[rockfowl]

Fantastic Tom, might have to come and have a look at this myself!

[Dong Bei]

Rockfowl and others, I am off work until next Monday. I am going all day Friday again plus a guy from Shanghai will be there starting today until next Tuesday. My cell is 13591333498.

[Terry Townshend]

Great stuff, Tom! Must have been hugely exhilarating... I must try to get up there while I am based in Beijing... if you can post details of how to get to the best site, it would be much appreciated!

Best wishes,

Terry

[BIJ]

Every bit as good as you described to me Tom during several mobile calls. I hope tomorrow proves as worthwhile.
Brian

[FXM]

Hi Tom,

Wow. Really impressive. You obviously hit it just right or perhaps it's a regular event.

Been reading this thread closely for quite a while now. Often looked at this area on G Earth and thought it must do well.

I've had pretty good raptor days on Happy Island in Oct (six visits. Not been there in Sept) - there is a slot mid-month when raptors move. This includes the occasional eagle sp. three species seen. Can beat the Amur figures and have seen comparable numbers of E. Marsh Harrier and Hen Harrier but cannot get close to the others.
Of note for me was the lack of Eastern Buzzard (japonicus). Perhaps they go through later?

Should really get myself there I think.

Frank

[temmie]

It reminds me of the days in Batumi when having 40-50.000 Honeybuzzards in one day... Great to hear a similar place has been found in the far-east. I guess there aren't just that many eagles taking that route as they prefer going over land.

www.batumiraptorcount.org

[china guy]

Here in NE Sichuan - at the moment were on a low mountain range, at the very east of the province, that BOP's seem to use as a thermal catapult on their passage south thus avoiding the flat Sichuan basin and the High Mountains to the West - we're getting the same species as you guys are getting in the NE, Black-eared Kite, Oriental Buzzard (the most common raptor at the moment), Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Hobby and Pied Harrier.

We watched the same area exactly one year ago and got a different set of species - Common Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Grey-faced Buzzard, Black Baza, Kestrel and just one Oriental Honey Buzzard.

Of course we're not getting the numbers that Tom has seen - but it's interesting that just now our most common raptor is also OBH, while a year ago we only saw one bird over a week of being in the area.

It would interesting to learn more about the raptor flight paths over China - and whether any of our birds are those which you guys have been observing in the NE.

[Dong Bei]

I am staying at a friend's house near Lushun at the moment after having been to Laotieshan all of today again. Only ()about 100 OH Buzzards. Did see many Amurs, Hobbies, Grey-faced Buzzards, Eurasian, Japanese, and Chinese Sparrowhawks and a few Goshawks. One Osprey. About 25 Kites. Still no eagles.

Full report coming as I don't have anything to move my pictures onto this computer here.

I am about 3 trips behind in my reports buts that's always a nice situation to be in!

I also went up the coast near a place called Pikou for shorebirding 2 days ago and saw 5 Broad-billed Sandpiper which was new for me but I know they've been seen there before. Huge list from there coming as well including a possible Relict Gull, Caspian Tern, etc....

I did have 3 snake species today and have photos coming.

So basically, there is a lot coming!

Gotta go,

Tom

[FXM]

Nice one Tom. Looking forward to the report(s).

[Dong Bei]

See in Jinshitan last weekend:
Common Pheasant
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Little Grebe
Yellow Bittern
Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
Chinese Egret
Eurasian Kestrel
Northern Hobby
Hen Harrier
Japanese Sparrowhawk
Common Moorhen
Whimbrel
Eurasian Curlew
Eastern Curlew
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Black-tailed Gull
Black-headed Gull
Vega Gull
Oriental Turtle Dove
Common Kingfisher
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Ashy Minivet
Brown Shrike
Great Tit
Chinese Penduline Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Chinese Hill Warbler
Rusty-rumped Warbler
Black-browed Reed Warbler
Thick-billed Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Dusky Warbler
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Chestnut-flanked White-eye
Siberian Rubythroat
Siberian Stonechat
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Red-throated Flycatcher
White Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Yellow-breasted Bunting
Black-faced Bunting
Common Reed Bunting

