Earlier Reports from Shanghai Region

Xiǎo Yángshān and Nánhuì, 24 April 2014
by Craig Brelsford

Introduction

I took another solo trip to Xiǎo Yángshān and Nánhuì. I noted 51 species. I found bird nets at Garbage Dump Valley, tore them down, and began notifying birders. Inside the nets was a dead Japanese thrush. I found a singing Eurasian siskin on Xiǎo Yángshān and a Eurasian wryneck at Nánhuì.

Equipment

— Cameras: Nikon D3S; for landscapes, Apple iPad 6.1.3
— Lens: Nikon VR 600mm F/4G
— Sound recorder: Olympus DM-650
— Binoculars: Swarovski EL 8 x 32

Thurs. 24 April 2014

Just as last week, on the night before the trip, I walked across the street to Avis Rent-a-Car to claim my car. This time I rented a brand-new, smart little Skoda.

I awoke on Friday at 03:30 and was driving the Skoda to the gate of my apartment complex by 04:18. My first animal of the day was a Siberian weasel finishing up its night shift in our parking lot. Siberian weasels are to Shanghai what foxes are to London and what coyotes are becoming to some cities in the United States: a wild, meat-eating mammal that’s finding a way to make a living in urban areas.

I drove through the dark toward Lesser Yangshan Island, or Xiǎo Yángshān. I had my iPhone connected to the Internet and an audio cable connecting the iPhone to the car’s speakers. I was listening to Baseball Tonight from ESPN and The John Batchelor Show. Batchelor was having a stimulating discussion about Ukraine and Russia. I felt as if I were listening to the radio in the United States.

As a further indication of my still strong links to my native American culture, I carried a Subway sandwich in the trunk of the Skoda, ready to serve as my lunch.

I arrived at 05:55 at the gate to Garbage Dump Valley on Xiǎo Yángshān. The sky was partly cloudy, and the temperature was about 20 degrees Celsius.

My goal was to find rare buntings–my biggest target being yellow bunting (Emberiza sulphurata), a bird I’d seen almost exactly a year ago at Garbage Dump Valley. I would fail in that attempt, but the species is indeed in the vicinity; Hé Xīn (何鑫), a Chinese birder, found yellow buntings on Friday on Chongming Island.

As I walked through Garbage Dump Valley, I was finding many of the same birds I’d found six days previously, among them Tristram’s buntings. From the family Phylloscopidae, I found a pale-legged/Sakhalin leaf warbler as well as two species from last week: eastern crowned warbler and yellow-browed warbler. I achieved an excellent recording of the yellow-browed calling and singing.

I walked through the tunnel to Xiǎoyánglíng Cove. Xiǎoyánglíng Cove is named after Xiǎoyánglíng Tǎ (小洋陵塔), a Buddhist monument set amid the impressive scenery of the cove.

Xiǎoyánglíng Cove is one of the most beautiful, peaceful places on Xiǎo Yángshān. The mountain through which the tunnel was bored blocks out the constant sound of the trucks crossing the Dōnghǎi Bridge. It also keeps out the cats, so numerous over in Garbage Dump Valley, and so destructive.

At the cove, a male meadow bunting has claimed a territory. He’s looking for a mate but apparently hasn’t found one yet, though I did glimpse a female in the area.

Sensing a chance to get a high-quality portrait of the meadow bunting, I went to work. Within an hour I had the full-body, simple-background, ultra-close profile that I’d envisioned. I’ll be pleased to include it in the photographic field guide to the birds of China that I’m working on.

After my session with the bunting, I walked back through the tunnel. I was surprised to find a Eurasian siskin. Even though we were far from his breeding grounds in northeastern China and Siberia, this individual was singing.

I once again saw the Old Lady of Garbage Dump Valley and said hello to her. Walking past the outhouse, I saw two cats, which fled, and then an old man, whom the cats seemed to have been tailing. After greeting me, the old man said, “Cats kill a lot of birds.”

The trail leads past the outhouse up to a terrace. There, amid the vegetable gardens, I saw bird nets attached to tall, strong bamboo poles.

I set down my equipment and walked into the garden. I found a dead Japanese thrush tangled up in the nets.

Usually I get angry when I see mist nets. This time, however, I was mainly sad.

I was sad because I know, and like, the local people here. I want to be friends with them, not their adversary.

The local people at Garbage Dump Valley see a parade of birders coming through there. They see that the birders and bird photographers aren’t harming birds but on the contrary take a great interest in them. It’s amazing that none of that spirit has rubbed off on the local people. Seeing the mist nets, I said to myself, “The influence the birders have had on these people has been zero.”

I tore down the net with the Japanese thrush still in it. I balled up the net and hid it. I pulled down the bamboo pole, but I wasn’t strong enough to break it. Using my iPhone, I made a quick movie describing the incident and sent it to friends.

I went back through the Valley and the tunnel to the Cove. I wanted to think a little about my next move. Much netting remained; should I pull it down as well?

I decided to talk to the Old Lady or the old man and tell them what I’d found. I went back through the tunnel to the Valley, but I found no one.

Time was running out. The longer I waited, the more birds were going to die. The nets had to come down–now.

I took my camera back to the Skoda and locked it up. I returned to the gardens. I performed the risky one-man covert assault on the nets. Oh, how good it felt when the nets gave way!

I took the balled-up netting, walked back to the car, and threw it in the trunk. I drove back to Nánhuì, where I deposited the netting in a garbage can.

I continued birding at Nánhuì. I heard my first brown-flanked bush warbler of the spring, and I saw a Eurasian wryneck.

I drove back to the city, arriving at 19:50.

The next day, Friday, I posted the heartbreaking photo of the dead Japanese thrush on shwbs.org and birdnet.cn. Writing in Chinese, I called on local birders to go to Garbage Dump Valley. I suggested that they (1) check for nets, (2) talk to the local people there about the importance of not killing birds, and (3) get the appropriate government agency involved.

Because Garbage Dump Valley is small, because we have a good idea of who’s setting the nets, and because birders go there so regularly, we think that in this case it just may be possible to stop the netting of birds.

Birds Noted on Xiǎo Yángshān (小洋山; Lesser Yangshan Island), Zhejiang, and along Shìjìtáng Lù (世纪塘路), Nánhuì (南汇), Shanghai, 24 April 2014

Key

For taxonomy and English names, my first reference is the IOC World Bird List, Version 4.2. For Chinese names, my first reference is 中国观鸟年报“中国鸟类名录” 3.0(2013) The CBR Checklist of Birds of China v3.0 (2013).

I noted 51 species, representing 9 orders and 27 families.

Podicipediformes: Podicipedidae

little grebe
小䴙䴘 (xiǎo pìtī)
Tachybaptus ruficollis

3 at Nánhuì

Pelecaniformes: Ardeidae

Chinese pond heron
池鹭 (chílù)
Ardeola bacchus

1 in breeding plumage flew to the little pond at Garbage Dump Valley on Xiǎo Yángshān

eastern cattle egret
牛背鹭 (niúbèi lù)
Bulbulcus coromandus

7 at Nánhuì

grey heron
苍鹭 (cāng lù)
Ardea cinerea

3 at Nánhuì

great egret
大白鹭 (dà báilù)
Ardea alba

3 at Nánhuì

little egret
白鹭 (báilù)
Egretta garzetta

2 at Nánhuì

Accipitriformes: Pandionidae

western osprey
鹗 (è)
Pandion haliaetus

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Gruiformes: Rallidae

common moorhen
黑水鸡 (hēi shuǐjī)
Gallinula chloropus

3 at Nánhuì

Charadriiformes: Charadriidae

greater sand plover
铁嘴沙鸻 (tiězuǐ shāhéng)
Charadrius leschenaultii

Ca. 30 at Nánhuì

Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae

Eurasian curlew
白腰杓鹬 (báiyāo sháoyù)
Numenius arquata

1 heard at Nánhuì

marsh sandpiper
泽鹬 (zé yù)
Tringa stagnatilis

2 at Nánhuì

terek sandpiper
翘嘴鹬 (qiáozuǐ yù)
Xenus cinereus

5 at Nánhuì

Columbiformes: Columbidae

spotted dove
珠颈斑鸠 (zhūjǐng bānjiū)
Spilopelia chinensis

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān
3 at Nánhuì

Coraciiformes: Alcedinidae

common kingfisher
普通翠鸟 (pǔtōng cuìniǎo)
Alcedo atthis

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Piciformes: Picidae

Eurasian wryneck
蚁䴕 (yǐ liè)
Jynx torquilla

1 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Laniidae

long-tailed shrike
棕背伯劳 (zōngbèi bóláo)
Lanius schach

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān
3 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Corvidae

large-billed crow
大嘴乌鸦 (dàzuǐ wūyā)
Corvus macrorhynchos

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Paridae

Japanese tit
远东山雀 (yuǎndōng shānquè)
Parus minor

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Alaudidae

Oriental skylark
小云雀 (xiǎo yúnquè)
Alauda gulgula

1 in song flight at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Pycnonotidae

light-vented bulbul
白头鹎 (báitóu bēi)
Pycnonotus sinensis

Numerous on Xiǎo Yángshān and at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Hirundinidae

barn swallow
家燕 (jiā yàn)
Hirundo rustica

Ca. 20 in one flock near temple on Xiǎo Yángshān
At Nánhuì, flocks were present all along Shìjìtáng Lù

Passeriformes: Cettiidae

Manchurian bush warbler
远东树莺 (yuǎndōng shùyīng)
Horornis borealis

4 on Xiǎo Yángshān; I made recordings of their well-known crescendo song as well as other, less well-known vocalizations

brown-flanked bush warbler
强脚树莺 (qiángjiǎo shùyīng)
Horornis fortipes

1 heard at Magic Parking Lot, Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Phylloscopidae

yellow-browed warbler
黄眉柳莺 (huángméi liǔyīng)
Phylloscopus inornatus

3 singing and calling on Xiǎo Yángshān

pale-legged leaf warbler
灰脚柳莺 (huījiǎo liǔyīng)
Phylloscopus tenellipes

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān. Phylloscopus tenellipes is virtually indistinguishable except by song from Sakhalin leaf warbler (库页岛柳莺, kùyèdǎo liǔyīng, P. borealoides). Pale-legged is common on passage in eastern China; Sakhalin is rare.

eastern crowned warbler
冕柳莺 (miǎn liǔyīng)
Phylloscopus coronatus

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Cisticolidae

plain prinia
褐头鹪莺 (hètóu jiāoyīng)
Prinia inornata

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān
3 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Sylviidae

vinous-throated parrotbill
棕头鸦雀 (zōngtóu yāquè)
Sinosuthora webbiana

Several flocks heard along Shìjìtáng Lù, Nánhuì

reed parrotbill
震旦鸦雀 (zhèndàn yāquè)
Paradoxornis heudei

Heard 2 flocks at Nánhuì; saw 1 individual

Passeriformes: Zosteropidae

Japanese white-eye
暗绿绣眼鸟 (ànlǜ xiùyǎnniǎo)
Zosterops japonicus

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Sturnidae

crested myna
八哥 (bāgē)
Acridotheres cristatellus

4 at Nánhuì

white-cheeked starling
灰椋鸟 (huī liángniǎo)
Spodiopsar cineraceus

8 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Turdidae

Japanese thrush
乌灰鸫 (wūhuī dōng)
Turdus cardis

1 dead male found in bird net above Garbage Dump Valley, Xiǎo Yángshān

common blackbird
乌鸫 (wū dōng)
Turdus merula mandarinus

1 at Nánhuì

pale thrush
白腹鸫 (báifù dōng)
Turdus pallidus

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān

brown-headed thrush
赤胸鸫 (chìxiōng dōng)
Turdus chrysolaus

3, probably in full migratory mode, flying north along Shìjìtáng Lù, Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Muscicapidae

red-flanked bluetail
红胁蓝尾鸲 (hóngxié lánwěiqú)
Tarsiger cyanurus

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Stejneger’s stonechat
黑喉石鵖 (hēihóu shíjí)
Saxicola stejnegeri

