DOCSLIB.ORG

Taiwan: Formosan Endemics Matsu Migration Extension: 13Th–18Th April, 2019 Set Departure Tour: 18Th– 27Th April, 2019

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Taiwan: Formosan Endemics Matsu Migration Extension: 13Th–18Th April, 2019 Set Departure Tour: 18Th– 27Th April, 2019 Taiwan: Formosan Endemics Matsu migration extension: 13th–18th April, 2019 Set departure tour: 18th– 27th April, 2019 Tour leader: Charley Hesse (main tour) Keith Barnes (extension) Report and photos by Charley Hesse. (All photos were taken on this tour) This was our first new, streamlined Taiwan tour with added Matsu migration extension. The Asian migration occurs along the Chinese coast, and the perfect place to see migrants are the Matsu islands of Dongyin and Nangan where we saw some fantastic birds like Yellow-breasted & Yellow Buntings, Mugimaki, Blue-and-white, Narcissus & Yellow-rumped Flycatchers, plus numerous species of thrushes, pipits & wagtails. After our successful pretour, we began the main endemics tour in style at Shimen dam with the spectacular Taiwan Blue-Magpie and tricky Black-necklaced Scimitar-Babbler. The first 3 days of the tour were spent at Taiwan’s premier birding site, Daxueshan. The majority of Taiwan’s endemics are found here, the foremost of which were the Mikado & Swinhoe’s Pheasants. The mammals were fantastic too with Taiwan Serow, Masked Civet and Red-and- white Flying-Squirrel. We later visited a ‘bat museum’ where we also added 3 bat species including the Formosan Golden (or Hodgson’s) Bat. Other mountain sites of Qingjing & Yushan finished off most of the endemics plus some great scenery too. One day we went up and over the Wuling Pass which is the highest road in the region and down to the scenic town of Tianxiang for the endemic Styan’s Bulul. We finished off the tour with some great shorebirding including Black-faced Spoonbill around Tainan and the amazing Fairy Pitta at Huben. We even went to see a Collared Scops- Owl roosting in the ceiling of a temple. Taiwan was an enjoyable and eye-opening tour for all, with a wonderful mix of migration & endemic birding, great food and beautiful scenery. It was also one of our most successful Taiwan tours to date with a whopping 233 species. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 1 MATSU MIGRATION EXTENSION 14th April, 2019 – Nangang to Dongyin, Matsu islands After boarding the ferry from Keelung last night, we docked at the island of Nangang. This was not actually our destination, but the boat didn’t leave port for a couple of hours, so we were allowed to disembark and we went for an hour’s birding in the immediate vicinity of the port. We took a short walk along a road lined with trees and scrub and found Manchurian & Brownish-flanked Bush Warblers, Yellow-browed & Dusky Warblers, Japanese White-eye, Oriental Magpie-Robin and Black-faced Bunting. We scanned down to a running track below and saw that the central lawn was filled with pipits, so went closer to investigate. We ended up seeing 4 species, with Richard's, Olive-backed, Red-throated & Buff-bellied form of American Pipit, along with our first leucopsis White Wagtails. Before getting back on the boat, we also had a flyover of Eurasian Kestrel. The ride to our destination of Dongyin island was only short, but allowed us some good sea-watching, on which we saw several Red-necked Phalaropes, Black-tailed & Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Common & Great Crested Terns, plus a few random Barn and a single Bank Swallow. We arrived late morning and after a quick lunch went straight out birding. Little Buntings were common on the Matsu Isands. Our first site was the visitors centre which produced Red Collared-Dove, Common Greenshank, several Red-throated Pipits, Black-faced & our first Little Bunting. One of the best spots for migrants on the island is known as the vegetable farm, which despite its small size seems to produce an inordinate amount of birds. There were several Taiwanese bird photographers, and the place turned out to be loaded with flycatchers, including Gray-streaked, Ferruginous, Asian Brown, Narcissus, Mugimaki & Taiga Flycatchers. We also added our first Pacific Swift, Brown-rumped Minivet, Daurian Redstart, Siberian Stonechat, Pale Thrush, plus Chestnut & Tristram's Buntings. Next, we went to a valley filled with lush, overgrown farmland. The path was a bit steeper than Keith remembered but there were certainly plenty of birds around, with House Swift, Gray-headed Lapwing, Intermediate Egret, Peregrine Falcon, Black Drongo, Brambling plus Little & Yellow-browed Buntings. After a long walk, we drove to a small pond, where we saw Eurasian Wigeon, Little Ringed Plover, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Oriental Pratincole, Gray Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron and a fly-over of Osprey. It had been a very productive first day and we finished off with a nice hot Chinese meal in town. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 2 15th April - Dongyin We started the day back at the running track and hoping to see if any new birds had come in overnight. As we hoped, there was nobody about to disturb the birds. On the track itself, we immediately found a couple of Little Ringed Plovers, and then a larger plover which was turned out to be a Greater Sand-Plover. Our next find was even better. We had a stunning male Yellow-breasted Bunting fly out of the grass and perch on a wall. This is now a critically endangered species and a stunning one at that. There were the usual Red-throated Pipits, some Eastern Yellow Wagtails on the grass and also several shorebirds, including Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper plus some Oriental Pratincoles. Nearby we heard the unmistakeable call of a Rufous-tailed Robin but seeing this tricky bird was another matter. Next, we drove down to the vegetable garden again. It had been great yesterday and we hope for some new birds there too. We had a very productive time and saw Manchurian & Brownish-flanked Bush Warblers, Yellow-browed, Dusky & Eastern Crowned Warblers. We found a feeding site with Forest Wagtail hanging about, plus several Asian Brown, Narcissus & Taiga Flycatchers. We also saw Siberian Blue Robin, Red-flanked Bluetail, a female Japanese Thrush plus Chestnut & Tristram's Buntings. The beautiful Yellow-breasted Bunting is now one of the most threatened birds in Asia. We drove back up to the visitor’s centre where we saw our first Gray-faced Buzzard, had great views of Daurian Redstart and another fantastic male Yellow-breasted Bunting. We drove down to a small pond where we added Common Kingfisher and nearby Eastern Buzzard, Ashy Minivet and our first Pallas's Leaf Warbler. At one final stop before lunch, we found an interesting female flycatcher which we identified as Blue-and-white Flycatcher. In the afternoon, we took a drive to the other side of the island. We stopped to take in our first Yellow-rumped Flycatcher and Brown-headed Thrush. We drove out to a viewpoint with some heavy artillery where we saw Eastern Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon and Gray-backed Thrush. The final stop of the afternoon was the lighthouse. We parked and took a walk out to the point where we had some final birds, with our first Eurasian Hoopoe, Eurasian Wryneck plus better views of Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 3 Narcissus Flycatcher and Brown-headed Thrush. It had been a very productive day, but we returned to the hotel to rest and enjoy our last dinner here. Forest Wagtail & Narcissus Flycatcher. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 4 16th April – Dongyin to Nangang, Matsu We were leaving this morning, but we couldn’t resist checking out the Dongyin Visitor Center one last time. In just a short time, we picked up Eurasian Wryneck, Red-rumped Swallow, Yellow-browed Warbler, Red-flanked Bluetail, Narcissus Flycatcher, Blue Rock-Thrush, Olive-backed Pipit and Black-faced Bunting so it seemed as if the weather overnight had brought some new arrivals. We also saw Pacific & House Swifts, Chinese Pond-Heron and an Osprey. We really hoped that there would be as many birds on Nangang, where we were going next. We boarded the boat, dumped our bags, and went straight up on deck. As we were pulling out, we started seeing birds and on our short crossing, we saw Peregrine Falcon, a flock of Garganey, flocks of Whimbrel, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-tailed Gull, Common & Great Crested Terns. After docking, we dropped our bags at the hotel and went straight out birding. We first checked out the Jinshan Reservoir which was pretty active and we had Wood Sandpiper, Gray-faced & Eastern Buzzards, Yellow-browed & Dusky Warblers, Japanese White-eye, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Olive-backed Pipit, Yellow-billed Grosbeak, Oriental Greenfinch and Little & Black-faced Buntings. We also heard another Rufous- tailed Robin, way