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Dalian (Jinshitan) Birding Reports (1 Viewer)

Gretchen,

I've found that aside from mandible colours (hard to see unless you have good pics to review) Dark-sided usually sit on the highest and most clearly exposed perch available. Asian Brown usually are lower in the branches but just as exposed. I also find their head shape different but maybe that is only something slightly noticeable unless you have the two side by side. I find the dark-sided to have more of a rounded head and therefore smaller looking. Other indicators are the length of the wings while sitting (Dark-sided wings almost extend half way down the tail) and obviously the amount of dark smudging on the chest.

The sandpiper referred to is a Green Sandpiper -- white supercilium does not extend past the eye.

Tom
 
Wow. Awesome pics of Chestnut Bunting, Siberian Thrush, Siberian Rubythroat, all birds that are not common in Jinshitan... Interesting to hear the changes from year to year! Some of those pictures are incredibly sharp, like the Blue Robin

You will need to jump back to Jinzhou after the rains to see your shorebirds again! Then again, you would be missing all the landbirds. Sounds like a critical fallout condition at prime time. Work will have to wait.

Dave
Currently in Canada
 
Country Club May 20, 2010

Spot-billed Duck
Mallard
Greater Spotted Woodpecker
Common Kingfisher
Oriental Cuckoo
Whimbrel
Common Greenshank
Common Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
Chinese Pond Heron
Striated Heron
Brown Shrike
Black-naped Oriole
Eurasian Blackbird
Eye-browed Thrush
Siberian Rubythroat
Grey-streaked Flycatcher
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Dark-sided Flycatcher
Red-throated Flycatcher
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher
White-cheeked Starling
Great Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Chinese Bulbul
Dusky Warbler
Radde's Warbler
Thick-billed Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Eastern Crowned Warbler
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Yellow Wagtail
White Wagtail
Forest Wagtail
Olive-backed Pipit
Oriental Greenfinch
Black-faced Bunting
Little Bunting
Tristram's Bunting
Chestnut-eared Bunting
Yellow-breasted Bunting
 

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Country Club May 22, 2010

A huge wedding in the Country Club kept many birds away.

Common Pheasant
Mallard (first family of the year)
Spot-billed
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Common Kingfisher
Eurasian Cuckoo
Oriental Turtle Dove
Eurasian Kestrel
Chinese Egret
Striated Heron
Brown Shrike
Black-naped Oriole
Eurasian Blackbird
Rufous-tailed/Swinhoes Robin
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Dark-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher
White-cheeked Starling
Great Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Chinese Bulbul
Lanceolated Warbler (the day before at a different place and photo credits go to my dear wife |:d|)
Black-browed Reed Warbler
Oriental Reed Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Arctic Warbler (over 100)
White Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Forest Wagtail
Oriental Greenfinch
Black-faced Bunting
 

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Country Club May 26+27

Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Common Kingfisher
Oriental Cuckoo
Ruddy-breasted Crake (first for me)
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Intermediate Egret
Chinese Egret
Chinese Pond Heron
Striated Heron
Brown Shrike
Black-naped Oriole
Eye-browed Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Dark-sided Flycatcher
Grey-streaked Flycatcher
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher
Red-throated Flycatcher
Blue and White Flycatcher
Mugimaki Flycatcher
White-cheeked Starling
Great Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Chinese Bulbul
Dusky Warbler
Black-browed Reed Warbler
Oriental Reed Warbler
Arctic Warbler
Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail
Forest Wagtail
Oriental Greenfinch
Common Rosefinch
Chinese Grosbeak
Black-faced Bunting
 

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Great place to see a Ruddy-breasted Crake - I'm used to see White-breasted Waterhens above knee height and scrambling around in bushes, but crakes - never.

Cheers

Mike
 
Your Jinshitan species list must be growing and growing! Ruddy-breasted Crake! Wow! Impressed with Chinese Grosbeak as well. Stunning picture of Blue and White Flycatcher.

Dave Beeke
 
Nice to see how many different flycatchers you are seeing - guess that's usual for there?

Congratulations on the crake and it's being visible! (Like how your swallow is definitely showing off that red-rump!)
 
Country Club and a few other places May 28

Common Pheasant
Mallard
Spot-billed
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Common Kingfisher
Eurasian Cuckoo
Oriental Cuckoo
Pacific Swift
Ruddy-breasted Crake
Common Moorhen
Common Sandpiper
Kentish Plover
Black-tailed Gull
Eurasian Kestrel
Little Grebe
Chinese Egret
Striated Heron
Cinnamon Bittern (excellent looks at a female. First positive ID in Jinshitan for me but have seen many in South East Asia)
Brown Shrike
Black-naped Oriole
Eurasian Blackbird
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Dark-sided Flycatcher
Red-throated Flycatcher
White-cheeked Starling
Great Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Chinese Bulbul
Lanceolated Warbler
Oriental Reed Warbler
Arctic Warbler
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
White Wagtail
Greenfinch
Common Rosefinch
Chinese Grosbeak
Black-faced Bunting



Gretchen, that's all 7 Flycatchers I've seen here in two days. It's usual to get all 7 each year but never many Blue and White.
 

