China 2010 (1 Viewer)

[Gretchen]

Well, congratulations, of course!

I love the pics of the kingfisher juvie - very nice to see this young one, and the passing of the fish photo is a nice moment to capture.

Though this challenge is over, I'm sure we'll be enjoying your pictures somewhere from time to time :t:

PS - I was slow to notice the appropriate background for the swallow - well planned.

 

[AndrewK]

Congratulations Shi Jin, very impressive to get to 365 before half-year even!

Enjoy the binocular version of birding again

This has been a great thread, so thanks again!
Andrew

 

[Richard Klim]

Well done, Shi Jin. You deserve a break! Thanks for giving us such a hugely entertaining thread. :clap:

Cheers.

Richard B

 

[MKinHK]

Congratulations Shi Jin!

Thanks for a terrific thread. 365 in less than 6 months is a huge achievement.

Anyone who's been following the thread feel like returning the favour by adding to the list so that Shi Jin can enjoy a little vicarious birding and be tempted o kep on shooting without any pressure to do so?

Proposed rules:
1. Birds must be photographed in China in 2010 after 11th June
2. Birds not posted yet by Shi Jin
3. Area covered follows the Mackinnon Field Guide and includes Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong.

Shi Jin if you're interested pls post your list to date so we can see what not to post without scrolling back through 15 pages!

Cheers
Mike

 

[etudiant]

LOL, Is it not just carrying a feather

Well, it seemed to be moulting , as there is some unevenness in the wing feathers.
Asian swifts come in much more variety than we're used to here in the eastern US.
It would be nice to have an ID, even tentative.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Hooray! Congratulations Shi Jin, a fantastic project and beautiful photos.

All the best for your next challenge!

Larry and Nicky x

 

[Shi Jin]

...Still enjoying travelling around China without lugging my big lens around with me.

Although, I'm tempted to blow off the cobwebs and take it up to Tibet next week...

Any photos will be put on a different thread of course ;-)

Best regards from Beijing

BTW If you would like to see a gallery of my favourite photos up to (and including) 31st December 2009, you are welcome to click on this link:

http://www.chinesecurrents.com/wild_water_china.html

 

[Shi Jin]

Photographs of Chinese birds

For those who may be interested:

I plan to publish the photographs of the 365 species I photographed from January 1st to June 11th last year in a series of PDFs.

The first, covering January, containing 92 photos of 67 species (taken in Sichuan, Beijing, and Hainan) is now available for download on my website.

Just click on the "download link" that appears above the male Temminck's Tragopan when you land on the "China Wild Water" page:

http://www.chinesecurrents.com/wild_water_china.html


Best regards from Beijing


Shi Jin

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Fantastic pics in that link Shi Jin. Wow.

 

[Gretchen]

Hey Shi Jin,

Was sure I had replied to this, but seemed not to have uploaded... slow internet these days. I was really delighted to see your birds again. Some pictures are familiar and some I must have missed the first time around. Thanks for sharing them in a new format.

 

[Shi Jin]

Thanks Larry and Gretchen

I've decided to present the photos differently...

In "trip" style reports.

The link below will lead you to the Western Yunnan (Gaoligongshan and the border with Burma) PDF - which includes photos of more than 100 bird species, including Wreathed Hornbill and quite a few other hard to find China-birds.

Let me know if it's worth the download time ;-)

Best regards from Beijing


Shi Jin

http://www.chinesecurrents.com/wild_water_china.html

 

[Shi Jin]

Photographing 365 bird species in 152 days was a bit tiring to say the least.

After a long rest, I'm ready for my next challenge...

To photograph 1000 species in China (no time frame and no time limit I hasten to add).

Makes sense to use the 365 species here as a base (at least it does to me).

And to add to it as I find photos that are randomly stored on my several hard drives.

And yes, I'll also be publishing new shots as I continue to explore this amazing country.

 

[Richard Klim]

After a long rest, I'm ready for my next challenge...
To photograph 1000 species in China...

...but you can't include three species of brown-cheeked rail. :t:

 

[Shi Jin]

Fair point Richard...

