Birding the coast around Shanghai (1 Viewer)

[Owen Krout]

This brings the wader count for the coastal area to 47 this Autumn. If we include Jacana as a wader then the PT Jacana seen at Nanhui this week takes the total to 48.
I do wonder if any other area can claim so many species of wader in a single season? Other than the east-asian flyway I cannot think that north America or Europe could deliver 48 species in a single season (say within a 160km/100 mile radius). Open to suggestions.
[/I].

Your count of 48 waders is indeed impressive. One area that might rival you in a good year would be the Cheyenne Bottoms Wetland area in central Kansas, USA which is about 16,600 hectare of protected wetland. Using the official bird list and including Rails; Gallinules; Cranes; Stilts, Avocets; Plovers; Sandpipers; Wood Stork; Herons; Ibises; not including the accidentals, they could produce even more variety. Partially what you would want to include as waders. http://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Locations/Wildlife-Areas/Southwest/Cheyenne-Bottoms Total bird counts used to be truly amazing and although still impressive have suffered in this century. For the near-by Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, which is an inland salt marsh, https://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/Bird Checklist 2011.pdf I did a quick count and I think there were 61 waders. Both are on my bucket list but on my last trip back it was one of the rainiest seasons on record and every time I was free to make the over 500 mile (800 km) round trip the weather would not cooperate.

 

[MKinHK]

My record in a day in Hong Kong is 42 species of wader - (or shorebirds in American English) - not including cranes storks, herons, egrets, rails ibises etc.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Owen Krout]

My record in a day in Hong Kong is 42 species of wader - (or shorebirds in American English) - not including cranes storks, herons, egrets, rails ibises etc.

Cheers
Mike

And of course the one time that I have been to Hong Kong I had three days of rain from the typhoon. :-C

 

[mjgrunwell]

Brown eared pheasant near Taiyuan

Firstly Thank You Mike for clarifying that both you and I are using waders in the British sense of shorebirds. Your 42 in a day is my point; I am not claiming that Shanghai is superior simply that in terms of either day count (42+) or season count (48+) the east-asian flyway is the place to be. Any idea what the HK record season species count is? Ever hit 50?

On Friday night flew to Taiyuan with Stephan and Xueping. Overnight in an airport hotel then a hire car to Xuanzhong temple. We had a pair of brown eared pheasant as we walked up to the temple. We paid RMB20 to walk into the temple proper, nice views of plain laughing thrush. On walking down we had one bird being fed by a shop-owner. On checking the gulley below the temple we had a flock of 14 brown eared. The birds are not automatic, late morning there was no sign. It is possible to pay locals to call/feed the birds to encorage them to come down off the slopes but we did not have to resort to this.
Please see the attached maps which provide all the detail you need.

 

[mjgrunwell]

Xuanzhong temple continued..

See the maps attached.

We had meadow and elegant bunting and lots of Daurian redstart and Pallas's warblers in the bushes around the big new (overflow?) car park about 400m below the temple. The best here was a fast moving flock of long-tailed rosefinch (lupidus), we walked up the steeply-climbing track on the west side and got some better views of these great birds.

Spotted nutcracker of the brown-backed, small-billed interdicta race were surprisingly common feeding on the roadside pines 600m above the main road. We also saw nutcracker on a brief visit to the main temple in Taiyuan.

If you cannot rent a car then negotiate a taxi for the day from the airport. I woud guess that RMB800 would be plenty for a day out but I notice that all the taxis at the airport were electric, unless they were hybrids not sure of the range implications.
It is about 70 minutes drive from the airport to the temple.

 

[ianreid]

Hi All,

I have a work trip to Shanghai next week and may have the w/e of 5th and 6th for some birding. I am reading this thread with interest, especially in Reed Parrotbill and other stuff from Nanhui and Yangshan island. But I note the destruction you have been documenting above from last year. Is the site still worth visiting? Or does the lack of activity on the thread mean the site is dead?

Cheers, Ian

 

[thirudevaram]

Hello Ian,

There is a good news, the local government has halted all the "landscaping" operations. I haven't been to Nanhui/Yangshan islands since May but apparently there has been some goodies in Nanhui. Yangshan is only good during migration but the port is been expanding rapidly and we noticed nothing extraordinary during spring.

Reed Parrotbill is very much doable at Nanhui plus the returning shorebirds.

 

[ianreid]

Hello Ian,

There is a good news, the local government has halted all the "landscaping" operations. I haven't been to Nanhui/Yangshan islands since May but apparently there has been some goodies in Nanhui. Yangshan is only good during migration but the port is been expanding rapidly and we noticed nothing extraordinary during spring.

Reed Parrotbill is very much doable at Nanhui plus the returning shorebirds.

Thanks so much! I will look into the logistics of getting there.

Best wishes, Ian