down in the valley with no chance of seeing it. Next, we went to Shengtian Park, which had Oriental Turtle-Dove, an unidentified cuckoo, our first Arctic Warbler, and numerous Eyebrowed & Brown-headed Thrushes. In between sites, we found our first flock of Black-throated Tits and a Red- billed Starling. Chinese Pond-Herons are common on the Matsu Islands. After lunch at a great restaurant back in town, we checked out another well known migrant trap nearby; another vegetable farm. Despite its small size, we found a large variety of birds, with Manchurian Bush Warbler, Daurian Redstart, Blue Rock-Thrush, Siberian Stonechat, plus Little, Black-faced, Chestnut and our first Yellow Bunting which is quite a rarity. Our next site was called the Nangan Animal Shelter, but it only held a few species including Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler, plus our first Eastern Crowned Warblers, Blue Whistling-Thrush and White-shouldered Starlings. On our way back to town, we hit our last site of the day, the Qingshui Wetland. It was a small inlet of water, but it was low tide and packed with birds foraging on the mud.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Species List
    Dec. 11, 2013 – Jan. 01, 2014 Thailand (Central and Northern) Species Trip List Compiled by Carlos Sanchez (HO)= Distinctive enough to be counted as heard only Summary: After having traveled through much of the tropical Americas, I really wanted to begin exploring a new region of the world. Thailand instantly came to mind as a great entry point into the vast and diverse continent of Asia, home to some of the world’s most spectacular birds from giant hornbills to ornate pheasants to garrulous laughingthrushes and dazzling pittas. I took a little over three weeks to explore the central and northern parts of this spectacular country: the tropical rainforests of Kaeng Krachen, the saltpans of Pak Thale and the montane Himalayan foothill forests near Chiang Mai. I left absolutely dazzled by what I saw. Few words can describe the joy of having your first Great Hornbill, the size of a swan, plane overhead; the thousands of shorebirds in the saltpans of Pak Thale, where I saw critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper; the tear-jerking surprise of having an Eared Pitta come to bathe at a forest pool in the late afternoon, surrounded by tail- quivering Siberian Blue Robins; or the fun of spending my birthday at Doi Lang, seeing Ultramarine Flycatcher, Spot-breasted Parrotbill, Fire-tailed Sunbird and more among a 100 or so species. Overall, I recorded over 430 species over the course of three weeks which is conservative relative to what is possible. Thailand was more than a birding experience for me. It was the Buddhist gong that would resonate through the villages in the early morning, the fresh and delightful cuisine produced out of a simple wok, the farmers faithfully tending to their rice paddies and the amusing frost chasers at the top of Doi Inthanon at dawn.
    [Show full text]
  • Flyer200206 Parent
    THE, FLYE, R Volume 26,25, NumberNumber 6 6 tuneJune 20022002 NEXT MEETING After scientists declared the Gunnison Sage Grouse a new species two years ago, a wide spot on Gun- Summer is here and we won't have meeting until a nison County (Colorado) Road 887, has become an Wednesday, 18. It begin September will atl:30 international bird-watching sensation. Birders from p.m. in Room 117 Millington Hall, on the William around the ,world wait silently in the cold dark of a campus. The editors'also get a summer &Mary Colorado spring pre-dawn to hear the "Thwoomp! vacation so there will be no July Flyer, but "God Thwoomp! Thwoomp!" of a male Gunnison Sage the creek rise," there be an willing and if don't will Grouse preparing to mate. The noise comes from August issue. specialized air sacs on the bird's chest. And this is now one stop on a well-traveled 1,000 mile circuit being traveled by birders wanting to add this Gun- RAIN CURTAILS FIELD TRIP TO nison bird, plus the Chukar, the Greater Sage YORK RIVER STATE PARK Grouse, the White-tailed Ptarmigan, the Greater Chicken Skies were threatening and the wind was fierce at Prairie and the Lesser Prairie Chicken to the beginning of the trip to the York River State their lii'e lists. Park on May 18. Despite all of that, leader Tom It was not always like this. Prior to the two-year- Armour found some very nice birds before the rains ago decision by the Ornithological Union that this came flooding down.
