China observations (3 Viewers)

[gpari2626]

Hi Giovanni,
It's either a juvenile Meadow Bunting or Godlewski's Bunting and I would lean towards Meadow Bunting due to the lack of colouration on the breast/belly. Lapland Bunting (Lapland Longspur) is an Arctic breeder and is a winter visitor to Beijing.
You could try the Oriental Bird Images website - www.orientalbirdimages.org - to compare photos of the two species.
Best wishes, Terry

Thank you, Owen and Terry, for your suggestions. I've given further thought to the bird I saw and checked some online photos.

I agree with you, Terry, that it has to be either a Meadow or Godlewski's Bunting.

I've looked for features of adult birds of these species that might be present in the juvenile. The median coverts -black with white tips- are consistent with Godlewski's but not with Meadow. The heavy marking of the breast and nondescript facial markings are also more consistent with Godlewski's based on the few photos of these two species I could find online. The uniformly slanted beak/forehead profile seems good for Godlewski's. Given that I found adults Godlewski's nearby, I think it is reasonable to call this a Godlewski's Bunting juvenile.

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30772541

Thank you so much for your input!

Giovanni

 

[Owen Krout]

Hong Kong trip

Definitively not Panjin, so thought I would share this little report here. I left for Hong Kong Sunday afternoon and the predictions here at least where that the typhoon was headed to Taiwan and then on to the Xiamen area. I arrived in Hong Kong to reports there that it would be hitting Hong Kong squarely. :eek!: I spent the morning Monday filing the papers for my visa and was told it would be ready Tuesday morning.

The weather was degrading fast, so I made a quick dash back to my room and grabbed my camera. Off to Kowloon Park which was right next to the hotel. Lighting was terrible and dark enough to be more like 7 O'clock in the evening than the 10:30 in the morning that it was, but it was still a great experience. Immediately I was impressed by the numbers of birds and that they were not afraid of people being nearby. It was dark enough that it made it difficult to ID. In fact most birds seemed to be finding shelter and roosting. The big exception were the Red-Whiskered Bulbu which were still very active and calling. I know I missed out on a half dozen or so sightings as even in bins they were no more than dark blobs. I didn't include the aprox 50 Greater Flamingo assuming that though they appeared to be free to fly and were banded, that they must be introduced and have their flight feathers clipped. Same for the Black-Necked Swan. I missed out on a new tick on my way back to grab the camera when I saw two Eagle sized birds soaring over Victoria Harbor area. 25-30 stories up and fading in and out of the lowering haze. Only able to make out the large size and generally dark with a white or light colored head. No bins, no camera, so missed out on that one.

I managed a couple of shots that illustrated why I lug the camera with me. Seeing something moving in the by then dark areas I snapped a shot and later processing pulled out some interesting detail. First was what I saw as a couple of feral pigeons which upon processing proved to be at least nine finding a place to roost. Also something moving on the ground under some brush revealed later to be a Spotted Dove with an egg!

After two hours of enjoying the park, the first of the rain from the typhoon started and sent me scurrying back to the hotel. Unfortunately, Tuesday morning was still a wash out and the afternoon spent trying to get my passport back, but the Chinese authorities had taken the excuse to take the entire day off. Wednesday spent checking and re-checking on "When do I get my passport back?" and being told "Two more hours" again and again. Of course I missed my flight by the time I did get it and the airline wouldn't reschedule without the passport. Surprisingly though, when I showed up 5 hours late with a passport they were very cooperative and re-booked me for that night on a direct flight to Shenyang with no extra charge.

Really enjoyed Hong Kong though and next time will book and extra week just to do more than just hassle with visa paperwork.


Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) 2
Black Kite (Milvus migrans) 1
Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) 8
Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) 32
Light-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) 2
Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) 2
Black-collared Starling (Gracupica nigricollis) 3
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) 4
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) 20

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30966441

 

[mcaribou]

In early Aug in Rudong one adult with one juv. Chinese Crested Tern.
Then from mid-Aug till now in Qingdao,six adults and two juv.
which may show a northern population of this species,together with the first breeding record in South Korea this year.

 

[McMadd]

Wow ZL...great records! Wouldn't have minded seeing those despite Forest showing "his" birds down south Regards to you and all the regulars!

 

[mcaribou]

Wow ZL...great records! Wouldn't have minded seeing those despite Forest showing "his" birds down south Regards to you and all the regulars!

another new record for Jiangsu Province was blown by typhone on mid-autumn day to Dongtai-a dark juv. Long-tailed Skua.
The wind and rain were terrible that day and a police car prevented tourists from going to the seawall.Thus I had to drive my Jimny onto a narrow muddy bank to reach the concrete seawall for Spooner.Just when we made it,we saw that strange-looking 'Whimbrel' together with gulls and terns fighting the wind.

 

[MKinHK]

Congratulations!

 

[Terry Townshend]

Great record, Zhang Lin! Congratulations.

 

[mcaribou]

In the 1 Oct holidays I did a pelagic trip in Lianyungang.Very rough sea and my little boy,my wife and I all vomited on the way to the island.No seabird watching done
Once we got on to the island,hundreds of Oriental Honey Buzzard flying low overhead.Some were so tired that they landed on top of trees 20m behind our hide and with naked eyes u can see their crests.
On the way back not much.Only one Streaked Shearwater.

