[thrush]

"Now is the time for greatness."

That's my motto as I struggle on here in China.

When I was just 30, I still didn't know what 20 years felt like. When I hit 40, I knew what 20 years felt like. With enough of a stimulus (diary entries, photographs), I could remember every single one of the previous 7,305 days. And so could you.

And I'm sure you'll agree, 20 years goes fast.

At 40, I decided that I wanted to make the next 20 years count. Having ended up in China, I decided that here I would do something extraordinary.

I decided to do three very difficult things:

1. Learn how to speak Chinese.

2. Learn Chinese birds.

3. Become an expert photographer.

Nearly five years later, I have become a fluent Chinese speaker; I have learned photography inside and out; and my knowledge of Chinese birds keeps increasing. See my Web site, www.craigbrelsford.com, for an indication of my progress.

Now, I am tying together my new skills, plus my old writing skill (I was a journalist for many years in the United States). I'm doing a major project, a photographic guidebook to the birds of China. I am doing all of the writing and taking most of the photographs. I've photographed about 500 Chinese species, more than a third of the approximately 1,360 species in China.

The guidebook is a personal project, first and foremost. I would do my guidebook even if the market were saturated. But I don't think the market is saturated.

I want to stand in the long and honorable tradition of great Western ornithologists in China, from Swinhoe and Père David down to the present day. Birding started in the English-speaking world; its spread to China will be crucial, if the wanton destruction of the environment here is to be stopped.

Indeed, the time for greatness is now.

That's my intro. I'm going to use this thread to update you on my progress as a birder in China.

[thrush]

Right on schedule, the grey nightjars have arrived at Zhongshan Park in downtown Shanghai.

You could set your calendar to 'em.

Every year for the past three years, right around the first week of September, I take my evening constitutional at Zhongshan Park. I look to the sky at dusk. And there they are.

Last night, four grey nightjars were patrolling the sky above the second, smaller grassy field at Zhongshan. The sky was grey, the birds were black against the sky, the treetops were jagged against the horizon, and farther back were the skyscrapers.

Zhongshan is just a few subway stops from downtown Shanghai. It's right in the middle of the greatest megacity in China.

And there, at dusk, this week and probably next, the grey nightjars will be zigzagging across the evening sky.

[thrush]

People keep asking me about the speech I gave in Altai City, Xinjiang, in May. I'm therefore going to copy in the English version.

I was invited through www.birdnet.cn to an eco-tourism and birding conference in Altai City. Birdnet is the top bird-photography site in China; it's disdained by some of the self-styled "serious" birders, but I have found a good many members of birdnet who know birds well and love them.

In the speech, I recommended that China adopt a national bird and that it ban the keeping of birds in cages. I delivered the speech in Chinese. Here's my English version:

China Needs a National Bird
by Craig Brelsford
Altai City, Altai Prefecture, Xinjiang, China
8 May 2012

Hello and thank you for inviting me to speak at Altai. This is my first full day in Xinjiang. I am looking forward to getting to know you and to learning about the fascinating birds of Xinjiang and the Altai region.

My name is Craig Brelsford. In Chinese, I call myself 大山雀. Why Da Shan Que? Because many Chinese, hearing me speak, think that they've met the famous Canadian, Da Shan. They say, you speak Chinese so well! Are you, are you . . . are you Da Shan?

Because I hate to disappoint people, I say, Yes, I am Da Shan . . . Que!

I have lived in Shanghai for four and a half years. I am writing the eGuide to the Birds of China. I am writing the text in English and taking most of the photographs. My team plans to use photographs to illustrate the book, rather than paintings. I am traveling to as many places as possible in China, collecting photographs and observing the birds of China.

Next year, my team plans to sell the eGuide to the Birds of China on iTunes and other online stores. A Chinese version will be available. We plan to describe and illustrate every one of the more than 1,350 species in China. If the eGuide is a success, then we plan to create a paper book as well.

You are welcome to take a business card. Please visit my Web site, www.craigbrelsford.com, and let me know what you think.

Traveling through China is a privilege. I am grateful to the Chinese people for this opportunity to discover China. In return for your warm welcome, I have made it my goal to understand the language and the customs of this country. Four and a half years ago, I spoke almost no Chinese. Now, I am able to give a speech in Chinese. I have worked hard to connect with China, and I pledge to continue to work hard.

