Sorry I am so far behind on my updates, hopefully I will be able to catch up over the next couple of weeks
26 February 2012 (Continued…)
Approaching a group of photographers snapping a kingfisher from a raised boardwalk extending out over a lotus pond I was careful to “keep the danger away”. Along the edge of the pond both a White Breasted Waterhen (Photo 2) and a Hwamei were feeding. The photographers spoke little English but enjoyed looking through my scope at nothing in particular, and I spoke very little Chinese (a bit embarrassing after travelling to China for nearly 15 years!) so I moved on around the park.
139.White Breasted Waterhen-------Liu Hua Park (Guangzhou)---------China
140.Hwamei------------------------Liu Hua Park (Guangzhou)---------China
Although seen earlier in the day a more confiding Common Tailorbird then appeared (Photo 3).
The weather was very cool with the occasional light rain keeping the locals busy putting up and down their light blue umbrellas but this didn’t put off the dazzling Fork Tailed Sunbird (Photo 4) buzzing around the tops of the Palm Trees.
141.Fork Tailed Sunbird-------------Liu Hua Park (Guangzhou)----------China
Red Whiskered Bulbuls were no surprise however it was nice to pick up a Plain Flowerpecker just as I left the park, again way up high on top of the Palm Trees
142.Red Whiskered Bulbul------------Liu Hua Park (Guangzhou)---------China
143.Plain Flowerpecker--------------Liu Hua Park (Guangzhou)---------China
It was then onto Yue Xiu Park just ten minutes walk away via two underpasses the second a bustling Metro station. This park is much more undulating, the steep climbs quite an effort in the steaming summer months the cool winter weather was therefore welcome. Just before the heavens opened in earnest a Yellow Browed Warbler was flitting through the branches of a willow.
144.Yellow Browed Warbler-----------Yue Xiu Park (Guangzhou)--------China
Blue umbrellas were suddenly everywhere as a downpour began, I taking refuge under a huge tree leaning over the bank of a steep ravine where Spotted Munia also escaped the worst of the rain
145.Spotted Munia-------------------Yue Xiu Park (Guangzhou)--------China
With large drops of water still cascading down from the extremities of the tree despite the storm passing I made my way out of the park for what will probably be my last visit now that my new job supporting Hong Kong will mean that I no longer travel the length and breadth of China.
It has been an unbelievable 14 years and 9 months since July 1997 although for some reason I only started birding in China in 2004. My first Chinese bird was a Chinese Bulbul in Xiamen, at the time a lifer, how many times since have they driven me mad thinking they were something else?
I have been so lucky with the opportunities I have had to travel around China meeting some expert local bird watchers who have been so generous with their guidance from the very first, a Mr He in Xiamen in 2004 and CCP with BMLi (as they liked to call themselves) from Beijing who introduced me to the Swarovski telescope which I saved up for and eventually bought. We had some fantastic trips all over China with Lool from Guangzhou, an incredibly knowledgeable birder who has taken more videos of me than any other living soul (don’t ask why but she does make some great videos!). Zaxxio and Wei Qian who run the Chengdu Birding Society introduced me to so many lifers I will always be indebted to them, while Li Ming in Beijing found me my first Ibisbill, what a bird! Shrike Zhang in Nanjing was instrumental in my first (and only) sighting of the enigmatic Fairy Pitta as well as my first Asian Paradise Flycatcher. I also can’t forget the support from my team all over China who have driven me hundreds of miles and spent hours waiting for their Lao Ban as he seeks out yet another bird, I offer my deepest gratitude to them. My old boss actually said that he had realised why we suddenly gave our Field Offices cars, so they could take me birding at weekends. “Too right” was my response!
I have been to many spectacular places including mountainous regions in Tibet, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangdong and around Beijing, forests in Xishuangbanna (Yunnan), Guangdong, Sichuan and Yunnan, coastal areas of Hainan, Fujian, Guangdong, Shanghai, Tianjin and Beidaihe, huge lakes like Dongtang, Fuxian, Po Yang and Mi Yuan, deserts in Xinjiang and along some great rivers including of course the Yangtze.
