The Birding Nerd

Centre County Big Year - Needs List

2011-08-29T17:09:00.001-07:00

My Nemesis Bird for Centre County - Forster's Tern
Image Credit: Steve Blain

This year, I decided to make a run at a BIG YEAR for Centre County. My primary goal was to try and break the 200 species mark for the year. Although I have attempted it before, I have not been able to crack the 200 mark for the county. The best I have done in the past is 196.

Fortunately, I was able to surmount the hurdle on May 11th with the sighting of a Mourning Warbler along Scotia Range Rd. Like many of the birds I have seen this year, I got a tip from another birder through the State College Rare Bird Alert (SCRBA). In this case, as in quite a few others, the tip came from Drew Weber.

My secondary goal for the year was to take a shot at the county record of 224 species in a year which was set by Terence Schiefer back in 1985. In order to equal or surpass 224, I was going to need a bit of luck, some help from other birders and some cooperation from the weather. Fortunately, all three have panned out so far. Just this week, with a bit of assistance from Tropical Storm Irene, I got bird #224 - a Sanderling - at the beach at Bald Eagle State Park.

With four months left to go, and fall migration just heating up, I have a pretty good chance to add a few more species. With Drew Weber hot on my heels with 223 birds, I gotta keep moving... LOL!

I went through Birds of Central Pennsylvnia by Nick Bolgiano and Greg Grove and put together a list of needs for the county. I compiled the list on the basis of birds that have been seen in the county on a regular or casual basis. For the most part, vagrants and accidentals were excluded from the list. With a bit of good forturne, I should be able to pick up a handful of these birds.

2011 Centre County Needs

~~Red-throated Loon~~

~~Brant~~

~~Black Scoter~~

~~Ring-necked Pheasant~~

~~Red-necked Grebe~~

~~Peregrine Falcon~~

~~American Golden Plover~~

~~Ruddy Turnstone~~

~~Baird’s Sandpiper~~

~~Forster’s Tern~~

~~Marsh Wren~~

~~Orange-crowned Warbler~~

~~Connecticut Warbler~~

~~Clay-colored Sparrow~~

~~Dickcissel~~

~~Red Crossbill~~

UPDATE
#225, Forster's Tern, BESP, Sept 5th
#226, American Golden Plover, Nixon Rd, Sept 7th
#227, Ruddy Turnstone, BESP dame, Sept 8th
#228, Baird's Sandpiper, Nixon Rd, Sept 9th
#229, Connecticut Warbler, Scotia Pond, Sept 10th
#230, Marsh Wren, Julian Wetlands, Sept 18th
#231, Orange-crowned Warbler, Circleville Farm, Sept 23rd
#232, Clay-colored Sparrow, Panther Strip Mine, Sept 25th
#233, Peregrine Falcon, Musser Gap, Oct 2nd
#234, Dickcissel, Circleville Farm, Oct 3rd
#235, Ring-necked Pheasant, Toftrees Gamelands, Oct 11th
#236, Brant, Colyer Lake, Oct 27th
#237, Black Scoter, BESP, Oct 29th
#238, Red-necked Grebe, BESP, Oct 30th
#239, Red-throated Loon, BESP, Nov 14th
#240, Red Crossbill, David's Vista, Dec 18th

Taiwan Trip Report - Summer 2011

2011-07-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

Indian Black Eagle
Photo credit: Birding in Taiwan

I spent the first three weeks of July in Taiwan visiting in-laws in Kaohsiung County. I did most of my birding in Daliao (Kaohsiung County), as on previous trips.

In addition, I made two weekend field trips, one down to Kenting National Park on the southern tip of the island, and another to the mountains in south-central Taiwan (Nantou County).

I used two field guides during the trip: Mark Brazil’s Birds of East Asia and Wu Sen-Hsiong's Field Guide to the Wild Birds of Taiwan.

Birding in Kaohsiung

Chestnut Munia
Photo credit: Flickriver

In Kaohsiung, I did most of my birding in Daliao, in the hills between the Taiwan Military Academy and the Jhong I Guo Xiao on Highway 25. I also made a brief visit to the Naiosong Wetlands adjacent to Chenching Lake. Over the course of my stay, I observed 43 species in the county, including a pair of Chestnut Munias (lifers). Perhaps the most surprising sighting was a singing male White-eared Sibia near the military academy. The sibia is a mid- to high-elevation species that typically resides in mountainous areas above 800 m. This was the first time that I have seen one in the lowland, as Daliao is located at around 50 m.

White-eared Sibia.
Photo credit: Photos & Graphics Index

Here is a list of my observations:

Mallard
Yellow Bittern
Cinnamon Bittern
Great Egret
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Crested Goshawk
White-breasted Waterhen
Ruddy-breasted Crake
Common Moorhen
Little Ringed Plover
Rock Pigeon
Red Collared-Dove
Spotted Dove
Lesser Coucal
House Swift
Common Kingfisher
Taiwan Barbet
Black Drongo
Black-naped Monarch
Gray Treepie
Eurasian Magpie
Barn Swallow
Pacific Swallow
Striated Swallow
Light-vented Bulbul
Zitting Cisticola
Golden-headed Cisticola
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Plain Prinia
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler
White-eared Sibia
Japanese White-eye
Crested Myna
Javan Myna
Common Myna
White Wagtail
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Indian Silverbill
Nutmeg Mannikin
Chestnut Munia

Pingtung County

Slaty-legged Crake.
Photo credit: >Richard2Formosa

I made a few trips to Pintung County. I visited several friends that live in the agricultural district just east of the Gao Ping River. There area is punctuated by many small farms and rice paddies, as well as many small tributaries that feed the Gao Ping. The highlights of the agricultural area were a Oriental Pratincole, a calling Slaty-legged Crake (lifer), and a small flock of Black-winged Stilts.

Crested Serpent Eagle.
Photo credit: >Simon van der Meulen

I also made a weekend trip down to Kenting. As usual, I visited the beach at Baisha, Longluan Lake Wildlife Area. I also took a short hike up into the mountains behind our hotel near Baisha. In the past, Kenting has not been a very productive birding area for me; however, this year seemed to be a bit different. While not overwhelmingly good, I did see more birds that I am accustomed to in that area. The highlights were several species of terns (Black-naped, Gull-billed & Bridled), the last of which was a lifer. I also observed two resident raptors – Crested Serpent Eagle and Indian Black Eagle - soaring along some of the local ridges. At night, I heard a Mountain Scops Owl calling from the hills about a half mile up the road from Baisha.