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Asian brown flycatcher
北灰鹟 (běihuī wēng)
Muscicapa latirostris

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān
2 at Nánhuì

Narcissus flycatcher
黄眉姬鹟 (huángméi jīwēng)
Ficedula narcissina

1 male on Xiǎo Yángshān
1 male at Magic Parking Lot and 1 female along Shìjìtáng Lù, Nánhuì

blue-and-white flycatcher
白腹姬鹟 (báifù jīwēng)
Cyanoptila cyanomelana

2 males on Xiǎo Yángshān
1 male moving north in reeds along Shìjìtáng Lù, Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Passeridae

Eurasian tree sparrow
树麻雀 (shù máquè)
Passer montanus

Omnipresent

Passeriformes: Fringillidae

brambling
燕雀 (yànquè)
Fringilla montifringilla

5 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Eurasian siskin
黄雀 (huángquè)
Spinus spinus

1 male singing on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Motacillidae

olive-backed pipit
树鹨 (shù liù)
Anthus hodgsoni

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

eastern yellow wagtail
黄鹡鸰 (huáng jílíng)
Motacilla tschutschensis taivana

2 at Nánhuì

white wagtail
白鹡鸰 (bái jílíng)
Motacilla alba

4 on Xiǎo Yángshān (3 leucopsis, 1 ocularis)

Passeriformes: Emberizidae

meadow bunting
三道眉草鹀 (sāndàoméi cǎowū)
Emberiza cioides

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Tristram’s bunting
白眉鹀 (báiméi wū)
Emberiza tristrami

9 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Pallas’s reed bunting
苇鹀 (wěi wū)
Emberiza pallasi

10 at Nánhuì

black-faced bunting
灰头鹀 (huītóu wū)
Emberiza spodocephala

Ca. 15 on Xiǎo Yángshān
7 at Nánhuì

Mammals

Carnivora: Mustelidae

Siberian weasel
黄鼬 (huáng yòu) (zoological)
黄鼠狼 (huáng shǔláng) (vernacular)
Mustela sibirica

1 seen at 04:18 in the parking lot of my complex near downtown Shanghai
1 at Nánhuì

 

Xiǎo Yángshān and Nánhuì, 18 April 2014
by Craig Brelsford

Introduction

I took a solo trip to Xiǎo Yángshān and Nánhuì. I noted 53 species. The most remarkable find was a Chinese thrush on Xiǎo Yángshān. Other species of note were a verditer flycatcher and a pair of chestnut buntings on Xiǎo Yángshān and a brown-headed thrush at Nánhuì.

Equipment

— Cameras: Nikon D3S; for landscapes, Apple iPad 6.1.3
— Lens: Nikon VR 600mm F/4G
— Sound recorder: Olympus DM-650
— Binoculars: Swarovski EL 8 x 32

Books

— On Craig’s iPhone: drafts of “A Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China,” a work in progress by Craig Brelsford
— In backpack: Birds of East Asia, by Mark Brazil
— Consulted at home: A Field Guide to the Birds of China, by MacKinnon and Phillipps; Waders of Europe, Asia and North America, by Message and Taylor; Raptors of the World, by Ferguson-Lees and Christie

Fri. 18 April 2014

Avis Rent-a-Car is across the street from my apartment near Zhongshan Park in Shanghai. On Thursday night, having checked the weather forecast, chosen Friday as my birding day, and reserved my Chevy Cruze, I walked to Avis to claim my car.

I awoke on Friday at 03:30. As I ate my cereal and drank my coffee, I thought of my goals for today’s trip:

(1) to go “bunting hunting”
(2) to experience a “thrush rush”
(3) to put in the time as a birder and work at the constant project of improving my birding skills

By “bunting hunting,” I meant to find at least one uncommon species of bunting. “Thrush rush” is the same idea, applied to thrushes.

At 06:05 I was at the gate to the Garbage Dump Coastal Plain on Xiǎo Yángshān. Sunrise had occurred at 05:23, but haze was reducing visibility to a few hundred meters. It wasn’t raining, but the wind was blowing, mainly from the east. I was chilly and bundled up.

I spent six hours in Garbage Dump Valley and on the Garbage Dump Coastal Plain on Xiǎo Yángshān. I also walked through the tunnel to Xiǎoyánglíng Cove. Rather than drive to other sites on the island, I decided to bird one place thoroughly. The area around the garbage processing center has more trees than any place on the island, and it even has a dripping spring; it’s the best birding spot on Xiǎo Yángshān.

As the morning wore on, visibility improved, until around noon I could see patches of blue sky.

I found a Chinese thrush near the outhouse. Peering through the thick branches and leaves, I was able to make out the plain back and spotted underparts. The bird disappeared in the thicket. I was unable even to get a record shot. I watched carefully to see whether it would fly out of the thicket, but it apparently did not. I waited for it but didn’t see it again. Turdus mupinensis is a species rarely seen in the Shanghai region.

I saw a verditer flycatcher, a striated heron, and, just as I was about to leave, a pair of chestnut buntings–just the kind of uncommon birds one goes to Xiǎo Yángshān to find. I had achieved goals 1 and 2: I’d gone “bunting hunting” and found a chestnut bunting and had a real “thrush rush” with the Chinese thrush.

I achieved 3 also: I tested and honed by birding skills. Having just finished writing the draft of the Phylloscopus warblers for my photographic field guide, I was eager to encounter leaf warblers in the field. I wanted to test my newly acquired knowledge–I spent weeks studying leaf warblers, and I wanted to see how far forward I’d moved my Phylloscopus game. I wanted to be the first person to use my book in the field!

I found three Phylloscopus warblers: yellow-browed, eastern crowned, and Pallas’s leaf. When the yellow-broweds appeared, I already had a gut feeling that they were yellow-broweds. A comparison of their vocalizations to recordings I’d downloaded from xeno-canto.org was a big step forward, as they matched perfectly. Watching the birds through my binoculars, and later studying the photos I’d taken of them, I felt a rush of pleasure that comes when one realizes that one has achieved something. More than at any time in my life, I have the leaf warblers under control; rather than cringe at the sight of one of those “little brown jobs,” I welcome their appearance, confident that I’ll be able to ID them.

I found no other birders on Xiǎo Yángshān. For company, I talked to the Old Lady of Garbage Dump Valley. This 74-year-old woman is a living piece of Xiǎo Yángshān history, having been born on the island and spent her life there. She speaks no Mandarin, but she understood what I was saying to her. She responds in the local Wu dialect, similar to Shanghainese. I understood enough to follow her as she explained the medicinal properties of a wild herb she was collecting. She carefully picked the leaves off her chosen plant, telling me that they’re good for curing a cough.

In the afternoon, as I was putting my equipment back into my car, I noticed a security guard coming toward me from his post on the other side of the highway. What’s he coming all that way for, I said. He tried to hit me up for a 20 yuan “parking fee,” but I saw through his ruse and refused to pay.

I drove slowly across the Donghai Bridge, eating the Subway sandwich I’d brought and drinking a Red Bull.

At Nánhuì, my first stop was the Magic Parking Lot next to the Holiday Inn. There, photographers had created a setup. I stayed for half an hour, photographing a blue-and-white flycatcher.

Driving along Shìjìtáng Lù (the road atop the sea wall), I found and collected a record shot of a brown-headed thrush.

I arrived back at Avis Rent-a-Car at 20:05.

Birds Noted on Xiǎo Yángshān (小洋山; Lesser Yangshan Island), Zhejiang, and along Shìjìtáng Lù (世纪塘路), Nánhuì (南汇), Shanghai, 18 April 2014

Key

For taxonomy and English names, my first reference is the IOC World Bird List, Version 4.1. For Chinese names, my first reference is 中国观鸟年报“中国鸟类名录” 3.0(2013) The CBR Checklist of Birds of China v3.0 (2013).

I noted 53 species, representing 10 orders and 25 families.

Galliformes: Phasianidae

common pheasant
雉鸡 (zhìjī)
Phasianus colchicus

2 at Nánhuì

Podicipediformes: Podicipedidae

little grebe
小䴙䴘 (xiǎo pìtī)
Tachybaptus ruficollis

7 at Nánhuì

Pelecaniformes: Ardeidae

striated heron
绿鹭 (lǜ lù)
Butorides striata

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

grey heron
苍鹭 (cāng lù)
Ardea cinerea

1 flying north at Xiǎo Yángshān

great egret
大白鹭 (dà báilù)
Ardea alba

3 at Nánhuì

Gruiformes: Rallidae

common moorhen
黑水鸡 (hēi shuǐjī)
Gallinula chloropus

7 at Nánhuì

Charadriiformes: Charadriidae

little ringed plover
金眶鸻 (jīnkuàng héng)
Charadrius dubius

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Kentish plover
环颈鸻 (huánjǐng héng)
Charadrius alexandrinus

At Nánhuì, 4 among big flock of red-necked stints

Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae

Eurasian curlew
白腰杓鹬 (báiyāo sháoyù)
Numenius arquata

1 heard at Nánhuì

marsh sandpiper
泽鹬 (zé yù)
Tringa stagnatilis

Flock of 18 at Nánhuì

terek sandpiper
翘嘴鹬 (qiáozuǐ yù)
Xenus cinereus

2 at Nánhuì

red-necked stint
红颈滨鹬 (hóngjǐng bīnyù)
Calidris ruficollis

Flock of about 35 at Nánhuì

Columbiformes: Columbidae

spotted dove
珠颈斑鸠 (zhūjǐng bānjiū)
Spilopelia chinensis

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān
7 at Nánhuì

Coraciiformes: Alcedinidae

common kingfisher
普通翠鸟 (pǔtōng cuìniǎo)
Alcedo atthis

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Bucerotiformes: Upupidae

Eurasian hoopoe
戴胜 (dàishèng)
Upupa epops

1 at Nánhuì

Falconiformes: Falconidae

common kestrel
红隼 (hóng sǔn)
Falco tinnunculus

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

peregrine falcon
游隼 (yóusǔn)
Falco peregrinus japonensis

1 flying north on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Laniidae

long-tailed shrike
棕背伯劳 (zōngbèi bóláo)
Lanius schach

3 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Paridae

Japanese tit
远东山雀 (yuǎndōng shānquè)
Parus minor

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Pycnonotidae

light-vented bulbul
白头鹎 (báitóu bēi)
Pycnonotus sinensis

Numerous on Xiǎo Yángshān and at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Hirundinidae

barn swallow
家燕 (jiā yàn)
Hirundo rustica

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān
At Nánhuì, flocks were present all along the Shìjìtáng Lù

Passeriformes: Cettiidae

Manchurian bush warbler
远东树莺 (yuǎndōng shùyīng)
Horornis borealis

On Xiǎo Yángshān, the pleasant song of this species was nearly constant; I didn’t count individuals, fearing that I’d be counting the same individual numerous times

Passeriformes: Phylloscopidae

Pallas’s leaf warbler
黄腰柳莺 (huángyāoliǔyīng)
Phylloscopus proregulus

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān

yellow-browed warbler
黄眉柳莺 (huángméi liǔyīng)
Phylloscopus inornatus

7, some singing, on Xiǎo Yángshān

eastern crowned warbler
冕柳莺 (miǎn liǔyīng)
Phylloscopus coronatus

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān
2 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Cisticolidae

plain prinia
褐头鹪莺 (hètóu jiāoyīng)
Prinia inornata

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān
2 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Sylviidae

vinous-throated parrotbill
棕头鸦雀 (zōngtóu yāquè)
Sinosuthora webbiana

At Nánhuì along the Shìjìtáng Lù, I drive the car slowly, stopping often to scan or zero in on a bird. At perhaps a third of the stops, I heard the call of Sinosuthora webbiana

reed parrotbill
震旦鸦雀 (zhèndàn yāquè)
Paradoxornis heudei

Heard 2 flocks at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Zosteropidae

