[PaulShanghai]

Thanks - I'll take a look around there. I've not seen a much as I expected really. Everywhere else I've lived in China was teeming with all manner of birds, but here it's been a little disappointing.

[Frogfish]

I'm over in the Zhou Shan Islands for 3 days with my father, mainly to play the tourist but the camera and 500mm is with me everywhere of course !

Early mornings I'm out on the sea front and in the hotel garden, really not much around here : Crested Mynas (lots), Great Tits (lots), a Common Kingfisher, a Chinese Grosbeak, White Cheeked and Red Billed Starlings and also a solitary Asian Brown Flycatcher in the hotel garden.

Over on Putuoshan island today and nothing but sparrows and pigeons ! Lots of temples too, they were lovely but they weren't flying. Not a raptor in sight :(

[McMadd]

Ya gotta be in it to win it though Kevin...I've not left the coalface before 1900 yet this week!

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by McMadd

Ya gotta be in it to win it though Kevin...I've not left the coalface before 1900 yet this week!

It's a hard life Mark

[Frogfish]

Well the Zhou Shan Islands were interesting considering I was not there primarily for birding but still got some great shots of some Kestrels, there were a couple of Sparrowhawks and an eagle / buzzard (not yet ID'd but definitely not Honey). More of those later.

Back home and my back garden in Jiu Ting surprised me yet again with Photo A) female Rufous Backed Redstart (confirm anyone ?) and Photo B) Scaly Breasted Mannikin (Munia / Nutmeg Finch).

[rockfowl]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

Well the Zhou Shan Islands were interesting considering I was not there primarily for birding but still got some great shots of some Kestrels, there were a couple of Sparrowhawks and an eagle / buzzard (not yet ID'd but definitely not Honey). More of those later.

Back home and my back garden in Jiu Ting surprised me yet again with Photo A) female Rufous Backed Redstart (confirm anyone ?)

I'd suggest a Mugimaki Flycatcher, nice garden bird!

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by rockfowl

I'd suggest a Mugimaki Flycatcher, nice garden bird!

Thanks Mark.
Mark Mc suggested the same but the two wing bars matches the Redstart exactly in both Brazil's and MacKinnon's whereas with the female Mugimaki (I had the male in the garden last year) has a single wing bar and a very distinct supercilium (this bird has none). Is this something that a first year bird may have yet to acquire ?
That said the distribution maps has this bird a long way from home ! I guess you and Mark are correct taking the 'most obvious is usually correct' theorem !

[thrush]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

Well the Zhou Shan Islands were interesting considering I was not there primarily for birding but still got some great shots of some Kestrels, there were a couple of Sparrowhawks and an eagle / buzzard (not yet ID'd but definitely not Honey). More of those later.

Back home and my back garden in Jiu Ting surprised me yet again with Photo A) female Rufous Backed Redstart (confirm anyone ?) and Photo B) Scaly Breasted Mannikin (Munia / Nutmeg Finch).

Your flycatcher is a female robin flycatcher, also known as mugimaki flycatcher.

[rockfowl]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

Thanks Mark.
Mark Mc suggested the same but the two wing bars matches the Redstart exactly in both Brazil's and MacKinnon's whereas with the female Mugimaki (I had the male in the garden last year) has a single wing bar and a very distinct supercilium (this bird has none). Is this something that a first year bird may have yet to acquire ?
That said the distribution maps has this bird a long way from home ! I guess you and Mark are correct taking the 'most obvious is usually correct' theorem !

Yes a first calender year bird, so nice and fresh though female types often don't show that face pattern - http://orientalbirdimages.org/birdim...216&pagesize=1

Sounds like your first might have been a young male.

[Frogfish]

Thank you Mike & Craig !

This was the male Mugimaki, which upon checking I see was actually from May this year.

[thrush]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

Thank you Mike & Craig !

This was the male Mugimaki, which upon checking I see was actually from May this year.

That's a splendid adult male robin/mugimaki flycatcher. Your earlier robin/mugimaki was almost certainly a first-winter female. As rockfowl pointed out, the plumage is fresh; what's more, a first-winter male is already a fainter version of a breeding male.

[thirudevaram]

Kevin, greetings from India :-). The munia is white-rumped. I might see scaly-breasted munia's when i get back home, will bag some for you.

[thrush]

Originally Posted by thirudevaram

Kevin, greetings from India :-). The munia is white-rumped. I might see scaly-breasted munia's when i get back home, will bag some for you.