Bridled Tern.
Photo credit: >Mike Pope

During the course of my birding adventures in Pingtung, I observed 46 species. Here is a list of my observations:

Eastern Spot-billed Duck
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge
Yellow Bittern
Great Egret
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Osprey
Crested Serpent-Eagle
Black Eagle
Slaty-legged Crake
Ruddy-breasted Crake
Common Moorhen
Little Ringed Plover
Black-winged Stilt
Oriental Pratincole
Greater Painted-snipe
Bridled Tern
Gull-billed Tern
Black-naped Tern
Rock Pigeon
Red Collared-Dove
Spotted Dove
Lesser Coucal
Mountain Scops-Owl
House Swift
Taiwan Barbet
Black Drongo
Bronzed Drongo
Black-naped Monarch
Gray Treepie
Plain Martin
Barn Swallow
Pacific Swallow
Striated Swallow
Styan's Bulbul
Light-vented Bulbul
Black Bulbul
Zitting Cisticola
Plain Prinia
Taiwan Hwamei
Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler
Japanese White-eye
Javan Myna
Common Myna
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Nantou County

White-bellied Yuhina.
Photo credit: Flickriver

In addition to local birding, I also made two field trips to Nantou County in south-central Taiwan. First we visited the Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute (TERSI) in Jiji. There is an excellent education center on site, as well as a nice wetlands area and trail system adjacent to the institute. In the wetlands area, I observed a number of Bronzed Drongos, as well as a nest with three fledgling Malayan Night Herons in attendance. On a hillside adjacent to the institute, I came across a mixed flock of Gray-cheeked Fulvettas and White-bellied Yuhinas, not to mention a swarm of skeeters that left welts on both of my twigs.

We then made our way up to a “leisure farm” at the top of one of the local ridges. The elevation was around 2200 m. The scenery in the morning was absolutely breathtaking. The whole valley was blanketed by a sea of clouds. The clouds were pouring over the surrounding ridges like a waterfall. Bird song provided a wonderful soundtrack.

Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler
Photo credit: Donald Liao

To make the most of the birding opportunity, I arose before sunrise to listen for birds. Among the first birds I encountered was a raucous flock of Steere’s Liocichlas. They were seemingly everywhere. I spotted a Green-backed Tit just down the road from our lodge. In a tended field on the slope below the lodge, there were several Bamboo Partridges and Barred Buttonquail foraging. In the distance, several Taiwan Hill Patridges were calling. A small group of Strong-footed Bush Warblers was also making their way around some heavy undergrowth along the edges of the field.

Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler
Photo credit: Birding in Taiwan

I took a short hike along a trail that straddled the slope just below the ridge line. At one point, the trail was washed out leaving 40 foot sloped drop to the brush below. The slope was heavily overgrown, so I did not feel there was much chance of sliding 2200 meters to the ground, so I jumped over to the other side. It was well worth the leap, as I picked up a Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler (lifer). A flock of Taiwan Yuhinas and several White-tailed Robins on the other side.

During the course of my birding adventures in Nantou, I observed 42 species. Here is a list of my observations:

Eastern Spot-billed Duck
Taiwan Partridge
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Malayan Night-Heron
Crested Serpent-Eagle
Besra
Barred Buttonquail
Oriental Turtle-Dove
Red Collared-Dove
White-bellied Pigeon
House Swift
Taiwan Barbet
Bronzed Drongo
Black-naped Monarch
Gray Treepie
Plain Martin
Pacific Swallow
Green-backed Tit
Brownish-flanked Bush-Warbler
Collared Finchbill
Light-vented Bulbul
Black Bulbul
Striated Prinia
Plain Prinia
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
White-tailed Robin
Steere's Liocichla
Black-necklaced Scimitar-Babbler
Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler
Rufous-capped Babbler
Gray-cheeked Fulvetta
White-eared Sibia
Taiwan Yuhina
White-bellied Yuhina
Japanese White-eye
White Wagtail
Brown Bullfinch
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Nutmeg Mannikin
Summary

In all, I observed 81 species, 11 of which were lifers for me. The overall highlights of the trip were the raptors at Kenting and the high-elevation birds in Nantou County. There were also some disappointment. I still have not been able to find a Formosan Magpie. It is a fairly common bird on the mountainous areas, but it is proving to be my nemesis bird for Taiwan. Hopefully, I will able to find on on a future trip.

Whirlwind Birding in China

2011-06-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

Daurian Redstart
Image Credit: Nomadic Journeys

I spent the past week or so touring some historical sites in China. As always, I bought my binoculars in case I should happen to stumble upon any interesting birds. Overall, birding was pretty slow on the mainland. Other than Eurasian House Sparrows, Common Swifts and Spotted Doves, there were not many birds one could see regularly.

Beijing

White-cheeked Starling
Image Credit: Tim Edelstein

The first stop on the trip was Beijing. Due to some unplanned flight delays, we did not arrive in Beijing until after midnight. The following morning, I did a little birding around the hotel. By far the most abundant birds were Eurasian Tree Sparrows. There were also a fair number of magpies, both Black-billed and Azure-winged. In the sculpted gardens around the hotel, I found a few White-cheeked Starlings. A few Large-billed Crows were heard calling. Back in our hotel room, I had a pretty decent view of the city and the scores of Common Swifts circling overhead.

We next visited the Temple of Heaven. There was a nice park on the temple grounds which housed lots of Eurasian Tree Sparrows and Spotted Doves. I did find one sweet spot in the park with a nice variety of birds. In addition to the two magpies mentioned above, I also spotted a pair of Red-billed Blue Magpies. They are quite striking birds. Blue birds, with black heads accented by a brushed white crown and nape, and a large red bill. They are about crow-sized with long flowing tails. I also pulled in a few lifers here as well, such as the Great Spotted Woodpecker, Gray-faced Woodpecker, Yellow-billed Grosbeak and Oriental Greenfinch.