Japanese white-eye
暗绿绣眼鸟 (ànlǜ xiùyǎnniǎo)
Zosterops japonicus

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Sturnidae

crested myna
八哥 (bāgē)
Acridotheres cristatellus

4 at Nánhuì

white-cheeked starling
灰椋鸟 (huī liángniǎo)
Spodiopsar cineraceus

3 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Turdidae

grey-backed thrush
灰背鸫 (huībèi dōng)
Turdus hortulorum

1 at Magic Parking Lot, Nánhuì

Japanese thrush
乌灰鸫 (wūhuī dōng)
Turdus cardis

1 at Magic Parking Lot, Nánhuì

pale thrush
白腹鸫 (báifù dōng)
Turdus pallidus

11 on Xiǎo Yángshān
3 at Nánhuì

brown-headed thrush
赤胸鸫 (chìxiōng dōng)
Turdus chrysolaus

1 at Nánhuì

dusky thrush
斑鸫 (bān dōng)
Turdus eunomus

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān
1 at Nánhuì

Chinese thrush
宝兴歌鸫 (bǎoxīng gēdōng)
Turdus mupinensis

Near outhouse on Xiǎo Yángshān, 1 extremely shy bird kept to dense undergrowth, but I clearly saw the unstreaked brown upperparts and spotted underparts

Passeriformes: Muscicapidae

red-flanked bluetail
红胁蓝尾鸲 (hóngxié lánwěiqú)
Tarsiger cyanurus

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Asian brown flycatcher
北灰鹟 (běihuī wēng)
Muscicapa latirostris

5 on Xiǎo Yángshān
1 at Magic Parking Lot, Nánhuì

Narcissus flycatcher
黄眉姬鹟 (huángméi jīwēng)
Ficedula narcissina

2 males on Xiǎo Yángshān
1 male at Magic Parking Lot, Nánhuì

blue-and-white flycatcher
白腹姬鹟 (báifù jīwēng)
Cyanoptila cyanomelana

2 males on Xiǎo Yángshān
1 male at Magic Parking Lot, Nánhuì

verditer flycatcher
铜蓝鹟 (tónglán wēng)
Eumyias thalassinus

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

blue rock thrush
蓝矶鸫 (lán jīdōng)
Monticola solitarius

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Passeridae

Eurasian tree sparrow
树麻雀 (shù máquè)
Passer montanus

Numerous in the most disturbed areas; common in more pristine places

Passeriformes: Motacillidae

olive-backed pipit
树鹨 (shù liù)
Anthus hodgsoni

10 on Xiǎo Yángshān

eastern yellow wagtail
黄鹡鸰 (huáng jílíng)
Motacilla tschutschensis

7 (ssp. taivana) in one colorful flock at Nánhuì

white wagtail
白鹡鸰 (bái jílíng)
Motacilla alba leucopsis

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Emberizidae

meadow bunting
三道眉草鹀 (sāndàoméi cǎowū)
Emberiza cioides

5 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Tristram’s bunting
白眉鹀 (báiméi wū)
Emberiza tristrami

4 on Xiǎo Yángshān

little bunting
小鹀 (xiǎo wū)
Emberiza pusilla

8 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Pallas’s reed bunting
苇鹀 (wěi wū)
Emberiza pallasi

2 at Nánhuì

chestnut bunting
栗鹀 (lì wū)
Emberiza rutila

Pair on Xiǎo Yángshān

black-faced bunting
灰头鹀 (huītóu wū)
Emberiza spodocephala

Ca. 25 on Xiǎo Yángshān
3 at Nánhuì

Yángkǒu, 5-7 April 2014
by Craig Brelsford

Introduction

Elaine Du and Craig Brelsford took a three-day trip to Yángkǒu, Rúdōng County, Jiangsu. It was Craig’s ninth trip to that fishing town on the East China Sea. Yángkǒu is a hotspot on the East Asian Australasian Migratory Bird Flyway, having gained fame in recent years as a stopover point for spoon-billed sandpipers. Craig and Elaine went to Yángkǒu to collect photos of migrating birds and to witness the beginning of the spring migration. Several common species were photographed well, among them grey plover, Chinese penduline tit, and Pallas’s reed bunting. Among the other notable birds were great knot and Saunders’s gull. A flock of about 250 Eurasian curlews was seen.

Equipment

— Camera: Nikon D3S
— Lens: Nikon VR 600mm F/4G
— Sound recorder: Olympus DM-650
— Binoculars: Swarovski EL 8 x 32 (Craig), Zeiss Conquest HD 8 x 42 (Elaine)

Books

— In Craig’s laptop: drafts of “A Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China,” a work in progress by Craig Brelsford
— In backpack: Birds of East Asia, by Mark Brazil, and Waders of Europe, Asia and North America, by Stephen Message and Don Taylor
— Consulted at home: A Field Guide to the Birds of China, by MacKinnon and Phillipps; also, Handbook of the Birds of the World

The Trip

Sat. 5 April 2014
Yángkǒu (洋口), Rúdōng County (如东县), Jiangsu

Elaine and I set off from Shanghai at 03:45. I thought that with such an early start it’d be a breeze to get to our destination, Yángkǒu (洋口), but traffic was heavy because of Qīngmíng Jié, especially around the Sūtōng Bridge crossing the Yangtze River. The 190-km trip took four hours. At Yángkǒu, Elaine and I car-birded along the landward side of the sea wall, which is covered with a “forest” of locust trees. The well-known Magic Forest, a levee covered with locust trees and stretching inland from the coast a few kilometers, and where I have had so many memorable birding moments, has been closed off; a locked gate bars the way. In the late afternoon, I walked into the mudflats, first at a point with spartina grass, later at a place farther south without spartina grass. At each spot I found a core flock with many other shorebirds scattered elsewhere. Bar-tailed godwits, dunlins, and Eurasian curlews were the main components of the flocks. I found two other species listed as vulnerable by the IUCN: great knots and Saunders’s gulls.

Sun. 6 April 2014
Yángkǒu

Among the passerines, passage migrants are still few here at Yángkǒu. The passerine species that we have been seeing are those that can be found throughout the winter in the region. One such species is Chinese penduline tit, perhaps the most numerous of the passerines at Yángkǒu right now. Elaine and I have been finding flocks all along the landward side of the sea wall; the tits use the locust trees as perches and swoop down onto the narrow strip of reeds to feed. I found a flock of about 60 and attempted to get definitive, field-guide-quality photos of the species. As I worked, I noted other species, among them grey-capped greenfinch. In the late afternoon, I walked into the mudflats at high tide. It was a neap tide, cresting a few hundred meters from the sea wall. I walked out to the water’s edge, hand-carrying my camera. I once again saw great knots mixed in with the more common shorebirds. Eurasian oystercatchers captured my attention.

Mon. 7 April 2014
Shanghai

Today, my main project was getting top-quality photographs of Pallas’s reed buntings. Elaine and I parked near some reeds. A pair of reed parrotbills was in the reeds. A Eurasian tree sparrow performed a little service for me. As I was playing the recording of a call of a Pallas’s reed bunting, a sparrow swooped toward the car. The attraction of the sparrow to the call underlined the fact that the buntings I was photographing were Pallas’s reed buntings and not the similar common reed buntings. (The call of the Pallas’s reed bunting is “reminiscent of that of Eurasian Tree Sparrow,” according to the Handbook of the Birds of the World.) A meadow bunting was singing, and we saw a pair of little buntings. The drive back to Shanghai took six long hours.

Birds Noted Around Yángkǒu, Jiangsu, 5-7 April 2014

Galliformes: Phasianidae

common pheasant
雉鸡 (zhìjī)
Phasianus colchicus

7 plus 1 dead male along the side of the road. In an interesting example of how some species take advantage of man-made changes to the environment, on two occasions we saw pheasants flying toward the mudflats at sunset. The non-native spartina grass on the mudflats at Yángkǒu provides the necessary cover for the pheasants, which otherwise would be unable to tolerate an open, natural mudflat.

Podicipediformes: Podicipedidae

little grebe
小䴙䴘 (xiǎo pìtī)
Tachybaptus ruficollis

2 in the fish ponds.

Pelecaniformes: Ardeidae

grey heron
苍鹭 (cāng lù)
Ardea cinerea

3 (2 in the fish ponds, 1 flying over the mudflats).

little egret
白鹭 (báilù)
Egretta garzetta

6 around the fish ponds.

Gruiformes: Rallidae

common moorhen
黑水鸡 (hēi shuǐjī)
Gallinula chloropus

4 in a fish pond just inside the sea wall.

Charadriiformes: Haematopodidae

Eurasian oystercatcher
蛎鹬 (lìyù)
Haematopus ostralegus

4 on the mudflats.

Charadriiformes: Recurvirostridae

black-winged stilt
黑翅长脚鹬 (hēichì chángjiǎoyù)
Himantopus himantopus

Flock of 7 in the fish ponds.

Charadriiformes: Charadriidae

grey plover
灰斑鸻 (huībān héng)
Pluvialis squatarola

Ca. 100. A large component of the main flocks; also singles and pairs scattered over the mudflats.

Kentish plover
环颈鸻 (huánjǐng héng)
Charadrius alexandrinus

Ca. 200. The most numerous plover, in large groupings and scattered across the mudflats in smaller flocks.

Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae

bar-tailed godwit
斑尾塍鹬 (bānwěi chéngyù)
Limosa lapponica

Ca. 120, with ca. 50 in the first flock I saw and 25 in each of the other two, plus scattered individuals and pairs. Note that no black-tailed godwits were seen.

Eurasian curlew
白腰杓鹬 (báiyāo sháoyù)
Numenius arquata orientalis

Near threatened. I captured a photo of a flock in flight containing ca. 250 Eurasian curlews, easy to identify with their white rumps and nearly all-white underwing. Also present in smaller numbers at the water’s edge.

Far Eastern curlew
大杓鹬 (dà sháoyù)
Numenius madagascariensis

Vulnerable. Scattered individuals on the mudflats.

spotted redshank
鹤鹬 (hè yù)
Tringa erythropus

2 among the black-winged stilts in a fish pond.

great knot
大滨鹬 (dà bīnyù)
Calidris tenuirostris

Vulnerable. Ca. 50, with ca. 20 in one flock, ca. 20 in another, and other scattered individuals and pairs.

red-necked stint
红颈滨鹬 (hóngjǐng bīnyù)
Calidris ruficollis

15 mixed in among larger groupings.

dunlin
黑腹滨鹬 (hēifù bīnyù)
Calidris alpina

Ca. 400. Already present in the hundreds at Yángkǒu.

Charadriiformes: Laridae

Vega gull
西伯利亚银鸥 (xībólìyà yín’ōu)
Larus vegae

4 (2 near the lock, 2 on a fish pond) probably were this species. Note that according to the IOC, Vega gull includes Larus vegae vegae and L. v. mongolicus.

Saunders’s gull
黑嘴鸥 (hēizuǐ ōu)
Chroicocephalus saundersi

Vulnerable. 9 on the mudflats, usually in pairs or trios.

Columbiformes: Columbidae

spotted dove
珠颈斑鸠 (zhūjǐng bānjiū)
Spilopelia chinensis

4 among the locust trees.

Bucerotiformes: Upupidae

Eurasian hoopoe
戴胜 (dàishèng)
Upupa epops

13 noted over the three days. I’ve been to few places where hoopoes are more readily seen than Yángkǒu.

Falconiformes: Falconidae

Amur falcon
红脚隼 (hóngjiǎo sǔn)
Falco amurensis

1 flying toward the sea across the mudflats.