Back to Shanghai,spent several days at Jiulong Hill between Shanghai and Zhejiang,on the northern bank of Qingtang River.Every day hundreds of OHBuzzard and Hobby,and later Grey-faced Buzzard passing or roosting.Quite a few other species but in much smaller numbers.Hundreds of pipits and wagtails and some other migrants flying overhead...

 

[thirudevaram]

Willow Warbler

A single Willow Warbler was seen at XiaoYangshan Island on 9th October. The ID discussion is at the below section.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=332924

Thanks to the Good Gentlemen of Birdforum, Paul Holt and Jonathan Martinez for helping out on the ID.

 

[mcaribou]

A single Willow Warbler was seen at XiaoYangshan Island on 9th October. The ID discussion is at the below section.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=332924

Thanks to the Good Gentlemen of Birdforum, Paul Holt and Jonathan Martinez for helping out on the ID.

Interesting! On 28 Sep a Shanghai birder photoed an Ijima's at Nanhui which has bright orange lower mandible.

 

[mcaribou]

And now there's a Pomarine Skua at Nanhui.

 

[thirudevaram]

A Red letter Day in Shanghai

After 5 years of birding in Shanghai, lifers are hard to come. But this year has been a roller coaster ride and especially today it was raining lifers. First one was a flock of flyover Greylag Geese. A regular stopover place at a farm to socialize with my canine buddies gave a 3 harrier day (Eurasian, Male Hen and a femalePied). A stop over at the wader pool, for a stubby-billed wader din't yield but we din't miss a (possible) Long-billed Dowitcher.
At the Magic Car park, couple of Photographers have made arrangements for a Siberian Rubythroat but we missed the super mega show(Swinhoe's Rail) by a hair streak.
I guess, that's how Yin and Yang Works.

 

[thirudevaram]

Last weekend

Photos of Long-billed Dowitcher from last weekend.

 

[thirudevaram]

A slow winter

Based on last year's record, the "Amur Falcon" window has already passed (Oct 7) and we have certainly gave up on seeing one. Nevertheless, we saw 4 birds (2 Adults n 2 Juveniles) circling above our head over the sea wall and slowly catching the thermals.
Back in Chongming, the area around the reserve has been vastly transformed since my last visit. 10+ Hooded and Common Cranes were far out and feeding along with over 50 Water Buffalo's. Thanks to a Marsh Harrier, which swooped into the grass, and sent a massive no of birds airborne which included 150 Tundra Bean Geese and 100+ Northern Lapwings.
Although, the personal highlights were in the flutterby front. 2 massive Common Tigers which made everyone's day and large no of migrating Asian Comma's.

 

[MKinHK]

Well you certainly nailed that Amur Dev - a stunning capture that blows me away each time I open it!

I had 8 yesterday at Long Valley but none that were remotely photographable.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Photos of Long-billed Dowitcher from last weekend.

The flight shot nails it, Dev. Great find.

 

[thirudevaram]

Well you certainly nailed that Amur Dev - a stunning capture that blows me away each time I open it!

I had 8 yesterday at Long Valley but none that were remotely photographable.

Cheers
Mike

Thanks, Mike. Lucky day for us, never had such a close flight and the light was incredibly helpful.

The flight shot nails it, Dev. Great find.

Thanks, Jeff. I guess, i can take the credit for that 8-P. Two Brit veterans, squeezed their eyeballs through the scope and nvr found it. And none of us, saw the 3 Black-tailed Godwits when they were resting.

 

[thirudevaram]

Not Today, Not tomorrow

The feeling of getting a monkey off the back is priceless. Today, two monkeys were dropped off.
In Rick Grimes own words, i always told myself, "Not today,Not tomorrow but one day i will find it" and that day is today. After several weeks of hugging Nanhui, we broke the routine and made it to Hengsha on the first light. There was an accident couple of weeks ago at the Changxing Pier, a family of four were killed when they were trying to get their car on the ferry. So extra precautions made the embarking procedure rather lenghty. We got on to the ferry after 3 hours :eek!:
We dint see much except for few Tundra Bean Geese and Bewick's Swan and when i was about to blame myself for the choice of destination, 3 odd figures were seen on the muflats. Close inspection revealed 3 Siberian Cranes.

Back at Nanhui, Russell Boyman patiently scoured through tons and tons of teals for hours to pick up a Baikal Teal in eclipse plumage.

 

[McMadd]

WOW Dev! Awesome stuff!!

 

[jlhammar]

Good job, Dev!!!

The feeling of getting a monkey off the back is priceless. Today, two monkeys were dropped off.
In Rick Grimes own words, i always told myself, "Not today,Not tomorrow but one day i will find it" and that day is today. After several weeks of hugging Nanhui, we broke the routine and made it to Hengsha on the first light. There was an accident couple of weeks ago at the Changxing Pier, a family of four were killed when they were trying to get their car on the ferry. So extra precautions made the embarking procedure rather lenghty. We got on to the ferry after 3 hours :eek!:
We dint see much except for few Tundra Bean Geese and Bewick's Swan and when i was about to blame myself for the choice of destination, 3 odd figures were seen on the muflats. Close inspection revealed 3 Siberian Cranes.

Back at Nanhui, Russell Boyman patiently scoured through tons and tons of teals for hours to pick up a Baikal Teal in eclipse plumage.