Gray-faced Woodpecker
Image Credit: Cosmin-Ovidiu Manci

The Summer Palace was next on the agenda. The park has what appears to be excellent habitat for birds. Lots of tree and shrub cover, hills, and ample access to water. That being said, the place was virtually devoid of birds except for a few Black-crowned Night Herons patrolling the lake. And of course the Eurasian Tree Sparrows.

Chinese Hill Warbler
Image Credit: Bob Thompson

Our final Beijing destination was the Great Wall at Badaling. The wall itself was incredible, and quite a challanging climb in spots. I did manage to take a peak over the edge of the wall numerous times looking for birds. Suprisingly, few birds were observed other than Azure-winged Magpies and more Tree Sparrows. At one spot near the Hero's Slope, my daughter spotted what turned out to be a female Daurian Redstart carrying nesting material. I watched the bird for about 10 minutes and also found the male. They were apparently nesting in one of the towers. While watching the redstarts, I also managed to find a Great Tit as well as a Chinese Hill Warbler. The warbler was quite striking with its long tail, and heavily streaked head and back. Down at the base of the wall, I got a really good look at a singing Red-gorgeted Flycatcher perched on a wire above a concession stand. I was quite surprised to see the bird here, as it is a bit north of its range (as reported by MacKinnon and Philips in "Birds of China").

Xi'an

Brown-breasted Bulbul
Image Credit: Michael19481

Xi'an is in north central China, just north of the Qinling moutains. The area is basically a flood plain for the Wei River. As such, the area was pretty flat overall. Birding here was not much better than the Beijing area. Again, Eurasian Tree Sparrows were the predominate species. The area around the hotel was pretty quiet. There were several Red-rumped Swallows circling above the hotel and a few Eurasian Blackbirds in the hotel gardens. The highlight was a Eurasian Sparrowhawk that strafed the trees. That was about it.

Scarlet Minivet
Image Credit: Vijay Cavale

Our first destination was the Terra Cotta warriors site. The birds here were pretty sparse. Species of note included lots of Light-vented Bulbuls and Oriental Greenfinch. Also saw one Brown Shrike hunting insects and a Black Drongo perched on a wire. Later, we headed to the Huaqing Hotsprings to visit the site where Chiang Kai-shek was held captive during the Chinese Civil War. There were a nice mix of birds in that area, such as a pair of Great Tits foraging with two fledglings. I also observed an immature male Scarlet Minivet singing from a perch atop the bathing area for the emperor's favorite concubine. Light-vented Bulbuls were fairly abundant. I also managed to find two other bulbul species, a Collared Fincnbill and a Brown-breasted Bulbul.

Fuzhou

Our next destination was Taiwan. In order to get a direct flight to Kaohsiung, we had to fly through Fuzhou and spend the night. I didn't have the opportunity for much birding here, but did manage to see a few things along the way to/from the airport as well as in a local park and garden near our hotel. Near the airport, I saw several Cattle Egret and a lone Ring-necked Pheasant foraging in a field. Overhead, a Black-crowned Night Heron and a few Little Egret was passing by. Near the hotel, there were lots of House Swifts circling.

House Swift
Image Credit: Charlie Moores

Summary

Overall, I observed 33 species of birds over the past week. Of these, 18 were firsts for my China list, including 11 birds on my world life list.

Commentary on the Scarcity of Chinese Birds

I am not exactly sure whey there are so few birds in China. One obvious answer is that this impression is incorrect. I did a a fair amount of birding in urban areas. As expected, there would be less birds here than one would expect in the countryside or in forested areas.

Other evidence suggests that the impression is correct. I did a fair amount of birding in some forested and agricultural areas. Even there, the number of birds seemed to be less than I would have encountered in similar areas in the US. It is possible that I was just there at the wrong time or some similar reason. However, in talking with others who have birded in China, they have the same impression.

Some of the locals tell me it is a carry-over from Cultural Revolution policies. Apparently, Mao instructed people to kill birds because birds ate seeds (and thus food). I guess no one told him that birds also eat insects, which in turn eat plants, which results in even less seeds... I think you get the point. Others I have spoken to suggest that agricultural practices in China are having a large negative impact on birds. I have read several articles that support this view as well. Either way, in my experience, bird diversity was low throughout China.

American Bittern Gets Out of Rehab

2011-05-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

I received an email from Robyn Graboski at Centre Wildlife Care asking me to assist them in releasing a rehabed American Bittern into the wild. Of course, I was excited to help.

I took my kids over to the CWC facility and pick-ed up the bittern. Our initial plan was to release it at Scotia Pond in SGL 176. Once we arrived at the pond, I had second thoughts about the site. Due to all the rain, the water in the pond was very deep and most of the vegetation surrounding the pond was submerged. It didn't seem the bittern would have any places to hide.

We then decided to take the bird over to Toftrees Pond, which is situtated between the Toftrees Gold Resort and the east portion of SGL 176. We took the bittern down to the edge of the pond and released it directly into the cattail reeds.

The bittern was very anxious to get out of the box in which he was transported. He jumped out, gave a deep "squonk" and lept right into the water. He didn't count on the water being a few inches deep and he got most of his feathers wet. After a few minutes, he seemed to adjust and started acting more "bittern-like", stretching his neck and holding it upright, trying to blend in with the reeds. We watched him for a few moments and he seemed to be acclimating pretty well.

Now he is on his own!

Cattle Egret Touch Down in Centre County

2011-04-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

Cattle Egret
Image Credit: Jiri Bohdal

I was out at Bald Eagle State Park birding this afternoon when my cell phone went off. Got a text message from Drew Weber saying that four (4) Cattle Egret were lurking around a farm pond back near Nixon Rd. I immeadiately headed out there and was able to get a good look at the egrets.

While I have seen thousands of them in Taiwan and the Middle East, these were my first ones for Centre County!

