It’s April! Here’s What to Expect

It’s April now and the sweet spot of migration season is about to be hit. In the Shanghai region, April and May are the two very best months, with the four weeks between 15 April and 15 May being the best time of all.

Here is a list of interesting birds that Elaine Du and I were finding last year around this time.

Japanese Reed Bunting seen on Chongming on 29 March 2015.

Japanese Reed Bunting, Chongming, 29 March 2015.
Japanese Reed Bunting, Chongming, 29 March 2015. (Craig Brelsford)

Brown-flanked Bush Warbler was singing and defending territory on Lesser Yangshan Island last 9 April.

Brown-flanked Bush Warbler, Lesser Yangshan, 9 April 2015.
Brown-flanked Bush Warbler, Lesser Yangshan, 9 April 2015. (Craig Brelsford)

Bar-tailed Godwit found south of Yangkou on 12 April 2015. The godwit had been flagged in 2009 in Victoria, Australia. Endangered Great Knot found near godwit on 12 April.

I submitted a report of the sighting of this banded godwit to the Australasian Wader Studies Group (AWSG). On 19 April 2015, I received word back from AWSG. This godwit had been banded on 23 June 2009 (nearly 6 years ago!) off Mann's Beach, Corner Inlet in Victoria, Australia.
I submitted a report of the sighting of this banded godwit to the Australasian Wader Studies Group (AWSG). On 19 April 2015, I received word back from AWSG. This godwit had been banded on 23 June 2009 (nearly 6 years earlier!) in Victoria, Australia. (Craig Brelsford)

Brown-headed Thrush, a scarce passage migrant in Shanghai that breeds in Japan and on Sakhalin, found 9 April 2015 at Nanhui.

Brown-headed Thrush, Nanhui, 9 April 2015.
Brown-headed Thrush, Nanhui, 9 April 2015. (Craig Brelsford)

Japanese Thrush was singing and defending territory at Yangkou on 9 April 2015.

Narcissus Flycatcher was recorded by Elaine and me on 5 occasions in spring 2015 between 16 April and 16 May

Black Redstart: vagrant recorded 18 April 2015 on Hengsha Island.

Black Redstart, very uncommon vagrant to Shanghai. Hengsha, 18 April 2015.
Black Redstart, very uncommon vagrant to Shanghai. Hengsha, 18 April 2015. (Craig Brelsford)

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher: curiously, recorded only once by Elaine and me last spring (19 April, Nanhui)

Siberian Blue Robin: 9 April, Lesser Yangshan

Blue-and-white Flycatcher: recorded on 10 occasions between 12 April and 16 May 2015

Asian Brown Flycatcher had a sustained springtime presence, being recorded on 9 occasions from 9 April to 21 May 2015

Eastern Crowned Warbler: 9 April, Lesser Yangshan

Cuculus sp.: Lesser Cuckoo, Common Cuckoo, and Indian Cuckoo more commonly noted in May; we had an early bird, not singing, on Hengsha on 18 April

Grey-headed Lapwing: aggressively defending territory on Chongming on 29 March. Hear their manic cries (01:33; 4.5 MB):

Curlew Sandpiper: near-threatened species first noted by us last year on 23 April at Yangkou

Red-necked Stint: 10 April, Chongming

Terek Sandpiper: 11 April, Yangkou

Last year in the Shanghai region, Elaine and I birded 32 of the 86 days between 29 March and 22 June, noting 243 species. The report we wrote about the experience is called Shanghai-area Springtime Birding, 2015. Feel free to use our report to get an indication of the birds you can find in springtime in the Shanghai area.
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Craig Brelsford

Craig Brelsford is the founder of shanghaibirding.com. Brelsford lived in Shanghai from 2007 to 2018. Now back home in Florida, Brelsford maintains close ties to the Shanghai birding community and continues his enthusiastic development of this website. When Brelsford departed China, he was the top-ranked eBirder in that country, having noted more than 930 species. Brelsford was also the top-ranked eBirder in Shanghai, with more than 320 species. Brelsford’s photos of birds have won various awards and been published in books and periodicals and on websites all over the world. Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, published in its entirety on this website, is the most Shanghai-centric field guide ever written. Brelsford is a graduate of the University of Florida and earned a master's in business administration at the University of Liege, Belgium.

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