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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Liaoning, Shenyang aka 辽宁沈阳 (1 Viewer)

AndrewHeath

也称为“赫安哲”
Following the convention around here, I am opening a thread dedicated to those few determined, brave folks who dare birdwatch in the largest and dirtiest city north of Beijing.

My results will rarely be noteworthy, but should some poor wayward soul ever need search this forum for Shenyang or 沈阳 this thread shall stand as a beacon in the smog! ;)

Come what may, we struggle ever forwards comrades! :t:
 
Date: 2013-01-19

Area: HunHe river bend, south of Shenyang University of Technology
地区:浑河河曲,从沈阳工业大学往南走

Weather: -15 ~ -20C, relatively clear air (== PPM2.5 at 150~250)

Location 1 Sightings (0900):
  • 60 x Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea)
  • 2 x Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
  • 1 x Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
  • 30 x Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)
  • 40 x Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
  • ∞ x Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)

Location 2 Sightings (1000):
  • 150 x Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea)
  • 300 x Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
  • 2 x Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

Comments
A short list made memorable by the staggering number of mallards and shelducks hiding behind an island a bit further down the river stretching their wings.

NOTE!
I have (and shall forever after) attached a Google Earth .KMZ file illustrating the birding locations. I think this is a wonderful way to help any future visitors get up to speed on whereabouts to go in your area.
 

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Looking forward to this Andrew. I'm sure Shenyang isn't that bad, it's just waiting to be discovered. There is amazing birding in Panjin, Dandong, and Dalian so Shenyang must have some fantastic places as well. I'm sure there is a big push of migrants through there in late April and early May.

There is a wetland just north of Shenyang in Faku County that Terry Townshend and I visited last March for the Siberian Crane festival. It is famous as a Siberian Crane staging area on migration and also gets hundreds of geese. The place looked like it would be absolutely amazing during spring migration time for just about any wetland species. It is set up for birding with easy access all the way around it. The drive from the crazy building (you know the one I'm talking about!) in downtown Shenyang to the wetland was about one hour.

Again, very much looking forward to this.
Tom
 
Ah don't get me wrong, we do good volume on the river with certain species (Ruddys, Mallards, Gray Herons...) but we are very poor on biodiversity. That's always the victim of urbanization...
 
Date: 2013-01-26

Area: Yuhong Water Management District
地区: 黄海公园

Weather: -25C, visibility 250m (== PPM2.5 at 450+)

Location Sightings (0800):
  • 20 x Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)
  • 15 x Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus)
  • 40 x Eurasian Tree Sparrows (Passer montanus)

Comments
This was a terribly disappointing trip. If you view the attached KMZ within Google Earth you can see that the place in question is a neat splotch of forest in an otherwise heavily urbanized area. Typically these are great spots to see all manner of birds in winter - an urban oasis.
Sadly, it seems that within the last 3 or 4 weeks they have sealed off access to the public. I've been by here numerous times over the past year on other business and was very much looking forwards to a long morning spent birdwatching. I was just a bit too late.
The kindly fellow manning the main gate assured me that no commonfolk were allowed inside, and that that had always been the case. However, the half-dozen newly repaired breaks in the perimeter fence made it clear that I had only just missed my chance.
I walked the perimeter nonetheless. The only species spotted are listed above. Pictured below are a very cold Azure-winged Magpie and a saucy pooch who taunted me from inside the fence. ;) The magpie is in black and white because the awful air quality today made for rather unflattering colors on an otherwise lovely bird.
 

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Andrew, glad to see you persisting - its an encouragement to those who don't necessarily have great sites, and a good reminder to me to keep trying despite limits and modest success.

I really like the Azure Winged too, and have hardly seen any this winter - I usually see a few more in winter time.

Is the name of the place really "gongyuan"? I didn't realize that people could have no access to something labeled "public garden". Tough break! Like you, I've walked along fences and thought that something good might be seen. Weirdly, when good birding is supposed to be found on habitat fringes, that it always seems to me that birds stay well away from fences :-C
 
Is the name of the place really "gongyuan"? I didn't realize that people could have no access to something labeled "public garden".

Thanks for the supportive words. :t:

The Chinese name is, in fact, Yellow Sea Public Park. There is an east-west running narrow strip - no more than 50 meters wide - along the northernmost edge that has been developed into a typical Chinese city park. The rest is aggressively fenced off.

Based on old aerial photos in Google Earth I think the fencing is a rather recent (say, last 5 years) development.

I remain hopeful that the same locals who broke through the fencing in numerous places in the past return to do the same in short order. ;)
 
Dunno if it's being the wrong side of the bamboo curtain or my using a mac but both your .kmz files return a BF error message...

Urban birding...always fun!

Keep the faith and book some travel plans to keep you hungry!

ATB
McM
 
Sorry to hear about your disappointing morning - totally agree that good habitat inside cities can be excellent.

That dog is great - deadly looking canines - but a bit pathetic for pointing up instead of down, but no matter - definitely better to be on the other side of the fence.