Shorebirds at Fairbrook “Wetlands”

2011-04-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

American Bittern
Image Credit: T. Grey

Yesterday evening, I led a field trip into the Scotia Barrens to look for woodcocks and hopefully catch a glimpse of their flight display. I met up with the group about 45 minutes prior to our designated time to head into the barrens. We met at the gravel lot at the intersection of Whitehall & Tadpole Roads (map), near the Fairbrook Methodist Church. With all the rain we had this early spring, the corn field adjacent to the church has been converted into temporary wetland.

There were quite a surprising number of shorebirds present (see list below). Most surprising to me where the 8 Pectoral Sandpipers. We usually get 1 or 2 in the county every year, but to have that many at one time was exciting.

Killdeer (1)
Solitary Sandpiper (1)
Greater Yellowlegs (2)
Pectoral Sandpiper (8)
Wilson's Snipe (21)

The Wilson’s Snipe were also quite interesting. Several were perfoming a ground display wherein they were observed fanning their tails and acting aggressively toward other snipe.

Wilson’s Snipe ground display
Image Credit: Jessica Yarnell

The highlight at the wetland was undoubtedly the American Bittern. The bittern was initially spotted early that morning by hawkwatcher Steve Kolbe. That evening, it strutted out right into the center of the corn field were the shorebirds were feeding. It was by far the best view I have ever had of a American Bittern in the ~30 years I have been birding. It must have been the tasty fare that lured him out in the open. While watching the shorebirds feed, some of them were pulling out night crawlers that were easily 10-12 inches in length.

We eventually did make our way into the barrens. We set up a stake-out at the gun range. Several skeet-shooters were present when we arrived, but they departed just as it was getting dark. Not long after they left, the woodcock started calling. Molly Heath called our attention to several calling Whip-poor-wills.

We had a few woodcock flying around, but not were observed doing a flight display. Perhaps the gunners had them a bit spooked. There was also a vocal Brown Thrasher that seemed to call every time the woodcocks started “penting”. Nevertheless, it was quite an enjoyable evening.

Short-eared Owl - FINALLY!

2011-02-24T17:01:00.001-08:00

Short-eared Owl
Image Credit: Tam Stuart

This morning Drew Weber reported a Short-eared Owl flying over Shiloh Rd. I decided to go out there after work to see if I could locate it. So far, my luck with SEOWs has not been good. As Jack Cochran can testify, I have spent over 30 hrs standing in the sub-freezing temps at various locations around Centre and Huntingdon counties (including Shiloh Rd) trying to find one. Thanks to Drew's leg work, I was FINALLY able to find one today!

I initially spotted the owl flying over the Rockview Prison fields to the east of Shiloh Rd, between 220 and Bricker Rd. For a map, click here. The owl was flying higher than I would have expected. It was pretty far out – about one-quarter mile. Based on the large head, barrel-shaped body, broad wings, and long graceful wingbeats, I was fairly sure it was a SEOW.

I followed it with my scope for about 10 minutes and got a decent view of the wing patch. The owl flew north and then turned and crossed Shiloh Rd somewhere in the vicinity of the Benner Fish Hatchery. It then turned and moved south-west over the field across the road from the parking area and dropped out of sight behind the trees.

Image Credit: Royse Photos

About 5 minutes later, an owl (same one?) flew overhead from the east (heading west) and took up a perch at the top of a tree at the back of the field across from the parking area. It remained there for a good 15 minutes. The owl took off and moved south-east towards Route 220 then turned and headed straight at me, dropping as it approached. I could see its bright yellow eyes growing larger through my bins! I thought it was going to strafe me or remove my scalp! At the last second, it pulled up and landed on a sign adjacent to my car - about 15 feet away!!!

What a fantastic view! I got a clear view of the steaked breast and triangular eye patches. I believe it was an adult male.

Image Credit: Royse Photos

It only stayed a second or two when it caught sight of me and abruptly took off, banked and slowly glided across Shiloh Rd and perched in a tree less than 100 yrds away. I watched the owl for a good 20 minutes. Although it had its back to me, it was constantly rotating its head in quick snappy movements as it presumably scanned for prey. Several times it looked straight down the barrel of my spotting scope. I got some really crappy “Bigfoot quality” photos by holding my cell phone up to the eye piece of my scope.

Here’s a Bigfoot quality digiscope shot from my cell phone.

It started to rain, but the owl remained perched there. I packed up my scope and loaded up the car around 6:15. Again, thanks Drew for finding & reporting the owl! That's two lifers in two days for me!

Cackling Goose at the Centre Furnace Duck Pond

2011-02-23T15:40:00.001-08:00

A Cackling Goose was spotted by Drew Weber today at the Centre Furnace Duck Pond.

I arrived at the Duck Pond early this morning for my usual check to see if anything dropped out of the sky last night. Drew was already present and seemed somewhat animated. I figured he found the Northern Pintail that was rumored to be present. Turns out he found something much better. A Cackling Goose!

There were about 120 or so geese present this morning. Most, including the putative Cackler, were sleeping with their necks curled back and tucked. There was also a considerable amount of fog overhanging the pond, obscuring the view. I spent about 30 minutes observing the goose in question. The goose was noticeably smaller that the other Canada Geese that were present. During that time he lifted his head 3 times, giving me a pretty good look at its stubby bill. That being said, I was not completely satisfied with the view.

I went back after work this afternoon with my spotting scope and digital camera to take some digiscope shots. By this time, the fog had lifted, the lighting was much better, and the geese were all awake and going about their business. I got some really good looks – and pics - of the goose.

Cackling Goose (back) was noticeably smaller than the Canada Geese (fore) - roughly about two-thirds the size. It was only slightly larger than the local Mallards. In addition, it has a short stubby bill. Based on some rough measurement on the photos, the length of the bill was about 50% the length of the head.

The wings were held above the back in a slightly arched position and the primary feathers extend beyond the tail, as shown on the top photo and the photo below.

Based on these observations, I am fairly well convinced it is a Cacking Goose.

If you look up the Cackler in the Sibley Guide, you may be confused. Sibley shows the Cackling Goose with a much smaller bill and a darker breast. However, it should be pointed out that Sibley was published in 2000, when Cackling Goose was considered a sub-species of Canada Goose. In 2004, the Canada Goose was split by the AOU. Although the Sibley Guide shows 6 sub-species of Canada Goose, there were 11. The seven larger sub-species were grouped together as "Canada Goose", and the four smaller sub-species (Cackling, Richardsons, Aleutian & Taverner's) were grouped under the name "Cackling Goose".