Passeriformes: Laniidae

bull-headed shrike
牛头伯劳 (niútóu bóláo)
Lanius bucephalus

1 at Yìnhǎi Temple (印海寺庙, yìnhǎi sìmiào), Yángkǒu.

long-tailed shrike
棕背伯劳 (zōngbèi bóláo)
Lanius schach

5 singles.

Passeriformes: Corvidae

Eurasian magpie
喜鹊 (xǐquè)
Pica pica

3 around Yìnhǎi Temple.

Passeriformes: Paridae

Japanese tit
远东山雀 (yuǎndōng shānquè)
Parus minor

2 around the locust trees on the sea wall.

Passeriformes: Remizidae

Chinese penduline tit
中华攀雀 (zhōnghuá pānquè)
Remiz consobrinus

Three large, widely separated flocks, each containing perhaps 60 members, plus smaller flocks and scattered individuals and pairs.

Passeriformes: Pycnonotidae

light-vented bulbul
白头鹎 (báitóu bēi)
Pycnonotus sinensis

27 among the locust trees and elsewhere.

Passeriformes: Hirundinidae

barn swallow
家燕 (jiā yàn)
Hirundo rustica

Common around the sea wall and even in Yángkǒu. We found a nest near the hotel.

Passeriformes: Cettiidae

Manchurian bush warbler
远东树莺 (yuǎndōng shùyīng)
Horornis borealis

Only 3, and singing only intermittently, not constantly, as will be the case later this month, when their numbers should also be greater.

Passeriformes: Cisticolidae

plain prinia
褐头鹪莺 (hètóu jiāoyīng)
Prinia inornata

10, in reeds, in thickly vegetated vacant lots, and other areas thick with low vegetation.

Passeriformes: Sylviidae

vinous-throated parrotbill
棕头鸦雀 (zōngtóu yāquè)
Sinosuthora webbiana

Common in reeds and in the undergrowth in the “forest” of locust trees on the sea wall.

reed parrotbill
震旦鸦雀 (zhèndàn yāquè)
Paradoxornis heudei

Near threatened. One flock heard only, 2 birds seen well near reeds where we studied the Pallas’s reed buntings.

Passeriformes: Sturnidae

crested myna
八哥 (bāgē)
Acridotheres cristatellus

4 near the hotel.

red-billed starling
丝光椋鸟 (sīguāng liángniǎo)
Spodiopsar sericeus

6 around Yìnhǎi Temple.

white-cheeked starling
灰椋鸟 (huī liángniǎo)
Spodiopsar cineraceus

2 around Yìnhǎi Temple.

Passeriformes: Turdidae

common blackbird
乌鸫 (wū dōng)
Turdus merula

3 in the locust trees.

dusky thrush
斑鸫 (bān dōng)
Turdus eunomus

1 behind Yìnhǎi Temple.

Passeriformes: Muscicapidae

red-flanked bluetail
红胁蓝尾鸲 (hóngxié lánwěiqú)
Tarsiger cyanurus

2 adult males reminded us that here, north of Shanghai, one is more likely to see wintering adult male red-flanked bluetails. (In Shanghai, adult males are seldom seen.) Also 3 females.

Daurian redstart
北红尾鸲 (běi hóngwěiqú)
Phoenicurus auroreus

3 (2 adult males, 1 female).

Stejneger’s stonechat
黑喉石鵖 (hēihóu shíjí)
Saxicola stejnegeri

7 in the locust-tree “forest” and perching on woody shrubs near the reeds.

Passeriformes: Passeridae

Eurasian tree sparrow
树麻雀 (shù máquè)
Passer montanus

Ubiquitous in built-up areas; common in less disturbed areas.

Passeriformes: Fringillidae

brambling
燕雀 (yànquè)
Fringilla montifringilla

5 in the “forest” of locust trees on the inner sea wall.

Chinese grosbeak
黑尾蜡嘴雀 (hēiwěi làzuǐquè)
Eophona migratoria

5 in the “forest” of locust trees on the inner sea wall.

grey-capped greenfinch
金翅雀 (jīnchìquè)
Chloris sinica

9 birds, some of them singing, among the locust trees.

Passeriformes: Motacillidae

white wagtail
白鹡鸰 (bái jílíng)
Motacilla alba

8 (7 leucopsis, 1 ocularis).

Passeriformes: Emberizidae

meadow bunting
三道眉草鹀 (sāndàoméi cǎowū)
Emberiza cioides

1 singing on a utility wire near the fish ponds.

little bunting
小鹀 (xiǎo wū)
Emberiza pusilla

2 near the reeds where the Pallas’s reed buntings were studied.

yellow-throated bunting
黄喉鹀 (huánghóu wū)
Emberiza elegans

2 among the locust trees on the landward side of the sea wall.

Pallas’s reed bunting
苇鹀 (wěi wū)
Emberiza pallasi

A reedy area on a quiet side road near the fish ponds provided us sustained views of 7 of these birds.

black-faced bunting
灰头鹀 (huītóu wū)
Emberiza spodocephala

14 seen along road and in reeds.

Xiǎo Yángshān and Nánhuì, 30 March 2014
by Craig Brelsford and Elaine Du

Introduction

On Sunday 30 March 2014, Elaine Du and Craig Brelsford took a day trip to Xiǎo Yángshān and Nánhuì. Among the notable birds were a black-faced spoonbill, two bluethroats, and six chestnut-eared buntings.

Equipment

— Cameras: Nikon D3S; for landscapes, Apple iPad 6.1.3
— Lens: Nikon VR 600mm F/4G
— Sound recorder: Olympus DM-650
— Binoculars: Swarovski EL 8 x 32 (Craig), Zeiss Conquest HD 8 x 42 (Elaine)

Books

— On Craig’s iPhone: drafts of “A Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China,” a work in progress by Craig Brelsford
— In backpack: Birds of East Asia, by Mark Brazil
— Consulted at home: A Field Guide to the Birds of China, by MacKinnon and Phillipps

Birds Noted on Xiǎo Yángshān (小洋山; Lesser Yangshan Island), Zhejiang, and along Shìjìtáng Lù (世纪塘路), Nánhuì (南汇), Shanghai, 30 March 2014

Galliformes: Phasianidae

common pheasant
雉鸡 (zhìjī)
Phasianus colchicus

1 at Nánhuì

Podicipediformes: Podicipedidae

little grebe
小䴙䴘 (xiǎo pìtī)
Tachybaptus ruficollis

2 at Nánhuì

great crested grebe
凤头䴙䴘 (fèngtóu pìtī)
Podiceps cristatus

6 at Nánhuì

Pelecaniformes: Threskiornithidae

black-faced spoonbill
黑脸琵鹭 (hēiliǎn pílù)
Platalea minor

1 at Nánhuì

Pelecaniformes: Ardeidae

grey heron
苍鹭 (cāng lù)
Ardea cinerea

19 at Nánhuì

great egret
大白鹭 (dà báilù)
Ardea alba

6 at Nánhuì

little egret
白鹭 (báilù)
Egretta garzetta

Ca. 80 at Nánhuì, including big flock of about 50

Accipitriformes: Pandionidae

western osprey
鹗 (è)
Pandion haliaetus

1 at Nánhuì

Gruiformes: Rallidae

common moorhen
黑水鸡 (hēi shuǐjī)
Gallinula chloropus

8 at Nánhuì

Charadriiformes: Charadriidae

Kentish plover
环颈鸻 (huánjǐng héng)
Charadrius alexandrinus

At Nánhuì, two flocks, one containing 21 birds, the other 15

Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae

snipe sp.

3 blasted off

Far Eastern curlew
大杓鹬 (dà sháoyù)
Numenius madagascariensis

1 at Nánhuì

spotted redshank
鹤鹬 (hè yù)
Tringa erythropus

Flock of 31 at Nánhuì

common greenshank
青脚鹬 (qīngjiǎo yù)
Tringa nebularia

1 at Nánhuì

red-necked stint
红颈滨鹬 (hóngjǐng bīnyù)
Calidris ruficollis

7 at Nánhuì

dunlin
黑腹滨鹬 (hēifù bīnyù)
Calidris alpina

1 in mixed flock of Kentish plovers and red-necked stints at Nánhuì

Columbiformes: Columbidae

spotted dove
珠颈斑鸠 (zhūjǐng bānjiū)
Spilopelia chinensis

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Falconiformes: Falconidae

common kestrel
红隼 (hóng sǔn)
Falco tinnunculus

1 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Laniidae

long-tailed shrike
棕背伯劳 (zōngbèi bóláo)
Lanius schach

17 singles at Nánhuì

Eurasian magpie
喜鹊 (xǐquè)
Pica pica

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Paridae

Japanese tit
远东山雀 (yuǎndōng shānquè)
Parus minor

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Remizidae

Chinese penduline tit
中华攀雀 (zhōnghuá pānquè)
Remiz consobrinus

2 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Alaudidae

Oriental skylark
小云雀 (xiǎo yúnquè)
Alauda gulgula

4 heard at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Pycnonotidae

light-vented bulbul
白头鹎 (báitóu bēi)
Pycnonotus sinensis

19 on Xiǎo Yángshān
7 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Hirundinidae

barn swallow
家燕 (jiā yàn)
Hirundo rustica

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān
23 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Cettiidae

Manchurian bush warbler
远东树莺 (yuǎndōng shùyīng)
Horornis borealis

7 on Xiǎo Yángshān

Passeriformes: Cisticolidae

zitting cisticola
棕扇尾莺 (zōng shānwěiyīng)
Cisticola juncidis

9 on Xiǎo Yángshān

plain prinia
褐头鹪莺 (hètóu jiāoyīng)
Prinia inornata

6 on Xiǎo Yángshān
17 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Sylviidae

vinous-throated parrotbill
棕头鸦雀 (zōngtóu yāquè)
Sinosuthora webbiana

At Nánhuì, 9 widely spaced flocks heard (with some individuals seen fleetingly); if a typical flock contains 8 members, then we may have been close to around 72 birds

reed parrotbill
震旦鸦雀 (zhèndàn yāquè)
Paradoxornis heudei

2 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Sturnidae

crested myna
八哥 (bāgē)
Acridotheres cristatellus

4 at Nánhuì

red-billed starling
丝光椋鸟 (sīguāng liángniǎo)
Spodiopsar sericeus

8 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Turdidae

common blackbird
乌鸫 (wū dōng)
Turdus merula

2 at Nánhuì

pale thrush
白腹鸫 (báifù dōng)
Turdus pallidus

2 on Xiǎo Yángshān

dusky thrush
斑鸫 (bān dōng)
Turdus eunomus

4 on Xiǎo Yángshān
1 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Muscicapidae

bluethroat
蓝喉歌鸲 (lánhóu gēqú)
Luscinia svecica

2 at Nánhuì

red-flanked bluetail
红胁蓝尾鸲 (hóngxié lánwěiqú)
Tarsiger cyanurus

1 at Nánhuì

Daurian redstart
北红尾鸲 (běi hóngwěiqú)
Phoenicurus auroreus

2 at Nánhuì

Stejneger’s stonechat
黑喉石鵖 (hēihóu shíjí)
Saxicola stejnegeri

2 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Passeridae

Eurasian tree sparrow
树麻雀 (shù máquè)
Passer montanus

Numerous in the most disturbed areas as well as more pristine places such as the reeds at the base of Shìjìtáng Lù (the road on the sea wall) at Nánhuì; there, I often mistook them for buntings

Passeriformes: Fringillidae

brambling
燕雀 (yànquè)
Fringilla montifringilla

3 at Nánhuì

Passeriformes: Motacillidae

eastern yellow wagtail
黄鹡鸰 (huáng jílíng)
Motacilla tschutschensis

1 (ssp. taivana) at Nánhuì

grey wagtail
灰鹡鸰 (huī jílíng)
Motacilla cinerea

3 on Xiǎo Yángshān

white wagtail
白鹡鸰 (bái jílíng)
Motacilla alba

5 on Xiǎo Yángshān (all ssp. leucopsis)
14 at Nánhuì (13 leucopsis, 1 ocularis)

Passeriformes: Emberizidae

meadow bunting
三道眉草鹀 (sāndàoméi cǎowū)
Emberiza cioides

2 on Lesser Yanghshan

chestnut-eared bunting
栗耳鹀 (lì’ěr wū)
Emberiza fucata

6 at Nánhuì

Pallas’s reed bunting
苇鹀 (wěi wū)
Emberiza pallasi

8 at Nánhuì

black-faced bunting
灰头鹀 (huītóu wū)
Emberiza spodocephala

3 at Nánhuì

An Early-spring Snapshot of Binjiang Park, Shanghai
by Craig Brelsford and Elaine Du

Introduction

Binjiang Forest Park (滨江森林公园) is at the northern tip of Pǔdōng, where the Huángpǔ River flows into the mighty Yangtze just before the latter discharges its muddy contents into the East China Sea. On Sunday 23 March 2014, Elaine Du and Craig Brelsford took a day trip to the park. The most remarkable find was a pair of Mandarin ducks.