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What a tart your RB Crake is! Strutting about like a diva on a raised stage - ours scuttle about in weedy ponds and spend that vast majority of the time deep in cover.

Cheers
Mike
 
May 29, 30, 31

Went to several places around the area and did some birding in recent days

Common Pheasant
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Common Kingfisher
Little Owl
Ruddy-breasted Crake
Common Moorhen
Eurasian Curlew
Little-ringed Plover
Black-tailed Gull
Oriental Honey-buzzard
Eurasian Kestrel
Northern Hobby
Little Grebe
Chinese Egret
Great Egret
Grey Heron
Chinese Pond Heron
Striated Heron
Brown Shrike
Tiger Shrike
Black-naped Oriole
Blue Rock Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
Daurian Redstart
Grey-streaked Flycatcher
Dark-sided Flycatcher
Asian Brown Flycatcher
White-cheeked Starling
Great Tit
Chinese Penduline Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Chinese Bulbul
Chinese Hill Warbler
Black-browed Reed Warbler
Oriental Reed Warbler
Arctic Warbler
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Chestnut-flanked White-eye
Yellow Wagtail
White Wagtail
Forest Wagtail
Greenfinch
Chestnut Bunting
Meadow Bunting
 

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Nice you're seeing quite a bit! (I'm stuck in front of my computer - haven't seen an egret in several weeks except those that flew over the building!) I'm still waiting to see a blue rockthrush, but am enjoying yours (as well as your handsome tiger shrike).

Are the forest wags pretty numerous there, or just quite photogenic? I love the pics you've put up of them..
 
June 6 Country Club

Migrants are trickling out and the Country Club was very quiet. I did see one Oriole very upset at its reflection in the window. Looked like it had some problem with its eye. Lots of young in or out of nests as well.
 

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First Dollarbird yesterday. Other than that, not much happening. Nesting in the Country Club are:

Chinese Bulbul
Our lovely sparrows and magpies (woohoo!)
Chinese Grosbeak
Little Grebe
Common Kingfishers
White-cheeked Starlings
Eurasian Blackbird
Possibly Forest Wagtail but not sure (they are there every day for the last few weeks)
Striated Heron (in the hills behind)
Vinous-throated Parrotbills
Black-naped Orioles
Brown Shrike
I'm sure some Cukoos have slipped in a few eggs here and there
Great Tit
 
I'm sure some Cuckoos have slipped in a few eggs here and there

I guess so with all the pics you've had of them! :-O

Have you actually seen any nests? I wonder if the orioles have similar nests to the pendulous NA oriole nests. Wondering if wagtails nest on the ground, and have no idea what nesting for shrikes or parrotbills might be like.

Nice you've seen a dollarbird - I wonder if it might breed there too...
 
Jinshitan June 20

Common Pheasant
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Mandarin Duck
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Common Kingfisher
Dollarbird
Pacific Swift
Hill Pigeon
Oriental Turtle Dove
Japanese Quail
Common Moorhen
Watercock
Little ringed Plover
Black-tailed Gull
Vega Gull
Eurasian Kestrel
Northern Hobby
Peregrine Falcon
Little Grebe
Great Cormorant
Chinese Egret
Striated Heron
Yellow Bittern
Tiger Shrike
Black-naped Oriole
Blue Rock Thrush
Eurasian Blackbird
White-cheeked Starling
Great Tit
Chinese Penduline Tit
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Chinese Bulbul
Chinese Hill Warbler
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
White Wagtail
Forest Wagtail
Oriental Greenfinch
Chinese Grosbeak
Meadow Bunting
 
some pics from last week

Some pics from last week.
 

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Nice to see the Hill Warbler, and I hope that with your nice pictures of the Blue Rock Thrush I will recognize one when I finally see it!

Fascinating to see the house that the starling is using - are they nesting there? Did you put up the house or do you know who did?
 
Tom - great to see your book - it's really well printed and looks great for introducing your local birds (lots of which I get to see here too) to folks. I like the basic intros to the birds - not too technical, but just enough to whet one's appetite. I'm glad that others can appreciate your helpful photos too. I can't begin to imagine what work it took to pull all that together - but if more people did half of that for their local areas, it would be great to interest people in birds more.

A few questions... you mentioned a Chinese version too? Has that been published in China? What kinds of distribution do you have now for both versions? It would be great to see these getting into the hands of people throughout your province and neighboring ones. The publishing/distributing systems here are still pretty mysterious to me, but is there anything that any of the rest of us can do to help promote your local patch and birding in general through your book?
 
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Gretchen, the Chinese version is translated and ready to go but I'm waiting until I sell enough of the English version to put the money back into the Chinese printing. To date I have sold just over 100 but need to sell about 50 more to break even. I will have many chances to market it next week also as I have been busy birding and working this spring. My distribution consists of me but there is an online place now where it can be ordered. Once the Chinese one is printed then it will really serve its purpose of education. Glad you like it!

Tom
 
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