[MKinHK]

The Hkbws website has an interesting posting from Korea stating that numbers of Varied Tits have been seen migrating , and there is more evidence from Japan. Go to

http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/redirect...tpost#lastpost

Mike

[thrush]

Originally Posted by MKinHK

The Hkbws website has an interesting posting from Korea stating that numbers of Varied Tits have been seen migrating , and there is more evidence from Japan. Go to

http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/redirect...tpost#lastpost

Mike

MKinHK, thank you for the link. I just read the posts. I'm thinking more and more that the birds on Lesser Yangshan may be wild. If so, wow! Congratulations to the birders who have been finding the varieds along the coast of China; and thanks to forums like this one, where information can quickly be shared and conclusions drawn. All signs are pointing to at least some of the varieds being part of a westward irruption. If this is the case, then perhaps the disjunct population in Guangdong is a remnant of an earlier irruption.

[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.

[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.

The thing about forums like this is that, thanks to them, information flows quickly. That's good and bad. The good thing is, a clearer picture is emerging of the varied tits on Lesser Yangshan and along the Chinese coast. They very likely migrated here. The bad thing is, everyone knows about the varieds now and wants to go to Lesser Yangshan to get a look. Trashing the wooded area may or may not be influencing the tough little tits, which probably were blown 500 km across the sea; but it is definitely callous.

[Frogfish]

Originally Posted by thrush

The thing about forums like this is that, thanks to them, information flows quickly. That's good and bad. The good thing is, a clearer picture is emerging of the varied tits on Lesser Yangshan and along the Chinese coast. They very likely migrated here. The bad thing is, everyone knows about the varieds now and wants to go to Lesser Yangshan to get a look. Trashing the wooded area may or may not be influencing the tough little tits, which probably were blown 500 km across the sea; but it is definitely callous.

Quite agree Craig. The worst thing is that this is also someone's home as the occupied dwellings indicate - and they are lovely people, they recognise me now and wave or come and chat as yesterday - the old lady even brought Mark and I tea one day. People really should be more respectful.

It seems these Varieds are everywhere from ROK through Qingdao and down the coast to the Shanghai region now. And if more are arriving as seems to be the case, then this is an unusual irruptive migration (and a long one at that for these little homely birds).

[thrush]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

Quite agree Craig. The worst thing is that this is also someone's home as the occupied dwellings indicate - and they are lovely people, they recognise me now and wave or come and chat as yesterday - the old lady even brought Mark and I tea one day. People really should be more respectful.

It seems these Varieds are everywhere from ROK through Qingdao and down the coast to the Shanghai region now. And if more are arriving as seems to be the case, then this is an unusual irruptive migration (and a long one at that for these little homely birds).

Frogfish, congratulations once again to you and Mark for being the first to find the varieds on Lesser Yangshan.

[MKinHK]

Don't forget the Varied Tit in Hong Kong!

Cheers
Mike

[thrush]

Originally Posted by MKinHK

Don't forget the Varied Tit in Hong Kong!

Cheers
Mike

Were you the discoverer, Mike?

[MKinHK]

No Craig

It was one of the photographers.

Cheers
Mike

[thrush]

Originally Posted by MKinHK

No Craig

It was one of the photographers.

Cheers
Mike

Well, a good piece of birding, in any case.

[thrush]

On Tuesday, the highlight of my non-birder friend's day was seeing this hoopoe raise its crest. How delightful it was for me to explain basic taxonomy to my friend. I told her, "The hoopoe isn't just sui generis, it's sui familis." Get it?

[thrush]

On Tuesday, an afternoon's birding at Century Park in Shanghai was rewarded with some amazing moments with a rufous-tailed robin (红尾歌鸲, hóngwěi gēqú, Luscinia sibilans). The shy little bird emerged from some thick bushes near an artificial stream. I dropped to my knees and started shooting. The robin was venturing out onto the grass from the cover of the bushes, foraging vigorously. The bird appeared healthy and was not disturbed by my work; in fact, the bird seemed accustomed to the humans passing close by. In this image, the robin approached to just 5.3 m of me. The rufous-tailed robin breeds in Siberia and passes through Shanghai on its way to its winter range in southeastern China and Southeast Asia.

[thrush]

I photographed this pipit on 15 September at Yangkou. I'm calling it a Richard's pipit, juvenile molting into first-winter plumage. Note the "retained secondary coverts and tertials with narrow, clear-cut, whitish tips" (Alström and Mild, "Pipits & Wagtails"). The trouble is, Alström and Mild say the exact same thing about the Blyth's pipit. Knowing the closeness of a Richard's to a Blyth's, and mindful that at Yangkou one is more likely to encounter a bird far out of range (which would be the case with the Blyth's), I did my best to maneuver my car into a better position for a close shot. To no avail; the bird flew off, but not before I got this image. Note that although it's hard to say whether this pipit has the characteristic long hindclaw of a Richard's, we do nonetheless see the "strong bill with decurved tip to culmen." What do you think? Any chance that this is really a Blyth's?