I'll just have to settle for the one species.

Take a bow... 366 Blyth's Water Rail

Photographed on 27th January 2009 in Beidaihe, sand flats reedbed.

 

[Shi Jin]

367 Jankowski's Bunting Inner Mongolia 28th Jun 2003

368 Orange-headed Thrush Hebei, Beidaihe 22nd May 2003

369 Bearded Tit Hebei, Nandaihe 29th Jan 2009

370 Malayan Night Heron Taiwan, Taipei 31st May 2009

371 Temminck's Tragopan Sichuan, Emei Shan 31st Dec 2009

 

[Shi Jin]

And something new...

372 Osprey Beijing, Huairou 31st March 2011

Also there: 3 Grey-headed Lapwings; Mixed flock of 12 Whooper and Bewick Swans; 1 male Smew; 200 Mallard; several Elegant Buntings; c50 Teal; 2 Naummsky Thrushes; c50 Vinous-throated Parrotbills; and 2 Ibisbills.

 

[Gretchen]

Nice shot of the Osprey! Looking forward to seeing what you're seeing! Hope it's the right amount of challenge and doesn't reduce the bird-watching joy.

(And let's not discuss rails...)

 

[MKinHK]

Great to have you back in the game Shi Jin

and what a great way to start . . . terrific pic of Temminck's Tragopan in the snow, plus the mega rare Jankowski's Bunting and a Hebei Orange-headed Thrush - wonderful stuff!

1,000 in China - bring it on!

Cheers
Mike

 

[Shi Jin]

Thanks Mike

Appreciate your encouragement.

Here are a few more from the archives:

373 Japanese Thrush 18th Dec 2009 Hainan Yanoda
374 Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker 18th Dec 2009 Hainan Sanya
375 White-rumped Shama 22nd Dec 2009 Hainan Near Sanya


(About to set off for Wild Duck Lake in Beijing with a particular bird in mind)

 

[Shi Jin]

Sunday, 8th April; Beijing, Wild Duck Lake

It was a long shot.

I'd tried several times before to get a sight of Oriental Plover - the most spectacular gem in the gaudy asiatic-plover collection. But had failed.

A handful are recorded every year at a steppe-like area close to Wild Duck Lake, in north-eastern Beijing.

But I'd never been in the right place at the right time.

Surely, by "8th April" they would have been and gone.

But the beautiful spring weather - brilliant blue sky, and (unusual for Beijing) zero pollution, tempted me to make the 90 minute drive to the what is known locally as Yeyahu.

I decided to go in the late afternoon because 1) the many people who go there at the weekend to ride horses or race sand buggies would be on their way back to Beijing for dinner; and 2) the light would be better for photography.

I was driving my wife's car (I only have a bike to my name), so decided to park at the start of the stoniest of dirt tracks and walk the three miles or so to the lake.

After walking for only 10 minutes or so, and close to the "third" wind turbine, I saw a very distant flock of 5 waders - so distant in fact that I lost them in my bins.

I carried on for another 10 minutes and, looking at the field to my right, saw a distant stone make a quick spurt to the left.

I picked up my bins to check it out. This "stone" seemed to be more brick red than the others around it. Then it moved again.

I picked up my camera. Thanks to the magnification being twice that of my bins (and the image stabilizer) I could see that this was no stone.

It was, in fact, one of the most spectacularly-marked birds I've ever seen.

What's more, my birding CV in China goes back 24 years and I had never managed to find one... until now!

A lifer no less. B

And I was watching not one, but FIVE of them (at least two males).

A lifer and also a wonderful contribution to the "1000 in China" challenge.

376 Oriental Plover, 8th April 2012, Beijing, Wild Duck Lake

Other birds of note:

5 Little Ringed Plovers
2 Black-winged Stilts
2 Northern Lapwings
1 female Daurian Redstart
1 female Red-flanked Bluetail
1 Blyth's Water Rail calling
2 Bitterns booming
c12 Pallas's reed Buntings
c50 White Wagtails
c20 Asian Short-toed Larks