Can I put these in here for now to illustrate ? Mark walked round the whole day with a smile on his face wider than the mouth of the Yangtze !
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18 months in Shanghai: March 2012 - August 2013 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter McMadd
- Start date
Can I put these in here for now to illustrate ? Mark walked round the whole day with a smile on his face wider than the mouth of the Yangtze !
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
Kevin & Mark's Excellent Adventure...or...Phewey Nanhui!
So...following a quick chat during the week, Kevin and myself agreed to head to Nanhui and Yangshan...I grabbed the Metro west to Qibao where Kevin was waiting and off we set for Nanhui.
A trouble-free run saw us arrive around 0730 and first birds were the ubiquitous Cattle Egrets at Dishui Lake. The fence surrounding the lake struggled under the weight of shrikes...Brown and Long-tailed in abundance which suggested birds were on the move...
We took a dead end track alongside one of the canals where we added Plain Prinia and more Long-tailed Shrikes to our list. Turning around we were surprised by a fly-by Yellow Bittern...too fast for the cameras but a lifer so welcome all the same.
Relocating to the world famous (!) Holiday Inn Express we set to to explore the car park and the sea wall...things started quietly in the car park but a couple of Blue Rock Thrush looked dapper with their feather fringes...although on inspecting my pictures it seemed 1 bird had either escaped/been released or managed to get some twine tangled on one of it's feet...
We moved to the seawall and were entertained trying to get pics of the resident Long-tailed Shrikes in a natural setting rather than perched on the concrete and metal structures and statues scattered around here. Peeping over the sea wall we saw the tide was almost at it's maximum height leaving little space for the Whimbrel and Grey-tailed Tattler to forage below us. A flash of blue and white in the swaying reeds suggested a flycatcher but it took several more glimpses over the next few minutes to confirm that it was indeed a male Blue and White Flycatcher...meanwhile as I was watching the Whimbrel a flash of colour exploded from the reeds and landed in front of us on the debris...Fairy Pitta! This young bird posed for several minutes before flitting into the vegetation at the base of the sea wall and disappeared.
Meanwhile...and continuing the electric blue theme of the day a Common Kingfisher settled on the concrete and posed for Kevin's camera...the first of about 6 we saw during the next hour or so...at one point we had 4 in view together!
Back to the car park we joined the Long-tailed Shrike in spooking 1 male and 2 female Siberian Blue Robins that buried themselves deep in the undergrowth and refused to to have their photos taken. Yellow Wagtails were constantly calling as they passed overhead.
Back in the car we crawled north along the seawall using the car as a hide and stopping as we saw things...Great Crested and Little Grebes, Grey and Purple Herons in flight, Egrets here and there. A small flock of Whimbrel on the breakwater. A second Yellow Bittern made a short flight. A silent Cuckoo perched in the reeds but offered little in the way of clues to it's identity...
Stopping at the “Magic Trees” a Common Kingfisher whizzed along the bank of one of the fish ponds. Kevin went to try for shots while I peeped over the sea wall and found 3 more. They allowed both of us time to fill our memory cards...
We tried to exit via an old road but found it blocked with construction debris but it did deliver a couple of Asian Brown and Grey-streaked Flycatchers, more shrikes and egrets...
So...following a quick chat during the week, Kevin and myself agreed to head to Nanhui and Yangshan...I grabbed the Metro west to Qibao where Kevin was waiting and off we set for Nanhui.
A trouble-free run saw us arrive around 0730 and first birds were the ubiquitous Cattle Egrets at Dishui Lake. The fence surrounding the lake struggled under the weight of shrikes...Brown and Long-tailed in abundance which suggested birds were on the move...
We took a dead end track alongside one of the canals where we added Plain Prinia and more Long-tailed Shrikes to our list. Turning around we were surprised by a fly-by Yellow Bittern...too fast for the cameras but a lifer so welcome all the same.
Relocating to the world famous (!) Holiday Inn Express we set to to explore the car park and the sea wall...things started quietly in the car park but a couple of Blue Rock Thrush looked dapper with their feather fringes...although on inspecting my pictures it seemed 1 bird had either escaped/been released or managed to get some twine tangled on one of it's feet...