China is a huge, immensely varied country. America, which is about the same size as China and like China is a mainly temperate country, only has about 888 species of bird. China has 1,350.

But the birds of China are under serious threat.

You have invited me here to offer a foreigner's perspective. I would like to offer you some ideas for your consideration.

China needs a comprehensive plan to protect its wildlife, wild habitats, and general environment. As part of its comprehensive environmental plan, China needs a comprehensive plan to protect its birds.

To protect its birds, I propose that China do two things: First, designate a national bird. Second, ban the keeping of birds in cages.

The first action is positive. The second is negative. Both should go hand in hand.

I envision a sustained, major national effort, something like the Olympics in 2008 and the response to the Wenchuan earthquake. Almost every person in China knew that the Olympics were being held in Beijing in 2008. Almost every person in China knew that a terrible earthquake occurred in western Sichuan.

Almost every Chinese could know that a major effort is under way to protect the environment and that as part of that effort a competition is under way to designate a national bird. Each province and autonomous area in China could also designate its own provincial-level bird.

Children from schools all over China could take part. Schools could create presentations showing why a certain bird should be the national bird of China.

Once the bird is chosen, it would enjoy the greatest form of protection: the love and esteem of human beings. Few people would want to hunt that bird, because harming it would, in a way, be harming China.

In America, the bald eagle is the national symbol. Americans love eagles generally, but they especially love the bald eagle, and they love the bald eagle in large part because the bald eagle represents America. Few people wish to capture or harm bald eagles in America.

Designating a national bird would tell Chinese, and the world, that China esteems its wildlife and that because it esteems its wildlife, it also wants to protect it.

While designating a national bird, China should also enact a nationwide ban on keeping birds in cages. People who have caged birds now would be allowed to keep theirs. But the selling and trading of birds would be forbidden.

A ban on caged birds would immediately destroy the market for wild birds. Some honest people who sell birds legally would lose their jobs. That's unfortunate. But even more unfortunate is the effect the caged-bird trade is having on Chinese birds. Even more unfortunate is the future generations of Chinese, many of whom will have no beautiful wild birds to look at, because years ago, our generation took them away to put in cages.

Some will argue that caging birds is an ancient Chinese tradition. I say, if Chinese who lived 1,000 years ago could see what is going on today, they would not be pleased. Ancient Chinese knew and loved wild birds, and took a few of the many wild birds and placed them in cages. They loved their song and their beauty. Today, wild birds are much fewer and under much greater threat. And besides, today, anyone can download a recording of a bird's song and listen to that. And we photographers can give every single Chinese beautiful photos of wild Chinese birds.

The ancient Chinese would agree that banning caged birds is necessary now. Banning caged birds is in keeping with a tradition even more ancient than keeping caged birds. And that tradition is a deep respect for and love of nature.

That's the real ancient China!

Many of us here today are photographers. Many of us use www.birdnet.cn. May birdnet long continue to be a voice calling for the protection of Chinese birds!

Thank you again to the government of Altai, to birdnet, and to all of you for allowing me to speak to you today.

[thrush]

Reporting live via iPhone from Zhongshan Park in Shanghai, I'm Craig Brelsford.

The nightjars are out again.

It's dusk. A bit of blue remains in the sky. The treetops are dark silhouettes against the darkening sky.

The nightjars appeared suddenly. First came the bats, probably also migratory, with their more labored, erratic flight. Then came the nightjars, two so far tonight, with their more graceful, swooping flight.

It's a cool, late summer evening in Shanghai, China.

I'm birding at dusk. The nightjars are here.

[thrush]

Yangkou, Day 1

Hello from Yangkou! I arrived here on Friday 14 September 2012 with my assistant, Mrs. Shang. I was excited to get out, having spent the summer writing my e-Guide to the Birds of China. We were driving the very same Chevy Lova that Avis rented me when I went to Yangkou in April and May with Dev Thirunavukkarasu. (I photographed the license plate in May, and it matches the license plate on the car now.)