Long story short...the Cackling Goose at the Duck Pond is most likely a Richardson's Cackler, rather than a Cackling Cackler.

Owling in Central Pennsylvania

2011-02-17T08:22:00.001-08:00

Barred Owl
Image Credit: Steve Sleep

I was looking over my US life list and noticed that owls in particular were under-represented. This year, I decided to make a conscious effort to actively seek out some owls.

There are 10 species of owl that one can see in Pennsylvania, albeit some of them are rare. They are: Barn Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Great Horned Owl, Snowy Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Barred Owl, Great Gray Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, & Northern Saw-whet Owl. Of those, the Northern Hawk Owl and Great Gray Owl are the most unlikely to be seen. That leaves eight owls that one has a good or reasonable chance to see in PA each year. Of those, I had only seen or heard (as of 2010) three within the confines of Centre County: Great Horned Owl, E. Screech Owl & Snowy Owl. Two others (Barred Owl & N. Saw-whet Owl) I have seen or heard in the state, but that was more than 20 years ago in Cobbs Creek Park, Delaware County.

Last month, I hooked up with Chad Kauffman and found some Barn Owls nesting in a barn silo somewhere along the backroads of Juniata county. They were quite an exciting find! And life birds to boot!

Other owls have been more elusive. Numerous reports of Short-eared Owls have been posted in Huntingdon County. I have gone down on several occasions to stake out the areas where they were seen but came up empty.

Earlier this week, another birder reported owls in the Scotia Barrens (SGL 176). I had been back there several times over the last six months but had no luck with owls. I decided to give it another shot.

Last night, I headed into the barrens around 8:30 p.m. The moon was nearly full and the temperature was in the mid-30s – making for good owling conditions. I made a quick stop at Scotia Pond where a Great Horned Owl was heard calling. A little further down the road, two more Great Horned Owls were heard calling back and forth.

I then proceeded to the research station where a Eastern Screech Owl was heard. The owl called once, but was not heard a second time. After I settled down, I was able to hear at least one distant Barred Owl calling. I played the Barred Owl call from the PA BBA Owl Survey CD on my iPod/speaker set-up. Within a minute, I observed a Barred Owl slide across the sky in front of the moon and take up a perch in a tree directly adjacent to where I was positioned. What a fantastic bird! The owl seemed to be as interested in me as I was in him. He hung around for a good 10-15 minutes before wandering off. The Barred Owls were county birds for me, and the first Barreds within PA for more that 25 years.

Next month should bring migrating Saw-whet Owls this way.

Mass Movement of American Robins

2011-02-14T17:31:00.000-08:00

American Robin Roost
Image Credit: Journey North

The return of American Robins is a clear sign that spring is on the horizon!

The vast majority of Robins head south for the winter. For most, south means Florida, the Gulf coast and central Mexico. For others, "south" may mean southern Canada or the northeast US. Here in Centre County, a few Robins are typically present throughout the winter. I observed my first two Robins of the year on January 2, at Scotia Barrens (SGL 176), and continued seeing a few each week through the end of January.

The first significant flocks I observed were seen at Millbrook Marsh on Jan 29th & 30th. I was looking for Rusty Blackbirds for the Rusty Blackbird Blitz. Late in the afternoon, small groups of Robins began coming in to roost. Over both days, about 120 Robins were tallied.

A week later, on Feb 6th, I was out at Shiloh Rd near the Benner Fish Hatchery. It was late in the afternoon and I was scanning the fields of the Rockview State Prison for raptors and owls. Although I did not pay close attention at first, I heard the flight calls from small flocks of Robins streaming overhead. I began counting the Robins as they passed overhead. Within 30 minutes, I was upwards of 1800 birds.

This past weekend (Feb 11th), I was back at Millbrook Marsh looking for Rusty Blackbirds. I was scanning the hills and fields to the northwest of the marsh and noticed a pretty good sized flock of 200+ Robins passing by the Mt. Nittany Medical Center. No sooner did the flock pass that another came by, followed by yet another, and another. Before it was all over, more than 5200 Robins were tallied. Because of my vantage point at the bottom of the hill, I undoubtedly missed a number of Robins that passed beyond my line of sight.

Oddly, both the '1800' and '5200' flocks were not heading north, but rather in a westerly direction. A quick look at the map (click here) shows that the Shiloh Rd site and the Medical Center are about 3 miles apart in a direct south-westerly line. The westerly movement of the Robins seems to have been a local non-mirgatory move, perhaps to a nearby roosting site. One likely destination would be Toftrees Gamelands. In past years, large numbers of Robins have been observed to roost there. I'll have to venture out that way and have a look.

Horned Lark sub-species in Centre County

2011-01-28T19:16:00.000-08:00

Horned Larks feeding
Image Credit: One Jackdaw Birding

Over the last few weeks, I have done quite a bit of open field birding. As expected, the species of bird that I encountered most frequently was the Horned Lark. The birds are always exciting to see, with their black masks, yellow throats and their batman-like erectile feathers on their heads.

With few exceptions, virtually all the Horned Larks were observed feeding in harvested corn fields or picking grit from the edge of the road. Sometimes, the Horned Larks would be accompanied by other birds, such as Mourning Doves, Snow Buntings and (rarely) Lapland Longspurs. Of course, each time I observed a flock of larks, I was sure to break out my tripod and mount my spotting scope to peruse the flock for these other tag-alongs. After all, you seen one Horned Lark, and you’ve seen them all, right?

Well, that is what I initially thought. While scanning the flocks, I noticed that there were at least two different “types” of Horned Larks present, one with a white supercilium and pale throat, and a second with a yellow supercilium and yellow throat. I initially dismissed it as normal variation. Then last weekend, I was out field birding with Steven Feldstein and he made the same observation. I decided to look into the matter.

As it turns out, Clement’s Checklist of Birds of the World recognizes 41 subspecies of Horned Lark (27 New World and 14 Old World). According to the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America, there are two sub-species of Horned Larks that commonly migrate through the eastern US, the “Northern” Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris alpestris) and the “Prairie” Horned Lark (E. a. praticola). A third sub-species, Hoyt’s Horned Lark (E. a. hoyti), is a very rare eastern migrant.

