18 months in Shanghai: March 2012 - August 2013 (1 Viewer)

[MKinHK]

A pretty good haul.

No excuses needed for the White's Thrush pix - they're always a joy.

Cheers

Mike

 

[firstreesjohn]

Mark: a great account of ‘birding in the park’, together with some fab pix. Marvellous to see the archaic “Cicerone” for the Park: could you give us a close-up of the English translation of the regulations ? They are often bewilderingly surreal.

White’s Thrushes are not supposed to do that ! Fantastic.

 

[McMadd]

Mark: a great account of ‘birding in the park’, together with some fab pix. Marvellous to see the archaic “Cicerone” for the Park: could you give us a close-up of the English translation of the regulations ? They are often bewilderingly surreal.

White’s Thrushes are not supposed to do that ! Fantastic.

Thanks Mr Fir Trees

May have to go back and snap the sign with more care although if you want to get the full SP you can visit here:

http://www.shgqsl.com/e_introduce.htm

Almost, almost, lost all respect for White's after that

Roll on next weekend and the hunt for plovers...

Mark

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

I remember a sign at GongQian Forest Park pointing the direction to the "Specious Lawn."

Gotta love Chinglish!

 

[MKinHK]

An observation

White's Thrush tends to skulk less when there aren't 200+ birders and photographers chasing it from bush to bush.

They are amongst the most confiding thrush species in Hong Kong

Cheers
Mike

 

[Frogfish]

Just found this thread - welcome to Shanghai, Mark !

I've been here 15 years and you seem to have got in more birding (didn't think you would, most people grossly underestimate the amount of work they are going to have to do here !) in one month than I get in 6 months ! Great reports too.

I'm more into photographing birds than the numbers but if you need a partner anytime (or if anyone else based here does) then I'm up for trying out new areas. The Botanical is still the best place I've found here to date (but I've only been into birding for 18 months or so) - last year there were two pairs of Common Kingfishers nesting in the park. I've also seen a CKF in Jin Xiu Park last month (bit early for them) and there were a (very nervous) pair fishing daily in the little stream that runs through the compound where I live.

Some shots on here : http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/15370213_KGfkWw#!i=1191291888&k=SZDZB

Cheers
Kevin

 

[firstreesjohn]

White's Thrush . . . are amongst the most confiding thrush species in Hong Kong

You’re lucky, there, Mike !

I’ve seen them feeding in Thailand, where the other thrushes (Black-breasted, Chestnut, Grey-winged Blackbird) were much more visible and perching/feeding in the open, but the White’s (Scaly- is there an observable difference in behaviour?) was still skulking in the shadows and prone to fly at the slightest disturbance.

 

[peak4]

Mark/Kevin, Hello from the Shanghai Railway Hotel, though we're moving on in a day or two.
Thanks for the suggestion of the forest park, we might well visit depending on the weather: it's forecast for rain Monday/Tuesday on the BBC site.
Glad you're enjoyin your stay, we are too.

 

[rockfowl]

"One random mammal for id please...red-bellied tree-rat not being a scientifically acceptable name if G**gl* is to be believed (as if...digression...for those wishing to learn some Finnish may I help you? Koh vee gay...Go F**k**' G**gl*...here ends the public service announcement)"

Pallas's Squirrel

You coming up to Beidaihe? Good luck with the Plover, envious!

 

[Frogfish]

Mark/Kevin, Hello from the Shanghai Railway Hotel, though we're moving on in a day or two.
Thanks for the suggestion of the forest park, we might well visit depending on the weather: it's forecast for rain Monday/Tuesday on the BBC site.
Glad you're enjoyin your stay, we are too.

Hope you're having a good time here Peak 4, shame about the weather but at least 13C and dry for Sunday wasn't too bad ... except it brought out the masses into Changfeng park where I went birding yesterday, along with lovers, runners, fitness freaks, kung-fu practitioners, dueting would-be Chinese opera artists, musicians, linguists practising their French/English/German in the quiet shady areas and children of every size variety and hue you could imagine - along with all the vendors hawking their wares. I wished it would have rained

 

[McMadd]

Cheers for the ID Mark altho' I do prefer my name ;D

Still looking at me diary but would be nice to pop up and see you and those well known tea-totallers you've got in tow this year B It'd probably be later on around 18-22 I think...can you PM Jean's contact details?

