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

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  1. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    They are indeed very similar and do catch people out, e.g. http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_Image_ID=56291&Bird_ID=1745&Bird_Family_ID=&Location= (as indeed do Grey-throated Sand Martins...
  2. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    Thanks, John. I've also today asked a friend on Kinmen (a very active birder who would notice if there was any kind of vis mig going on) if he has seen any Sand Martins yet this autumn, and he reports that he is still looking for his first. If these birds in SW Taiwan are Sand Martins, then...
  3. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    Hi Mac, Apologies if you interpreted my comment that way, it wasn't meant as a reprimand. I just took it that the thread had already run out of steam given that we had moved on to talking about pylons! The birds you post are in fact Barn Swallows. Some juveniles don't acquire much blue gloss...
  4. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    The Grey-throated Sand Martins are resident and all the movements are local. The area I find these birds in floods at this time of year, and thousands of birds of various types (waders, herons etc) congregate there, hence my interest in watching it. Once it dries out, it's just barren dried up...
  5. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    Hi John, How about the migration there now? Are there Sand Martin-types moving through Hong Kong in September? My intuition (which is frequently wrong) would tell me that, if this is post-fledging dispersal of fohkienensis Pale Martin, it might only be a local phenomenon (i.e. just across the...
  6. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    They certainly are of benefit to some birds. Eurasian Tree Sparrows make use of them here, too, as do heaps of Javan Mynas and Chestnut-tailed Starlings. Without telegraph poles, I don't think these latter two invasive species would have been able to spread to quite the extent that they have...
  7. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    Cheers, Mac. Most of the swallows here (migrant or otherwise) prefer to sit on overhead wires, too, where they are never at the best of angles for photography. Fortunately, the Riparia martins have a peculiar fondness of these hoops that the farmers put up towards the end of summer. Once the...
  8. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    Hi Mac, Yes, that's a Sand Martin, too. As they don't breed near where you are, presumably some southbound migration there now. Steve
  9. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    Hi Mac, Yes, that's a Sand Martin, a moulting adult by the looks of it. The breast band is sharply defined and brown rather than diffuse and greyish. Asian House Martins (at least the ones here) are typically sullied pinkish-grey on the upper breast and this often gives the impression of a...
  10. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    And just to clarify (if needed), there is no local race of Sand Martin here. The nearest breeding populations of Sand Martin are in Manchuria, approx. 2500 km to the north. Pale Martin, on the other hand, breeds just 250 km away across the Taiwan Strait. There are currently no accepted records...
  11. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    Thanks for the contribution, Roland. It's helpful. I think that in the first bird in #1 all the tertials have already been replaced and are adult. In the second bird, the shortest tertial looks browner and is probably still juvenile. The first bird in #1, then, will have finished a complete...
  12. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    Cheers, Roland. I'm quite certain that these birds are juveniles in post-juvenile moult. Compare the condition of the outer primaries of adult Grey-throated Sand Martin (Jun), Pacific Swallow (Aug) and Striated Swallow (Aug) at similar times of year. Unless these Riparia have exceptionally...
  13. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    To try and add more context, the swallows I keep an eye on here are all currently in primary moult: Adult Grey-throated Sand Martins have recently finished; juvs are somewhere past mid-primaries. Adult Pacific Swallows are almost finished; juvs are somewhere mid-primaries. Adult Striated...
  14. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    I think that's probably an Asian House Martin you have there. The breast band looks too diffuse for Sand Martin, lacks any 'T-bar', and the underwing coverts seem blackish rather than brownish. Did you see the rump at all?
  15. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    Well, you've certainly contributed something useful there anyway, Mac, as I thought ijimae didn't arrive in Japan until May. Given that some arrive so early, are they known to double brood in Japan?
  16. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    From the absence of wear to the outer primaries, I think these birds are juveniles. This seems to put them in a very advanced state of moult for Sand Martin.
  17. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    These are from Tainan City, SW Taiwan at around this time last year (the first two weeks of September). Would anyone care to have a go at them? I'd also be interested to know what age people thought these birds were. Thanks, Steve
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