    [Show full text]
  • First Record of Brown Shrike (Lanius Cristatus) in British Columbia. by Rick Toochin, Peter Hamel and Margo Hearne. Submitted: April 15, 2018
    First record of Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) in British Columbia. By Rick Toochin, Peter Hamel and Margo Hearne. Submitted: April 15, 2018. Introduction and Distribution The Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) is a small species that is found throughout East Asia breeding south of the northern tundra from Eastern Chukotka Peninsula, Kamchatka Peninsula, Sea of Okhotsk, Japan, Korea, China, from northern Mongolia westward into Central Siberia approximately Yenisei and Anadyr Rivers (Lewington et al. 1992, Brazil 2009, Pyle et al. 2015). This species is highly migratory throughout its vast range. The Brown Shrike winters from India to southern China, Indonesia, and the Philippines (Lewington et al. 1992). There are 4 subspecies of Brown Shrike found throughout this species range. These include the nominate subspecies of Brown Shrike is (Lanius cristatus cristatus) which is found breeding from eastern Siberia to northwestern Mongolia. This subspecies is highly migratory and travels far to the wintering grounds (Pyle et al. 2015). This subspecies winters in India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladeshi, Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia, southern Vietnam and the Malayan Peninsula (Pyle et al. 2015, Clements et al. 2016). The first Alaska record was tentatively identified as (L. c. lucionensis) (Gibson 1981), but has subsequently been identified as nominate (L. c. cristatus) (Gibson and Withrow 2015). This is the subspecies that now widely accepted as the subspecies that accounts for most, if not all North American records (Hamilton et al. 2007). The second subspecies of Brown Shrike is (Lanius cristatus confuses) which is found breeding in Manchuria and Amurland (Clements et al. 2016). This subspecies winters in Southeast Asia on the Malayan Peninsula and Sumatra (Clements et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Does a Rival's Song Elicit Territorial Defense in a Tropical Songbird, The
    ABC 2017, 4(2):146-153 Animal Behavior and Cognition https://doi.org/10.12966/abc.02.05.2017 ©Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) Does a Rival’s Song Elicit Territorial Defense in a Tropical Songbird, the Pied Bush Chat (Saxicola caprata)? Navjeevan Dadwal1* and Dinesh Bhatt1 1Gurukula Kangri University, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India *Corresponding author (Email:[email protected]) Citation – Dadwal, N., & Bhatt, D. (2017). Does a rival’s song elicit territorial defense in a tropical songbird, the Pied Bush Chat (Saxicola caprata)? Animal Behavior and Cognition, 4(2), 146–153. https://doi.org/10.12966/ abc.02.05.2017 Abstract -The purpose of bird song and the way in which it is delivered has been argued to be adapted mainly for territorial defense. We performed a field experiment with the combination of playbacks and a model to test how much song actually relates to increased territorial defense in the territorial tropical songbird, the Pied Bush Chat, during breeding season (Feb–May, 2015) at Haridwar, Himalayan Foothills, India. As expected, the results of the experiment indicated that song was the major cue used by territory holders to cope with rival intrusions. The song rate was particularly escalated during simulated territorial interactions when the model was presented with a playback song of conspecifics. Behaviors such as restlessness (perch change), the height of perch, and distance from the model appeared to be of relatively lesser importance. To our knowledge, no avian species from the Indian subcontinent has been studied to provide evidence that song can escalate aggressive response by a territory owner.
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Diversity in Northern Myanmar and Conservation Implications
    ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH Bird diversity in northern Myanmar and conservation implications Ming-Xia Zhang1,2, Myint Kyaw3, Guo-Gang Li1,2, Jiang-Bo Zhao4, Xiang-Le Zeng5, Kyaw Swa3, Rui-Chang Quan1,2,* 1 Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yezin Nay Pyi Taw 05282, Myanmar 2 Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla Yunnan 666303, China 3 Hponkan Razi Wildlife Sanctuary Offices, Putao Kachin 01051, Myanmar 4 Science Communication and Training Department, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla Yunnan 666303, China 5 Yingjiang Bird Watching Society, Yingjiang Yunnan 679300, China ABSTRACT Since the 1990s, several bird surveys had been carried out in the Putao area (Rappole et al, 2011). Under the leadership of We conducted four bird biodiversity surveys in the the Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division (NWCD) of the Putao area of northern Myanmar from 2015 to 2017. Myanmar Forestry Ministry, two expeditions were launched in Combined with anecdotal information collected 1997–1998 (Aung & Oo, 1999) and 2001–2009 (Rappole et al., between 2012 and 2015, we recorded 319 bird 2011), providing the most detailed inventory of local avian species, including two species (Arborophila mandellii diversity thus far. 1 and Lanius sphenocercus) previously unrecorded in Between December 2015 and May 2017, the Southeast Asia Myanmar. Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae), babblers (Timaliidae), Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences pigeons and doves (Columbidae), and pheasants (CAS-SEABRI), Forest Research Institute (FRI) of Myanmar, and partridges (Phasianidae) were the most Hponkan Razi Wildlife Sanctuary (HPWS), and Hkakabo Razi abundant groups of birds recorded.