Better write up and post the weekends adventure I suppose...some shrike-age for your id input...

Cheers
McM

"One random mammal for id please...red-bellied tree-rat not being a scientifically acceptable name if G**gl* is to be believed (as if...digression...for those wishing to learn some Finnish may I help you? Koh vee gay...Go F**k**' G**gl*...here ends the public service announcement)"

Pallas's Squirrel

You coming up to Beidaihe? Good luck with the Plover, envious!

 

[McMadd]

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

So...Saturday 17th was a quiet day compared to previous years but then I'm a little too far from the magnificent OC's this year (http://www.oconnells.fi/) to indulge in the traditional Paddy's day (and night) celebrations...

Instead an explore of my local surroundings led me, sans bins or scope, down to South Bund for a look at the river and the gulls sat on it...lots of boats too but no pictures either. 10 Little Egrets weaving their way downriver being the highlight. Further exploration at the southern edge of the French Concession and then home to cook, eat, watch the footy (Everton-Sunderland FA Cup tie as it was the only one earlier enough) and to bed with the alarm set for 0500...

Sunday 18th dawned not particularly bright or dry...overnight rain (and thunder apparently) putting paid to that. Out the door at 0545 bumping into my Finnish work colleague and his lady friend arriving back at our apartment block (oh to be young and able...!) before getting the tube out to the end of line 9 at Middle Yanggao Road where, Dev, resident of this bit of the forum, was waiting to greet me. A short taxi ride and we joined forces with Jocko and his car for a morning of exploration.

We quickly arrived at the place I should've been last weekend...Sanjiagang...where Dev and Jocko had both caught up with today's target bird while I played silly buggers in the park (silly buggers 'cos it didn't contain any Oriental Plovers...

Today, neither did Sanjiagang. Having parked up overlooking the remnants of the sod farm it was apparent the deluge had turned metropolitan prairie into a quagmire and the only plovers to be found were a half dozen smart Little Ringed Plovers. Close but no cigar. We scrambled down the bank and begin a more thorough search but could only turn up several singing Long-tailed Shrike, Chinese Bulbuls, 4-5 Hoopoe, some Black-faced Buntings, White Wagtails, Eurasian Skylarks, a female Common Pheasant, Spotted Doves, a Moorhen, several Common Snipe, 1 Greenshank (Common I should stress being in this part of the world ;D), 5 smart Wood Sandpipers. Helping us in our quest to check all the birds on site a 'japonicus' Common Buzzard drifted through putting up the waders and small stuff. A Little Egret and 4 Grey Herons showed themselves. 2 Pale Thrushes showed briefly and Blackbirds were much in evidence. A smart male Daurian Redstart didn't hang around for portraits or indeed record shots. Some Black-collared Starlings would have been lifers had they been legitimate but the jury declares them to be escapes. A Grey Wagtail and a brief Richard's Pipit (done by silhouette and stance so you can ignore that if you so choose :0) were also in evidence. That about wrapped things up. The plovers had gone. One other bird is yet to be resolved...a grey shrike was spotted but was very skittish and I only managed 3 poor shots. One is attached, one is deleted for being a totally out of focus waste of time, the final flight shot I will try to recover off the CF card later this week as it may help despite also being garbage :0) Thoughts welcome...it's either Chinese Grey or sibiricus Great Grey...

Back in the car and we headed south past Pudong airport to Nanhui Zui where a landscape of reedbeds and seawall was waiting to greet us. Hopping out of the car we were welcomed by several obliging Pallas's Buntings and a singing Plain Prinia...nice...lifer number 1 (pending the shrike being Chinese Grey not [/I]Great Grey[/I]...) in the bag. The plan was to drive north through the reserve stopping at likely spots and the technique paid off allowing us to see plenty and keep warm as the surprising cool wind showed me that gloves are best not left on the kitchen table...brrr!

