Pallas's Reed Bunting Emberiza pallasi, Microforest 2, Nanhui, 8 Feb. 2016. Photo by Kai Plug for shanghaibirding.com.

Come Walk with Us at Nanhui

by Craig Brelsford
Founder, shanghaibirding.com

On Fri. 5 Feb. and Mon. 8 Feb., Elaine Du, Kai Pflug, and I noted 64 species on a two-day “Nanhui on Foot” tour. Horned Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, and Greater Scaup maintained their presence on Dishui Lake, and on Friday we picked out a single Black-faced Spoonbill among the Eurasian Spoonbill. On Monday we noted Water/Brown-cheeked Rail, saw a flock of 240 Kentish Plover and 900 Dunlin, and enjoyed an early morning moment with four bunting species (mainly Pallas’s Reed Bunting and Little Bunting with cameos by Chestnut-eared Bunting and Black-faced Bunting). We struggled to ID our Pallas’s Reed Bunting to ssp. level. Were the mysterious lydiae mixed in?

The interval of 72 hours between Friday and Monday saw changes to the composition of birds on Dishui Lake. Counts of Falcated Duck went from 230 on Friday to 0 on Monday. Horned Grebe and Greater Scaup also fell off our Monday list. Numbers of Tufted Duck, meanwhile, increased from 22 to 140. Common Pochard saw a jump from 0 on Friday to 300 on Monday, but we found them on the pond behind the Magic Parking Lot, which we were unable to check Friday.

From Puxi we took Metro Line 2 to Longyang Road, where we transferred to Line 16. We exited Line 16 at Dishui Lake station and took a taxi to Microforest 2 (30.926051, 121.970781), where we began birding. On Friday, we walked all the way back to the Dishui Lake station, and on Monday, we took the bus to Dishui Lake station from the stop behind the Magic Parking Lot.

Reed Parrotbill were noted both days around Microforest 2. We had Naumann’s Thrush on Friday. As was the case last year, Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis and taivana) have been present in Shanghai in small numbers throughout the winter.

Horned Grebe has had a sustained presence on Dishui Lake for at least the past 60 days. Also known as Slavonian Grebe, Podiceps auritus is thought to be a rare winter visitor to our area, but it may be overlooked.

PHOTOS

"Kai and Elaine"
Shanghai birders Kai Pflug (L) and Elaine Du, Cape Nanhui. For maximum efficiency during our two-day tour, we distributed duties among our trio. Elaine kept records and scanned the ponds with our Swarovski ATX-95 spotting scope. Kai handled photography, lovingly wielding his Nikon D810 and 400 mm F2.8 lens with 2x teleconverter. I served as chief ornithologist and scope-bearer. We walked 19 km (11.9 mi.) each day. (Craig Brelsford)
Hen Harrier (L) and Pied Harrier
Hen Harrier (L) and Pied Harrier, Nanhui, Monday. Both are adult females. A conspicuous white rump is a feature of both Circus cyaneus and C. melanoleucos. Note however the more evenly banded tail of the former and the more contrasting upperparts of the latter. (Kai Pflug)

shanghaibirding.com

Little Bunting
With the polluted Shanghai air acting as a filter, the morning sunlight kisses this Little Bunting ever so softly, helping photographer Kai Pflug achieve this masterful image. (Kai Pflug)

Featured image: Pallas’s Reed Bunting Emberiza pallasi, Microforest 2, Nanhui, 8 Feb. The thinness of the upper mandible of this specimen raises the question: Could this be E. p. lydiae? (Kai Pflug)
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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.

2 thoughts on “Come Walk with Us at Nanhui”

  1. This is great! I’m a birder who has been living in Shanghai for 3 years and I have been waiting for a website like yours. It seems there are more birdwatching opportunities from here than I had thought! Cheers!

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