[dbeeke]

Awesome list of shorebirds. Where did you see the Red Knots?

Dave

[Gretchen]

Originally Posted by Dong Bei

We did ok despite horrible weather (fog and mist). Sometimes you couldn't see more than 50 feet ahead.

Ah you had similar weather to ours - excellent work considering that! Also, a bit worrying for me that several birds seem to have gotten past me - such as whimbrel and sandpipers. I guess that they haven't skipped over Qinhuangdao, just haven't been able to get our last week +

[Dong Bei]

3 Red Knots in Jinzhou Bay and 2 in Pikou.

[Dong Bei]

Took a quick tour of a local river mouth and saw the following:

Common Pheasant
Spot-billed Duck
Mallard
Eurasian Wigeon
Falcated Duck
Gadwall
Eurasian Teal
Red-breasted Merganser
Whimbrel
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Great Knot
Little-ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Black-tailed Gull
Mew Gull
Black-headed Gull
Chinese Egret
Red-flanked Bluetail
Daurian Redstart
Great Tit
Chinese Bulbul
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
White Wagtail
Meadow Bunting
Pallas's Bunting

[MKinHK]

The Pheasant is what my granny would have described as "fat as butter".

Nice Chinese Egret shot too!

Cheers
Mike

[Dong Bei]

Went to a place that I'll call the Country Club. It's similar to a city park but is private and has lots of great habitat with hardly any people. Saw the following over the two afternoons:

Common Pheasant
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Little Egret
Eurasian Kestrel
Amur Falcon
Black-winged Stilt
Common Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
Common Kingfisher
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Chinese Bulbul
Pallas's Leaf Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
White-cheeked Starling
Dusky Thrush
Naumann's Thrush
Eyebrowed Thrush
Red-flanked Bluetail
White Wagtail
Olive-backed Pipit
Buff-bellied Pipit
Brambling
Oriental Greenfinch
Little Bunting
Yellow-browed Bunting
Black-faced Bunting

[rockfowl]

The Yellow-browed Bunting's a belter and it's great to see a 'full monty' Dusky Thrush, so many of the birds we see in Hebei are intergrades.

[MKinHK]

Some great-looking birds - That YB Bunting is a real stunner!

[Dong Bei]

Mark,

Yes, that's what Dusky are SUPPOSED to look like this time of year. There were also some pure Naumann's around in breeding colours. I had to look twice at them. Thought I had something better for a second. Lots of mixes between the two here also.

[Dong Bei]

Another short trip to the Country Club. Rained all night and this morning and then cleared around lunch. Many migrants despite much colder temperatures. Completely different birds than the two visits last weekend to the same place.

Common Pheasant
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Striated Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Eurasian Kestrel
Amur Falcon
Hen Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Whimbrel
Green Sandpiper
Black-tailed Gull
Common Swift
Pacific Swift (the Sparrowhawk had a go at one high in the air. Interesting to see but the falcon didn't really have a chance)
Common Kingfisher
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Pallas's Leaf Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Pale-legged Leaf Warbler
White-cheeked Starling
Yellow Wagtail
White Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Olive-backed Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Oriental Greenfinch
Black-faced Bunting

[rockfowl]

Originally Posted by Dong Bei

Pacific Swift (the Sparrowhawk had a go at one high in the air. Interesting to see but the falcon didn't really have a chance)

You mean Accipiter Tom

The Red-throated's very smart, you are getting some good birds at the moment,

[Dong Bei]

Another trip to the Country Club and a few other places the day before. Good place for migrants.

Common Pheasant
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Falcated Duck (still a few around for some reason)
Eurasian Teal
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Common Kingfisher
Common Snipe
Common Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
Black-tailed Gull
Black-headed Gull
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Eurasian Kestrel
Little Grebe
Chinese Egret
Little Egret
Chinese Pond Heron
Eyebrowed Thrush
Pale Thrush
Dusky Thrush
Daurian Redstart
Siberian Stonechat
White-cheeked Starling
Great Tit
Varied Tit (first record in Dalian for me, but many in Dandong)
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Asian House Martin
Chinese Bulbul
Dusky Warbler
Gray's Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Pallas's Leaf Warbler
Eastern-crowned Warbler
White Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Olive-backed Pipit
Greenfinch
Brambling
Black-faced Bunting
Tristram's Bunting
Meadow Bunting
Little Bunting

[rockfowl]

Hi Tom,

You had a Gray's Grasshopper Warbler !!! This would be remarkably early for a traditionally late moving locustella (in fact most locustella's) you know, I'm not dismissing it, just very surprised, are you sure?

Varied Tit, very nice !

Mark

[Gretchen]

I really appreciate your bunting and warbler pictures - very nice to study them (the little buntings are becoming a bit familiar - now if I could just recognize them in person, or "in bird" I suppose). The wagtail is a very handsome specimen, and I love the position of the Pallas's - showing coronal stripe quite clearly, and what looks a bit like its petticoat as well!

