Taiwan Spring Birding 8th to 19th May 2018 (12 days) Trip Report Mikado Pheasant by Rich Lindie Compiled by Tour Leader, Rich Lindie Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Taiwan Trip Report – RBL Taiwan - Spring Birding 2018 2 Tour Summary As always, we began our tour of the green island in the vibrant city of Taipei, where a couple of walks around the botanical garden produced more than a couple of great birds, including a handful of endemic species and subspecies. Chief of interest among these were Taiwan Barbet, Taiwan Scimitar Babbler and Crested Goshawk; whilst the star of the non-endemics was Malayan Night Heron – a bird that, for many intents and purposes, may as well be endemic to Taiwan. Grey-headed Bullfinch by Rich Lindie Following our second visit to the park, we began our journey south, and into the foothills around Shimen Reservoir, where the weather held off just long enough for us to see all of our targets and even a couple more to boot. First to fall was Taiwan Bamboo Partridge – a male of which was watched at close range from the road, as he fervently called to his neighbour on the other side. Next up was Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler, followed shortly by a couple of Taiwan Whistling Thrushes. A small flock of Taiwan Blue Magpies put in an appearance just before we settled down for some tea with a view. Oh, and let's not forget the Collared Scops Owl we saw roosting nearby. For the second half of the day, we then found ourselves birding the lower slopes of Dasyueshan, where the weather DIDN'T hold off, but we still found such goodies as Taiwan Partridge, Vivid Niltava and our third 'chicken' of the day – Swinhoe's Pheasant. Needless to say, dinner was not only a welcome affair but also a jovial one. Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Taiwan Trip Report – RBL Taiwan - Spring Birding 2018 3 The next two days saw us make two more trips up the mountain, on both occasions ending up at the top of the road. As expected, we encountered a mixture of mist, sun, and rain on both visits, though birding was seldom hampered, and we came away with superb views of just about everything we looked for, including the much sought-after Mikado Pheasant. Other highlights included Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Buffy (I mean, Rusty) Laughingthrush, Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush, White-tailed Robin, and Steere’s Liocichla. We also enjoyed several welcome picnics and some wonderful scenery, though moving on to the sunny lowlands was certainly a welcome break for a little while. Pheasant-tailed Jacana by Rich Lindie Beginning day 5 doing just that, we found ourselves around the small town of Guguan, where it didn't take long for us to pick up a Chestnut-bellied Tit, as well as a couple of White-bellied Erpornis and a Black-naped Monarch, before our first visit to a 7-Eleven provided us with a few more cultural lifers. There and the local betel nut 'shop' a short while later. The afternoon saw a dramatic change, in that we found ourselves no longer birding forested hills but rather the barren mudflats around Budai. Naturally, we added several new species to the list, including some sought-after species and several much-enjoyed ones. Foremost among both was Black-faced Spoonbill; while the latter category included Red-necked Phalarope, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Sharp- tailed Sandpiper, and Lesser Sand Plover – all of which were in breeding attire. A fishy dinner at a local restaurant went down just as well. Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Taiwan Trip Report – RBL Taiwan - Spring Birding 2018 4 We dedicated the following morning to more birding in the Budai area and surrounds. After some coffee and bacon, that is! Among the several birds we saw, closer views of Black-faced Spoonbill were appreciated; while additions to our list included the likes of Grey-throated Martin, Marsh Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler, and Terek Sandpiper – not necessarily a red-letter morning but a wonderful change, despite the heat! We also visited the local Pheasant-tailed Jacana reserve, where we enjoyed great close- ups of this superb bird, followed shortly by equally great looks at some Oriental Pratincoles. White-whiskered Laughingthrush by Rich Lindie Driven by the heat to retreat to another 7-Eleven, we took a break in the air-conditioning before heading out to the mudflats one final time – the highlight of which was unbeatable views of a Slaty-breasted Rail. The remainder of the afternoon was then spent making our way to Pingtung, where we checked into our hotel, enjoyed yet another