[Dong Bei]

I drove my motorbike to a place I call Pikou but it is actually between Pikou and Zhuanghe on the coast of the Yellow Sea where a large river reaches the ocean. Always fantastic shorebirding. This time there were hundreds of both kinds of curlews and only about 50 Bar-tailed Godwits. Depending on the time, there are usually hundreds of both kinds of Godwits, especially in late April. First time birds for this place for me were Caspian tern, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Oystercatchers, Marsh Sandpiper, Saunders/Relict Gull (Whatever it turns out to be.) I've attached a photo of the questionable gull. I also posted it to the ID forum earlier this week and everyone there is saying Saunders. I have another very reliable source telling me it's a Relict Gull. Any opions are valued here or on my thread on the ID forum. There are also many more pictures of it there.


Pikou List:
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Chinese Egret
Little Egret
Eurasian Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Eurasian Oystercatcher – 5
Grey Plover
Kentish Plover
Lesser Sand Plover
Common Snipe
Bar-tailed Godwit
Whimbrel
Eurasian Curlew
Eastern Curlew
Marsh Sandpiper
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Terek Sandpiper
Great Knot
Broad-billed Sandpiper – 5
Black-tailed Gull
Vega Gull
Black-headed Gull
Saunders or Relict Gull
Caspian Tern
Richard’s Pipit

[Dong Bei]

Here is the gull, more pictures on the ID forum.

[Dong Bei]

Here are what I think are 3 different snakes species from Laotieshan west of Dalian. The green and orange one is common near water. The other two (I think 2 different species) were new to me. I almost stepped on the coiled one while navigating a mountain with no trail. The one that I am trying to pull out of the tall grass snuck up behind me while I was looking at migrating raptors over head! I was photographing something and felt a bump on the back of my foot just above my shoe. I turned around to see and fairly long snake with its body outstretched on "my" rock. It wasn't biting, just trying to figure out what I was I think. Either way, I went off the other side of the rock with a decent yelp of surprise and later caught it as it made its way through the brush on the other side of the rock. The reason I did a nice yelp and dive off the rock is because I was about 2 km's from Snake Island where all the Pallas's Pit Vipers reside and I've seen a dead one on the mainland before close to where I was. I think a bird must have brought it over. This was no viper but I was not much for sticking around examing its head while we sat on the rock enjoying eachother's company. When I did finally get it out of the grass it went for my hand so I dropped it back in the brush. Usually I like to hold them or put them in a place where there's lots of room and get some pictures. Up on the ridge of a mountain with tall grass and brush, I had no place to go. I am interested in what it is though. Looked a lot bigger when we had our moment on the rock, I assure you.

[rockfowl]

Hi Tom,

I think the first and third okay, not to confident with the second snake, but anyway..

1 - Tiger-Striped Neck Groove Snake Rhabdophis tigrinus formosanus
2 - Red-backed Ratsnake Elaphe rufodorsata
3 - Dione Ratsnake Elaphe dione

[FXM]

Nice snake shots Tom. Didn't realise you were into snakes Mark. I've noted more than one species on Happy Island. In some years it's been infested with them, most notably the one you see squashed on the road. Don't think the latter is poisonous as one or two people have been bitten having unexpectedly 'found' them in their boots! I remember Henry Lehto's photographic hide getting quite a few large visitors several years ago - Temple Woods around the large damp hollow at the western end of the Temple. Any ideas what species are involved?