I wonder why the park is fenced off. If its really was a gongyuan then maybe some scumbag has mad an illegal grab for the land.

Cheers
Mike
 
Date: 2013-01-27

Area: HunHe west, north bank
地区:浑河西部,北河岸

Weather: -30C, fog

Location Sightings (0730):
  • 300 x Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea)
  • 20 x Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
  • 1 x Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
  • 15 x Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)
  • 10 x Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
  • 1 x Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

Comments

The bullfinch goes on the life-list. I got a long, steady look at him from close range and the telltale features were all noted, but because it was so very early in the morning, he was backlit, he was dirty, and because I'd never recorded one before... I returned home uncertain. Seeing that Tom spotted a few more in Dalian at the same time was enough to push me over the edge, though.

The lack of diversity was compensated for by the sheer pleasure of watching the ruddys and mergansers dabbling and diving about for breakfast as fog rolled by. Groups of ducks would come in and out of view in the mists while the steady chorus of honks and such drifted over the water.

The only downside to the morning was the temperature. It was -25C at my house and I rode my bike down to the river dressed accordingly. However, away from the passive radiant heat of the urban environment, it was fully 5 degrees colder. That put me well-past my comfort range. My water bottle was frozen solid in only 30 minutes, the hub on my bike was threatening to lock up, the focus knob on my all-weather Nikons turned like glue, and I ended up having to rather hurry home lest my numb toes became something quite a bit worse. |8.|

In the end no lasting harm, but I think I'm going to draw the line at -20C from now on unless I've got a combustion engine-powered vehicle nearby..!
 

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For the past two weeks, without fail, every morning a flock of 30 to 40 Bohemian Waxwings has breakfast in the courtyard of my company's factory park. While 12,000 employees stream by they merrily attack the dried and frozen berries still hanging on the trees and bushes.

While the field guides will tell you the BW is common in Liaoning during winter, from 2007 to 2012 I only saw two birds. In short, you need to be somewhere with a berry supply, and there are precious few such spots in Shenyang.

So it has been with great pleasure that I walk to my office each morning surrounded by the BW trills.

This morning, Saturday, I woke up to our clearest skies in months - only 30 on the PPM2.5 scale! A strong wind had blown all night and a beautiful blue sky was waiting for me... but not for long!

I grabbed my camera and tele and zipped over to the office to await the flock. Sure enough at 7:45 they came in over the factories and settled into the trees. I spent the next 90 minutes following them around the courtyard shooting as many shots as possible.

Of course our air quality has gone to smog again as I write this in the evening, but for a brief morning I got to experience fantastic photography conditions with rather friendly birds. Some highlights are below.
 

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Wonderful Andrew!

Waxwings are special birds. If you have to wait for your quality birds it's fantastic when they are absolutely stellar!

Cheers
Mike
 
Nice shots, and sounds like a very enjoyable morning. I understand the obstacles of the cold and the smog - we've just escaped for 2 weeks - it really has been an unusually challenging winter.
 
The only downside to the morning was the temperature . . . I ended up having to rather hurry home lest my numb toes became something quite a bit worse. In the end no lasting harm, but I think I'm going to draw the line at -20C from now on unless I've got a combustion engine-powered vehicle nearby..!

Andrew: have you thought of heated boots, gloves and/or jacket ?

Don’t know if they’re on sale in China- but they’re probably made there.
 
Andrew: have you thought of heated boots, gloves and/or jacket ?

Gloves and jacket I'm doing ok, it's my toes that always cause me trouble. Just sub-par circulation in my feet for whatever reason.

I've never heard of heated boots... socks with 9volt batteries, yes, or chemical-heat inserts. But full on boots? Nope. Do you happen to know of any brands? I'd certainly be interested in having a look!
 
Man, you had the Bullfinch and Waxies. That too Waxwings in your factory compound. Love those shots especially the tossing.

"Andrew's Journal" is hilarious, i have been laughing since morning. You made my day brother.
 
I've never heard of heated boots... Do you happen to know of any brands? I'd certainly be interested in having a look!

Put 'Columbia Bugaboots' into an appropriate search engine; there seem to be several models (ranging from £110 to £240), although the reviews are mixed.

Good luck for your tootsies !
 
Andrew: have you thought of heated boots, gloves and/or jacket ?

Don’t know if they’re on sale in China- but they’re probably made there.

You can buy those little pads here that when folded in half emit heat, for both hands and large ones for feet. They are supposed to last for up to 5 hours. If you can't find them let me know and we can sort something out (quickly because I leave for a few weeks on the 13th - though McMadd could assist if I've gone, hope he doesn't mind me volunteering him) ;) They can be bought at any Decathlon for around 20-30rmb for the hand versions I think and 30-40rmb for the feet version.

Alternatively there are now those heated reusable in-soles that can be imported from the USA (good for ca. 2,000 uses and cost around $60-70 if I remember correctly).
 
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