Shanghai Perambulations (1 Viewer)

[Frogfish]

Another trip out to Xiao Yang Shan, meeting up on site with Kevin P. and Dev as we checked out both Xiao Yang Shan and Nanhui. The weather was superb, ca. 21C at 06.00 and topping out at around 28/29C, dry with gorgeous blue skies and visibility, looking from XYS back to the mainland, like I've never seen before - all the 32kms way !

It wasn't a great day for species numbers or types but the Bunting migration is in full swing and the Thrushes are starting to turn up in more numbers too.

Top birds of the day again being the Chestnut-eared Bunting and Black-faced & Eurasian Spoonbills we saw in Nanhui and on XYS the gorgeous male & female Japanese Thrushes. The massive flocks of close to 200 Grey Herons and ca. 1,000 egrets are still around. Quite a few Lugens WWs around too.

In Nanhui the habitat destruction is now soul-destroying. The supposed 'bird-reserve' area (a single road and the reed-beds/wetland areas either side) are being pulverised into the ground (I'll put up a couple of iPhone photos later).

Miss of the day was not bringing my wide-angle lenses for the spectacular sunrise over the Huangpu & Shanghai on the way out there and the sunset in Nanhui !

Ducks, Geese and Swans (Anatidae)
Gadwall Anas strepera (NH)

Pheasants and allies (Phasianidae)
Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicum (NH)

Grebes (Podicipedidae)
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis (NH)
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus (NH)

Ibises, Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia (NH)
Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor (NH)

Herons, Bitterns (Ardeidae)
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax (NH)
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea (NH) (XYS)
Great Egret Ardea alba (NH)
Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia (NH)
Little Egret Egretta garzetta (NH) (XYS)

Kites, Hawks and Eagles (Accipitridae)
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo (XYS)

Rails, Crakes and Coots (Rallidae)
Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus (NH)
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra (NH)

Stilts, Avocets (Recurvirostridae)
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus (NH)

Plovers (Charadriidae)
Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius (NH)
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus (NH)

Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae)
Common Snipe Gallinago galling (NH)
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus (NH)
Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis (NH)
Common Greenshank Tringa nebular (NH)
Dunlin Calidris alpina (NH)

Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae)
Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis (NH) (XYS)

Caracaras, Falcons (Falconidae)
Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus (NH) (XYS)
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus (NH) (XYS)

Shrikes (Laniidae)
Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach (NH) (XYS)

Crows, Jays (Corvidae)
Eurasian Magpie Pica pica (NH)
Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos (NH)

Tits, Chickadees (Paridae)
Japanese Tit Parus minor (NH) (XYS)

Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae)
Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis (NH) (XYS)

Swallows, Martins (Hirundinidae)
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica (XYS)

Cettia Bush Warblers and allies (Cettiidae)
Manchurian Bush Warbler Horornis borealis (XYS)

Leaf Warblers and allies (Phylloscopidae)
Pallas's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus (NH) (XYS)

Reed Warblers and allies (Acrocephalidae)
Black-browed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps (XYS)

Cisticolas and allies (Cisticolidae)
Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis (NH)
Plain Prinia Prinia inornata (NH)

Sylviid Babblers (Sylviidae)
Vinous-throated Parrotbill Sinosuthora webbing (NH)

Starlings, Rhabdornis (Sturnidae)
Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus (NH)

Thrushes (Turdidae)
White's Thrush Zoothera dauma (XYS)
Grey-backed Thrush Turdus hortulorum (NH)
Japanese Thrush Turdus cardis (XYS)
Common Blackbird Turdus merula (NH)
Eyebrowed Thrush Turdus obscures (XYS)
Dusky Thrush Turdus eunomus (XYS)

Chats, Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae)
Dark-sided Flycatcher Muscicapa sibirica (XYS)
Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa latirostris (NH)
Blue-and-white Flycatcher Cyanoptila cyanomelana (XYS)
Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus (XYS)
Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus (XYS)(NH)
Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri (NH)