Cheers

Frank

[Dong Bei]

Had a geat day at Laotieshan again. The winds were different, coming from the southeast instead of the north. There was a strong wind last time when all the Honey Buzzards were moving. Because of the wind change, I watched as all the raptors came from behind me instead of at me. After figuring out which way things were moving around the point I hiked to a ridge that most birds evetually ended up moving along. It appeared that most raptors were hunting on the large flocks of Ashy Minivets (more minivets than last time). there were also large flocks of white-eyes but I never saw one raptor have a go at these the entire day. Why not? They were flying in large and loud groups within 25 metres of the canopy exactly like the minivets. More meat on a minivet? Long story short, if i had a better camera, I would have a lot better pictures than what I do. Lots of sparrowhawks at very close range in good lighting. Honey Buzzards directly overhead most times very close. If I would crouch down behind "my rock" they would not see me and pass directly over top at very very close range. "My rock" as mentioned in the previous post about the snakes is located directly along one of the ridges very close to the lighthouse. It is possible to reach with a short hike directly up the mountain. There is no trail and thankfully the last cold front reduced the number of spiders. I did have one nice specimen with black and white legs on me after my venture through the thicker areas but nothing like what you would encounter in the end of August or early Sept. around here. Getting there in the spring would be very easy. There were good numbers of Japanese Sparrowhawk, mostly juveniles around the point with many passing over my area. The second most common was Eurasian Sparrowhawks and there were also good numbers of Northern Gos and Amur Falcons. Total Honey Buzzard numbers would be between 30 and 50 so nothing like last time and most of these were soaring along the ridges of Laotieshan. They could be new arrivals or they were out looking for something to eat. I never saw one head out over the ocean toward Yantai and they were also not in large groups gaining elevation in thermals. The OHB that I did see were individuals. The wind wasn't right for big movements.

Here is a list and some photos: It has been a few days now so I'm going by memory alone (and number of photos in my folder from that day)

Amur Falcon -- probably 50
Northern Hobby -- maybe 25 but could have counted some twice. I watched one for over 5 minutes getting dragon flies and eating them in the air. Cool view when up among or above them instead of always looking up.
Peregrine Falcon -- about 10
Osprey -- 1 early in the morning who did head out to sea
Oriental Honey Buzzard -- about 40
Black-eared Kite -- many (25) on the road coming in over the fields in groups but only 5 or so at the point.
Eastern Marsh Harrier -- 5
Chinese Sparrowhawk -- about 10
Japanese Sparrowhawk -- 100? again could have seen some more than once.
Eurasian Sparrowhawk -- maybe 75
Northern Goshawk -- 25
Grey-faced Buzzard -- I have no pictures but think I saw a few
Huge flocks of Ashy Minivets -- interesting to watch them take out of the trees as a sparrowhawk cruised the ridge they were on.
White-eyes -- most likely Chestnut-flanked in noisy groups moving from one area of forest to another.
Lots of Olive-backed Pipits which I didn't see last time and also don't have many fall migration records in Jinshitan. Loads of them in the spring.

It was a very enjoyable 7 hours at the point again. Easy spot to observe behaviour as there is a lot of action happening everywhere, even if it always the same few species. I watched a Peregrine going for sparrows near the entrance gate. It almost never flapped for 5-6 minutes of constant diving and then using its speed and the wind the rise and dive again. Unbelievable how fast they are moving when they blow past your head. The cool thing was that I was watching this all from above for the most part. After studying the wind for a while it neat to also know that a bird in the horizon would eventually end up right over me and I could get my camera ready and anticipate its coming. Most large birds were following the same ridge. This changed around noon, however, when the wind shifted a little.

I did walk about 2-3 kms inland in the afternoon and covered the reservoir mentioned a few posts above but I'll write that up another day.

I'll attach several of the photos from the point.

Tom

[Dong Bei]

Laotieshan Oct. 1, 2010

[Dong Bei]

Forgot to mention the hundreds of Barn and Red-rumped Swallows, many Sand Martins (not a common species in dalian), and Pacific Swift around the point.

[Dong Bei]

These shots show the different forms that exist in this species.