[thrush]

On the photo, I've marked the main reasons why I consider this bird to be a greater sand plover. The main differentiator from the lesser sand plover is the length and structure of the bill. The white fringing of the feathers on the upperparts tells us that this bird is a juvenile. The green in the background is from the non-native spartina grass that clutters many of the mudflats at Yangkou, Jiangsu. I took the photo on 15 September.

[Shi Jin]

Craig

Thanks for posting details of your website: www.craigbrelsford.com

Superb photos! Birders who haven't seen your work are missing out.

Best regards from Beijing

Shi Jin
www.ChineseCurrents.com

[thrush]

Originally Posted by Shi Jin

Craig

Thanks for posting details of your website: www.craigbrelsford.com

Superb photos! Birders who haven't seen your work are missing out.

Best regards from Beijing

Shi Jin
www.ChineseCurrents.com

Gracias, Shi Jin. Please keep checking my site; I update it daily.

[thrush]

Today at Zhongshan Park I found two varied tits!

[MKinHK]

Good news!

Now what we really need is some birds in Fujian/Zhejiang/Jiangxi/Guangdong to persuade our records committee that the HK bird is kosher.

Cheers
Mike

[thrush]

It's a beautiful fall day here in Shanghai. I live near Zhongshan Park, in the heart of this mega-city. Today in the mid-sized and very crowded park, I found five species of thrush: (1) the ever-present Eurasian blackbird (乌鸫, wū dōng, Turdus merula), (2) an eyebrowed thrush (白眉鸫, báiméi dōng, Turdus obscurus), (3) a grey-backed thrush (灰背鸫, huībèi dōng, Turdus hortulorum), (4) a pale thrush (白腹鸫, báifù dōng, Turdus pallidus), (5) and two scaly thrushes (虎斑地鸫, hǔbān dìdōng, Zoothera dauma). The image is from two years ago, and was taken in the same spot where I was viewing scaly thrushes this morning.

这是秋天里美丽的一天。我住在中山公园附近。中山公园位于离人民广场7公里的地方，就在上海市内。中山公园 不是个很大的公园。那里，人很多，很吵。今天在中山公园里我见到了五种鸫。（1）乌鸫，（2）白眉鸫，（3 ）灰背鸫，（4）白腹鸫，和（5）虎斑地鸫。这张照片是两年前拍的。这张照片就是在我今天看到虎斑地鸫的地 方拍的。

[Gretchen]

Beautiful view of these feathers - quite exquisite!

[thrush]

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day here in Shanghai. I live near Zhongshan Park, in the heart of this mega-city. Yesterday in the mid-sized and very crowded park, I found five species of thrush: (1) the ever-present Eurasian blackbird (乌鸫, wū dōng, Turdus merula), (2) an eyebrowed thrush (白眉鸫, báiméi dōng, Turdus obscurus), (3) a grey-backed thrush (灰背鸫, huībèi dōng, Turdus hortulorum), (4) a pale thrush (白腹鸫, báifù dōng, Turdus pallidus), (5) and two scaly thrushes (虎斑地鸫, hǔbān dìdōng, Zoothera dauma). The image is from two years ago, and was taken in the same spot where I was viewing scaly thrushes yesterday morning.

昨天是秋天里美丽的一天。我住在中山公园附近。中山公园位于离人民广场7公里的地方，就在上海市内。中山公 园不是个很大的公园。那里，人很多，很吵。今天在中山公园里我见到了五种鸫。（1）乌鸫，（2）白眉鸫，（ 3）灰背鸫，（4）白腹鸫，和（5）虎斑地鸫。这张照片是两年前拍的。这张照片就是在我昨天看到虎斑地鸫的 地方拍的。

[thrush]

On Friday at Zhongshan Park in Shanghai I saw my sixth species of thrush in two days. This time it was a Japanese thrush. Using my great new Swarovski 8 x 32 binoculars, I enjoyed an eyeful of grey-backed & Japanese thrush standing together on a rock near a pond. Two autumns ago, I took this photo of a Japanese thrush at Zhongshan Park.