Equipment

— Cameras: Nikon D3S; for landscapes, Apple iPad 6.1.3
— Lens: Nikon VR 600mm F/4G
— Sound recorder: Olympus DM-650
— Binoculars: Swarovski EL 8 x 32 (Craig), Zeiss Conquest HD 8 x 42 (Elaine)

Birds Noted at Binjiang Forest Park, Shanghai, China, 23 March 2014

 

Anseriformes: Anatidae

Mandarin duck
鸳鸯 (yuānyāng)
Aix galericulata

A pair flew from the park into the Huángpǔ-Yangtze, hiding behind a scuttled ship just offshore

Podicipediformes: Podicipedidae

little grebe
小䴙䴘 (xiǎo pìtī)
Tachybaptus ruficollis

We counted 2

Pelecaniformes: Ardeidae

little egret
白鹭 (báilù)
Egretta garzetta

1 flew past the scuttled ship

Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae

common sandpiper
矶鹬 (jī yù)
Actitis hypoleucos

1 disappeared behind the scuttled ship in water too deep for shorebirds, suggesting that the ship may serve as a hiding place

Charadriiformes: Laridae

Vega gull
西伯利亚银鸥 (xībólìyà yín’ōu)
Larus vegae

According to the IOC, Vega gull includes Larus vegae vegae and L. v. mongolicus. 2 singles flying over Huángpǔ-Yangtze

Columbiformes: Columbidae

rock dove (feral pigeon)
原鸽 (yuángē)
Columba livia

18; scattered throughout

spotted dove
珠颈斑鸠 (zhūjǐng bānjiū)
Spilopelia chinensis

13; scattered throughout

Passeriformes: Laniidae

long-tailed shrike
棕背伯劳 (zōngbèi bóláo)
Lanius schach

7 singles

Passeriformes: Paridae

yellow-bellied tit
黄腹山雀 (huángfù shānquè)
Pardaliparus venustulus

26 of this most endearing species, in 3 widely spaced flocks; I’m assuming these birds will be leaving Shanghai soon to breed

Passeriformes: Remizidae

Chinese penduline tit
中华攀雀 (zhōnghuá pānquè)
Remiz consobrinus

2 near the front gate, high in a tree

Passeriformes: Pycnonotidae

light-vented bulbul
白头鹎 (báitóu bēi)
Pycnonotus sinensis

17; scattered throughout

Passeriformes: Hirundinidae

barn swallow
家燕 (jiā yàn)
Hirundo rustica

1 near the rivers

Passeriformes: Phylloscopidae

Pallas’s leaf warbler
黄腰柳莺 (huángyāoliǔyīng)
Phylloscopus proregulus

9 in various places but mainly close to flowering trees

Passeriformes: Cisticolidae

plain prinia
褐头鹪莺 (hètóu jiāoyīng)
Prinia inornata

1 alighted on the scuttled ship

Passeriformes: Leiothrichidae

Chinese hwamei
画眉 (huàméi)
Garrulax canorus

7, in various places

Passeriformes: Zosteropidae

Japanese white-eye
暗绿绣眼鸟 (ànlǜ xiùyǎnniǎo)
Zosterops japonicus

1 in the tree with the Chinese penduline tits

Passeriformes: Regulidae

goldcrest
戴菊 (dàijú)
Regulus regulus

2 in “thrush heaven”

Passeriformes: Turdidae

grey-backed thrush
灰背鸫 (huībèi dōng)
Turdus hortulorum

23 in “thrush heaven,” a part of the park near the place where the main road heading into the park from the main gate meets the rivers; here, widely spaced, tall trees provide the parklike forest habitat that thrushes love

common blackbird
乌鸫 (wū dōng)
Turdus merula mandarinus

11, throughout the park as well as in “thrush heaven”

pale thrush
白腹鸫 (báifù dōng)
Turdus pallidus

20, all but one of them in “thrush heaven”

Passeriformes: Muscicapidae

red-flanked bluetail
红胁蓝尾鸲 (hóngxié lánwěiqú)
Tarsiger cyanurus

Just 2, such a low number a sure sign that spring has arrived

Daurian redstart
北红尾鸲 (běi hóngwěiqú)
Phoenicurus auroreus

Just 1, a female in a garbage-strewn collection of trees near the river; on a typical winter’s day in Binjiang, one could expect to see 10 Daurian redstarts

Passeriformes: Passeridae

Eurasian tree sparrow
树麻雀 (shù máquè)
Passer montanus

Noted but not studied

Passeriformes: Motacillidae

white wagtail
白鹡鸰 (bái jílíng)
Motacilla alba

4, all leucopsis

Passeriformes: Emberizidae

black-faced bunting
灰头鹀 (huītóu wū)
Emberiza spodocephala

3 singles

Mammals

Chinese water deer
獐 (zhāng)
Hydropotes inermis inermis

1; obviously feeling the pressure from the large crowd, this individual darted from one thickly vegetated area to another on two occasions

Nánhuì Zuǐ and Lesser Yangshan Island, 25 April 2013 and 12 May 2013
by Craig Brelsford

Summary

I took two single-day trips to Nánhuì Zuǐ and Xiǎo Yángshān. On Xiǎo Yángshān on 25 April, a photographers’ setup attracted a Siberian blue robin. A rufous-faced warbler passed through briefly. On 12 May, I saw a Radde’s warbler on Xiǎo Yángshān and a female Siberian rubythroat at Nánhuì Zuǐ.

Equipment

— Camera: Nikon D3S
— Lens: Nikon VR 600mm F/4G
— Binoculars: Swarovski EL 8 x 32
— In my backpack: Birds of East Asia, by Mark Brazil

The Trips

Thurs. 25 April 2013

At 0430, near my home across from Zhongshan Park in Shanghai, I picked up my assistant, Shàng Qún Yīng (尚群英), and a local birder named Lán Yīng (蓝英). We drove to the Magic Parking Lot next to the Holiday Inn at Nánhuì Zuǐ (南汇嘴). As we were driving in, a white-breasted waterhen (白胸苦恶鸟, báixiōng kǔ’ě’niǎo, Amaurornis phoenicurus) crossed the road. Four species of thrush awaited us: a single male Japanese thrush (乌灰鸫, wūhuī dōng, Turdus cardis), a single male eyebrowed thrush (白眉鸫, báiméi dōng, Turdus obscurus), a single female grey-backed thrush (灰背鸫, huībèi dōng, Turdus hortulorum), and a few pale thrushes (白腹鸫, báifù dōng, Turdus pallidus). Among the Phylloscopus warblers was a probable pale-legged warbler (灰脚柳莺, huījiǎo liǔyīng, Phylloscopus tenellipes; uniform upperparts, faint wingbars, whitish underparts, fine bill, pale tarsi; note however that Sakhalin leaf warbler [P. borealoides] is nearly identical to P. tenellipes). We drove across the Dōnghǎi Bridge to Xiǎo Yángshān (小洋山). Just before the toll booth for the Dōnghǎi Bridge, my rental car blew a tire. I quickly attached the spare. We drove to Garbage Dump Valley. A group of Chinese photographers had created a Magic Setup. The star of the setup was a male SIBERIAN BLUE ROBIN (蓝歌鸲, lán gēqú, Luscinia cyane bochaiensis). A male Narcissus flycatcher (黄眉姬鹟, huángméi jīwēng, Ficedula narcissina) was also feeding on the mealworms, as were a pair of male Tristram’s buntings (白眉鹀, báiméi wū, Emberiza tristrami). Making a fleeting appearance was a single RUFOUS-FACED WARBLER (棕脸鹟莺, zōngliǎn wēngyīng, Abroscopus albogularis fulvifacies). I walked up the valley and found a common kingfisher (普通翠鸟, pǔtōng cuìniǎo, Alcedo atthis). A Chinese photographer walking on the Garbage Dump Coastal Plain came back with photos of yellow-breasted buntings. I scurried down but couldn’t find them. I found Phylloscopus warblers: two-barred warbler (双斑绿柳莺, huāngbān lǜliǔyīng, Phylloscopus plumbeitarsus; two pale wingbars, no median crown stripe) and a probable pale-legged warbler. I found a Richard’s pipit (田鹨, tián liù, Anthus richardi). In the car we approached to a distance of just 7.1 m of the Richard’s, allowing me to take clear photographs of the long hind claw. One of the main characters distinguishing the Richard’s from other pipits (most notably Blyth’s) is the long hind claw. Around the Temple Mount, among other birds we saw a male grey-backed thrush, pale thrushes, a female Narcissus flycatcher, white-cheeked starlings, a Eurasian wryneck (蚁䴕, yǐ liè, Jynx torquilla), and male blue-and-white flycatchers (白腹姬鹟, báifù jīwēng, Cyanoptila cyanomelana). Heading back down to the car, we found a meadow bunting (三道眉草鹀, sāndàoméi cǎowū, Emberiza cioides). I returned to Garbage Dump Valley. The photographers were gone, but the Siberian blue robin was still there; I enjoyed a quiet moment with this beautiful bird, photographing him in the dying light.

