18 months in Shanghai: March 2012 - August 2013 (5 Viewers)

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

The emails flew back and forth..plans changed then changed again and then again...Friday 11th January saw a repeat performance of the previous weeks sneaky departure slightly early on a Friday...taxi to Hongqiao...painless check-in and passage through security to find...”flight delayed”...so this is what it is to be in Groundhog Day....the movie...Plan A was food and “flight mode” and once again the plans would change a little...

Kevin was in situ since Thursday having immense fun with his camera and lenses...or that was the intention...electrics had intervened it seemed...Jeff was en route from the east coast of the states via Pudong...also a little delayed but not as badly as me...plans to share a taxi shelved and every man for himself...

Airborne at last the flight to Nanchang was painless and arrival was smooth. Baggage collected and an eventual taxi sorted it was no big surprise when my driver switched the meter off after 27 rmb had ticked over yet the journey was incomplete...lets see what the price will be for a one-way trip to Yongxiu City with no hope of a return fare at 2200 on a Friday evening...Kevin and Jeff waiting for me and the “discussions” began...Kevin using his language skills to argue the toss but the net result was I gave the guy his 150 rmb so we could all get some sleep...check-in and hello's done with...time for the sleep followed by an early start meeting our guide for the next two days...LaoLin...

0630 and we assemble downstairs to connect with LaoLin and some foggy skies...turns out LaoLin has had little sleep due to having been in Beijing for the launch of the new Chinese “Field Guide” in 3 volumes weighing a hefty few kilos...but I love those 3D covers! Despite a late flight arrival and the fog deciding him to take longer over our journey than he'd originally planned he was still full of enthusiasm and we headed off to patrol the lanes and marshes in our quest for new birds and photographic opportunities.

Our first destination was a stretch of marsh where the hopes were high for cranes and geese...the mist was to be our friend in getting into a position close to where we hoped they'd be as the sun burnt clear skies for us...

A couple of stops on our way...our bumpier and bumpier way... yielded an overdue China tick for me (and a possible split in the bank?) in the shape of a small flock of Rooks on the outskirts of a small village...Little Grebes swam information on a small pit...the river held several Red-breasted Merganser...or were they Goosander? I forget!!

Ditches flushed Water Pipits into our path. A lone Eurasian Kestrel sat hunched in a bare tree and that was it.

Arriving at our site we could hear the sounds of waking birds but it took a little while before we got views of anything and Bean Geese and a few waders swirled in and out of the mist...then the sounds of cranes materialised into a few visible White-naped Cranes...excellent...their ghostly forms nervously wandered about then took wing for a few hundred yards...

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

...and the stars of the show...well the first stars of the show...

...that said there could even be gorillas in that murk...

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

We soaked in the birdlife but it was apparent that the big flocks had chosen other roost sites the previous evening...so the decision was made to retrace our steps and head to another site...the clearing skies allowed views of more White-naped and a few Common Cranes that remained aloof and nervous...

...other birds revealed themselves...larks, starlings – Black-collared and Red-billed and a fly-through Oriental Stork...another most-wanted species gave itself up and, as we disembarked from our vehicle, we gradually disentangled more birds from the landscape...

...our movements limited by the presence of several small goups of skittish, long-horned bovines...a few Little and Great Egrets, a flock of shimmering spoonbills? Possibly but too distant to be sure. A juvenile Black Stork flew over us and we noticed more on the distant deck...

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

Storks a go-go...

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

Back in the vehicle and stops for a photogenic Long-tailed Shrike, another lark and the first of several Brown Crakes showing themselves uncommonly well...Back on the road and a stop by a small group of pools yielded Black-winged Stilt and Northern Lapwing and a confiding Yellow-bellied Prinia...thence to a landscape of cultivated fields and a path through them to go “bunting-hunting”...LaoLin would drive to the far end of a 2km walk and await us...I hope he used the time to catch up on some snooze...

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

Prinia...tea and cotton and a Tree Sparrow...

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

One of the many grave sites in the area...more anon...a lady cotton picker and a moss...

 

[McMadd]

Off we set with Black-faced Bunting and Elegant Bunting spotted immediately...locals came and went along the tracks to access cotton, tea and other crop fields...a small flock of Scaly-breasted Munias posed for me alone...until I raised my camera at least...swine! Grave sites, fungi, locals all “posed” more cooperatively...more buntings...Black-faced and Long-tailed Shrikes kept us amused...then a “grrr” moment...Jeff, slightly ahead alerted us to birds in flight...he had good views and I managed to see something of the final one...a gamebird obviously and from what I did see, a Chinese Bamboo-Partridge...but...classic "UTV" and "BVN"...it remains on the wants list for me at least...Jeff had enough to secure the tick...