Old World Sparrows, Snowfinches (Passeridae)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus (NH) (XYS)

Wagtails, Pipits (Motacillidae)
White Wagtail Motacilla alba (NH) (XYS)
Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni (XYS)

Finches (Fringillidae)
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla (XYS)
Grey-capped Greenfinch Chloris sinica (XYS)
Eurasian Siskin Spinus spinus (XYS)

Buntings, New World Sparrows and allies (Emberizidae)
Meadow Bunting Emberiza cioides (XYS)
Tristram's Bunting Emberiza tristrami (XYS)
Chestnut-eared Bunting Emberiza fucata (NH)
Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla (XYS)
Rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica (XYS)
Yellow-throated Bunting Emberiza elegant (XYS)
Black-faced Bunting Emberiza spodocephala (NH)(XYS)

Species: 63
IOC World Bird List 4.3 (August 2014)

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Nice mix of buntings, Kevin.

Not sure I want to see the pictures of the "development."

 

[Frogfish]

Sorry Jeff. Here are the two iPhone shots I snapped. Note the 'Bird Reserve Instructive Notice Boards' on both sides of the road. The excavator on the left is demolishing wetlands and the trucks are filling in the large body of water it contained - they had to destroy Reed Parrotbill & Reed Warbler (and Cuckoos of course) nesting sites to get to it.

 

[McMadd]

So work continues on the land bridge to Japan then...

 

[Frogfish]

So work continues on the land bridge to Japan then...

It's a plan to sneak up on them and claim Hokkaido as recompense for the Diaoyu Islands.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Good lord...I remember that road from our visit 2½ weeks ago. That was where all the birds were!

That area is so screwed.

 

[Frogfish]

Checking the photos from post #601 above and need to add Mugimaki Flycatcher to the list (now 64 species).

A pic of the amazing sunset from 2 weeks ago.

 

[McMadd]

Checking the photos from post #601 above and need to add Mugimaki Flycatcher to the list (now 64 species).

A pic of the amazing sunset from 2 weeks ago.

Soon...glasshopper...all this will be empty buildings...just like the rest of that bloody ghost town!

 

[thirudevaram]

So work continues on the land bridge to Japan then...

Japan is too mainstream, i guess the bridge is to Hawaii.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Japan is too mainstream, i guess the bridge is to Hawaii.

No oil in Japan. The bridge is to the Phillipines and then Malaysia. They can say it's to protect all the overseas Chinese.

 

[Frogfish]

Another week, another trip into the wilds of the remote regions of Shanghai This time Hengsha Island.

Dev & I plundered the coastline of Hengsha Island yesterday, looking for treasure in the form of rare avians. No Frigate Birds around this time but we still had a great day - troubles and officious guards aside (which doesn't bode well for future visits).

Weather was not as forecast, and didn't ever get close to being as forecast. There was no sun with fluffy white clouds, though temperatures did hit the predicted mercury levels of 18C - 23C. A general greyness covered the sky, threatening to break-up around lunchtime but only to then retreat into a persistent drizzle by mid-afternoon.

We made good time, leaving the Metro stop, where I picked Dev up off the first train, to the ferry terminal on Changxing Island within 50 mins. A short wait and then the 5 minute ride across to Hengsha completed we drove out to the coast. First problem, a proper security gate has now been erected at the entrance to the ca. 15kms x 2 kms breakwater and road which surrounds the excellent marsh, ponds and reed-beds that offer 30km2 of great habitat to migrants and residents alike.
It took 5 mins of explanations as to what we were doing and of stories of past visits, to persuade the uniformed guard we were of no threat to national security and to permit our car to enter (if you are walking/cycling no problem).