Mrs. Shang and I skipped lunch and headed straight for the temple. I pressed the shutter button for the first time since June for the BLUE ROCK THRUSH (蓝矶鸫, lán jīdōng, Monticola solitarius), a favorite species of mine. The blue, scaled plumage always pleases my eyes.

I was feeling good. I was itching to get out and do photography, and during my hiatus I'd had my the sensor on my Nikon D3S cleaned; both camera and man were fresh and ready to go.

On our way to the fish ponds near the "little temple," we drove along the extension of the Magic Forest. I parked, got out, and walked, camera in hand. Very soon I came upon the most interesting bird of the day (ornithologically speaking): a NORTHERN HAWK CUCKOO (北鹰鹃, běi yīngjuān, Hierococcyx hyperythrus). The bird was on the ground, perhaps feeding. I was unable to lift my camera in time to get the shot. Before today, I'd found a northern hawk cuckoo only once, in October 2010 in the Magic Forest.

I was disappointed to see the fish ponds near the little temple completely flooded. The water is too deep, and shorebirds can't feed and rest there.

I saw many LONG-TOED STINTS (长趾滨鹬, chángzhǐ bīnyù, Calidris subminuta), and I came very close to a fearless LITTLE RINGED PLOVER (金眶鸻, jīnkuàng héng, Charadrius dubius).

The attached images are some of the day's photographic harvest.

[thrush]

I had hand-held glory in the Magic Forest on Saturday. I photographed a juvenile Cuculus cuckoo; the species is indeterminable, but it has to be one of these three:

EURASIAN CUCKOO (大杜鹃, dà dùjuān, Cuculus canorus)
HIMALAYAN CUCKOO (中杜鹃, zhōng dùjuān, Cuculus saturatus)
ORIENTAL CUCKOO (北方中杜鹃, běifāng zhōngdùjuān, Cuculus optatus)

To photograph this very secretive bird, I hand-held my heavy 600 mm lens and D3S. Only in that way could I have the flexibility I needed to work my way through the branches and undergrowth in the Magic Forest.

I hit the mudflats on the mattress and photographed EURASIAN CURLEW (白腰杓鹬, báiyāo sháoyù, Numenius arquata) and other species.

I photographed a NORTHERN HAWK CUCKOO in the Magic Forest.

[thrush]

We got the spoon-billed sandpiper done today! Photos attached.

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by thrush

I photographed a NORTHERN HAWK CUCKOO in the Magic Forest.

Beautiful Cuckoo shot Craig. I've been chasing them all weekend it seems (species unidentified) with only a record shot or two from distance.

[thrush]

I also stumbled upon this GREY NIGHTJAR in the vacant lot near the big temple. Yangkou alive!

[thrush]

Here's my client Branyo from Slovakia on the mattress at Yangkou on Monday. Somewhere among the roosting birds is a spoon-billed sandpiper. Branyo was thrilled to photograph the highly endangered bird from the mattress. I was hiding in the reeds on the shore of the fish pond. I took two images, both at f/22, my narrowest aperture; one focusing on Branyo, the other on the birds. Later, I stitched the two images.

My clients are highly experienced birdwatchers. Before each trip, I coach them on how to use the mattress without scaring the birds. My people respect and love birds and are thrilled to get the close look that the mattress affords.

[thrush]

Here's another image of Branyo, my client, on the mattress on Tuesday. After the tide came in, Branyo and I drove inland and found a roosting spot holding about 1,300 birds, among them 13 spoon-billed sandpipers, 500 dunlins, 600 Kentish plovers, and a handful of terek sandpipers, lesser and greater sand plovers, and at least one Temminck's stint. Branyo spent an hour in the fish pond, never once startling the birds; the birds rested while Branyo quietly enjoyed the thrill of getting close to the roost.

[thrush]

On Tuesday, after I dropped off Branyo, I rushed back to the fish ponds and jumped in with the mattress. I found this Temminck's stint. I'm in the hotel now taking an early lunch break. Today (Day 7), the tide will roll in at 1330 (less than two hours from now). I'm heading back to the mudflats, where I'll wait for the tide, then, after the tide hits the sea wall, I'll head back to the fish ponds inland. I'm hoping that a big roost will form there again. My goal is to photograph the spoon-billed sandpiper.

