[Frogfish]

I won't duplicate Mark's excellent write-up on our little excursion so here are the links to his musings and fine detail of the sightings :

Nan Hui : http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.ph...&postcount=304

Yang Shan : http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.ph...&postcount=309

Instead I'll just post photos of some of our sightings over the course of the day.

A selection here ; Asian Brown Flycatcher, Common Kingfisher, Rock Thrush, Fairy Pitta and Eastern Crowned Warbler (I think - bit too yellowish) ?

[Frogfish]

The 2nd Fairy Pitta shot reposted.

[Frogfish]

Common Kingfishers (seeing double) !

Black Winged Stilt

Long Tailed Shrike

Purple Heron

Rock Thrush

[Frogfish]

Poor IQ but good enough for ID and Record Shots perhaps ?

Orinetal Cuckoo

Japanese Paradise Flycatcher

Grey-streaked Flycatcher

Siberian Blue Robin

[Frogfish]

Another Cuckoo ID Shot & one more Siberian Blue Robin.

Forum software won't let me link to the Oriental Cuckoo so here it is :

http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Bi...-Cuckoo-XL.jpg

[Gretchen]

Great selection of pictures -thanks for sharing! You definitely do justice to the pitta as well as the others. I wonder if the kingfisher in the foreground is a juvenile?

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by Gretchen

Great selection of pictures -thanks for sharing! You definitely do justice to the pitta as well as the others. I wonder if the kingfisher in the foreground is a juvenile?

Thank you Gretchen

I think you may be correct re. juv. KF. I know Mark mentioned at the time that there was a juv. there but I don't know if this is it. Maybe someone else on here can confirm your suspicions ?

[Frogfish]

Short walk by the canal in Little Korea today whilst my car was in the garage :

Brown Shrike (x2)
Long Tailed Shrike (x1)
Tree Sparrows
Chinese Bul Bul
Black Capped Night Heron (x2 snoozing in a tree)
Blackbirds
Plastic Pigeons by the score

[thrush]

Had a long-tailed shrike in my complex yesterday. Seemed to be just passing through, as I'm often around my complex and rarely hear long-tailed shrikes calling. I live near downtown Shanghai, not far from Zhongshan Park.

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by thrush

Had a long-tailed shrike in my complex yesterday. Seemed to be just passing through, as I'm often around my complex and rarely hear long-tailed shrikes calling. I live near downtown Shanghai, not far from Zhongshan Park.

I live in Jiuting (past Qibao) and there are always at least a couple of resident LT Shrikes inn my compound. I was pleased to see the Browns !

[thirudevaram]

Back to the birding World fellas.

Seeing a couple of raptors enroute to my office from Jinqiao. I never seen a raptor in those areas where i took the same route to my office everyday for past one year. Today the pair was circling in the sky doing a courtship display(?). Could not ID them due to the dull sky and ofcourse no bins.

[Frogfish]

A few shots to kick off from the trip to Nan Hui, Sod Farm and Yang Shan on Saturday with Mark.

It was another belter (for me at least !) with a large number of species seen and some exciting views of Yellow Bitterns (x3), Oriental Pratincoles, Common Kingfishers (4 or 5), the usual Flycatchers and Warblers, Black Naped Orioles (1xM and 1xF, they were in different locations), White Cheeked Starlings, Red Billed Starlings, Chinese Grosbeak, Blue & White Flycatcher (cyanomelana)(female), Blue Rock Thrush (spp. philipennsis), Eurasian Kestrel and what is looking likely to be a Crested Goshawk. To say nothing of about 40 goats contesting right of way with me on the hillside.

Anyway to kick us off (I'll link to Mark's write-up once he's finished) here are a few shots, more to follow.

1. Long Tailed Shrike
2. Grey Heron
3. Black Naped Oriole (M) - forum software won't let me upload it for some reason so here is the link ! http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...le-male-X2.jpg
4. Black Naped Oriole (M) #2
5. Crested Goshawk - forum software doesn't like this link either so here it is : http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...Goshawk-X2.jpg
6. One of those bullying goats (this is a young one - I could handle him)

[Gretchen]

Great pics, but the two oriole ones are particularly dramatic! The one posted above is a posture I've rarely seen captured.