Horned Lark
Image Credit: USF

All Horned Larks have a black mask which extends from the base of the bill to down below the eye, a black bib at the base of the throat, and black stripes on the flanks of the crown which extent rearward, forming horn-like projections. The face and throat are typically colored white or yellow. The sub-species can be distinguished by careful observation of the head pattern.

Northern Horned Lark

Northern Horned Lark (E. a. alpestris)
Image Credit: David Raymond

The Northern Horned Lark in the nominate sub-species. It breeds primarily in northern Quebec, Labrador and Newfoundland. The Northern can be distinguished by its bright yellow supercilium and throat.

Prairie Horned Lark

Prairie Horned Lark (E. a. praticola)
Image Credit: Kevin Fleming

The Prairie Horned Lark breeds in Southern Canada and the Eastern US. According to Ron Pittaway, its breeding range is separated from the Northern and Hoyt’s Horned Larks by a wide boreal forest. The Prairie is distinguished by its overall paler appearance, pale yellow throat and white supercilium.

Hoyt’s Horned Lark

Hoyt’s Horned Lark (E. a. hoyti )
Image Credit: Marshall J. Iliff

The Hoyt’s Horned Lark breeds in "arctic islands south to northeastern Alberta, northwestern Saskatchewan, northeastern Manitoba, extreme northwestern Ontario”. It migrates primarily through the prairie region west of Lake Superior. Hoyt’s in similar in appearance to the Prairie Horned Lark, except that it is larger. Further, the yellow on the throat is typically paler and restricted to the central region of the throat. As mentioned above, Hoyt’s is a very rare winter migrant to the east.

Based on the observation made in the field, it seems that the differences in appearance of the Horned Larks that were observed around Centre County over the last few weeks correspond to the two common eastern sub-species, the Northern and Prairie Horned Larks.

One additional difference that may be of some interest is that the Northern and Prairie Horned Larks have different spring migration habits. Prairies typically migrate earlier, arriving on the nesting ground in early to mid February. Northern Horned Larks arrive later, in mid-March to early April. As such, the two sub-species we are currently observing could be headed in different directions.

Winter Field Birds in Central Pennsylvania

2011-01-16T19:50:00.001-08:00

Lapland Longspur
Image Credit: Nick Kontonicolas

Although it lacks the diversity of the spring and fall migrations, birding in the winter can be quite rewarding. One aspect of winter birding that I particularly enjoy is looking for birds in the open field – something I don’t typically focus on during the rest of the year.

Winter birding can also test your patience and your will. For one thing, it can get quite cold, and in the open field it can be a tad on the windy side. Moreover, the birds are not always cooperative. Case in point – a Northern Shrike (or two) has been seen lurking around Bald Eagle State Park since last December. Following the initial reports, I drove out to the park to get a glimpse at it. And that is exactly what I got – a glimpse! I spotted the bird perched on the top of a tree. I saw it just long enough to say it was a shrike when it dropped down into the brush. I was unable to relocate it.

Northern Shrike
Image Credit: Terry Sohl

I spent the better part of the next three weekends trudging through the snow in sub-zero temperatures trying to get a better look at the bird but came up empty each time. Upon reading the State College Bird Club listserv, I would see other birders reports of having seen the shrike. Many even posted photos on their bird blogs. I would go out again the next day and strike out. Finally, this past weekend I was able to relocate the bird along the West Launch Road. This guy sure made me earn my view. Perhaps in recognition of my efforts, it was very cooperative this time around. Although the bird moved frequently between perches, it stayed at each perch for several minutes and I was able to put the spotting scope on it for some nice views!

Other birds have not rewarded my patience. A pair of Short-eared Owls was recently reported in Huntingdon County on a neglected farm. The habitat is perfect for the owls. I drove out there last week to try and find them. About an hour before sunset, there were several Northern Harriers patrolling the fields. At least one of the harriers was an adult male, two others were juveniles, and the fourth was either a female or another juvie. Three Rough-legged Hawks and a male American Kestrel have also made their appearance. I waited around ‘til well after sunset, but the owl never showed up.

I went back a few days later and ran into another birder on the same quest. Again, the harriers, rough-legs and kestrel showed up, but not the owl. We returned again the next night with the same results. Because the Short-eared Owls are crepuscular, I figured I might have a chance to catch it just at dawn, so I went back the following morning. Again, no owl!

Horned Lark
Image Credit: Ohio Nature

Having struck out on the owls, I though I would test my luck with some open country birds. I drove the back roads through Center Hall, between Rts. 322 & 45. There were several moderate sized flocks of Horned Larks working their way around the fields. Yesterday, I tallied around 130 or so birds. I tried putting the spotting scope on the birds, but between my shivering in the sub-zero temps, and the wind rattling my scope, I was unable to get a clean look at the birds. Fortunately, a small group of about 15 birds alighted on the road about 50 yards off, providing me with a fairly good look.

Horned Lark, juvenile
Image Credit: GoBirding.eu

I went back again this afternoon. The wind was not nearly as bad, and the sun was breaking through the clouds periodically, providing good lighting conditions. I spotted a flock of about 100 Horned Larks in the same field as the previous day, but much closer to the road. I pulled over and set up the spotting scope. I got some excellent views of the birds feeding. I even spotted a few juvenile birds in the mix. The juveniles look similar to the adults, except that they lack the horn-like tufts, mustache and yellow throat.

I started scanning the flock for other field birds, particularly American Pipits, Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs. I missed on the pipits and bunting, but surprisingly, I did spot a Lapland Longspur – a rare but regular visitor to Central PA. This was a lifer for me - #505! I watched the longspur for several minutes before it got chased by an aggressive lark. The bird did not appear to fly off. Rather, it scampered into a cluster of wind-burned cornhusks, and I was unable to relocate it.

Merlin
Image Credit: eNature.com

I continued to search for the longspur, as well as look for the other above-mentioned birds when the flock suddenly shot up off the ground and scattered. I looked up to follow the birds when I spotted a male Merlin streaking overhead. The larks were a step ahead of the Merlin which did not even pursue them. Rather, it touched down at the top of a tree about 100 yards off. I spotted a second Merlin a few miles down the road, near the Elks Club Golf Course.