That's spot-on, Dev-man. The hood clinches the ID.

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by thirudevaram

Kevin, greetings from India :-). The munia is white-rumped. I might see scaly-breasted munia's when i get back home, will bag some for you.

Thanks Dev !

I wondered why you weren't answering your messages (for a day out today) !

[Frogfish]

Cross-post.

I was on Yangshan yesterday and the population has to be at least 8-10 Varieds. Whilst a group of Chinese birders were photographing a few Varieds outside the dwellings I went up the paths and found 3-4 more up one path and then another 3 up the other path ! So unless they are following me around that should put the figure in double figures and indicate that a small migration of these birds is underway.

On a side note this influx of photographers has trashed the area where we found the birds about a month ago. There is rubbish everywhere (much more than usual), the undergrowth has been trampled and removed (in one patch covering an area of around 10-15m2, a local I spoke to agreed with my observation/memory) and branches and in some cases small trees have been snapped off or uprooted. It is disgusting.
At least it seems most are happy to come, spend an hour getting their shots, and then leave without exploring the pathways to either side of the patch. One of a group of four, literally pushed past me and set-up 3 or 4 yards closer with his 800mm when they arrived after I was set-up ! They are coming from up to 5 hours drive away.

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by PaulShanghai

Thanks - I'll take a look around there. I've not seen a much as I expected really. Everywhere else I've lived in China was teeming with all manner of birds, but here it's been a little disappointing.

Let us know how you get on Paul. Maybe we'll see you around at one of the popular spots.

Kevin

[thrush]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

Cross-post.

I was on Yangshan yesterday and the population has to be at least 8-10 Varieds. Whilst a group of Chinese birders were photographing a few Varieds outside the dwellings I went up the paths and found 3-4 more up one path and then another 3 up the other path ! So unless they are following me around that should put the figure in double figures and indicate that a small migration of these birds is underway.

On a side note this influx of photographers has trashed the area where we found the birds about a month ago. There is rubbish everywhere (much more than usual), the undergrowth has been trampled and removed (in one patch covering an area of around 10-15m2, a local I spoke to agreed with my observation/memory) and branches and in some cases small trees have been snapped off or uprooted. It is disgusting.
At least it seems most are happy to come, spend an hour getting their shots, and then leave without exploring the pathways to either side of the patch. One of a group of four, literally pushed past me and set-up 3 or 4 yards closer with his 800mm when they arrived after I was set-up ! They are coming from up to 5 hours drive away.

A very useful observation about the number of varieds, and about the behavior of the photographers. Lesser Yangshan is witnessing an irruption of varied tits and an irruption of photographers.

[Frogfish]

Day trip to Xiao Yang Shan Island.

Ashy Drongo
Common King Fisher
Brambling (F)
Varied Tits
Rock Thrush
Raptor x 4 (no IDs)
Blue & White Flycatcher (male & female)
Japanese White Eye (pair)
Yellow Breasted Bunting
Artics & Easterns Galore
Lesser Cuckoo (black eye not yellow).
Long Tailed Shrike
Brown Shrike
Grey-backed Thrushes - a number that need ID confirming
Flycatchers (far fewer than a couple of weeks ago but still quite a few around, Spotted, Grey-streaked and Asian Brown)
Richard's Pipit
Narcissus Flycatcher (F) (TBC but far more rotund than the other Mugimaki females I saw plenty of yesterday)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (male)
Verditer Flycatcher
Mugimaki Flycatchers (both male x1 and female - numerous and in more than one location)
Great Tit (commixtus)
Grey Heron
Citrine Wagtail (1st yr)
White Wagtail

Near Misses.
A raptor came down in a tree just 20-25yds away (in the Varied's patch) - I glanced up from the Varied's and went to swing the camera around, however a local washing his pots and pans disturbed the bird and it was away almost as soon as it landed, no ID (I should have used the bins instead of trying to grab a shot) - ouch !
I had an Eastern Crowned warbler foraging around at my feet not 3 feet away ... whilst the 500mm was pointing away into the distance.
A Varied Tit finished bathing and then landed 4 feet away to enjoy a shake down - too close for the Minimum Focusing Distance (MFD) of my 500mm (I need to get my 300mm back from repair and have it on the other body) !
I also had the cuckoo land 6 yds in front of me - whilst the camera was on a monopod slung over my shoulder - drat ! I then flushed it from 10 yds (I didn't see it) but eventually got the shots in failing light at about 20 yds :(

Finally there was very unfortunately a very small dead bird on the path on the way down the hill at dusk. It had obviously only very recently died as I had blood on my hands from a puncture mark in it's back (not visible) and it was still warm. I thought it was a B&W Flycatcher at first but it has a buff/yellow throat and upper chest area, grey head, white belly and blue wings and coverts. I can only conclude it was killed by a Shrike and I disturbed it, as surely a cat would have taken it away.

