) Spotted Dove
(8) Common Magpie
(5) Azure Winged Magpie
(40) Tree Sparrow
All clustered together within sight of our apartment with the Dove huddling up to a stove pipe on one of the homes in the nearby village.

(25) Azure Winged Magpie
(45) Tree Sparrow
In a small city park area about a kilometer away that usually produces almost nothing. The other two kilometers spent wandering about checking out vacant habitat.

Owen Krout · Jan 13, 2016

An interesting observation as I was walking the dog late this afternoon. The skies were clear blue and unclouded today and I happened to look up at just the right moment to catch sight of a large long legged and long necked bird flying at what was probably almost a kilometer distance. The body was quite dark apparently all over with very long out-stretched dark legs. I at first thought possibly my first Crane sighting, but the all dark body doesn't seem to fit anything. It flew with the slow wing beats and "cupped" wings typical of a Heron so I suppose it could have been an out of season Purple Heron that was flying with the neck extended, which would be unusual but Herons occasionally do fly with the extended neck. I have a picture from this summer of a Great Blue Heron that initially fooled me because he was flying with the neck out-stretched. However, my impression was that it was larger than that. It was flying towards an area that Purple Herons frequent during the warmer months. Unfortunately, no bins or camera with me, so nothing to evaluate.

Other than that, nothing but (8) Common Magpie scratching at the leaf litter.

Dong Bei · Jan 14, 2016

Owen, maybe Grey Heron? They seem to be hanging around this winter much later than normal.

Panjin Birding by the Old Fat Man (1 Viewer)

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