    [Show full text]
  • Disaggregation of Bird Families Listed on Cms Appendix Ii
    Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 2nd Meeting of the Sessional Committee of the CMS Scientific Council (ScC-SC2) Bonn, Germany, 10 – 14 July 2017 UNEP/CMS/ScC-SC2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II (Prepared by the Appointed Councillors for Birds) Summary: The first meeting of the Sessional Committee of the Scientific Council identified the adoption of a new standard reference for avian taxonomy as an opportunity to disaggregate the higher-level taxa listed on Appendix II and to identify those that are considered to be migratory species and that have an unfavourable conservation status. The current paper presents an initial analysis of the higher-level disaggregation using the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World Volumes 1 and 2 taxonomy, and identifies the challenges in completing the analysis to identify all of the migratory species and the corresponding Range States. The document has been prepared by the COP Appointed Scientific Councilors for Birds. This is a supplementary paper to COP document UNEP/CMS/COP12/Doc.25.3 on Taxonomy and Nomenclature UNEP/CMS/ScC-Sc2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II 1. Through Resolution 11.19, the Conference of Parties adopted as the standard reference for bird taxonomy and nomenclature for Non-Passerine species the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Non-Passerines, by Josep del Hoyo and Nigel J. Collar (2014); 2.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study on Avifauna Present in Different Zones of Chitral Districts
    Journal of Bioresource Management Volume 4 Issue 1 Article 4 A Study on Avifauna Present in Different Zones of Chitral Districts Madeeha Manzoor Center for Bioresource Research Adila Nazli Center for Bioresource Research, [email protected] Sabiha Shamim Center for Bioresource Research Fida Muhammad Khan Center for Bioresource Research Follow this and additional works at: https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/jbm Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Manzoor, M., Nazli, A., Shamim, S., & Khan, F. M. (2017). A Study on Avifauna Present in Different Zones of Chitral Districts, Journal of Bioresource Management, 4 (1). DOI: 10.35691/JBM.7102.0067 ISSN: 2309-3854 online (Received: May 29, 2019; Accepted: May 29, 2019; Published: Jan 1, 2017) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by CORE Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Bioresource Management by an authorized editor of CORE Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Study on Avifauna Present in Different Zones of Chitral Districts Erratum Added the complete list of author names © Copyrights of all the papers published in Journal of Bioresource Management are with its publisher, Center for Bioresource Research (CBR) Islamabad, Pakistan. This permits anyone to copy, redistribute, remix, transmit and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes provided the original work and source is appropriately cited. Journal of Bioresource Management does not grant you any other rights in relation to this website or the material on this website. In other words, all other rights are reserved. For the avoidance of doubt, you must not adapt, edit, change, transform, publish, republish, distribute, redistribute, broadcast, rebroadcast or show or play in public this website or the material on this website (in any form or media) without appropriately and conspicuously citing the original work and source or Journal of Bioresource Management’s prior written permission.