Slowly crawling along the road, Dev looking right onto the beaches/sea and myself inland onto the marshes etc. we were adding up the ticks for the day; Grey-capped Greenfinch (ca. 30), LT Shrikes, Greenshank, Egrets, Grey Herons, Common Snipe, Little Ringed Plovers, Large-billed Crow, Crested Mynas, Tree Sparrows, Grey Herons .... and then came our first Big Tick of the day, a Chinese Grey Shrike ! Very nice. Pic to come below. And on went the ticks ; Mallard, Spot-billed Duck, Daurian Redstart and then a couple more nice birds in a flock of 13 beautiful Northern Lapwings and a Broad-billed Sandpiper. Then Dev picked out another big one .... Chinese Egret in Winter plumage. Pics to follow.

This was followed by our largest ever sighting of Black-faced Spoonbills, we found a flock of ca. 20 but they were soon joined by a couple of more smaller flocks flying in to create a super-flock of thirty four ! With 1 Eurasian for good measure too. Stunner !

Having completed the 30kms 'loop' we slipped onto the old dirt/gravel path, bemoaning the lack of raptors at what would seem a smorgasbord of goodies for them to feast on. Of course we then immediately spotted 2 Peregrine Falcons chasing airborne pipits, though maybe this was to disarm the egrets below as one of the Pf's then flew low over the now panicking egrets and dived into them. It did not reappear from the reeds so can only assume it was enjoying egret lunch. A Kestrel then appeared perched on the wall before disappearing back over from whence it came.

We had been seeing a few small flocks of ducks, Mallards and Eastern Spot-Billed, but that was nothing to what came next. Panicked by something ducks, previously hidden from our sight in the high reed-beds, started to take to the air, hundreds of them, then more hundreds, then more, until there were thousands of them ! We were later able to use binoculars and Dev's scope to ID Northern Shoveler, Pintails, Garganey, Common Teal and Gadwall to add to the Spot-billed and Mallards, though that is without having had time to study the shots of the airborne ducks.

And so to the exit of this birding paradise, over the past year it was a portal which initially didn't exist as an obstacle, then it became a physical presence .. but without a gate, then concrete bollards were added to prevent lorries from using the road, then they removed the bollards and installed a gate but it was never locked, today however ... it was padlocked, and we were by now very very low on petrol (we skipped two petrol stations on the S20 that had huge queues lining up - prices were going up last night - on the way over) !
A nondescript concrete building down to the left, with two dogs outside making me aware they objected to my personage, offered the solution to our dilemma. Going inside, the 'keeper of the gate' and another gent were engaged in after meal drinks and smokes. He didn't take kindly to my entering his domain.
It took a full 10 mins of pleading and persuading to get the gate manager (who, once the decision was made, dismissively turned his back and went back to his beer and cigarettes) to permit his minion to unlock the gate for us. The minion with a smile and flick of the head indicating I should follow him back to the gate. Sigh.

End of our troubles ? Hardly ! We were very close to entering the 'Red Zone' and petrol was desperately needed to avoid being marooned on the island.

On the way back we stopped off at an orchard (this is an island of orchards and, soon to be, another extension to the Shanghai port system) that had on previous trips delivered some excellent birds. This time the orchard looked quiet, the berry-less trees giving a hint as to why. However there were two surprises up it's sleeve, firstly a movement in the taller trees promised something, the bins finding a flock of ca. 100 Brambling having decided the rain-created gloom meant dusk had arrived early and roosting was in order.

Next, along a tiny road between the orchards, that is barely wide-enough to take my car, we flushed a large bird from it's perch, 1m+ span of blotched wings, and a general lightish brown. A large owl perhaps ! We were now wide awake and filled with excitement. It flew very low to the ground, no more than a metre or so, directly away from us and swept up into a tree 50m away.

We slowly approached in the car, again it dropped and flew low and away, this time disappearing from view. We followed along a dirt track spur hoping for a view of its head to enable an ID. Suddenly it burst forth again and this time flew up to a pole to perch in full view for a few seconds, just 20m away ... a juvenile Common Buzzard ! Strange behaviour and a bit of a let-down if I'm honest, but still a 3rd raptor and a nice end to the birding portion of our day.