Over that time I recorded 492 birds, the last being the Yellow Cheeked Tit earlier today. Of these the cranes and the Ibisbill stand out as must the sunbirds and Rubythroat but there are so many favourites I couldn’t begin to pick them all here. The full list is shown below:-
Alpine Accentor, Amur Falcon, Anderson's Bulbul (Brown Breasted Bulbul), Arctic Warbler, Ashy Drongo, Ashy Throated Parrotbill, Asian Barred Owlet, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Asian Dowitcher, Asian Fairy Bluebird, Asian House Martin, Asian Palm Swift, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Asian Short Toed Lark, Avocet, Azure Winged Magpie, Baikal Teal, Baillon's Crake, Bar Tailed Godwit, Bar Winged Flycatcher Shrike, Barred Buttonquail, Barred Laughingthrush, Barred Warbler, Bean Goose, Beautiful Rosefinch, Bewick Swan, Black Backed Forktail, Black Breasted Thrush, Black Browed Reed Warbler, Black Browed Tit, Black Bulbul, Black Capped Kingfisher, Black Collared Starling, Black Crested Bulbul, Black Crowned Night Heron, Black Drongo, Black Eared Kite, Black Faced Bunting, Black Faced Spoonbill, Black Headed, Greenfinch, Black Headed Gull, Black Headed Sibia, Black Naped Monarch, Black Naped Oriole, Black Necked Grebe, Black Necked Starling, Black Redstart, Black Shouldered Kite, Black Stork, Black Tailed Godwit, Black Tailed Gull, Black Throated Sunbird, Black Throated Tit, Black Vulture (Cinereous Vulture), Black Winged Cuckoo Shrike, Black Winged Stilt, Blackbird, Black-streaked Scimitar Babbler, Blandford's Rosefinch, Blue and White Flycatcher, Blue Fronted Redstart, Blue Rock Thrush, Blue Tailed Bee Eater, Blue Throated Barbet, Blue Throated Bee Eater, Blue Throated Flycatcher, Blue Whistling Thrush, Bluethroat, Blyth's Kingfisher, Blyth's Leaf Warbler, Brahminy Kite, Brambling, Broad Billed Sandpiper, Brown Cheeked Fulvetta, Brown Crake, Brown Dipper, Brown Shrike, Brownish Flanked Bush Warbler, Buff Barred Warbler, Buff Bellied Pipit, Bull Headed Shrike, Burmese Shrike, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Caspian Tern, Cattle Egret, Chestnut Bellied Rock Thrush, Chestnut Bulbul, Chestnut Eared Bunting, Chestnut Flanked White Eye, Chestnut Tailed Minla, Chestnut Thrush, Chestnut Winged Cuckoo, Chinese Babax, Chinese Bamboo Partridge, Chinese Bulbul, Chinese Grey Shrike, Chinese Leaf Warbler, Chinese Monal, Chinese Nuthatch, Chinese Penduline Tit, Chinese Pond Heron, Chinese Sparrowhawk, Chinese Starling, Chukar, Cinnamon Bittern, Citrine Wagtail, Claudia's Warbler, Collard Owlett, Collared Crow, Collared Dove, Collared Finchbill, Common Crane, Common Myna, Common Rosefinch, Common Sandpiper, Common Tailorbird, Common Tern, Coot, Coppersmith Barbet, Cormorant, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Crag Martin, Crested Bunting, Crested Goshawk, Crested Honey Buzzard, Crested Kingfisher, Crested Lark, Crested Myna, Crested Serpent Eagle, Crossbill, Cuckoo, Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper, Dalmation Pelican, Dark Sided Flycatcher, Dark Throated Thrush, Daurian Jackdaw, Daurian Partridge, Daurian Redstart, Desert Finch, Desert Wheatear, Dipper, Dollarbird, Dunlin, Dusky Thrush, Dusky Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Elliot's Laughingthrush, Eyebrowed Thrush, Fairy Pitta, Falcated Duck, Fantail Warbler (Zitting