Sun. 12 May 2013

Mark Havenhand’s driver, Mr. Chéng, picked me up at my apartment at 0500. By 0530 Mr. Chéng had picked up Mark and his son Oliver at their house in Pǔdōng, and by 0700 we were birding on the Garbage Dump Coastal Plain on Xiǎo Yángshān. Our first bird was a splendid male yellow-rumped flycatcher (白眉姬鹟, báiméi jīwēng, Ficedula zanthopygia). On the Plain we also saw a brown shrike (红尾伯劳, hóngwěi bóláo, Lanius cristatus), one of several we’d see that day; also present were a few Oriental reed warblers (东方大苇莺, dōngfāng dàwěiyīng, Acrocephalus orientalis). At Garbage Dump Valley, we found another male yellow-rumped flycatcher, and I got images of a Radde’s warbler (巨嘴柳莺, jùzuǐ liǔyīng, Phylloscopus schwarzi). Flycatchers: grey-streaked flycatcher (灰斑鹟, huībān wēng, Muscicapa griseisticta), Asian brown flycatcher (北灰鹟, běihuī wēng, Muscicapa latirostris), and a female robin flycatcher (鸲姬鹟, qú jīwēng, Ficedula mugimaki). There was a noisy pair of Far Eastern great tits (远东大山雀, yuǎndōng dàshānquè, Parus minor). Near the Magic Lawn on Greater Guanyin Mountain, I photographed a Cuculus cuckoo in flight. The cuckoo had no barring on the undertail coverts, just a few spots, plus a slight buffish color to the coverts. Therefore, a strong case can be made that the bird is not a common cuckoo (C. canorus). We also probably can eliminate lesser cuckoo (C. poliocephalus) and Indian cuckoo (C. micropterus). What’s left? Himalayan and (C. saturatus) Oriental cuckoo (北 方中杜鹃, běifāng zhōngdùjuān, Cuculus optatus). Once considered conspecific, C. optatus and C. saturatus have virtually identical field characters but are distinguishable by song. Unfortunately, the bird in my photo wasn’t singing, possibly because it was being mobbed by Chinese bulbuls! We can therefore only hypothesize about whether it was C. optatus or C. saturatus. Birds such as Cuculus cuckoos reinforce the value of being a Photographic-Based Birder (PBB). It would have been difficult, if not impossible, for the human eye to have detected the markings on that fast-moving cuckoo. But my photographic equipment was able to record the image. A birder working with a smaller, lighter lens may have been able to get a useful shot, but with my big 600 mm lens and fast Nikon D3S, there was no doubt. Sometimes I miss carrying a spotting scope (I can only carry so much), but at moments like the one with the cuckoo I’m happy to be carrying my “cannon.” A meadow bunting appeared. Driving again, we saw male and female red-bellied rock thrushes (蓝矶鸫, lán jīdōng, Monticola solitarius philippensis, ssp. of blue rock thrush). A male was singing. Walking up the Temple Mount, sweating in the 31-degree heat, we saw another flying Cuculus cuckoo, again, most likely Himalayan or Oriental. We were surprised to see a single Eurasian siskin (黄雀, huángquè, Carduelis spinus). By the time we got back to our car, it was past noon, and we were baking in the heat. The three of us drove back to the mainland and lunched at the Royal Crowne Hotel on Dīshuǐ Lake. We resumed birding at 1500 at the Magic Parking Lot at Nánhuì Zuǐ. Three male Narcissus flycatchers were in the area, feeding both on the mealworms left by the photographers (who had since left) and on natural fare. We walked out of the parking lot to the sea wall and looked down. Skulking amid the flotsam and vegetation was a female SIBERIAN RUBYTHROAT (红喉歌鸲, hónghóu gēqú, Luscinia calliope). We birded along the wall a bit more, then inland, seeing nothing of great importance, but faintly hearing the calling of cuckoos.

Other birds from the two trips:

bluetail, red-flanked (红胁蓝尾鸲, hóngxié lánwěiqú, Tarsiger cyanurus): 25 Apr
bulbul, Chinese (白头鹎, báitóu bēi, Pycnonotus sinensis sinensis): both days
bunting, black-faced (灰头鹀, huītóu wū, Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala as well as ssp. personata): both days; numerous at Nánhuì and on Xiǎo Yángshān
bunting, little (小鹀, xiǎo wū, Emberiza pusilla): 12 May, Garbage Dump Coastal Plain, Xiǎo Yángshān
cisticola, zitting (棕扇尾莺, zōng shānwěiyīng, Cisticola juncidis): 12 May, Nánhuì Zuǐ
dove, spotted (珠颈斑鸠, zhūjǐng bānjiū, Spilopelia chinensis): both days
egret, eastern cattle (牛背鹭, niúbèi lù, Bulbulcus coromandus): both days, at Nánhuì and on Xiǎo Yángshān; breeding plumage
egret, little (白鹭, báilù, Egretta garzetta garzetta): both days
grebe, little (小䴙䴘, xiǎo pìtī, Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei): 25 Apr; lake near Magic Parking Lot
heron, black-crowned night (夜鹭, yè lù, Nycticorax nycticorax): 12 May, Nánhuì Zuǐ
heron, Chinese pond (池鹭, chílù, Ardeola bacchus): both days, both times around the reservoirs on Greater Guanyin Mountain on Xiǎo Yángshān
heron, grey (苍鹭, cāng lù, Ardea cinerea): 12 May, Nánhuì Zuǐ
myna, crested (八哥, bāgē, Acridotheres cristatellus cristatellus): both days
pipit, olive-backed (树鹨, shù liù, Anthus hodgsoni; ssp. uncertain); seen at the Magic Parking Lot at Nánhuì Zuǐ and at various places on Xiǎo Yángshān
plover, Kentish (环颈鸻, huánjǐng héng, Charadrius alexandrinus): on 12 May, saw 1 at Nánhuì Zuǐ
prinia, plain (褐头鹪莺, hètóu jiāoyīng, Prinia inornata extensicauda); both days, at Nánhuì Zuǐ and on the Garbage Dump Coastal Plain on Xiǎo Yángshān
shrike, long-tailed (棕背伯劳, zōngbèi bóláo, Lanius schach schach); Nánhuì and Xiǎo Yángshān
sparrow, Eurasian tree (树麻雀, shù máquè, Passer montanus): both days
starling, red-billed (丝光椋鸟, sīguāng liángniǎo, Spodiopsar sericeus): 25 Apr, Xiǎo Yángshān; single flock, about 6 birds
starling, white-cheeked (灰椋鸟, huī liángniǎo, Poliopsar cineraceus): both days, Xiǎo Yángshān and Nánhuì Zuǐ
stonechat, Siberian or Stejneger’s (黑喉石鵖, hēihóu shíjí, Saxicola maurus): 25 Apr; several on Garbage Dump Coastal Plain
swallow, barn (家燕, jiā yàn, Hirundo rustica): both days, small numbers on Xiǎo Yángshān and at Nánhuì Zuǐ
wagtail, grey (灰鹡鸰, huī jílíng, Motacilla cinerea cinerea): one on Xiǎo Yángshān near the little pool at Garbage Dump Valley
wagtail, white (白鹡鸰, bái jílíng, Motacilla alba leucopsis): both days, Xiǎo Yángshān and Nánhuì Zuǐ; all “Baikal” wagtail
warbler, Manchurian bush (远东树莺, yuǎndōng shùyīng, Horornis borealis): both days; the sound of their singing was nearly constant, both at Nánhuì Zuǐ and on Xiǎo Yángshān
warbler, Pallas’s leaf (黄腰柳莺, huángyāoliǔyīng, Phylloscopus proregulus): 25 Apr, Magic Parking Lot, Nánhuì Zuǐ

Nánhuì and Lesser Yangshan Island, 16 April 2013
by Craig Brelsford

Summary

I took a day trip to Nánhuì and Xiǎo Yángshān. At Nánhuì I found a rufous-faced warbler, and on Xiǎo Yángshān I found a female yellow bunting and a flock of yellow-browed buntings. On China Bird Report, I became the first member to record the rufous-faced warbler in Shanghai and the first to record the grey-headed lapwing on Xiǎo Yángshān.

Equipment

— Camera: Nikon D3S
— Lens: Nikon VR 600mm F/4G
— Binoculars: Swarovski EL 8 x 32
— In my backpack: Birds of East Asia, by Mark Brazil

Tues. 16 April 2013

At 0430 I was loading my car in the parking lot of my apartment complex near Zhongshan Park in Shanghai. I heard a male Chinese blackbird (乌鸫, wū dōng, Turdus merula mandarinus, ssp. of common blackbird). The blackbird was singing powerfully, beautifully. Its song was filling the canyon made by the tall buildings around me. I thought the song must be coming from a caged bird. But through the gloom I made out, high on the eave of a building, the silhouette of the songster. A few minutes later, I picked up my assistant, Shàng Qún Yīng (尚群英). We drove to the Magic Parking Lot next to the Holiday Inn at Nánhuì. On our way in, we found white-cheeked starlings (灰椋鸟, huī liángniǎo, Poliopsar cineraceus) and crested mynas (八哥, bāgē, Acridotheres cristatellus cristatellus). Eurasian tree sparrows (树麻雀, shù máquè, Passer montanus) were here, there, and everywhere; Chinese bulbuls (白头鹎, báitóu bēi, Pycnonotus sinensis sinensis) were also abundant at every location both at Nánhuì and on Lesser Yángshān. Long-tailed shrikes (棕背伯劳, zōngbèi bóláo, Lanius schach schach) were calling. A single little grebe (小䴙䴘, xiǎo pìtī, Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei) was in the lake next to the Holiday Inn. Photographers were already set up at the parking lot. Their target bird was the Siberian rubythroat. A male had made an appearance at the parking lot on Sunday. Today, however, the rubythroat never showed. The mealworms set out by the photographers only attracted two female red-flanked bluetails (红胁蓝尾鸲, hóngxié lánwěiqú, Tarsiger cyanurus). Our disappointment at not finding the rubythroat was mitigated by the appearance of a single RUFOUS-FACED WARBLER (棕脸鹟莺, zōngliǎn wēngyīng, Abroscopus albogularis fulvifacies). This southern Chinese species is commonly reported in Zhèjiāng but (according to China Bird Report) never had been recorded in Shanghai. The bird, utterly alone, was singing constantly, unaware that not a single member of its kind was anywhere near. We found a male blue-and-white flycatcher (白腹姬鹟, báifù jīwēng, Cyanoptila cyanomelana). I remembered that recently in Forktail (No. 28, August 2012) Paul J. Leader and Geoff Carey proposed a major reorganization of the blue-and-white taxon. I therefore took many photos from various angles. Still, I cannot say with certainty whether the bird is of the newly recognized ssp. intermedia or is of the nominate race. Of the Phylloscopus warblers, I found only one, most likely a two-barred warbler (双斑绿柳莺, huāngbān lǜliǔyīng, Phylloscopus plumbeitarsus). I was unable to identify the single tern that flew quickly overhead.

Other birds at the Magic Parking Lot:

brambling (燕雀, yànquè, Fringilla montifringilla); handful

bunting, black-faced (灰头鹀, huītóu wū, Emberiza spodocephala spodocephala); handful

egret, little (白鹭, báilù, Egretta garzetta garzetta); one

swallow, barn (家燕, jiā yàn, Hirundo rustic; ssp. prob. saturata); a few

thrush, eyebrowed (白眉鸫, báiméi dōng, Turdus obscurus); a single adult male

thrush, pale (白腹鸫, báifù dōng, Turdus pallidus); handful; possibly I was seeing the same one or two individuals at different places

warbler, Manchurian bush (远东树莺, yuǎndōng shùyīng, Horornis borealis); the sound of their singing was constant

We drove across the Dōnghǎi Bridge to Xiǎo Yángshān. We went straight to Garbage Dump Valley. I found another Phylloscopus, again, most likely a two-barred warbler. Tristram’s buntings (白眉鹀, báiméi wū, Emberiza tristrami) were very numerous. A bunting flew upward, into the crown of a tree. I readied, aimed, and fired off a record shot. It was a female YELLOW BUNTING (硫磺鹀, liúhuáng wū, Emberiza sulphurata). The white crescents above and below the eye and weakly contrasting head clearly differentiate my bird from the female “masked bunting” (i.e., ssp. personata of the black-faced bunting). The yellow bunting breeds in Japan and winters mainly in the Philippines; it migrates up the Chinese coast. It’s listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. A long wait and search for the rubythroat netted me views of three or four pale thrushes and a single male Japanese thrush (乌灰鸫, wūhuī dōng, Turdus cardis). The sound of singing Manchurian bush warblers was nearly constant. We left the Valley and drove to Lesser Guanyin Mountain. On the lawn leading up the mountain were a pair of grey-headed lapwings (灰头麦鸡, huītóu màijī, Vanellus cinereus). A Eurasian hoopoe (戴胜, dàishèng, Upupa epops) was also on the lawn. Farther up, I saw a flock of about 25 YELLOW-BROWED BUNTINGS (黄眉鹀, huángméi wū, Emberiza chrysophrys). A total of four dusky thrushes (斑鸫, bān dōng, Turdus eunomus) were still hanging around on the lawn. I returned to Garbage Dump Valley at about 1600. The Chinese photographers were wrapping up. One of them, Albert, told me that he’d photographed a yellow bunting on Lesser Guanyin. Later, Albert told me that in conversations with the local people on the island, he’s found out that Lesser Yangshan Island may be closed off and that a big dock for yachts may be built; there was also a rumor that in the future a fee may be charged for access to Xiǎo Yángshān. I drove back to the city without incident.