Now close to the ferry terminal, we enquired as to the location of the nearest petrol station, it seems this island has only two and also, with a liberal dose of Chinese logic, they are located about 400m from each other to poach business from the competition (or so the petrol dispenser lady said) !

Now with a full tank we returned to the ferry terminal and ... chaos ! The 'bridge', that connected the terminal to the ferries, had somehow become 'damaged' and they were unable to load cars/trucks onto the two ferries. The offending 'bridge part' had been removed and taken to a factory for repair. There would be no more ferries tonight we were told by officials !!

Stranded !

Dev and I made calls to our respective partners informing them of our predicament. We checked the iPad for potential hotels (there was just the one on Ctrip) and bought some instant noodles, bars of chocolate and soft drinks, before the grocery closed, should they be needed. Since they told us the last ferry (if they could effect a repair this evening, though they were quite sure they couldn't) would be at 20.45 (and it was 17.15 now) we decided to sit it out, snooze for couple of hours, and hope for a miracle before trying to book the hotel rooms.

At 19.30, after remonstrating with a truck driver who had almost driven into the side of us in his desperation to jump the now extensive queue and park his 10 ton truck, horizontally, in the space between us and the van in front (please use your imagination - it's hilarious in retrospect) we found out a repair had indeed been made, the bridge was now functional again and ferries would recommence immediately ! We got on the 3rd ferry and an hour later I dropped Dev off at a metro stop close to home. Whew - close call ! Though as Dev said .... we could have done some early morning birding on Hengsha had we spent the night there

We dipped on : Thrushes, surprisingly considering the huge numbers we've encountered here before (we heard a few and had fleeting glances but nothing we can positively ID), Terns, Gulls, Cuckoos, Pratincoles and Frigate Birds

Ducks, Geese and Swans (Anatidae)
Gadwall Anas strepera
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Eastern Spot-billed Duck Anas zonorhyncha
Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
Northern Pintail Anas acuta
Garganey Anas querquedula
Eurasian Teal Anas crecca

Grebes (Podicipedidae)
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus

Ibises, Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia
Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor

Herons, Bitterns (Ardeidae)
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Great Egret Ardea alba
Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes

Kites, Hawks and Eagles (Accipitridae)
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo

Rails, Crakes and Coots (Rallidae)
Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra

Plovers (Charadriidae)
Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus

Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae)
Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis
Temminck's Stint Calidris temminckii
Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus

Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae)
Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis
Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis

Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

Caracaras, Falcons (Falconidae)
Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus

Shrikes (Laniidae)
Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach
Chinese Grey Shrike Lanius sphenocercus

Crows, Jays (Corvidae)
Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos

Larks (Alaudidae)
Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula

Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae)
Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis

Swallows, Martins (Hirundinidae)
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Sylviid Babblers (Sylviidae)
Vinous-throated Parrotbill Sinosuthora webbiana
Reed Parrotbill Paradoxornis heudei

Starlings, Rhabdornis (Sturnidae)
Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus

Thrushes (Turdidae)
Common Blackbird Turdus merula

Chats, Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae)
Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus
Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri

Old World Sparrows, Snowfinches (Passeridae)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus

Wagtails, Pipits (Motacillidae)
Western Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
White Wagtail Motacilla alba
Richard's Pipit Anthus richardi
Pechora Pipit Anthus gustavi
Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus rubescens

Finches (Fringillidae)
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla
Chinese Grosbeak Eophona migratoria
Grey-capped Greenfinch Chloris sinica

Buntings, New World Sparrows and allies
Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla
Rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica
Yellow-throated Bunting Emberiza elegans
Common Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus

Species: 62
IOC World Bird List 4.3 (August 2014)

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

A true China survival story.

I saw online that there are future plans to extend the Shanghai Metro to Hengsha. That doesn't bode well for the birding either.

 

[bawalther]

Dear Asia Birders,

I am looking for any records of large spiders catching birds, such as documented in

http://www.biosch.hku.hk/ecology/por...r32-p23-25.pdf

Look at the end of the pdf file, on page 25!