    [Show full text]
  • Hong Kong Bird Report 2011
    Hong Kong Bird Report 2011 Hong Kong Bird Report 香港鳥類報告 2011 香港鳥類報告 Birdview report 2009-2010_MINOX.indd 1 5/7/12 1:46 PM Birdview report 2009-2010_MINOX.indd 1 5/7/12 1:46 PM 防雨水設計 8x42 EXWP I / 10x42 EXWP I • 8倍放大率 / 10倍放大率 • 防水設計, 尤合戶外及水上活動使用 • 密封式內充氮氣, 有效令鏡片防霞防霧 • 高折射指數稜鏡及多層鍍膜鏡片, 確保影像清晰明亮 • 能阻隔紫外線, 保護視力 港澳區代理：大通拓展有限公司 荃灣沙咀道381-389號榮亞工業大廈一樓C座 電話：(852) 2730 5663 傳真：(852) 2735 7593 電郵：[email protected] 野 外 觀 鳥 活 動 必 備 手 冊 www.wanlibk.com 萬里機構wanlibk.com www.hkbws.org.hk 觀鳥.indd 1 13年3月12日 下午2:10 Published in Mar 2013 2013年3月出版 The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society 香港觀鳥會 7C, V Ga Building, 532 Castle Peak Road , Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon , Hong Kong, China 中國香港九龍荔枝角青山道532號偉基大廈7樓C室 (Approved Charitable Institution of Public Character) (認可公共性質慈善機構) Editors: John Allcock, Geoff Carey, Gary Chow and Geoff Welch 編輯：柯祖毅, 賈知行, 周家禮, Geoff Welch 版權所有，不准翻印 All rights reserved. Copyright © HKBWS Printed on 100% recycled paper with soy ink. 全書採用100%再造紙及大豆油墨印刷 Front Cover 封面： Chestnut-cheeked Starling Agropsar philippensis 栗頰椋鳥 Po Toi Island, 5th October 2011 蒲台島 2011年10月5日 Allen Chan 陳志雄 Hong Kong Bird Report 2011: Committees The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society 香港觀鳥會 Committees and Officers 2013 榮譽會長 Honorary President 林超英先生 Mr. Lam Chiu Ying 執行委員會 Executive Committee 主席 Chairman 劉偉民先生 Mr. Lau Wai Man, Apache 副主席 Vice-chairman 吳祖南博士 Dr. Ng Cho Nam 副主席 Vice-chairman 吳 敏先生 Mr. Michael Kilburn 義務秘書 Hon. Secretary 陳慶麟先生 Mr. Chan Hing Lun, Alan 義務司庫 Hon. Treasurer 周智良小姐 Ms. Chow Chee Leung, Ada 委員 Committee members 李慧珠小姐 Ms. Lee Wai Chu, Ronley 柯祖毅先生 Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Thailand Highlights 14Th to 26Th November 2019 (13 Days)
    Thailand Highlights 14th to 26th November 2019 (13 days) Trip Report Siamese Fireback by Forrest Rowland Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Forrest Rowland Trip Report – RBL Thailand - Highlights 2019 2 Tour Summary Thailand has been known as a top tourist destination for quite some time. Foreigners and Ex-pats flock there for the beautiful scenery, great infrastructure, and delicious cuisine among other cultural aspects. For birders, it has recently caught up to big names like Borneo and Malaysia, in terms of respect for the avian delights it holds for visitors. Our twelve-day Highlights Tour to Thailand set out to sample a bit of the best of every major habitat type in the country, with a slight focus on the lush montane forests that hold most of the country’s specialty bird species. The tour began in Bangkok, a bustling metropolis of winding narrow roads, flyovers, towering apartment buildings, and seemingly endless people. Despite the density and throng of humanity, many of the participants on the tour were able to enjoy a Crested Goshawk flight by Forrest Rowland lovely day’s visit to the Grand Palace and historic center of Bangkok, including a fun boat ride passing by several temples. A few early arrivals also had time to bird some of the urban park settings, even picking up a species or two we did not see on the Main Tour. For most, the tour began in earnest on November 15th, with our day tour of the salt pans, mudflats, wetlands, and mangroves of the famed Pak Thale Shore bird Project, and Laem Phak Bia mangroves.