Other birds on Xiǎo Yángshān:

bulbul, Chinese

bunting, black-faced; half a dozen near the lawn and reservoirs at Lesser Guanyin; all ssp. spodocephala

heron, Chinese pond (池鹭, chílù, Ardeola bacchus); one hanging around the reservoirs on Lesser Guanyin Mountain

kestrel, common (红隼, hóng sǔn, Falco tinnunculus; ssp. uncertain); one flying high over Garbage Dump Valley

magpie, Oriental (喜鹊, xǐquè, Pica pica serica, ssp. of Eurasian magpie); two near reservoir at Lesser Guanyin

pipit, olive-backed (树鹨, shù liù, Anthus hodgsoni; ssp. uncertain); half a dozen near the Temple

prinia, plain (褐头鹪莺, hètóu jiāoyīng, Prinia inornata extensicauda); one singing on the Garbage Dump Coastal Plain

sparrow, Eurasian tree

starling, white-cheeked; half a dozen on the lawn at Lesser Guanyin

stonechat, Siberian (黑喉石鵖, hēihóu shíjí, Saxicola maurus; ssp. uncertain)

wagtail, grey (灰鹡鸰, huī jílíng, Motacilla cinerea cinerea); one at Garbage Dump, others around reservoirs

wagtail, white (白鹡鸰, bái jílíng, Motacilla alba leucopsis); one at Garbage Dump, others along roads; all leucopsis

Wed, October 16, 2013 19:55:50

This past Sunday was one of those perfect birding days, in which good birds, good friends, good weather, and a good location all work together. Around 0900 at Nanhui Dongtan, a popular birding spot in southeastern Shanghai on the East China Sea, Daniel Pettersson and I saw a ruddy kingfisher (赤翡翠, chì fěicuì, Halcyon coromanda). The secretive bird flew silently across the parking lot, darting into the thick trees at about 30 km an hour. Jolted by the rare sighting, I peered into the gloomy thicket, but the kingfisher had disappeared. The encounter was fleeting, but there was no doubt that we’d seen a ruddy kingfisher. On birdtalker.net, the Web site for China Bird Report, I made the first record in China of the ruddy kingfisher. The record-keeping on CBR is spotty, but it is true that the ruddy kingfisher is very rarely seen on the Chinese coast. Xiao Cao, a birdwatcher from Shanghai, told me that a ruddy kingfisher hadn’t been reported in the city-province since 1975. According to Xiao Cao, there have been only two other records in the last five years, one in Shandong, the other in Fujian. Later in the day, Dan and I drove across the Donghai Bridge to Lesser Yangshan Island. Visibility was exceptionally good; one could see Lesser Yangshan from Nanhui, and the haze that commonly obscures the smaller islands around Yangshan had lifted. On Lesser Yangshan, Dan and I turned our attention from birdwatching to bird photography. As part of my quest to write the first photographic field guide to the birds of China, I am constantly endeavoring to capture top-quality images of Chinese birds. The simple setup that Dan and I had erected on Saturday on Lesser Yangshan had attracted an Asian brown flycatcher (北灰鹟, běihuī wēng, Muscicapa latirostris). About 15 minutes before sundown, when the light was sweetest, the Asian brown alighted on our perch. The light was kissing our bird softly, and the dead reeds 15 m behind our perch glowed orange-red. A good bird photographed at the perfect distance in perfect light: a minor dream come true. Dan and I felt like craftsmen, for we had set up the feeding station, waited patiently for the birds to get used to it, then reaped a big harvest. The next morning, after a month birding with me on the Chinese coast, Dan returned to Sweden. With the ruddy kingfisher and the photos of the Asian brown flycatcher, our fall migration trip had ended with a bang.

Lesser Yangshan Island, 24 Nov. 2012
by Craig Brelsford

Saturday 24 Nov. 2012

I arrived on Friday night at the Holiday Inn in Nanhui. My goal: to spend the weekend on Lesser Yangshan Island. I wanted to witness the change in the birding situation after three straight rainy days.

On Saturday, I watched dawn break over the East China Sea. It was a clear, cool morning. On the pavement below my room was an East Siberian white wagtail (Motacilla alba ocularis; grey back, black eye stripe). Two pale thrushes were foraging. A long-tailed shrike flew by.

Driving my rented Chevy Lova, I crossed the Donghai Bridge and headed for the grassy area along Donghai Avenue. Several dozen dusky thrushes were foraging. A pale thrush was in the mix, and a Daurian redstart was hunting. Dusky thrushes occasionally were squabbling; I tried to photograph them fighting, but had little success. The morning light was gorgeous on the dusky thrushes, with their combination of brown, buff, and rufous plumage.

I drove to Garbage Dump Valley. The weekend photographers already were arriving. There was a lively flock of four Far Eastern great tits and four varied tits. Something in the trees caught my attention. It was a white-bellied green pigeon! I’d never seen one before. The bird was hungry and tired; it dozed right in front of us. I spotted a Eurasian wryneck roosting in the trees, and a single bohemian waxwing appeared. Later, a lone Asian verditer flycatcher attracted everyone’s attention, so much so that I almost missed my only Japanese thrush of the day, a female. Red-flanked bluetails (no adult males) were flying around, and of course Chinese bulbuls were omnipresent, as were the local Eurasian tree sparrows.

About 20 photographers were following the verditer, a striking turquoise bird and one only rarely seen this far north. The flycatcher paid little attention to us; it kept to the upper canopy. After a while, I broke off from the crowd. Just outside the Valley, I found some hidden garden plots, well-watered, but lacking trees; Daurian redstarts were there, and some dusky thrushes, but little else. When I came back, I spotted the verditer, this time unfollowed. The flycatcher was in the scrub at the base of Garbage Dump Valley, near the place where visitors park. Finally, I had my chance for quality time with the verditer. I achieved some very sharp images.

I drove up Greater Guanyin Mountain. I saw a grey heron on the side of the road. The bird was either very much used to humans or sick or injured. It was able to feed, and I saw no visible damage. I quickly got some good shots at close range, then I carefully moved away.

I brought Subway sandwiches from Shanghai. I ate one on “Golden Pond” (the picturesque and usually birdy reservoir at the western base of Greater Guanyin). It was midday, and the sun was strong. Perhaps the midday sun explained the lack of interesting species. The usual Chinese bulbuls and Daurian redstarts were there, and dusky thrushes were popping up, making their kazoo-like little squeaks. A yellow-throated bunting came out of nowhere, and four Eurasian siskins were foraging along the path leading up to Guanyin Temple. Long-tailed shrikes were conspicuous. Eastern buzzards were patrolling above.

I descended to my car. At the grassy area along Donghai Avenue, I made another attempt at photographing sparring dusky thrushes, again with little success. But as the afternoon light softened, I got fine images of duskies at close range, and I was able to shoot them devouring worms. Amur white wagtails (M. a. leucopsis) were present in some numbers along the road. A female blue rock thrush looked sublime on a wall.

I drove back to Garbage Dump Valley. The man at the gate was reluctant to let me in; “There’s already 20 cars in there!” he said. But earlier in the week, I’d made friends with the man, and I’d given him one of my business cards. He let me pass.

Once I got there, the guys were saying, “Where’ve you been?” A pair of Japanese robins, a male and a female, was keeping the photographers busy. Where had the robins come from? In the morning no one had seen any robins. The robins must have flown in during the afternoon.

The photographers set mealworms on sticks and rocks, and the robins were coming right out into the open to devour them. Twenty guys with cameras were on either side of these robins, and the robins didn’t care. They wanted those mealworms. The photographers got their images, and the robins got their protein.

I’m not into luring birds with mealworms, and I find the props too fake for my taste. But the mealworms and the props clearly weren’t harming the robins. These purely wild birds arrived under their own power and were taking advantage of the feeding windfall provided by the photographers. In addition, mealworms very much resemble the natural food these insectivores consume. If the robins were residents of the area and were prone to becoming dependent on handouts from photographers, then I’d have been concerned; but these robins won’t linger here.

Still, I was happy when the photographers left. Finally I had my time alone with the robins. I have become adept at low-light photography, and I relished the opportunity to photograph the robins in the near-dark. I had nothing to give them, but the robins stayed around anyway, hunting for any mealworms they may have missed. These fearless little travelers foraged until well after the moon had become the brightest object in the sky.

For a few moments, I had the two Japanese robins in front of me, the verditer flycatcher still hunting in the trees above, and the varied tits feeding in the trees and on the ground. Three unusual species, in one unlikely forest, all within a few meters of me. The great Donghai Bridge was lighting up, and the sea was below. Wow. It’s a romantic spot, this Garbage Dump Valley.

At 1730 the robins flew away one last time. I left them to their rest. I drove back to Nanhui in the dark.

Sunday 25 Nov. 2012

When I awoke before dawn, it was already drizzling. The drizzle turned into a steady rain. I packed up my gear and drove home.

Lesser Yangshan Island, 19-20 Nov. 2012
by Craig Brelsford

Day 1: Mon. 19 Nov. 2012

At noon I left my apartment at Zhongshan Park near downtown Shanghai. Destination: Lesser Yangshan Island. Traffic was light, and I made good time. I was on the island by 1315. My goal: to find the Japanese yellow bunting and whatever other interesting migrants I could find. (I’m writing a photographic field guide to the birds of China. I’m trying to witness and photograph as many species as possible for the book.)

My first stop was a field of yellowed grass on the far side of the tunnel. This field is at the base of Guanyin Mountain and along Donghai Avenue. A large flock was foraging on the grass. Most of the birds were thrushes, with dusky thrush predominating. There may have been 50 duskies there. I parked, pulled out my Nikon 600 mm f/4 lens and Nikon D3S camera, and climbed into the drainage ditch at the base of Guanyin. I was lower than the field now; only my head was sticking up. The thrushes feared me less, and I was able to get some good views and photos. I photographed a Naumann’s thrush devouring a caterpillar, and I got a nice photo of an eyebrowed thrush on one of the natural beige rocks of the mountain. There were plenty of pale thrushes also, plus white-cheeked starlings and white wagtails (leucopsis). A male Daurian redstart made a brief appearance. A Tristram’s bunting spent some time in the ditch with me, and a lone rustic bunting was feeding in the grass.

As I was walking out of the drainage ditch, a Mandarin duck flew into the pond. I got good flight shots, my first photographs of this species. Driving up Guanyin Mountain, I photographed a blue rock thrush and a male and female elegant bunting.

At the pond in the valley near the western base of Guanyin Mountain, I found an eastern buzzard flying overhead. My walk kicked up a pair of Far Eastern great tits, another Daurian redstart, and a Pallas’s leaf warbler. A flock of dusky thrushes passed overhead.

I crossed Donghai Avenue to Garbage Dump Valley. I saw my old friends the varied tits (only two this time). It’s been two months since the varied tits were discovered at Garbage Dump Valley on Lesser Yangshan. I came on 30 Sept., not long after the discovery. Since then, a stream of photographers and birders have come to the site. Cigarette butts litter the ground, plastic bags and bottles are strewn all over, paths have been created through the brush, and to top it off someone set up some ugly props–drooping flowers, sticks jabbed unnaturally into the ground, rocks hastily covered with moss. How could anyone find such fakery appealing?

I found a big black plastic bag and started collecting litter. At that moment, picking up trash was more important than birding and photography.

As bad as the behavior of the photographers has been, the men with the cameras are not the biggest problem the birds face at Garbage Dump Valley. The biggest problem is the cats. They are numerous at the Garbage Dump; every time I turned my head, it seemed, a cat was lurking. Shooting the varied tits, I glimpsed a cat trotting away with a small animal–probably a bird.

As I was collecting trash, a Japanese robin appeared. The bird settled on a branch nearly hidden by other branches and leaves. I was struck by the contrast its bright orange head made with the drab greys and browns of the undergrowth.