New birds for my newly established Shanghai list came thick and fast and the morning's endeavours resulted in, deep breath, Eastern Spot-billed Duck; 1 more Hoopoe; Spotted Dove;Moorhen and Coot; more Common Snipe; a Greenshank; 50+ Little-ringed Plover in a mixed flock with slightly less Kentish Plover; several Little Grebe and at least 6 Great Crested Grebe; 6 Great Cormorant; 30+ Little Egret; several Grey Heron and similar numbers of Great Egret; 1 booming Bittern that also lumbered across the reedbeds in low flight briefly; 2 Red-throated Divers on a small lake behind the Holiday Inn Express (note to self: consider a night here one weekend in peak migration time...); 1 very cute and obliging Bull-headed Shrike; many (surrrr-prise ) Long-tailed Shrike; Blackbirds; a brief but well-seen (and heard) male Bluethroat (sorry Dev :0(; more Daurian Redstarts; White-cheeked Starlings and Crested Mynas; the first Barn and 1 probable Red-rumped Swallows; Chinese Bulbuls; a stonking Marsh Grassbird (lifer # 2 of the day); Vinous-throated Parrotbills in two flocks of 30-40 each and, most annoyingly, Reed Parrotbills were heard loud and clear but were otherwise keeping themselves to themselves (I'll be back!); Tree Sparrow of course; many White Wagtails including 1 (black line through the eye) lugens bird and an Eastern Yellow Wagtail and another 3 Grey Wagtails; and, almost finally, more Black-faced Buntings.

Time was up so we headed off back towards the city, Jocko dropping Dev and myself off near an outlying tube station where we hopped onto Line 6 to head back to the city proper. Final bird? A lock of 9 Black-crowned Night Heron's over a busy road junction where Jocko droped Dev and myself!

So...home for mid-afternoon and a wee nap to catch up on the relatively early start and, obviously, induced by all that fresh air

Big thanks to Dev and Jocko for guiding me...hopefully we'll get out and about again in the coming weeks and months.

The forecast for next Saturday is sunshine...will those sod(ding) fields dry out and bring me the OP prize? Will I be able to get there under my own steam if necessary? Well...let's see!

Cheers
Mark

 

[McMadd]

...and some pictures of the 18th's exploits...record shots of the Grey Shrike spp. and the Pallas's Bunting, including a poor shot that at least shows the spread tail from below

 

[McMadd]

...and a few more...Red-throated Diver (1 of 2) and Bull-headed Shrike...

 

[rockfowl]

Very nice!

I'd say you've got a Chinese Grey with a limited amount of white in the tertials, bit like this one - http://www.birdskorea.org/Birds/Birdnews/BK-BN-birdnews-2009-01.shtml.
They're rather larger than GGS, certainly those you would be used to and a homeyeri record so far south would surely be astonishing?

I've PM'ed you JW's contact email and mobile number.

 

[MKinHK]

Sounds like a pretty good day out, including a few I'd like to get in HK.

One nit-picky question: do you get ocularis White Wagtail as well as lugens in Shanghai? if you do then learning which is which will provide some entertainment!

Cheers
Mike

 

[McMadd]

One nit-picky question: do you get ocularis White Wagtail as well as lugens in Shanghai? if you do then learning which is which will provide some entertainment!

Cheers
Mike

Hi Mike

Good question! If Jocko's reading he may know the situation in this area better than I currently do? Certainly Sunday's bird had a noticably black mantle and back and a lot of white in the wings...strong eye-stripe but...should've got some pics but failed miserably.

I'm already thinking I could get lazy with these birds and "lump" 'em all as alba if I'm not careful! I remember being a bit non-plussed with them in Beidaihe too...although they were somewhat eclipsed there by the taivana Yellow Wags.

Curious what we're getting here that isn't available down south too?

Please keep challenging all this rubbish I thrash out...keeps me on my toes and could help me and others learn :t:

br
Mark

 

[Frogfish]

Mike

I just put another few birds shots up in the ID section (birds from Sanya #2) if you have a minute I'd appreciate your taking a look.

Cheers ! Kevin

 

[thirudevaram]

Thanks Mark for a brief report! Its a pleasure to be in the field with two experienced birders. Special thanks to jocko for the ride.
Two of my dream birds came true only because of jocko, otherwise i would have never seen the elegant diver and great crested grebe.

There were couple of swallows in sanjiagang but my field experience with swallows is not that great to ID them.:-C

Attached the pics of Japanese swamp warbler/Marsh grassbird/ Japanese marshbird (Too many names for a small bird:C)

 

[McMadd]

Hey Dev! Cheers for adding those pics of a cool bird...lifer for me

Hopefully more exploits tomorrow to write up...

br
Mark