[MKinHK]

Another great read Tom - amazing that you're pretty much the only person enjoying such an excellent spectacle.

Cheers
Mike

[Terry Townshend]

Wow - brilliant, Tom! Sounds like an amazing experience...

[FXM]

Great stuff Tom. Really nice shots again. Still no Eastern Buzzards (japonicus) though!

There is a very obvious 'push' of japonicus through Happy Island during the second/third week of October (approx) when several thousand move through- noted consistently during each of my six visits - so it will be interesting for me to see if the same occurs at Laotieshan.

Much more to come I'm sure.

[Dong Bei]

Went to a reservoir after the point. There are quite a few man-made bodies of water, some are actually quite a bit bigger than this place. There is good habitat on the way off the main road. I plan on doing a location guide to this place in another program sometime and then attaching it to one of these posts.
Didn't see many species this time but I think in late October and November there would be more in this kind of habitat.

Here is the list from Oct. 1:

Common Pheasant
Little grebe
Amur Falcon
Eurasian Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Common Moorhen
heard an Oriental Cuckoo calling in the woods. A little late?
Ashy Minivet
Great Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Dusky Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
White Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Olive-backed Pipit
Common Rosefinch
Black-faced Bunting

[Dong Bei]

Common Pheasant
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Common Kingfisher
Oriental Turtle Dove
Eastern Curlew
Eurasian Curlew
Green Sanpiper
Black-tailed Gull
Black-headed Gull
Vega Gull
Mew Gull
Oriental Honey Buzzard 3 in a thermal above a mountain range
Hen Harrier
Eurasian Kestrel
Little Grebe
Little Egret
Great Egret
Grey Heron
Ashy Minivet all over the place this fall. Usually only see a few groups during fall migration.
Red-flanked Bluetail
Siberian Rubythroat
Mugimaki Flycatcher
Red-throated Flycacther
Siberian Stonechat
Great Tit
Chinese Bulbul
Chinese Hill Warbler
Black-browed Reed Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
White Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Olive-backed Pipit
Oriental Greenfinch
Black-faced Bunting

[Dong Bei]

Saw a spoonbill today flying in to an area of sea-farming ponds. There were many egrets flying around in groups often kept in the air for a long time because of a strong wind. I checked out many of the groups through my binoculars and one of the groups had something slightly different flying along side it but distinctly separate from the others. With my bare eyes it reminded me of watching anhingas in south Florida and how odd they look in the air. I soon realized the extra long neck I was seeing in this particular bird was actually the head with an extending huge long black bill. Within a moment it turned to the ground and landed in one of the ponds quite far away. The rest of the egrets followed and off I went to try to locate it on the ground. I spent the next 30 minutes of daylight disecting the maze of ponds that all have high grass around them and narrow roads. Almost got bit by a few dogs but couldn't locate the spoonbill or the group of egrets. I'm almost certain it was a Black-faced Spoonbill. I've seen them on their breeding grounds on one small island about an hour north of here and they must pass by this way on their way south. Either way, a great record for my immediate area here. So Mike, they are on their way to Hong Kong!

I spent most of my short time out today watching groups of birds flying in to roost in the many sea-farming ponds.

Today's list:

Common Pheasant -- completely out of control in this area. Impossible not to see, even in the middle of a sea-farming area! I've even seen one sitting on a window ledge of the building that I work in before.
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Eurasian Teal
Little Grebe
A spoonbill, almost certainly Black-faced
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
Eurasian Kestrel
Peregerine Falcon -- saw one come up behind a mallard and grab it from the bottom by the duck`s foot. They spiraled down toward the ground but went behind an embankment so I couldn`t see the result. When I finally got around to have a look I couldn`t find either.
Common Sandpiper
Black-tailed Gull
Oriental turtle Dove
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Balck-browed Reed Warbler
Dusky Warbler
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Siberian Stonechat
White Wagtail
Oriental Greenfinch
Black-faced Bunting