I still have a few more winter birds that I would like to pick-up over the next month or so. Crossbills and Redpolls have both been reported in the area, so I will come up with a strategy to search them out. I am also going to keep on target with the Short-eared Owl. Other birders who have seen it at the present location say the likelihood of seeing it on a given trip is about 50/50. I am batting 0 for 4 at present, so my chances for upcoming trips should be better. Moreover, a full moon is on slate for this week, so that should increase my chances of seeing it as well. Either way, I’ll keep going back until I get it.

Winter Birding in Juniata County

2011-01-09T18:20:00.001-08:00

Barn Owl
Image Credit: BBC – Inside Out

After striking out on both Northern Shrikes and the multiple flocks of Horned Larks roaming around the Centre County, PA, I figured a change of scenery might bring some good birding my way. Fortunately, I got a call from Chad Kauffman to see if I was interested in having a look around Juniata County.

I got the OK from the boss (read: wife), so I headed east on Rt. 322 early this morning to meet up with Chad in Mifflintown. We primarily birded the back roads and farms between Routes 35 & 333, from Oakland Mills to Port Royal.

Made several stops along the Juniata River looking for waterfowl. Overall, waterfowl were scarce, other than a few local Mallards and several flocks of migrating Canada Geese. We did spot a Bufflehead and three Common Mergansers on the Juniata, as well as some American Black Ducks and a lone Greater Scaup on a mostly frozen-over farm pond. A Bald Eagle was also observed circling above the river.

Northern Harrier
Image Credit: Lilibirds

The most productive areas were the back roads and farms. Our target raptor for the day was a Rough-legged Hawk. Unfortunately, we were unable to find one. Other raptors were plentiful. Red-tails Hawks and Kestrels were fairly abundant. Seems that there was one or two of each on just about every road we were on. Also had several Northern Harriers, including one individual that stayed out in front of our vehicle for a good stretch, almost as if he was leading us somewhere. The harrier had a light russet color on the breast and tail, suggesting that it was an immature bird.

We also stumbled upon a pair of Barn Owls sitting at the opening of an old barn silo that looks like it had seen better days. This was a particularly exiting, as the Barn Owls were lifers for me - #504!

Horned Larks
Image Credit: Dave Appleton

A few of the farms had recently spread manure. This drew in some good sized flocks of Horned Larks. We carefully scanned the flocks to see what else they might contain. We were unable to find any Lapland Longspurs, but Chad did spot a Snow Bunting.

A few of the farms also had some springs or seeps that seemed to draw a lot of sparrows. We scanned the seeps looking for shorebirds. The first few places we checked were not productive, except for a few Killdeer. Chad said he knew a reliable place where we might be able to pick up a Wilson’s Snipe or two. He was right about that! Just driving slowly along the road, we were able to count 16 Wilson’s Snipe – by far the most I have seen at one sitting. There was also a solitary American Pipit.

Wilson’s Snipe
Image Credit: Toronto Hiking

Near the end of the day, we had a fair number of Black Vultures and one Turkey Vulture. We finished up the day in a small park near the Lost Creek Shoe Shop where Chad spotted a Red-headed Woodpecker chiseling at a tree that looks like it has seen its fair share of woodpeckers.

In all, we tallied 44 species for the day.

Birding on the Edge (of Centre Co)

2011-01-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

Rough-legged Hawk, dark morph
Image Credit: Marcel Gauthier

I stopped by the Duck Pond this morning to get another look at the female Redhead (or is it a late-molting male) - as if I haven't seen it enough already. While I was there, I bumped into another birder (Steve lastname?) and we got to chating – about birds, of course. I mentioned that there was a Rough-legged Hawk sighting last week, along Rt. 220 near Bellefonte, in case he was interested in searching for it. He told me that there was a better and more reliable place to see them – out on the eastern edge of Centre County, near the Union County Line. More specifically, in the town of Woodward.

Woodward lies at the eastern end of Penns Valley, along Rt. 45 East. It’s mostly Amish farms out that way. According to Steve the birder, the Amish maintain hedgerows between fields, don’t plow the soil as often and refrain from the heavy use of pesticides. Taken together, this makes for a nice healthy population of rodents – primarily meadow voles. Sounds like good eatin’ for a raptor.

I asked for directions, and he kindly provided them. After lunch, I went out and spent the afternoon driving around Woodward Gap (map) tallying raptors. I made few loops around Cemetary and Jackson Hill Roads. I saw lots of raptors and other nice birds.

I spotted lots of American Kestrels along the power lines adjacent to Rt.45 (Penns Valley Rd.). I turned left at the second entrance to Cemetary Rd., and immediately picked up a Red-tailed Hawk. About a half-mile in, I spotted another hawk in a tree about 20 yards off the road (see "A" marker on map). It was a dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk. I observed it for about 1 minute or so before it took off and slowly glided across the field and set down in another tree about two-tenths of a mile off. I got a fantastic view! Might be the best look I have had of a Rough-leg.

I continued along Cemetary, spotted one Red-tailed Hawk after another. Also picked up a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a few Ravens. A lone Killdeer was observed hanging around a cattle feed station. Along the way, I spotted a handful of Goldfinches and American Tree Sparrows in an abandoned brush field.

It was getting late, so I started to make my way back to Rt. 45. I decided to sneak out the back way – along Pine Creek Hollow Rd. At the junction of Pine Creek and Jackson Hollow Roads, I spotted another Red-tail. While viewing it in my binoculars, I picked up another more distant bird to the northwest of Buffalo Mountain. To my surprise, it was a circling Black Vulture – somewhat of a rarity in Centre County at this time of year. Certainly the earliest I have ever seen one.

Black Vulture
Image Credit: Patrick Lynch

Woodward Gap looks like a promising place to pick up some good winter birds. I will definitely head back in February to search for more Rough-legs. I should also be able to find some Horned Larks, Snow Bunting, and perhaps even a Longspur. I'll keep you posted!

Time to Start a New List!