Kevin and I tried accessing where they'd pitched down into a small wood but no joy...onwards then and the next distressing episode...walking along the path on the edge of another small copse we flushed a male Blackbird which veered right and smack-bang into a 10m high mist net set...invisibly...against the bank of trees...closer inspection revealed three Blackbirds and an already-dead male Grey-backed Thrush...too far decomposed for eating and no use to the cage bird trade...so WHY? Anger kicked in and operation “Tearing Down The Nets – Poyang” began...

Poles out of the ground and nets gently lowered we began the work of freeing the three blackies...Kevin, well-prepared after a previous episode on the outskirts of Shanghai recently, brought out the penknife and with Jeff and I holding the birds began the snipping away of the fibres...slowly, gently we worked and managed to free them all..two shot off to cover but it looked like one male had a broken wing...we placed him in cover to let nature take any further actions...chopping the nets we left them in a tangle as a message to the owners that the destruction had been deliberate...

Chastened we moved on and could see LoaLin's van in the distance...a right turn along a raised bund that had us flushing more buntings but only Black-faced and Little...some Olive-backed Pipits came out of the dead grass lining the slopes and a Red-flanked Bluetail added to the trip tally...

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

Back at the vehicle we updated LaoLin on the reason for our delayed arrival and then we continued on our way to the next bend in the road when we spooked more buntings and got lucky with one turning out to be a male Meadow Bunting...briefly posing for pictures while we tried not to get distracted by a leucistic Red-billed Starling among c.50 of it's more normally attired cogeners...a distant Buzzard and a skulky Plain Prinia added to the fun...

Onwards we went winding down the small roads when a “what's that” from Kevin in the front had us exiting the vehicle sharpish to find ourselves looking at an initially puzzling bird...only when we looked at the structure and pattern of the subtle shades of grey and black did we click that this was a dark-phase Long-tailed Shrike...cool...a real looker...very impressed...shortly after a White-breasted Kingfisher sat over a small pool keeping it's distance...a pale Buzzard sat on a pole and then we approaching a more open marshy area where a close Northern Lapwing let us enjoy its finery...another bird like the Magpie that is maybe under-appreciated through familiarity?

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

Distant lake-shore and then a “White birds” from me...and a “Stop” closely following it...also from me...out we get and I put the 'scope into action...and yes...YES! Siberian Crane...two birds feeding at a reasonable distance but close enough to enjoy in the scope...target bird of the trip safely found...my day was made!

A fly-through Oriental Stork careering over the skies kept us amused and then small flights of Bean Geese passed by...I turned my attention to the closest geese which were white-fronts...I asked LaoLin to check what I was seeing and he quickly agreed we had not one but two species in front of us...Greater and Lesser White-fronted Geese...superb...my one and only other sighting being a distant first winter at Slimbridge one January Sunday many moons ago...another possible bird for the trip but not one I'd any great hopes for either way...then closer White-naped Cranes; a fly-by Common Kingfisher and a Spotted Redshank teetering on submerged tree stems effectively completed the days birding...

We tried another short walk but besides a very elusive bush-warbler we didn't see anything of significance and were soon journeying back to our hotel where we quickly dumped our gear and headed to the local restaurant for “things various” that were filling...a Nanchang Beer was in order to celebrate a day of good birding with some spectacular “world birds”...that said the chicken was overpriced for a bowl full of bones...and so to bed ready for a repeat of today with variations on the 'morrow...LaoLin wisely hit the pillow early and slept for 10 hours he told us next morning...

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

Geese, cranes and late-afternoon scenery...

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Mark, the ducks on the river were goosander.

Bringing back great memories. B

I've also put a trip report in the Vacations thread.

 

[McMadd]

and see Jeff's trip report here for further details

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=249637

McM

 

[thirudevaram]

"Three amigos" digging the graves in Poyang :king:

Dark morph shrike looks like it just got out of a coal mine in "Taiyuan". Did i jus gave your next destination?

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

"Three amigos" digging the graves in Poyang :king:

Dark morph shrike looks like it just got out of a coal mine in "Taiyuan". Did i jus gave your next destination?

Certainly on my list of places to go. But I still haven't been to Yancheng, yet. And I haven't gotten over my case of "crane fever"

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

and see Jeff's trip report here for further details

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=249637

McM

And I finally got the time to add some photos to my report.

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

Sunday 13th saw us up at ridiculous o'clock and checking out fairly painlessly. Laolin was refreshed after a solid nights sleep which was good news. Rain changed the plans but off we went headed towards Nanjishan. Grey and misty still, Grey Herons were plentiful and a small company of Common Cranes on the marshes provided initial interest. Stopping at a slightly scrubbier patch of marsh we began to tempt the relatively recently discovered population of Japanese Swamp Warbler (aka Marsh Grassbird) into view...a false start with a Zitting Cisticola and some ubiquitous Black-faced Buntings gave way to responsive target birds...eventually they posed to show the limitations of low light and high ISO on picture-taking...”record shots” then...