We moved to the seawall and were entertained trying to get pics of the resident Long-tailed Shrikes in a natural setting rather than perched on the concrete and metal structures and statues scattered around here. Peeping over the sea wall we saw the tide was almost at it's maximum height leaving little space for the Whimbrel and Grey-tailed Tattler to forage below us. A flash of blue and white in the swaying reeds suggested a flycatcher but it took several more glimpses over the next few minutes to confirm that it was indeed a male Blue and White Flycatcher...meanwhile as I was watching the Whimbrel a flash of colour exploded from the reeds and landed in front of us on the debris...Fairy Pitta! This young bird posed for several minutes before flitting into the vegetation at the base of the sea wall and disappeared.
Meanwhile...and continuing the electric blue theme of the day a Common Kingfisher settled on the concrete and posed for Kevin's camera...the first of about 6 we saw during the next hour or so...at one point we had 4 in view together!
Back to the car park we joined the Long-tailed Shrike in spooking 1 male and 2 female Siberian Blue Robins that buried themselves deep in the undergrowth and refused to to have their photos taken. Yellow Wagtails were constantly calling as they passed overhead.
Back in the car we crawled north along the seawall using the car as a hide and stopping as we saw things...Great Crested and Little Grebes, Grey and Purple Herons in flight, Egrets here and there. A small flock of Whimbrel on the breakwater. A second Yellow Bittern made a short flight. A silent Cuckoo perched in the reeds but offered little in the way of clues to it's identity...
Stopping at the “Magic Trees” a Common Kingfisher whizzed along the bank of one of the fish ponds. Kevin went to try for shots while I peeped over the sea wall and found 3 more. They allowed both of us time to fill our memory cards...
We tried to exit via an old road but found it blocked with construction debris but it did deliver a couple of Asian Brown and Grey-streaked Flycatchers, more shrikes and egrets...
Attachments
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
Kevin & Mark's Excellent Adventure...or...Phewey Nanhui!
Last from Nanhui...flycatchers through the car windscreen due to restricted viewing angle and their annoying habit of flitting along the fence line in front of us!
Last from Nanhui...flycatchers through the car windscreen due to restricted viewing angle and their annoying habit of flitting along the fence line in front of us!
Attachments
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
Kevin & Mark's Excellent Adventure...or...Phewey Nanhui!
...Time to think about moving and we agreed to give the Yangshan “Magic Valleys” a try...a short drive and we figure out how to get back on to the S2 south and 30km of “bridge” out to the deep water port overlooked by two small areas of habitat that had already paid out in style this spring.
Trying the eastern valley first we were greeted by the local Chinese Bulbuls and a further 3 Blue Rock Thrush as we stepped out of the car. Nothing much else on the low ridge so we entered the valley and soon came across a small flock containing Asian Brown and Grey-streaked Flycatchers and an Eastern Crowned Warbler plus what eventually resolved into another Siberian Blue Robin.
Moving up the path we found more flycatchers...2 Grey-streaked...and another Long-tailed Shrike. Arriving at the tunnel we walked through enjoying the cool breeze. Exiting we found a temple and a lone Little Ringed Plover on the muddy “beach” below us. No other birds so back we went and the same stuff was still flitting about.
We added a very brief male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher before heading back to the car and driving the short distance to the ferry port where we parked up next to the police station and headed up the seemingly unpromising trail...a walk of c.100m however reveals the “Magic Valley” sat in a shallow depression in the hillside. The Temple and weather station overlook this and all sit above the massive port where container after container sits waiting to be loaded onto the waiting behemoths to travel the oceans...
Back in the valley the first bush exploded as we walked towards it...maybe 20 Eastern Crowned Warblers and a female paradise flycatcher dispersing to the trees that line the valley...a Brown Shrike and a couple of Grey-streaked Flycatchers also present.
Two Chinese photographers were sat at the narrowest point of the valley and we exchanged pleasantries and they admired our pitta pics from earlier in the day. At the head of the valley we came across a pair of Cuckoo...male and female..silent and more flighty than we would've wished...they wouldn't settle for pictures or identification...
As the afternoon wore on we finished our exploration of the area but were seeing pretty much the same birds and leg weary we decided to begin our journey back to the city. A slightly longer route home than planned saw Kevin drop me back at Qibao drawing to a close our days explorations...most successful explorations at that...
Migration...what's not to like..?
...Time to think about moving and we agreed to give the Yangshan “Magic Valleys” a try...a short drive and we figure out how to get back on to the S2 south and 30km of “bridge” out to the deep water port overlooked by two small areas of habitat that had already paid out in style this spring.