Interesting, so you had yang on yang shan...

[thrush]

Hey frogfish, when you say Yang Shan, are you talking only about Xiao Yang Shan or did you also take the ferry across to Da Yang Shan?

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by thrush

Hey frogfish, when you say Yang Shan, are you talking only about Xiao Yang Shan or did you also take the ferry across to Da Yang Shan?

Only XYS Craig.

[Frogfish]

Disappointingly Mark has carried out further investigations and has declared my Lifer, the Crested Goshawk, a no-go. Seems its an imm. Sparrow-hawk. Still satisfied though

[Frogfish]

A few shots of the Oriental Pratincole from last week and a Richard's Pipit.

OK software doesn't like this link :

http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...tincole-XL.jpg

or this one :

http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...tincole-XL.jpg

or this :

http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...tincole-X2.jpg

[Frogfish]

A Little Tern :

Honestly what is wrong with the photo upload facility !

http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...le-Tern-X2.jpg

[Frogfish]

Not the greatest of shots by a long way - but good record shots of the Yellow Bittern.

Those that wouldn't upload :

http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...Bittern-X3.jpg

http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...Bittern-XL.jpg

http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...Bittern-X2.jpg

[Frogfish]

Working from home today (Qibao - about 10 mins from HQ airport) with the windows open and heard a call I recognise as not being from one of my 'locals' .... a male Blue and White Flycatcher has just flown across my lawn ! ( I had a male Japanese Paradise Flycatcher in the garden a couple of years ago and last year a male Mugimaki Flycatcher, so fingers crossed) !

Think I may take my coffee and 500mm downstairs and sit in the garden for a while

UPDATE. Tripod set up, mosquito zapper to hand and then remembered I had left the bins upstairs, popped back indoors, came down and out the door - just in time to disturb a female Black Naped Oriole perched in the small bush right in the middle of my garden ! She took off up into the high trees that border the garden and later I could hear her cawing out of sight. I think I may start charging for togs to come and sit in my garden - 100RMB gets you free tea, coffee and water all day :)
Wagtails, Bul Buls, VTPs, a blackbird, a long tailed Shrike and a ringed neck Dove are all that appeared in the next hour. So back to the computer and work and maybe I'll skip out and walk to the copse in the compound later this afternoon.

UPDATE 2 : My walk around the compound to our little copse and stream yielded two AB flycatchers and 3 Chinese Grosbeaks in addition to the local residents. Also one mystery bird with the Grosbeaks, smaller, dark upper, lower pale, forked tail and what looked like a little crest. Maybe I am mistaken and it was another AB Flycatcher.

[Frogfish]

First shot of the 4 Varied Tits from the weekend.

[thirudevaram]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

First shot of the 4 Varied Tits from the weekend.

Here comes the photo of the day. Excellent timing Kevin!

[Frogfish]

Ha ha - thanks Dev.

Here are some more Varied Tit shots.

[PaulShanghai]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

I live in Jiuting (past Qibao) and there are always at least a couple of resident LT Shrikes inn my compound. I was pleased to see the Browns !

I'm in Jinshan. LT shrikes are very common here. The nearby reed-beds have reed parrotbills and assorted egrets, herons and bitterns.
I've yet to get a 'scope but I'm going to need one for waders (I've never been much good at identifying them, even back home).

I don't often go to downtown Shanghai but I'd be interested to find out where the best sites are (we'll soon have the Metro so it will be so much easier!)

[thirudevaram]

Originally Posted by PaulShanghai

I'm in Jinshan. LT shrikes are very common here. The nearby reed-beds have reed parrotbills and assorted egrets, herons and bitterns.
I've yet to get a 'scope but I'm going to need one for waders (I've never been much good at identifying them, even back home).

I don't often go to downtown Shanghai but I'd be interested to find out where the best sites are (we'll soon have the Metro so it will be so much easier!)

Hi Paul,

Fengxian coast is good for waders. Some uncommon birds(Scaly-sided merganser and black-throated diver) have been recorded on the eastern side of the beach park. Himalayan swiftlets also recorded twice in that area. If you hit the sea wall on the Fengxian cost and drive east, you wil find lot of sod farms, they will have lot of goodies from time to time. During migration, you can find raptors over the forest park especially Amur falcons.