    [Show full text]
  • First North American Sighting of Brown Shrike, (Lanius Cristatus) and Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus Fuscatus), and Second Record O
    F/rst North American Sighting of Brown Shrike, (Lanius cristatus) and Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus), and second record of Red-throad Flyca. her (Ficedula pavva) Ben King, Davis Finch, Richard Stallcupand Will Russell HtEFOLLOWING SIGHTINGS weremade by not reaching the coast), to the mouth of the he authorswhile leading birding tours White River in Anadyr' Valley and upper near Gambell, St. Lawrence Island in the reaches of the River Achay-Vayam in northern Bering Sea in June 1977. Scientific Koratskaya Zemlya, and occurs sporadically nomenclature follows Vaurie (1959) and in Kamchatka (Dement'ev et al., 1968 and English names are those of King and Ivanov, 1976). We could not see any white Dickinson (1975). frontal band in the field. L. c. cristatus has a narrow inconspicuousfrontal band whereas Brown Shrike, Lanius cristatus. A single all three of the other races listed by Vaurie bird was observed on June 4, 5 and 6, 1977 (1959) have broad, more conspicuousones about 0.7 km east of Gambell. All observa- tions were within a radius of 300 m on level Dusky Warbler, Phylloscopusfuscatus gravel containing some grass up to 25 cm One was seen about 4 km south-southeastof high, and adjacent to a boulder-strewntun- Gambell on June 6, 1977by about 15 observ- dra-covered hillside. The bird choseexposed ers. We watched it for about 1« hours percheson knolls and boulders.It was quite through scopesand binocularsgenerally shy but well observed through several at a distance of 30 - 40 m, but several times 20x-40x spotting scopes at distances of as close as approximately7 - 8 m.
    [Show full text]
  • The Circumnavigation of Sicily Bird List -- September 26
    The Circumnavigation of Sicily Bird List -- September 26 - October 8, 2017 Produced by Jim Wilson Date of sighting in September and October 2017 Key for Locations on Page 2 Common Name Scientific Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Mallard Anas platyrhynchos X Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto X X X X X X X X X Feral Pigeon Columba livia X X X X X X X X X X Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo X X X Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus X X X X X X Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis X X X X X X X X X X Northern House Martin Delichon urbicum X X X X X X X European Robin Erithacus rubecula X X Woodpigeon Columba palumbus X X X X X X X X X Common Coot Fulica atra X X X Grey Heron Ardea cinerea X X X X X Common Tern Sterna hirundo X Bonnelli's Eagle Aquila fasciata X X X Eurasian Buzzard Buteo buteo X X X X X Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus X X X X X X X X Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo X Eurasian Magpie Pica pica X X X X X X X X Eurasian Jackdaw Corvus monedula X X X X X X X X X Dunnock Prunella modularis X Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis X X X X X X X X European Greenfinch Chloris chloris X X X Common Linnet Linaria cannabina X X Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus X X X X X X X X Sand Martin Riparia riparia X Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica X X X X X X X X X Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus X Subalpine Warbler Curruca cantillans X X X X Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes X X X Spotless Starling Spotless Starling X X X X X X X X Common Name Scientific Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sardinian Warbler Curruca melanocephala X X X X
    [Show full text]
  • India: Kaziranga National Park Extension
    INDIA: KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK EXTENSION FEBRUARY 22–27, 2019 The true star of this extension was the Indian One-horned Rhinoceros (Photo M. Valkenburg) LEADER: MACHIEL VALKENBURG LIST COMPILED BY: MACHIEL VALKENBURG VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM INDIA: KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK EXTENSION February 22–27, 2019 By Machiel Valkenburg This wonderful Kaziranga extension was part of our amazing Maharajas’ Express train trip, starting in Mumbai and finishing in Delhi. We flew from Delhi to Guwahati, located in the far northeast of India. A long drive later through the hectic traffic of this enjoyable country, we arrived at our lodge in the evening. (Photo by tour participant Robert Warren) We enjoyed three full days of the wildlife and avifauna spectacles of the famous Kaziranga National Park. This park is one of the last easily accessible places to find the endangered Indian One-horned Rhinoceros together with a healthy population of Asian Elephant and Asiatic Wild Buffalo. We saw plenty individuals of all species; the rhino especially made an impression on all of us. It is such an impressive piece of evolution, a serious armored “tank”! On two mornings we loved the elephant rides provided by the park; on the back of these attractive animals we came very close to the rhinos. The fertile flood plains of the park consist of alluvial silts, exposed sandbars, and riverine flood-formed lakes called Beels. This open habitat is not only good for mammals but definitely a true gem for some great birds. Interesting but common birds included Bar-headed Goose, Red Junglefowl, Woolly-necked Stork, and Lesser Adjutant, while the endangered Greater Adjutant and Black-necked Stork were good hits in the stork section.
    [Show full text]