If you know of such a record, please email me at
[email protected]

Your record would be used in a scientific publication.

Thank you, Bruno Walther, Taipei Medical University

 

[keith.reid]

Visiting Shanghai

Hi
I will be teaching at Shanghai Ocean University in the first week of December and although I wont have much time for birding I would be delighted to receive any advice on places to try to go near the Uni (Huchenghuan Rd , Nanhui New City).
Many thanks in advance

Dr Keith Reid

 

[thirudevaram]

Hello Dr,

If i'm not wrong, the university which we know of is the "Shanghai Maritime University" which is very close to the holiday Inn but you may atleast need a bike to get around. Grey-backed and Scaly Thrushes are common in the car park. The wintering waterfowl depends on the water levels. The ornamental Dishui Lake held several Falcated Ducks(Courtesy of McMadd) and the channels of the ghost town had Black-necked Grebe, these are from 2012 winter.
But the lake opposite to the Holiday Inn will definitely have some Tufted Ducks, Great Crested Grebes, Common Pochards and Red-throated Diver.

 

[thirudevaram]

The university ground itself woud be good for the wintering thrushes. The wwf site is couple of kms north of the holiday inn. The basic idea is to hit the sea wall and drive along. Check the shore side for ducks n swans. You will also find some dirt tracks n concrete roads going west, they are very good for Reed Parrotbills, Buntings, Chinese Penduline Tit.

 

[thirudevaram]

A true China survival story.

I saw online that there are future plans to extend the Shanghai Metro to Hengsha. That doesn't bode well for the birding either.

Let them build a road first.:-O The extended versions of the subway is now growing like the tentacles of a hydra. 45 minute subway ride to Dishui hu station and a 10 minute bus ride, you are at holiday inn which was not easy a year before.

By the way, we put Kevin's convertible coupe/hovercraft to use and we ventured 15 kms in sea. GPS recordings from Kevin will be coming soon.

 

[thrush]

Hi
I will be teaching at Shanghai Ocean University in the first week of December and although I wont have much time for birding I would be delighted to receive any advice on places to try to go near the Uni (Huchenghuan Rd , Nanhui New City).
Many thanks in advance

Dr Keith Reid

Hi Dr. Reid--Hello and welcome to Shanghai. On the Index to Craig's Reports on craigbrelsford.com, you'll see reports from areas that will probably interest you. Another hotspot, across the Donghai Bridge, is Lesser Yangshan Island.

 

[Frogfish]

UPDATE ON HENGSHA ISLAND REPORT (above). 1st November 2014

An excited WeChat message from Dev. at 02.30 this morning ! A check of the flight shots from our trip last Saturday reveals, not one not two but HUNDREDS of Falcated Ducks (Dev is trying to do a count) !!

So straight to my flight pics, of the thousands of ducks in the flocks we saw, this morning (I'll post one later) and there they are in all their glory. Adds another star to the trip

N.B. Looking out from my garden window I counted 15 Blackbirds in my back garden bamboo grove this morning (they have been here a couple of weeks now). 9 of them in a 4m x 2m patch.

 

[Frogfish]

A few environmental shots of Hengsha.

Tragically I learnt today that this superb area for waders, ducks, cuckoos, reed parrotbills, spoonbills, falcons and buntings including huge numbers of migratory birds, is destined to become the new Hengsha Port area.

So not only will the 30km2 of enclosed marsh be destroyed but in all likelihood the other ca. 15-20km2, of the original existing marsh, ponds and reed beds, too. One wonders just where these birds will go to, Chongming Island is closest but I don't know if it provides a large enough similar environment to accommodate all of these birds, migratory or resident. If not then Shanghai, with the destruction to construction of both Nanhui and Hengsha, will become a virtual birding desert for these species, Chongming Island aside.

1. A lady walks down a water pipeline after combing the beach.
2 & 3. Perfectly good aquatic transport abandoned.
4. More abandoned transport ?
5. The existing enclosed marshland.