Are you taking any extensive holiday trip? Happy birding wherever you are (we're having a lovely weekend here).

cheers!

[Dong Bei]

Mark,

I was shocked as well. I had my camera up for a pic just as it darted into some scrub. I have seen it later usually as well. I don't want to be the guy who reports good stuff all over the place mostly birding by myself (although that would be fun to try wouldn't it?-joking) but I had a decent look. I was sitting on a rock wall and it popped out right next to me. Last year I saw one on May 23 with pictures.

Gretchen, no trip this holiday but lots of birding. My in-laws just arrived in town so no reports for a while. Nice way to get pics of Pallas's Leaf isn't it? You just have to ask them to tilt down a little.

Tom

[rockfowl]

Tom,

I remember the bird last year, and commented on it (actually, it's very rare to see images that aren't birds in the hand). I checked the last four China Bird reports 2004 to 2008 and there aren't any records of 'migrant locustellas' ie Lanceolated, Pallas's Grasshopper etc before 15th May (usual period for the earliest Lancy's, Pallas's Grasshopper) through NE China, the bulk are usually in the tail end of the third week through to early June. There isn't a single record of Gray's Grasshopper published (not that means too much, stuff isn't reported, sometimes ignored ) but we've had two I think over the years both in or toward the third/fourth week of May.
They are it seems extremely rare, probably overlooked, many birders leaving when potentially the main chances of finding one on passage would be late May.
Again, I'm not saying it wasn't, especially with global warming changing patterns quite clearly. Just beware, it's both exceptionally early and rare, and if my group had claimed this, we'd have to fight our corner at some stage as has happened in the past.

Mark

[Dong Bei]

I won't stand by the record until death and I have no photos to back it up. The "no photos" thing really perturbs me but I could not for the life of me relocate it because it flew to the other side of water. For what it's worth, my earliest record of Dusky Warbler is May 13 and I had 2 on the same day. This of all years, is not one that I'd expect to have early records in as it is supposed to reach 20 degrees here tomorrow for the first time this year.

Tom

[rockfowl]

It's a hard one, you can barely see the sod's let alone photograph them. Dusky Warbler is an early bird , continuing through until quite late in May, reflects the Autumn passage when you can still pick them up, certainly in Hebei in November. Locustellas aprt from Japanese Swamp seem to generally be Late May/early June returning August/early September. I can tell it's not an early year from records that yourself, Gretchen and Shi Jin have been posting, in fact quite the opposite with many traditional wintering/early birds still being recorded. One of them things and a shame there's no photograph, though as I said, images are rare of these elusive creepers so I'm not surprised there's no 'hard evidence'.

[MKinHK]

Which race of Varied Tit do you get Tom? - they are great-looking birds.

Cheers
Mike

[Dong Bei]

Mike,

Adult Varius. Here's a picture from Dandong a few years ago.

By the way, I met a guy from the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society that knew you the other day in Dandong. There was a big birders conference there last weekend and many Chinese birders were out birding around the Great Wall there.

Gotta run,

Tom

[rockfowl]

Gorgeous!

[MKinHK]

Agreed - what a cracker!

Mike

PS I checked Brazil and answered my own question - the race is varius

[Dong Bei]

Another trip to the country club today. It's my only place left! I was a little disappointed - I guess I was expecting more during this week.

Common Pheasant
Spot-billed
Mallard
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Common Kingfisher
Black-capped Kingfisher
Common Swift
Whimbrel
Green Sandpiper
Common Greenshank
Eurasian Kestrel
Amur Falcon
Little Grebe
Cattle Egret
Chinese Egret
Chinese Pond Heron
Brown Shrike
Dusky Thrush
Red-flanked Bluetail
Asian Brown Flycatcher
White-cheeked Starling
Great Tit
Chinese Penduline Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Chinese Bulbul
Radde's Warbler
Dusky Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Eastern Crowned Warbler
Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail
Greenfinch
Brambling

[Dong Bei]

Common Pheasant
Spot-billed
Little Grebe
Striated Heron
Grey Heron
Chinese Egret
Eurasian Kestrel
Northern Hobby
Oriental Honey Buzzard
Little-ringed Plover
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Common Kingfisher
Pacific Swift
Common Swift
Brown Shrike
Dusky Thrush
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher
Red-throated Flycatcher
White-cheeked Starling
Red-billed Starling (female, first for me here)
Great Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Chinese Bulbul
Chinese Hill Warbler
Dusky Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Vinous-throated Parrotbills
Chestnut-sided White-eye
White Wagtail
Forest Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Olive-backed Pipit
Oriental Greenfinch
Chinese Grosbeak
Black-faced Bunting
Little Bunting

[Gretchen]

Ah, those little white-eyes made it up there too. Your pic is almost exactly what I saw! Thanks for posting it. The Grosbeak's beak is impressive in this pic.

Congrats on the new starling too! (which I also thought looked like a very handsome bird). I've not seen a forest wagtail yet, and have to watch for them - do you see them in less open (more forested) places?