By 1700, it was too dark to take photographs. I drove across the Donghai Bridge to the Holiday Inn at Nanhui Zui. (There is a hotel on Lesser Yangshan, but foreigners aren’t allowed to stay there.) Near the hotel, the headlights of my car illuminated a nightjar, probably a grey, flying in its erratic way.

Day 2: Tue. 20 Nov. 2012

From my room at the Holiday Inn, I watched dawn break over the East China Sea. In the lake on the inland side, great crested grebes, little grebes, and common coots were swimming. After breakfast, I drove slowly along the sea wall, seeing some dusky thrushes, a long-tailed shrike, Daurian redstarts, and an egret, either an intermediate or a great white. Further inland, I found crested mynas.

On Lesser Yangshan, I drove toward the ferry dock. I was looking for the spot where birders recently found the Japanese yellow bunting. I couldn’t find the place or the bunting, but I had a good little time watching plain prinias.

Next, I drove through the tunnel to the parking lot of the Shilong Wonder. I found more dusky thrushes along the way, one of them a handsome adult male. At the Wonder, I found a very tame female blue rock thrush. I love the scaly plumage and pleasing midtone blue color of this species. I achieved some sharp images.

At the parking lot, I watched a long-tailed shrike hunt at the base of Greater Chengzi Mountain. Long-tailed shrikes are common residents on Lesser Yangshan. Another common Yangshan species, Chinese bulbul, was present there. The Eurasian tree sparrows looked good in the morning light. As I was leaving the parking lot, I saw a female Eurasian kestrel.

I drove back to Garbage Dump Valley. Even though it was a weekday, four cars were there. All belonged to Chinese photographers. I recognized most of the photographers. Inside the tiny woods, the guys were talking and smoking. Their mood was subdued. The Japanese robin was nowhere to be seen.

I walked up the hill toward the tunnel. At the entrance, I noticed dripping water–a natural spring on this otherwise sere island. No wonder Garbage Dump Valley has so many tall trees, which form the simple wood, which in turn attracts forest passerines that otherwise would find little suitable habitat on Lesser Yangshan. As I emerged on the other side of the tunnel, I saw an eastern buzzard flying overhead. This side of the mountain had few surprises. The most notable bird here was a Japanese thrush. Dusky thrushes once again were the most numerous Turdus, and there were pale thrushes. A blue rock thrush was hunting on the cliffs by the sea, Daurian redstarts were darting to and fro, and olive-backed pipits alighted on the rocks. The hidden pagoda was an interesting sight.

I went back through the tunnel, accidentally scaring off a pale thrush drinking from the seep. I saw a Tristram’s bunting and a red-flanked bluetail. I talked to the photographers again. One of them had asked for the day off and driven all the way from Nantong, Jiangsu to photograph the Japanese robin. Another had come from Suzhou, and still another had come from Hangzhou. There also were photographers from Shanghai. At my car, I noticed a license plate from Liaoning.

On the rocks at the base of Garbage Dump Valley, I found a buff-bellied pipit. As I drove onto the paved road, I found a resplendent male blue rock thrush ingesting bits of gravel. (Yes, gravel. After he was finished, I checked the spot where he’d been eating. Not a single insect. All sand and gravel.)

I still wanted to find the Japanese yellow bunting. I drove to the other end of Lesser Yangshan, trying to guess where the birders from Shanghai may have seen the bunting last weekend. I found some grey herons flying over the muddy sea. I saw blue rock thrushes. Dusky thrushes were popping up everywhere, even on the cliffs. I found three large-billed crows–but no buntings. I doubled back, my destination the temple.

I parked my rented Chevy Lova in my accustomed spot near the main road. Walking up Lesser Chengzi Mountain, I found a pair of elegant buntings. At the “pass” I found an injured dusky thrush. It could make only short flights. Despite its handicap, the bird was foraging well enough on the ground, and the area it had chosen seemed less cat-ridden than Garbage Dump Valley. The thrush even knew where to find water–in a discarded jar half-covered with weeds.

Around the ramshackle old temple, I saw my sixth Turdus species of the trip: a grey-backed thrush. I talked to the old woman who lives at the temple. She’s planting a small vegetable garden, complete with a fence to keep out the goats. She can’t speak Mandarin; she conversed with me in her local language, which a birder from Beijing could barely follow but which the photographers from Shanghai had no trouble understanding. The woman said she was born on Lesser Yangshan. Looking at the giant wharf below, I contemplated the changes this woman has seen over the years.

Heading back, I encountered a robin (mugimaki) flycatcher. The flycatcher alighted on a branch about six meters from me, looked at me for a few seconds, then took off again. Farther up, I again came upon the injured dusky thrush. I found meadow buntings, more elegant buntings, a pair of Far Eastern great tits, a single Eurasian siskin, and a Pallas’s leaf warbler.

Night was coming on; Donghai Bridge was lighting up. I got in the Chevy and drove back to the Holiday Inn.

Day 3: Wed. 21 Nov. 2012

I’d planned to cover Nanhui in the early morning and return to Shanghai by noon. But it was raining when I awoke at 0600, and the rain never let up; so I drove back to the city.

Lesser Yangshan Island, 5 Dec. 2012
by Craig Brelsford

On Wednesday I spent the day on Lesser Yangshan Island. I failed to find the Eurasian bullfinch, although one apparently was present at Garbage Dump Valley. I enjoyed the brilliant sunshine and cool December air, and I reaffirmed my commitment to being a photographically oriented birder.

My day began at 04:15 at my apartment near Zhongshan Park in Shanghai. By 05:30 I was on the road, driving (as is my wont) a Chevy Lova rented from Avis. I arrived at the Garbage Dump Coastal Plain at 06:45. I pulled out my kick-ass lens, the Nikon 600 mm f/4, and attached it to my Nikon D3S, now two years old and still pumping out perfect images. It was time to rock ‘n’ roll . . .

My first bird was a dusky thrush, feeding on the track leading toward the dump. Eurasian tree sparrows were there, as was a fearless black-backed wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens). The black-backed is a subspecies of the white wagtail; this individual was clearly a winter lugens, for in addition to its black eye-stripe it had the grey back with black splotches.

Walking past the smelly garbage-processing center, teeming with cats, I found a male Daurian redstart. Further up, a flock of maybe six Far Eastern great tits (Parus minor) greeted me cheerfully. A pair of varied tits was associating with the great tits, and elegant (yellow-throated) buntings were keeping a low profile in the weeds. A few pale thrushes seem to have made themselves at home in the Valley; I photographed one in a former brushy area now cleared and converted into a photographic setup. An eastern buzzard was flying overhead.

A group of photographers from Hangzhou arrived. I didn’t recognize any of them, but they all knew who I was. In the central “courtyard” area (two empty circular basins, two or three tall trees), we “togs” lined up near some of the props set up by earlier photographers. The tits did not disappoint, landing on the props and a hundred other places and energetically investigating everything. A varied tit explored a bicycle, even checking under the seat for bugs. I got a nice shot of it perching on the fender. A female Daurian redstart was in the branches above, and a red-flanked bluetail made an appearance. Later, I saw a Eurasian wryneck near the outhouse.

The problem with Lesser Yangshan is that Garbage Dump Valley is the best birding spot on the island, so much so that a full day could profitably be spent there. But I like to stretch my legs, so my habit is to break up my day into two long sessions (early morning, late afternoon) at the Garbage Dump, with a survey of the other locations in between. This time, my method probably denied me a view of the Eurasian bullfinch.

I withdrew from Garbage Dump Valley, the sun warm on my face. I was sleepy. After a quick look at the thrushy field along Donghai Avenue (situation normal: dozens of thrushes, almost all dusky, combing the dormant yellow grass), I doubled back to the base of the “Temple Mount,” that is, Lesser Guanyin Mountain. But the bright sun meant that birds would be hard to find at that hour, and in any case, the warm rays were caressing me. I fell asleep in the driver’s seat.

I awoke 30 minutes later, still groggy. There was only one solution: caffeine. I forwent the Temple and drove to the convenience store in the built-up area near the Shilong Wonder. There, I bought a can of Red Bull. I ate my lunch just outside the gate to the Garbage Dump Coastal Plain, a trio of dusky thrushes joining me. One boldly foraged just a meter away from the closed door of my Lova. I also took an interest in a female blue rock thrush. Amur wagtails (M. a. leucopsis) were foraging along the road. The Red Bull worked its magic; I was fully awake.

Along the strip of grass at the entrance to the Garbage Dump Coastal Plain, I invested 15 minutes in photographing the duskies from the Lova. I once again failed to record any of the many short duels the duskies engage in. My consolation prize, however, was a long, close look at the foraging behavior of these birds. Here indeed, the bird photographer has an advantage over the birder who hastily moves to the next species before adequately appreciating the species in front of him. Peering through my viewfinder, I watched the dusky tilt its head in typical thrush-like fashion, the better to hear the worm wriggling below. Most of its thrusts netted little or nothing, but occasionally the dusky would pull an earthworm out of nowhere. My camera recorded those lightning-fast attacks, movements too fast for the human eye to see.

The Hangzhou guys came back to their cars. They told me they’d seen the bullfinch up by the entrance to the tunnel. Eureka! My moment was here. I was itching to go, but the guys first wanted a quick group-photo session (Chinese photographers commonly request a picture with the well-known foreign photographer “大山雀”). I then hoofed across the Coastal Plain to the Valley.

Near the tunnel entrance I planted my tripod. I scoured the tight little area, finding only Chinese bulbuls, long-tailed shrikes, and pale thrushes. The great tits came to drink from the trickling spring. A northern hobby was soaring far above. Where was my bullfinch?

A red-flanked bluetail, an adult male, bounced up to me on the concrete path. The habitat along the sidewalk was perfect for him, so he hung around, once or twice flying straight at me in pursuit of a flying insect. Half an hour went by, the bluetail always near. Even though I’ve had similar episodes many times with bluetails and other friendly species, the experience of getting close to a wild bird never feels old, and it never fails to delight me. This little traveler was providing me the birder’s equivalent to a soak in a hot spring or a freshly brewed cup of Chinese yellow-rose tea. My time with the bluetail was a moment for relaxation and appreciation.

Not only was the visit from this friendly bird emotionally satisfying, but it also provided an opportunity for close observation. During my recent work with the Japanese robins, I noted how much at home they are close to the ground. Though the robins prefer to perch on something rather than simply stand on the ground (I often saw them standing on a stick or root just a centimeter high), they very rarely were perching more than half a meter from the ground, and they almost never were perching in the open. The Daurian redstarts, by contrast, though very much willing to go to the ground, are more aerial and arboreal, spending much of their time in the lower canopy. The habits of the bluetail fall between those of the redstart and robin. The bluetail was inserting itself into tangles that a redstart would shy away from but a robin would feel at home in. But the bluetail never remained for long in the thick bushes, always emerging and perching conspicuously. These open perches were usually no higher than 2 m above the ground, and they were rarely the branches of standing trees, being instead stumps, rocks, the stalks of smaller plants, and the branches of fallen trees. There is, however, much overlap between the habitat of the Daurian redstart and that of the red-flanked bluetail, as even the birds themselves know; four times, a female Daurian swooped down and chased off the slightly smaller bluetail. Fittingly, the fleeing bluetail would head for the thickest bushes, where the redstart would not follow.

I walked through the tunnel to Hidden Pagoda Cove. I once again admired the mysterious house of worship, inside which Buddhist chants were resounding but around which there was not a living soul. The wind had picked up, making audible the crashing waves below. The water, suffused with the outflow of the Yangtze River, is muddy brown, robbing the Hidden Cove of some of its romance. A view of a bullfinch would have infused the cove with birding romance, but there was none to be seen. A female blue rock thrush was the most notable bird there.

I retraced my steps through the tunnel, down Garbage Dump Valley, and across the Garbage Dump Coastal Plain. I wistfully packed up my beloved equipment. I’d missed the bullfinch, but I’ll be back, camera, as always, in hand. I drove home without incident.
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