周五在上海的中山公园我见到了我这两天遇到的第六种鸫。周五的鸫是乌灰鸫。我有一个很棒的施华洛世奇望远镜 （8 x 32）。我用我的望远镜见到了一只乌灰鸫和一只灰背鸫在一起，它们在水池旁边准备喝水。两年前，我在中山公 园拍了这只乌灰鸫。

[thrush]

Today, an eight and a half hour walk through Binjiang Park in Shanghai netted me my third encounter with the VARIED TIT. I found four. I also achieved personal best photographs of the RUSTIC BUNTING as well as an amazing action shot of a CHINESE RIVER DEER. Other highlights: photographed a single HAWFINCH, was surprised to find a single DARK-SIDED FLYCATCHER so late in the year (they've usually passed through Shanghai by about the second week in October), got amazing closeups of an extraordinarily tame male DAURIAN REDSTART, was amazed at the abundance of RED-FLANKED BLUETAILS in the park, and was shocked to see two CORVIDS, possibly COLLARED CROWS, flying high overhead in the late afternoon. (Crows are rare in Shanghai.) I also found ELEGANT and BLACK-FACED BUNTINGS. My mini-expedition failed to uncover any Eurasian bullfinches, and the fruiting trees near the main entrance have so far attracted no waxwings. I talked to the staffers, who confirmed that no waxwings came in 2011 and none have arrived this year. The weather was fine, a bit cool, but bundling up solved that problem. The air was abnormally clean, affording me long views across the Yangtze River. What a day!

今天我在滨江森林公园过了八个半小时。我见到了杂色山雀。今天是我第三次见到杂色山雀。我找到了四只杂色山 雀。今年秋天在中国海岸有好多杂色山雀的记录。我也拍了田鹀，拍得很好，还有，我拍了一只跑得獐。还有：我 拍了锡嘴雀，拍了北红尾鸲拍得很好，见到了许多红胁蓝尾鸲，见到了两只乌鸦（可能是白颈鸦），找到了灰头鹀 和黄喉鹀。我没找到红腹灰雀和太平鸟。今天天气很好，空气很干净！我今天很高兴！

[thrush]

Yesterday was a crisp and beautiful fall day at Century Park in Shanghai. My Swedish client Jan Pettersson and I found a JAPANESE ROBIN. Neither Jan, a birder since 1959 who lived for two years in Japan, nor I had ever seen a Japanese robin. After my session with Jan ended, I found the robin again. Finding and photographing the Japanese robin was one of the highlights of my year, and it was one of the most notable birds I've seen in my five years in Shanghai. The park produced other goodies. EYEBROWED THRUSHES were numerous; I've never seen so many in the Shanghai parks as this year. PALE THRUSHES often accompanied the eyebrowed thrushes, but we found no grey-backed thrushes. We found GOLDCRESTS, PALLAS’S LEAF WARBLERS, and YELLOW-BELLIED TITS. I was not surprised to find ROBIN (MUGIMAKI) FLYCATCHERS in the park; robin flycatchers are always the last of the Ficedula flycatchers to pass through Shanghai. RED-FLANKED BLUETAILS once again were numerous; we even saw an adult male. It was foraging along with a male and female DAURIAN REDSTART. We saw ELEGANT BUNTINGS as well as BLACK-FACED BUNTINGS. WHITE WAGTAILS (leucopsis) were present, and a GREY WAGTAIL was foraging along the edge of the lake. Jan was already familiar with the common residents of the park, among them CHINESE BULBUL, SPOTTED DOVE, AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE, and EURASIAN BLACKBIRD. None of the local THIEVES was seen, it being a Monday.

昨天在上海的世纪公园我和我的瑞典客户Jan Pettersson找到了一只日本歌鸲（rìběn gēqú, Erithacus akahige）。Jan 1959年开始观鸟，他也在日本住了两年。他从没看到过日本歌鸲。我从2007年开始住在上海，我也从没见 到过。这次在世纪公园能拍到日本歌鸲是我2012年最好的收获之一。除了日本歌鸲之外，我们还有见到白眉鸫 （báiméi dōng, Turdus obscurus），今年在上海白眉鸫很多。白腹鸫 （báifù dōng, Turdus pallidus）和白眉鸫在一起，但是我们没见到灰背鸫。我们还看到了戴菊（dàijú, Regulus regulus），黄腹山雀 （huángfù shānquè, Periparus venustulus）和黄腰柳莺 （huángyāoliǔyīng, Phylloscopus proregulus）。除此之外还有几只鸲姬鹟（qú jīwēng, Ficedula mugimaki），红胁蓝尾鸲 （hóngxié lánwěiqú, Tarsiger cyanurus），北红尾鸲（běi hóngwěiqú, Phoenicurus auroreus），灰头鹀（huītóu wū, Emberiza spodocephala），黄喉鹀 （huánghóu wū, Emberiza elegans），灰鹡鸰 （huī jílíng, Motacilla cinerea），白鹡鸰（bái jílíng, Motacilla alba），乌鸫（wū dōng, Turdus merula），白头鹎（ báitóu bēi, Pycnonotus sinensis），珠颈斑鸠（ zhūjǐng bānjiū, Spilopelia chinensis），和灰喜鹊（huī xǐquè, Cyanopica cyanus）。昨天没遇到小偷，可能是因为昨天不是周末，而是周一。

[MKinHK]

Japanese Robins are always wonderful!

Sounds like a pretty good day all round

Cheers
Mike