Cisticola), Far Eastern Curlew, Ferruginous Pochard, Fire Breasted Flowerpecker, Fire Fronted Serin, Forest Wagtail, Fork Tailed Sunbird, Fork Tailed Swift, Fujian Niltava, Gadwall, Garganey, Godlewski's Bunting, Gold Napped Finch, Golden Breasted Fulvetta, Golden Pheasant, Golden Spectacled Warbler, Goldeneye, Goosander, Grandala, Great Barbet, Great Bustard, Great Crested Grebe, Great Egret, Great Grey Shrike, Great Knot, Great Lora, Great Parrotbill, Great Reed Warbler, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greater Coucal, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Greater Racket Tailed Drongo, Greater White Fronted Goose, Green Backed Flycatcher, Green Backed Tit, Green Billed Malkoita, Green Sandpiper, Green Shrike Babbler, Greenshank, Grey Backed Thrush, Grey Bushchat, Grey Capped Greenfinch, Grey Capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Grey Cheeked Fulvetta, Grey Crested Tit, Grey Crowned Warbler , Grey Eyed Bulbul, Grey Headed Bullfinch, Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher, Grey Headed Lapwing, Grey Headed Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Grey Sided Thrush, Grey Streaked Flycatcher, Grey Throated Minivet, Grey Treepie, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Gull Billed Tern, Hawfinch, Hen Harrier, Herring Gull, Heuglin's Gull, Hill Blue Flycatcher, Hill Pigeon, Hill Prinia, Himalayan Griffin, Hobby, Hodgson's Redstart, Hooded Crane, Hoopoe, House Sparrow, House Swift, Hume's Warbler, Hwamei, Ibisbill, Indian Blue Robin, Indian Cuckoo, Intermediate Egret, Isabelline Wheatear, Japanese Quail, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Japanese Thrush, Japanese Waxwing, Japanese White Eye, Jay, Kentish Plover, Kessler's Thrush, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Knot, Lammergeier, Lapland Bunting, Lapwing, Large Billed Crow, Large Billed Leaf Warbler, Large Hawk Cuckoo, Lesser Coucal, Lesser Sand Plover, Lesser Shortwing, Lesser White Fronted Goose, Lesser Whitethroat, Linnet, Little Bunting, Little Egret, Little Forktail, Little Grebe, Little Gull, Little Heron, Little Ringed Plover, Little Tern, Long Billed Plover, Long Eared Owl, Long Legged Buzzard, Long Tailed Minivet, Long Tailed Shrike, Long Tailed Tit, Long Toed Stint, Magpie, Magpie Robin, Mallard, Manchurian Bush Warbler, Mandarin Duck, Marsh Sandpiper, Marsh Tit, Masked Laughingthrush, Meadow Bunting, Mew Gull, Mistle Thrush, Moorehen, Mountain Bulbul, Mountain Scops Owl, Mountain Tailorbird, Mrs Gould's Sunbird, Mugimaki Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, Northern Hawk Owl, Nutcracker, Nuthatch, Olive Backed Pipit, Olive Backed Sunbird, Orange Bellied Leafbird, Orange Flanked Bush Robin, Orange Headed Thrush, Oriental Cuckoo, Oriental Pratincole, Oriental Scops Owl, Oriental Skylark, Oriental Stork, Oriental Turtle Dove, Osprey, Pacific Golden Plover, Paddyfield Pipit, Painted Snipe, Pale Legged Leaf Warbler, Pale Thrush, Pallas Gull, Pallas Sandgrouse, Pallas's Leaf Warbler, Pallas's Reed Bunting, Peregrine Falcon, Pheasant, Pheasant Tailed Jacana, Pied Harrier, Pied Kingfisher, Pied Wheatear, Pine Bunting, Pintail, Plain Flowerpecker, Plain Laughingthrush, Plain Prinia, Plumbeous Water Redstart, Pochard, Puff Throated Babbler, Puff Throated Bulbul, Purple Heron, Purple Swamphen, Pygmy Wren