Trying the eastern valley first we were greeted by the local Chinese Bulbuls and a further 3 Blue Rock Thrush as we stepped out of the car. Nothing much else on the low ridge so we entered the valley and soon came across a small flock containing Asian Brown and Grey-streaked Flycatchers and an Eastern Crowned Warbler plus what eventually resolved into another Siberian Blue Robin.
Moving up the path we found more flycatchers...2 Grey-streaked...and another Long-tailed Shrike. Arriving at the tunnel we walked through enjoying the cool breeze. Exiting we found a temple and a lone Little Ringed Plover on the muddy “beach” below us. No other birds so back we went and the same stuff was still flitting about.
We added a very brief male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher before heading back to the car and driving the short distance to the ferry port where we parked up next to the police station and headed up the seemingly unpromising trail...a walk of c.100m however reveals the “Magic Valley” sat in a shallow depression in the hillside. The Temple and weather station overlook this and all sit above the massive port where container after container sits waiting to be loaded onto the waiting behemoths to travel the oceans...
Back in the valley the first bush exploded as we walked towards it...maybe 20 Eastern Crowned Warblers and a female paradise flycatcher dispersing to the trees that line the valley...a Brown Shrike and a couple of Grey-streaked Flycatchers also present.
Two Chinese photographers were sat at the narrowest point of the valley and we exchanged pleasantries and they admired our pitta pics from earlier in the day. At the head of the valley we came across a pair of Cuckoo...male and female..silent and more flighty than we would've wished...they wouldn't settle for pictures or identification...
As the afternoon wore on we finished our exploration of the area but were seeing pretty much the same birds and leg weary we decided to begin our journey back to the city. A slightly longer route home than planned saw Kevin drop me back at Qibao drawing to a close our days explorations...most successful explorations at that...
Migration...what's not to like..?
Attachments
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
Hi Gretchen...I put the kingfishers in especially for you now I've taken a half decent shot or two...but please don't try this trick at home will you? http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=402606&d=1346577281
M
M
mcaribou
Migration coming
yes,it's recorded this weekend also in Rudong.B
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
Adventures Various...
Busy days...
So...the dates on the pictures show me I've been out 3 days in the last 2 weekends...what a lightweight...
Kevin and Mark's Great Adventure...Part the Second occurred on Saturday 8th...for security reasons I can only say that two of us went out to the usual spots of Nanhui and Yangshan and that the miraculous finding of a new site was just that...
Sunday 9th saw me and Driver Ni collecting Jeff Hopkins of this BF parish for essentially a repeat of the previous days...adventures...
A week of the “werk” thing ended on 15th with last Saturday's “Adventure Numero # 3” when Kevin and I repeated the winning formula of the previous week...with added “win”...
The routine has developed and, like a well-oiled machine, the first westbound metro on line 9 deposits me or Dev at Qibao where Kevin and his motor are waiting. Now we've sorted the navigating via iPad out, it's a smooth run to Nanhui and “The Magic Holiday Inn Express” car park to see what the small shelter belt is hiding...Chinese 'togs mostly but, with patience, birds have been revealing themselves. Kerb-crawling northward along the seawall and stopping or angling the car to suit the photographic and observational needs as we go...playing “chicken” with Chinese drivers is fun...if you're only travelling at 5mph...!
Once the delights of Nanhui have been harvested it's off to the newly discovered (for us anyway) “Magic Temporary Construction Site Pool” (MTCSP) and associated turf fields as time allows.
Final plan is to head south across 32km of road bridge to the Yangshan port where small pockets of habitat cling on amidst the high-tech lading facility...writ large on a grand scale...it's effin' huge!
Busy days...
So...the dates on the pictures show me I've been out 3 days in the last 2 weekends...what a lightweight...
Kevin and Mark's Great Adventure...Part the Second occurred on Saturday 8th...for security reasons I can only say that two of us went out to the usual spots of Nanhui and Yangshan and that the miraculous finding of a new site was just that...
Sunday 9th saw me and Driver Ni collecting Jeff Hopkins of this BF parish for essentially a repeat of the previous days...adventures...
A week of the “werk” thing ended on 15th with last Saturday's “Adventure Numero # 3” when Kevin and I repeated the winning formula of the previous week...with added “win”...