[thrush]

Today, I created a set of photos of the spoon-billed sandpiper that are among the best ever taken of this critically endangered species in China. Hard work, good birding skills, and good luck got me there. The lucky thing was that the spooner was tending to be more active than the other 1,500 or so shorebirds on the inland roost today. The spooner was feeding vigorously, just as it does on the mudflats, and resting only occasionally. This behavior was in contrast to that of the dunlins, red-necked stints, and Kentish plovers, which were more often at rest. Because it was often feeding, the spooner was more likely to be on the edge of the water, not far up the sandbank and out of the reach of me and my mattress. The first thing, therefore, I was looking for was a small, moving sandpiper in or near the water. Next came behavior. Close observation showed that the behavior of the superficially similar red-necked stint is very much distinct. The red-necked stint picks at the water, but the spooner swishes its head in the water. After a while, the difference became so obvious to me that I was eliminating red-neckeds almost instinctively, at a glance. It was glorious to find this spooner and at least one other individual. A feeling of peace came over me as I became a part of the big roost, floating unobtrusively on my mattress. In the image here, I was 8.9 m away from my beloved spooner. I'll be processing more images from the shoot in the coming days. Enjoy!

[thirudevaram]

Yawning spoonie. Masterpiece!

[thrush]

Sorry about the lack of posts these past few days. I was at Caofeidian wetland in Hebei for the annual conference of birdnet.cn. Here are some more of my recent images of the spoon-billed sandpiper. This one is an adult in non-breeding plumage.

[thrush]

And here is another individual with traces of the chestnut-red breeding plumage.

[rockfowl]

Originally Posted by thrush

Today, I created a set of photos of the spoon-billed sandpiper that are among the best ever taken of this critically endangered species in China. Hard work, good birding skills, and good luck got me there. The lucky thing was that the spooner was tending to be more active than the other 1,500 or so shorebirds on the inland roost today. The spooner was feeding vigorously, just as it does on the mudflats, and resting only occasionally. This behavior was in contrast to that of the dunlins, red-necked stints, and Kentish plovers, which were more often at rest. Because it was often feeding, the spooner was more likely to be on the edge of the water, not far up the sandbank and out of the reach of me and my mattress. The first thing, therefore, I was looking for was a small, moving sandpiper in or near the water. Next came behavior. Close observation showed that the behavior of the superficially similar red-necked stint is very much distinct. The red-necked stint picks at the water, but the spooner swishes its head in the water. After a while, the difference became so obvious to me that I was eliminating red-neckeds almost instinctively, at a glance. It was glorious to find this spooner and at least one other individual. A feeling of peace came over me as I became a part of the big roost, floating unobtrusively on my mattress. In the image here, I was 8.9 m away from my beloved spooner. I'll be processing more images from the shoot in the coming days. Enjoy!

That's a beauty!

[thrush]

The Saunders's gull is classified as vulnerable, but it is common enough around Yangkou. Identification is straightforward. Here, I've taken excerpts from my forthcoming "e-Guide to the Birds of China" to nail the ID of this non-breeding adult.

[thrush]

An adult varied tit (Poecile varius varius) rests on a branch on Lesser Yangshan Island yesterday. This tit, one of four that I counted (all adults), is a member of the nominate subspecies. Lesser Yangshan Island, 30 km off the coast of Shanghai but part of Zhejiang Province, is a well-known spot for passage migrants. Is this specimen a passage migrant? Probably not. There are four arguments that this bird escaped from captivity:

1. Lesser Yangshan Island is the home of a massive port, the deep-water port of Shanghai; thousands of ships come and go from this port. It's possible that the varied tits were brought here on a boat, possibly as pets, and then escaped or were freed.

2. The varied tit has a history of being a captive bird. In Japan, it is "one of the three most popular cagebirds" (Harrap, Simon & Quinn, David: "Chickadees, Tits, Nuthatches, & Treecreepers," Princeton University Press, 1995). In Guangdong, a disjunct population in the Nanling National Forest Park is suspected to be feral, possibly descending from birds set free in Hong Kong.

3. We noted no juveniles among the varied tits we saw. The presence of a juvenile would have been evidence in support of the theory that the birds migrated to Lesser Yangshan. (Caged birds rarely breed.)

