Dalian (Jinshitan) Birding Reports (1 Viewer)

[Gretchen]

Complete blizzard today -- no birding:-C

Here too we had lots of wind, but just a few flakes. Seemed like spring had almost arrived and then two days ago, the word was - NO! not yet.

So disappointing to hear about your local ponds... it's hard when there is so little appreciation for what is being lost. Very locally here we lost 10+ acres of a kind of dryish wetland. I can't say I had studied it for birds (it existed in its prime in my pre-birding days) but I know it was habitat for frogs.

By the way, I liked the female blue rock thrush you posted on the ID forum, hadn't noticed that before, and it's a nice pic.

 

[Terry Townshend]

Desperately sad about the ponds.. It must be so depressing to see good habitat destroyed on such a regular basis. I was hoping for a Black-faced Spoonbill during my next visit in May...!

 

[Dong Bei]

Sea-farming Ponds March 4

Quick 1.5 hours today after work. I also made a try for the Pelagic Cormorants again in better light on Tuesday after work but braved a horrible wind chill for a few Red-breasted Mergansers. No cormorants in sight. Today I was surprised by 3 Whooper Swans in the main channel of the sea-farming ponds. There are spots for them around here in the winter but this was my first record right in my patch. A sitting Upland Buzzard was also a thrill. They often land on rocks near the top of the mountains/hills in the area far out of camera range. I'm also attaching some pics of the habitat around the sea-farming ponds. Sadly, this is the area that will be destroyed or at least majorly altered.

List from today:
Common Pheasant
Common Shelduck
Ruddy Shelduck
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Gadwall
Eurasian Wigeon
Falcated Duck
Whooper Swan
Eurasian Teal
Common Merganser
Vega Gull
Black-tailed Gull
Upland Buzzard
Eurasian Kestrel
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Hen Harrier (another stunning male but too distant for good pics)
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Pallas's Bunting

 

[Dong Bei]

Jinshitan Sea-farming Ponds

Habitat shots

 

[Dong Bei]

Terry, I can guarantee (The Dong Bei Guarantee!!) a Black-faced Spoonbill if you want to take the time to ferry to Shicheng Island. There's a small island off of that island where 4-5 pairs breed every year along with thousands of gulls, a few cormorants, and possibly some egrets as well. It would be an all day trip. (1.5 hour car ride, time trying to figure out a ferry to the island, negotiating a boat from there, etc....definantly an experience.) The island is quite famous for bird photographers and the last time I was there, I saw a few lenses that almost needed their own boat to carry. I'll attach a picture of a spoonbill nest on the island.

Or we can just hope for one in the ponds!

 

[dbeeke]

Tom,

Your second photo shows an American x Erasian Wigeon hybrid adult with the green wash to the head.

Interesting bird for your area. Maybe a full American Wigeon is next?

Nice photos,
Dave Beeke.
Chilliwack, British Columbia

 

[Spike Millington]

Hi Tom and Dave,

Actually eastern Eurasian Wigeons often show this greenish sheen on the head and there has been some discussion already on birdforum www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=107618 and also photos on the Korea site www.birdskorea.org/Birds/Identification/ID_Notes/BK-ID-Hybrid-Ducks.shtml.

In the absence of additional American Wigeon characteristics, I suspect that this bird is a Eurasian Wigeon

Spike

 

[Dong Bei]

Sea-farming Ponds March 5

Quick trip again today followed by the reservoir. Highlight today was 5 Upland Buzzards displaying over one of the hills by the reservoir. One of them in the picture appears to have no tail. Other pictures confirm this. The other non-bird picture shows yet another great strip of habitat being buried.This one of only 50 acres of so but was still a good area.

List from both places:

Common Pheasant
Whooper Swan -- same 3
Common Shelduck
Ruddy Shelduck
Gadwall
Falcated Duck
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Northern Pintail
Eurasian Teal
Smew
Little Grebe
Eurasian Kestrel
Hen Harrier
Upland Buzzard -- 5
Rough-legged Buzzard
Common Buzzard
Mongolian Gull
Vega Gull
Black-tailed Gull
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Chinese Bulbul
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Dusky Thrush
Daurian Redstart
Meadow Bunting
Yellow-throated Bunting
Rustic Bunting

 

[Dong Bei]

tree marks

I found a few small trees that looked like this today. Could be from people but I don't think so. Too tall for rabbits. Any ideas? Goats? Something better?

 

[etudiant]

Goats sounds pretty plausible.
They are pretty hardy and will browse anything.. That is why they are so destructive of the ground cover.

