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Message: <blockquote data-quote="china guy" data-source="post: 1614238" data-attributes="member: 6819">Hi mcaribou - Ben brought us a lot of luck that day - and the Tesia were very unexpected. I've got more pics to send to Ben, but they're at home - and we're still out in NE Sichuan. Mark - I can really understand why Needletails rank as favorites. That Needletail "whoosh" experience is special - especially if the bird bounces you from behind and the sound hits you before you see it streak past. For newbies out here - Needletails are big swifts - but you need to see them in company of other swifts before you fully appreciate their size - and remember even in big mixed swift flocks flying at different heights the high flying Needletails can look the same size as lower flying smaller species such as Pacific Swift.We've had bad internet reception during the last couple of days - but a cold front has moved in - and visible BOP passage has just about dried up. However we're still getting birds - and we're pleased to be seeing Grey-faced Buzzard. This bird is a resident in this area - we also see it during the summer - when we get adult and Juv. birds. The question being is this resident population breeding or non-breeding - and if it breeds - where? Locals talk about a small brown Eagle that likes to look at baby chicks - that builds a nest in trees high up in the mountains - but this could also be Crested Goshawk. Folk in Taiwan who are studying GFB suspect that the bird could be expanding its range - so maybe with the forestation projects in NE Sichuan providing lots of conifer sites  - we also have breeding population here.Other stuff found on this trip that are not usually part of a Sichuan list are - Bull-headed Shrike and Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush.Pics of an adult GFB from a couple of days back and the Necklaced Laugher</blockquote>

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