Fly-over geese revealed themselves...just...as another of my wanted species...the uncertainly named Swan Goose...poor shots taken and wishes for better views later expressed! A pylon summited with a watchful Peregrine was worth a stop before the bird got bored with us and flicked off to steel and powered away across the marshland...power and beauty...

Next up a temple atop a sandstone rock feature. A path wound round the base leading to a hidden quarry pool of several bays sporting two pairs of frisky Pied Kingfishers...lots of to-ing and fro-ing as they divided up the territorial rights...also present but relatively wary were a Red-flanked Bluetail; Elegant and Black-faced Buntings; an elusive Bush-warbler we eventually decided would be Brownish-flanked; an interesting fungi swathing a dead stump; a couple of cautious Grey-backed Thrushes.

Retracing our steps we paused for an obliging Zitting Cisticola, legs akimbo across a couple of reed stems. Next a low-flying raptor gave itself up as a Hen Harrier intent on breakfast quartering the reeds. Shortly after my wish for better views of Swan Goose was granted as we found a close flock on the deck with a few Greater White-fronted Geese mingled within..but no diminutive cousins with them this morning...an interesting pipit rather grey of back and head with a strong, pale supercilium perhaps didn't get enough attention...thoughts welcome on that bird...

Soon our destination of NanJiXiang was upon us and we parked up to give the locals some entertainment while we scoped the flats across a small canal where c.5% of the global population of Siberian Cranes was busy feeding...I counted just shy of 200 birds so you “do the math”...eventually sated we boarded our vehicle again and I turned to the trusty Powershot to try for “candid street photography out of the van window...the peculiar conical grave markers were in bountiful supply which can't be good viewing for the current occupants of the area...? Improved light gave the chance to bag pleasing shots of a Plain Prinia allowing us to appreciate it's subtle beauty...

Some off piste driving saw us slithering and sliding through the scrubland outside the habitation as we tried to get close to what became one then two duelling Eastern Marsh Harriers...yes, yes...I know...one harrier will find it difficult to duel...shuttters whizzed as they sparred above us...a Richard's Pipit stood on it's hind legs to view our progress...

On our way again we paused once more for a posing Zitting Cisticola and then we were trying to make good time when Laolin hammered the brakes...untangling ourselves we tried to figure out what the cause of the sudden stop was...lets say it took a while from a standing start for first Kevin, then me and finally Jeff to see what Laolin had spotted from our hurtling vehicle (digression...for those etymologists out there...”hurtling”...a definition..http://www.gillan.com/friends1.html)...like a “magic eye” thing, slowly a frozen Eurasian Bittern, bill skywards, body at one with the reeds clicks into place...truly amazing eyesight from our man LaoLin...eventually we are deemed no threat and the bird relaxes it's pose and slowly, haughtily steps away through the reeds and scrub as though we didn't exist...

We get going only to stop briefly for an open body of water that yields naught but Little Grebe, then, a little further again, on more Swan Geese. Driving along the lake shore we were able to appreciate the numbers of waterfowl on show as we conservatively estimated “several thousand” geese...Beans in the main...loafing, coming and going in the distance...

Another stop finally brought Jeff and Kevin some joy as firstly Chinese Penduline Tits sat still long enough and close enough for Kevin to get his pictures then, finally a Pallas's Reed Bunting sat up and showed itself off to Jeff. Chestnut-eared Bunting also gave 'scope views here to all...

Finally we caught up with the Peregrine again and it posed for a few pictures before repeating the powerdrive out of sight...

The clock ticking we headed slowly back towards Nanchang airport with two final stops...one a stretch of river that gave some “padders” to the trip list in the form of Black-winged Stilts, Avocets, Spotted Redshanks, Common Sandpiper and some Kentish Plovers that had caused us to stop in the hope they had slightly “longer” bills than they did. A second dark morph Long-tailed Shrike here was good to see...the second was a roadside hedge just like any other that LaoLin promised would bring good things...a short “invitation” from him and out pops a Black-faced Bunting but then laughers...White-browed and Masked Laughingthrushessharing the same bush! Nervous though, they wouldn't sit still to have their photies taken...

Time for a final meal to see us through and to give our thanks to LaoLin and then it was off to the departures drop off zone. Final farewells and thanks, some sprucing up and to check-in then security and to our separate gates...Jeff to his date with work in Wuxi and Kevin and myself back to Hongqiao...and...four out of four...this flight joined my 100% record of not travelling on time in 2013..not bad for four flights in 13 days...!

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

Birds in low light make for...photographs...

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

Siberian Cranes and local streetlife...

 

[McMadd]

Poyanggggggg...January 12 & 13th 2013

No birds here...nothing to see...move along please...