The routine has developed and, like a well-oiled machine, the first westbound metro on line 9 deposits me or Dev at Qibao where Kevin and his motor are waiting. Now we've sorted the navigating via iPad out, it's a smooth run to Nanhui and “The Magic Holiday Inn Express” car park to see what the small shelter belt is hiding...Chinese 'togs mostly but, with patience, birds have been revealing themselves. Kerb-crawling northward along the seawall and stopping or angling the car to suit the photographic and observational needs as we go...playing “chicken” with Chinese drivers is fun...if you're only travelling at 5mph...!
Once the delights of Nanhui have been harvested it's off to the newly discovered (for us anyway) “Magic Temporary Construction Site Pool” (MTCSP) and associated turf fields as time allows.
Final plan is to head south across 32km of road bridge to the Yangshan port where small pockets of habitat cling on amidst the high-tech lading facility...writ large on a grand scale...it's effin' huge!
Attachments
Last edited:
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
Adventures Various...Sat 8th Sept
Last Saturday saw Kevin and I explore a bit and so I'm thrilled to announce the finding of...dah-dah-dahhhh...”The (Magic) Secret Oasis”...a haven of small reservoir and impenetrable foliage with a couple of handy vantage points to siesta while watching for birdy life...Fickle we're not though and having travelled out there we make sure to visit the two original “Magic” sites...east and west valleys full of eastern promise
So...what of 3 days dawn to dusk birdin' and 'toggin'? Happy to report migration is on-going and we've had several delights to add the icing on the cake that is made of birds that get the West Pal birders hearts beating that bit faster each autumn...
8th September delights included Reed Parrotbill; Asian Brown and Grey-streaked Flycatchers; Pacific Swifts; c.20 fly-by Avocets; phylloscs various – Eastern Crowned, Yellow-browed and Arctic; bloody hordes of Brown and Long-tailed Shrikes; first Chinese Grozzers of the season all at Nanhui.
The MTSCP held 100+ herons and egrets; c.25 Oriental Pratincole; Sharp-tailed Sandpiper; a showy, territorial Plain Prinia; c.25 Grey-headed Lapwings (yes...them...again...); Eastern Yellow Wagtails; in-flight Yellow Bittern. The near-by turf fields held many more Eastern Yellow Wagtails; Wood Sandpiper; Common Snipe and a flock of 200+ starlings both Red-billed and White-cheeked which was impressive.
The Yangshan complex delivered...Brown Shrike; 'brown' flycatchers; more phylloscs including a Pale-legged Leaf Warbler or two; juv Black-naped Oriole and the mystery sparrowhawk discussed previously. Probably Japanese Sparrowhawk but none of the photos obtained were 100% conclusive.
Last Saturday saw Kevin and I explore a bit and so I'm thrilled to announce the finding of...dah-dah-dahhhh...”The (Magic) Secret Oasis”...a haven of small reservoir and impenetrable foliage with a couple of handy vantage points to siesta while watching for birdy life...Fickle we're not though and having travelled out there we make sure to visit the two original “Magic” sites...east and west valleys full of eastern promise
So...what of 3 days dawn to dusk birdin' and 'toggin'? Happy to report migration is on-going and we've had several delights to add the icing on the cake that is made of birds that get the West Pal birders hearts beating that bit faster each autumn...
8th September delights included Reed Parrotbill; Asian Brown and Grey-streaked Flycatchers; Pacific Swifts; c.20 fly-by Avocets; phylloscs various – Eastern Crowned, Yellow-browed and Arctic; bloody hordes of Brown and Long-tailed Shrikes; first Chinese Grozzers of the season all at Nanhui.
The MTSCP held 100+ herons and egrets; c.25 Oriental Pratincole; Sharp-tailed Sandpiper; a showy, territorial Plain Prinia; c.25 Grey-headed Lapwings (yes...them...again...); Eastern Yellow Wagtails; in-flight Yellow Bittern. The near-by turf fields held many more Eastern Yellow Wagtails; Wood Sandpiper; Common Snipe and a flock of 200+ starlings both Red-billed and White-cheeked which was impressive.
The Yangshan complex delivered...Brown Shrike; 'brown' flycatchers; more phylloscs including a Pale-legged Leaf Warbler or two; juv Black-naped Oriole and the mystery sparrowhawk discussed previously. Probably Japanese Sparrowhawk but none of the photos obtained were 100% conclusive.
Attachments
Last edited:
McMadd
You should see the other bloke...