wonderful dinner, and wandered around our hotel grounds, finding Savanna Nightjar, a Masked Palm Civet, and the second major highlight of our day, a wonderfully cooperative Mountain Scops Owl! Opting to breakfast in the field again, we lined up our chairs and dined in style out on the grass at a nearby, rather appropriately-named, leisure farm. A lovely way to see in the dawn, but we had two targets to find, and soon we were out on foot again, searching for Maroon Oriole and White-bellied Green Pigeon. The oriole took all of two minutes to find; while the pigeon put up a small fight, though we did end up with great views. Along the way, we also noted a couple of dozen Black Kites, a Crested Honey Buzzard, Chinese Pond Herons, and a handful of golden-orb spiders before it was time to board our bus for Kenting, and the ferry to Lanyu. Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Taiwan Trip Report – RBL Taiwan - Spring Birding 2018 5 The ferry ride itself provided us with views of a handful of Bulwer's Petrels; while landfall swiftly saw us getting all our targets with no trouble at all. First to fall was Brown-eared Bulbul, followed shortly by Lowland White-eye, Whistling Green Pigeon, Ryukyu Scops Owl, Pacific Swift, Philippine Cuckoo Dove, Japanese Paradise Flycatcher and, finally, Northern Boobook. We also enjoyed several sightings of Golden Birdwing along the way, not to mention some lovely scenery. Taiwan Partridge by Rich Lindie A short excursion to the forest edge the following morning turned up a few of the same birds as the previous day, whilst also adding Blue Rock Thrush and Zitting Cisticola to our list. The return ferry ride, by contrast, turned up nothing new, though we did enjoy several great looks at Bulwer's Petrels. Back on the main island, we spent the remainder of the day making our way to Huben, where we spotted the first Oriental Cuckoo of the trip, and on to Douliu, where we had pizza for a change. The next morning, we met up with Mr Pitta, who promptly led us into the forest, where it didn't take long for us all to enjoy fantastic views of an adult Fairy, not to mention another Taiwan Bamboo Partridge, Dusky Fulvettas and a White-rumped Shama – all of which put in appearances during our time waiting for the pitta. Another enjoyably relaxed breakfast followed that, before a visit to a nearby temple gave us our second Collared Scops Owl of the trip, as well as a chance to see a little more of the cultural goings-on in Taiwan. Another 7-Eleven sit-down was much enjoyed for a break from the humidity thereafter, and then we made our way into the mountains, where a small flock of Brown Bullfinches put in an appearance, followed by our final endemic bird of the trip – Taiwan Barwing – not far from our 'hotel by the tea'. Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Taiwan Trip Report – RBL Taiwan - Spring Birding 2018 6 A full day up the mountains in Yushan National Park was not only a thermally and scenically pleasant way to spend the following day, we didn't do too poorly on the birding-front either. Indeed, we picked up a nice selection of trip-birds, including an unusually demonstrative White-browed Shortwing, Golden Parrotbill, Brown-flanked Bush Warbler, and Island Thrush, and repeat views of several great birds we had only recently become familiar with, not to mention a male Taiwan Rosefinch. An evening walk from our hotel then gave us wonderful views of a couple of Red-and-white Giant Flying Squirrels – truly awesome little creatures – and another Mountain Scops Owl! Ryuku Scops Owl by Rich Lindie The next morning, we strolled back to the forest near our accommodation, finding a Collared Owlet as a reward. Then, making a stop (guess where?) en route to Taipei, later in the morning, we picked up a Golden-headed Cisticola – also represented in Taiwan by an endemic subspecies – whilst the remainder of the day was spent doing some enjoyable birding on the outskirts of the city. When we weren’t chasing runaway buses, that is! Some of us opted to do a little more birding on the outskirts of Taipei the following morning, but, alas, all good things come to an end, and it was soon time to say our goodbyes and to leave the wonderful island. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the company of indefatigable Mr Foster, and we were blessed, yet again, with such a wonderful group, great bird-showings and everything else we could have wished for – Cheers Taiwan! Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Taiwan Trip Report – RBL Taiwan - Spring Birding 2018 7 Annotated List of species recorded Note: Number in brackets ( ) indicate number of days on the tour the species was recorded.