4. The land nearest Lesser Yangshan Island where the varied tit is known to occur is Cheju Island (South Korea), about 550 km away. Varied tits are largely resident; they do make some seasonal movements, but mainly in the north of their range; varied tits in the southern part of the range are even less likely to make any sort of migration, let alone a migration across at least 550 km of open sea.

It is, however, possible that the varied tits on Lesser Yangshan Island are migrants. Clues to look for would be

1. The discovery of other varied tits on the mainland (especially in Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang). If other varied tits are found, then the idea of an irruption would be more plausible.

2. The sudden disappearance of the varied tits from Lesser Yangshan Island. There are at least four on the island, and it's unlikely that all four would die simultaneously. The sudden disappearance of all four would suggest that the small flock continued its migration. As habitat suitable to the varied tit is scarce on Lesser Yangshan Island, it's highly possible that as long as the birds are on Lesser Yangshan they'll be in the same small area where birders have been finding them. It should therefore be possible to continue monitoring their presence on the island.

3. The later discovery of a juvenile among the tits of Lesser Yangshan Island. I spent six hours in the little forest near the garbage dump. But it's possible that I haven't seen all the varied tits living on Lesser Yangshan Island.

[Frogfish]

Also note Craig, that in addition to the four Varied Tits we documented on Lesser Yangshan Island (and which Dev registered in our names with the Zhejiang Natural History Museum, which has classified the birds, from their condition, as a 'Natural Occurrence') and that you have also now seen, we also photographed one in Nan Hui and another has been documented last month in Hong Kong.

[thrush]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

Also note Craig, that in addition to the four Varied Tits we documented on Lesser Yangshan Island (and which Dev registered in our names with the Zhejiang Natural History Museum, which has classified the birds, from their condition, as a 'Natural Occurrence') and that you have also now seen, we also photographed one in Nan Hui and another has been documented last month in Hong Kong.

Hmm . . . very interesting, Frogfish. Very interesting indeed. I was unaware of the record from Nanhui. That's an important record. I'm not sure about the relationship of the bird from Hong Kong and the mystery of the Lesser Yangshan varied tits.

So what do you think, Frogfish? Where do you think the varieds on Lesser Yangshan came from?

[thrush]

I've received a report from a birder friend that a varied tit has been found on Poi Toi in Hong Kong. Still awaiting word on the subspecies. In the photo attached here, one of the varied tits on Lesser Yangshan Island prepares to drink from a spigot. With the spigot and the tiny forest behind the garbage dump, the varied tits have a small area that approximates their natural habitat.

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by thrush

Hmm . . . very interesting, Frogfish. Very interesting indeed. I was unaware of the record from Nanhui. That's an important record. I'm not sure about the relationship of the bird from Hong Kong and the mystery of the Lesser Yangshan varied tits.

So what do you think, Frogfish? Where do you think the varieds on Lesser Yangshan came from?

Well since the Zhejiang museum believes there to be no signs of being caged (and I think Mark felt the same if I'm not mistaken) then I'm wondering if perhaps the storms/typhoons we had a few weeks ago could have blown the birds off course ? it's a long way but there may have been other birds that didn't make it. A wild guess because otherwise I have no idea !

[thrush]

A varied tit feeds on a branch on Lesser Yangshan Island on Sunday. In a previous post, I said that the varied tits on Lesser Yangshan are "probably not" fully wild birds. I was leaning toward the theory that the varieds escaped or were set free. I am now reconsidering that proposition. There are now reports of varied tits being found in Hong Kong, Nanhui (Shanghai), Nantong (Jiangsu), and Shandong.

If it turns out that the varied tits currently along the Chinese coast are indeed wild, then the status of the disjunct population in Nanling National Forest Park in Guangdong may become clearer. For if varied tits can be found naturally as far south as Hong Kong, then it's perfectly possible that a group of them established themselves in Guangdong, and are not ferals.

[thrush]

A varied tit poses ever so briefly during yet another high-energy forage in a small forest on Lesser Yangshan Island. It's unclear whether the varied tits on Lesser Yangshan escaped from a cage or were blown across the sea by the recent typhoon. One thing is certain: The varied tits we observed were acting every bit like typical wild tits, being full of energy and making all the acrobatic twists for which the family is famous.