Photos of all to come.

[Frogfish]

The First Installment !

I'd be grateful if someone could confirm my book ID assessments. Thank you !

1. Verditer Flycatcher
2. Verditer Flycatcher http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...catcher-XL.jpg
3. Narcissus Flycatcher (F) (shape seems to be very different from other Mugimaki flycatchers I've shot today and the bird seems very similar to the Narcissus Flycatcher (F) plate in Brazil's too).
4. Dead bird - ID Required.
5. Lesser Cuckoo

[thrush]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

The First Installment !

I'd be grateful if someone could confirm my book ID assessments. Thank you !

1. Verditer Flycatcher
2. Verditer Flycatcher http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Category...catcher-XL.jpg
3. Narcissus Flycatcher (F) (shape seems to be very different from other Mugimaki flycatchers I've shot today and the bird seems very similar to the Narcissus Flycatcher (F) plate in Brazil's too).
4. Dead bird - ID Required.
5. Lesser Cuckoo

Hi Frogfish, I see four photos in your post above. From left to right, the first is certainly a verditer; nice record. I don't see how you can call the second anything but a robin/mugimaki. The third, the dead bird, baffles me. I support your ID of the fourth as a lesser cuckoo, but if you put a gun to my head . . . after all, the pupil may merely be dilated; we may not be talking about a darker eye at all. That's why it pays to keep on snapping up shots. You probably have more images of the cuckoo and the dead bird; those shots may help us nail down an ID.

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by thrush

Hi Frogfish, I see four photos in your post above. From left to right, the first is certainly a verditer; nice record. I don't see how you can call the second anything but a robin/mugimaki. The third, the dead bird, baffles me. I support your ID of the fourth as a lesser cuckoo, but if you put a gun to my head . . . after all, the pupil may merely be dilated; we may not be talking about a darker eye at all. That's why it pays to keep on snapping up shots. You probably have more images of the cuckoo and the dead bird; those shots may help us nail down an ID.

Thanks Craig !

2. The second Verditer shot is linked to (above - just click on it) as the forum software here will not accept two files that have very similar names.

3. I saw a lot of Mugimaki females (and took lots of shots - over 800 in total from the day, culled to 450) but none of the other Mugimaki females looked like this bird (rotund - the others were all typical flycatcher outlines) and it seems to match the picture in Brazil's very well. I'm probably wrong of course as book plates can be misleading ! I've uploaded a comparison below (A. looks like a female Mugimaki but B.) ???) and tell me what you think. it doesn't look like any Robin found in this region.

4. Mark has ID'd the dead bird as a Siberian Blue Robin.

5. Cuckoo - I hadn't thought of a dilated pupil. I have more shots so will check them and post another. EDIT - Now attached. I have 8 shots - 6 show the eye as black and they are not visible in the other two (in flight).

[Frogfish]

Back Garden Birding - Episode 3,426 (well in the small compound where I live anyway).

Green Sandpiper and a ......... Swinhoe's Robin !

Very poor pics in very low light to follow.

[MKinHK]

Your (non-Verditer)flycatchers are all Mugimaki.

Cuckoos are tough but my inclination would be for Lesser.

Cheers
Mike

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by MKinHK

Your (non-Verditer)flycatchers are all Mugimaki.

Cuckoos are tough but my inclination would be for Lesser.

Cheers
Mike

Thanks Mike ! Can you, or Craig, explain a little more ? The shape (more Robin-like), colours etc. are completely different from the other Mugimaki females. All very confusing ! Also do Mugimaki migrate in flocks ?

[MKinHK]

Frogfish

The shape is just a fluffed-up vs unfluffed thing. There is substantial colour variation between individual bierds, including intensity of the throat colour and strength of the wingbars.

Old females can adopt a washed-out "ghost" of male plumage and some first winter males especially can be pretty bright.

Cheers
Mike