Babbler, Radde's Warbler, Red Billed Blue Magpie, Red Billed Chough, Red Billed Leiothrix, Red Billed Starling, Red Breasted Merganser, Red Collared Dove, Red Crested Pochard, Red Faced Liocichla, Red Faced Rosefinch, Red Necked Phalarope, Red Necked Stint, Red Rumped Swallow, Red Throated Flycatcher, Red Whiskered Bulbul, Redshank, Reed Parrotbill, Relict Gull, Richard's Pipit, Ringed Plover, Rock Sparrow, Rose Coloured Starling, Rosy Pipit, Ruddy Shelduck, Ruddy Shelduck, Rufous Bellied Niltava, Rufous Bellied Woodpecker, Rufous Capped Babbler, Rufous Faced Warbler, Rufous Necked Laughingthrush, Rufous Tailed Robin, Rufous Tailed Rock Thrush, Rufous Tailed Shrike, Rufous Vented Tit, Rufous Vented Yuhina, Russet Sparrow, Rustic Bunting, Rusty Capped Fulvetta, Saker Falcon, Sand Martin, Sanderling, Sandhill Crane, Saxaul Sparrow, Scaly Thrush, Scaly Breasted Munia, Scaly Breasted Partridge, Scarlet Backed Flowerpecker, Scarlet Minivet, Sharp Tailed Sandpiper, Shelduck, Shikra, Shore Lark, Short Billed Minivet, Short Eared Owl, Shoveler, Siberian Accentor, Siberian Blue Robin, Siberian Crane, Siberian Rubythroat, Siberian Stonechat, Siberian Thrush, Silver Pheasant, Siskin, Slaty Backed Forktail, Slaty Bunting, Smew, Snipe, Snow Pigeon, Sooty Headed Bulbul, Spangled Drongo, Sparrowhawk, Speckled Piculet, Spoonbill, Spot Billed Duck, Spot Breasted Parrotbill, Spot Breasted Scimitar Babbler, Spotted Dove, Spotted Forktail, Spotted Redshank, Steppe Eagle, Streak Breasted Scimitar Babbler, Streak Throated Fulvetta, Streaked Rosefinch, Streaked Spiderhunter, Striated Yuhina, Stripe Throated Yuhina, Swallow, Swan Goose, Swift, Swinhoe's Minivet, Teal, Temminck's Stint, Thick Billed Warbler, Three Banded Rosefinch, Tibetan Snowcock, Tickell's Leaf Warbler, Tiger Shrike, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tristram's Bunting, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Two Barred Warbler, Upland Buzzard, Vega Gull, Velvet Fronted Nuthatch, Venous Throated Parrotbill, Verditer Flycatcher, Vinous Throated Parrotbill, Wallcreeper, Water Pipit, Water Rail, Watercock, Wheatear, Whimbrel, Whiskered Tern, White Backed Woodpecker, White Bellied Yuhina, White Breasted Waterhen, White Browed Chinese Warbler, White Browed Laughingthrush, White Browed Shrike Babbler, White Capped Water Redstart, White Cheeked Starling, White Collared Yuhina, White Crowned Forktail, White Headed Duck, White Naped Crane, White Rumped Munia, White Shouldered Starling, White Tailed Eagle, White Tailed Robin, White Throated Fantail, White Throated Kingfisher, White Throated Needletail, White Throated Redstart, White Wagtail, White Winged Black Tern, Whitethroat, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Willow Tit, Wood Sandpiper, Woodcock, Wryneck, Yellow Bellied Bush Warbler, Yellow Bellied Fantail, Yellow Bellied Prinia, Yellow Bellied Tit, Yellow Billed Chough, Yellow Billed Grosbeak, Yellow Bittern, Yellow Browed Bunting, Yellow Browed Tit, Yellow Browed Warbler, Yellow Cheeked Tit, Yellow Rumped Flycatcher, Yellow Streaked Warbler, Yellow Throated Bunting.
My last stay in China before handing over to the new crew was at the aptly named China Hotel (Photo 5) which was also my first hotel in China. So much water has gone under the bridge between these stays, I feel so lucky to have been a part of it……………