 

[Dong Bei]

Sea-farming ponds March 6, 2011

Out for the afternoon today. Hit the ponds and then did some exploring in some nearby agricultural areas.

List:

Common Pheasant
Whooper Swan -- 1 fly by
Common Shelduck
Ruddy Shelduck
Gadwall
Falcated Duck
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Northern Pintail
Eurasian Teal
Smew
Little Grebe
Eurasian Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Common Buzzard
Rough-legged Buzzard
Upland Buzzard
Vega Gull
Black-tailed Gull
Oriental Turtle Dove
Great Tit
Pallas's Reed Bunting
Yellow-throated Bunting

 

[Gretchen]

I found a few small trees that looked like this today. Could be from people but I don't think so. Too tall for rabbits. Any ideas? Goats? Something better?

I have no idea, but you might post it in the mammals subforum - pretty knowledgeable people there and they might recognize the marks. That said, I do wonder a bit about it being the handiwork of people - did you notice if it was done to various species or all one? Always the same height? Anyway, a very interesting observation!

 

[Gretchen]

Out for the afternoon today. Hit the ponds and then did some exploring in some nearby agricultural areas.

I went to check out local ponds - just to find them almost completely frozen still :eek!:

 

[dbeeke]

Hi Tom and Dave,

Actually eastern Eurasian Wigeons often show this greenish sheen on the head and there has been some discussion already on birdforum www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=107618 and also photos on the Korea site www.birdskorea.org/Birds/Identification/ID_Notes/BK-ID-Hybrid-Ducks.shtml.

In the absence of additional American Wigeon characteristics, I suspect that this bird is a Eurasian Wigeon

Spike

Interesting link, Spike. Thanks for sharing it.

Dave Beeke

 

[Dong Bei]

Sea-farming ponds March 8, 2011

Quick trip after work. Also stopped by the ocean area just outside the Jin Shi Golf Course. Watched an Upland Buzzard grab something out of one of the ponds. It jumped up on a dike with it but we didn't want to get too close to see what it was. Could have been a duck but not sure.

List:

Common Pheasant
Ruddy Shelduck
Common Shelduck
Mallard
Spot-billed Duck
Gadwall
Falcated Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
Whooper Swan -- 1
Bean Goose -- a large group in a V overhead.
Upland Buzzard
Common Buzzard
Black-eared Kite -- 1 (FOS)
Hen Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Black-tailed Gull
Vega Gull
Oriental Turtle Dove
Hill Pigeon
Oriental Greenfinch
Chinese Hill Warbler
Siberian Accentor
Yellow-throated Bunting
Pallas's Reed Bunting

 

[rockfowl]

Quite surprised to see the Kite there Tom, isn't that rather an unusual record this time of year?

 

[Dong Bei]

Rockfowl, a Kite is always a decent sighting here. I just checked my records and all of my other Kite sightings are from the end of Sept to mid-Oct going back over the last 4-5 years with the first week of Oct. having the most. This includes the few days last fall where there were many migrating from the point at Laotieshan. So yes, that is an unusual record.

 

[rockfowl]

Thought so Tom, we rarely see them coming through Beidaihe during the first three weeks in May as it's generally too early I think and I've never seen them in October/November there either. Interesting record, nice one.

 

[firstreesjohn]

Flying a kite ?

Mark, below is the outstanding (mainly) raptor watch from Lotus Hills at Beidaihe on 23 October 2006. Note the first species.

BLACK-EARED KITE
6 Hen Harrier
11 Sparrowhawk
6 Goshawk
75 Common Buzzard
15 UPLAND BUZZARD
Rough-legged Buzzard
GREATER SPOTTED EAGLE
2 SAKER
2 Peregrine
4 DAURIAN JACKDAW

My weather notes were 'Massive thunderstorm and torrential rain over night. Blue sky, sunny; cold start, then warmer: 4-19 C.' For some reason, I didn't include the wind direction!

 

[Dong Bei]

Sea-farming Ponds March 11, 2011

Watched a male Daurian Redstart show a female a potential nesting place inside a crack on a rock face. Not quite like a bird of paradise but the same idea on a smaller scale. The male would go in and out frantically while the female checked it out from a few close perches. I got a decent video of the male in action. The female pictured was the one being entertained.

I always like some of the migrant ducks because they tend to be less afraid of people. The teal pictured below are good examples that actually let me get close enough to get a half decent picture. I think I can tell where the duck winters based on how comfortable it is with people.