2011-01-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

Northern Goshawk, juvenile
Image Credit: Nature Pics

2010 is history! Time to start a new bird list for 2011!

My goal this year is to find 220 species within the state (PA), and 200 within the limits of Centre County. Both goals are modest and achievable. The county mark is a bit tougher, but I should be able to hit it if I pick a few rarities during the spring and fall migrations. In addition, I gotta make sure I pick up the easy birds I missed this past year (Herring Gull, Red-breasted Merganser, Screech Owl, Black-billed Cuckoo, Northern Waterthush, etc).

I got 365 days to get it done! Figured that New Year's Day was good a day as any to get started.

First bird of the year was an American Crow. I have a few that roost in the spruce trees in my yard. Having them around makes my alarm clock optional.

I hit the Centre Furnace Duck Pond at first light and picked up a few gimmes, like the Mallard, American Black Duck and Canada Goose. Also got a few regulars like the Kingfisher, Ring-necked Duck, Northern Shoveler and Redhead.

Next it was off to Millbrook Marsh where I added the House Sparrows that nest under the barn eaves, the Carolina Wrens taking up residence around the bird blind, and a few Song Sparrow I spotted along the boardwalk.

I spent the rest of the morning at Toftrees Gamelands (eastern part of SGL 176). Activity was quite high there this morning. Got all the common woodpeckers (Downy, Hairy, Sapsucker, Flicker, Red-belly & Pileated). Also got some finches (Gold, House and Purple), sparrows (White-throats, Juncos, Tree) and thrushes (Bluebird, Hermit).

After lunch I went out to Bald Eagle State Park. Picked up some Rock Pigeons, Mourning Doves, Kestrels, Red-tailed Hawks and a Cooper’s Hawk along route 220 on the drive out. Once I arrived at the park, I spent about 4 hours walking around in the intermittent drizzle looking for the Northern Shrike that is lurking there, but came up empty. But all was not lost. I picked up a juvenile Northern Goshawk late in the afternoon as I was getting ready to leave.

The Goshawk was a lifer for me - #503! It was perched in a small tree adjacent to the road (between the Frog Pond and the Inn). I pulled the car over and got some really good looks from a distance of about 30 yards. Awesome bird. Big hawk. Confirmed the ID by the size, uneven tail bands and the distinct white supercilium.

Ended the day with 39 species. What a great way to start the year!

2010: A Birding Year in Review

2010-12-31T14:07:00.001-08:00

Harlequin Ducks
Image Credit: Paul Higgins

As 2010 draws to a close, I sit here in my man cave, banjo at my side, nursing a cold. I was initially planning on hitting the hot spots around town to take in some birds and to make a last gasp attempt to add a few species to my state and county year lists. Instead, I am popping Actifed, wiping snot off my beak, and sipping Earl Grey Tea (the best thing the British ever did!).

Not one to sulk (much), I decided that it would be a good time to review my bird sightings for the year. After birding, thinking about birding is the next best thing! So I pulled up my iTunes play list, hit shuffle, and started sifting though my field notes & eBird records. Turns out I had quite an interesting year!

Florida

Common Ground Dove
Image Credit: Phil Jeffrey

I started the year in Florida (trip report) – on Sanibel Island. I had already spent the previous day (Dec 31st) at Ding Darling NWR, where I picked up a few lifers. Early on New Years Day, I hit the beach at first light to hunt for seashells with the kids. Naturally, I bought along my binoculars and spotting scope. Got my first bird of the year – a Common Ground-Dove - in a small patch of dune grass between the beach and the Island Inn. Lots of birds on the beach as well: Sandwich Terns, Sanderlings, Snowy Plovers, White Ibises, etc. The rest of the island was fantastic for birds. Spent a few hours at Ding Darling NWR before hitting the road to Venus...Venus, Florida.

The main purpose of the journey to Venus was to visit Jacque Fresco and Roxanne Meadows of the Venus Project - the activist arm of the Zeitgeist Movement. Following the visit, I managed to do a little birding around the area. The highlights were a Yellow-throated Warbler (a Florida first for me), lots of Sandhill Cranes and a scattering of owl pellets.

Brown-headed Nuthatch
Image Credit: Errol Taskin

Then it was back to Kissimmee, the home of fiddling legend Vassar Clements. We stayed in central Florida for a few days. I spent most of the time birding around the numerous lakes in the region, seeing many of the expected water birds: Little Blue Herons, Cattle Egrets, Wood Storks, etc. I also made a diversion to the Disney Wilderness Preserve. The preserve was set aside by Disney as part of a mitigation effort to restore some of the wetlands Disney filled-in to build their sprawling monument to consumerism. The habitat at the preserve is a mix of wetlands, flatwoods, and scrub. My target species were Loggerhead Shrike, Bachman’s Sparrow and the Brown-headed Nuthatch, all of which are year-round residents. The shrike was easy, as they are abundant in the preserve. Unfortunately, I was unbable to locate the sparrow, but I did see a mixed flock of birds that included the Nuthatch, as well as Yellow-rumped and Pine Warblers.

Spring Migration in Pennsylvania

Although I continued to casually bird throughout the winter months, I spent most of my time on other pursuits. With the exception of Golden Eagles at the Tussey Mountain Hawkwatch, I did not see much worthy of note. Once spring was in the air, I was back out on a more regular basis.

Red-necked Phalarope
Image Credit: Jeremy Early

For me, the highlights of spring are the migrating shorebirds and the return of the wood warblers. This year was particularly exiting, in that I picked up a few lifers in unexpected places. Most notable are two species of phalaropes, the Wilson’s Phalarope and Red-necked Phalarope , which were initially reported by Matt O’Donnell and Drew Weber, respectively, at the Julian Wetlands.

I also attended my first PSO Meeting at Presque Isle on Lake Erie. I spent the weekend birding with many of the state’s most-experienced birders. I certainly learned quite a bit. And I picked-up two more lifers on the trip, a Mouring Warbler and a Prothonotary Warbler.

Summer Birding in Asia

Crested Goshawk
Photo credit: Birding2Asia

Once the kids were out of school, we loaded up the gear and headed across the pond to Taiwan(trip report). In Taiwan, I did most of my birding in two locations in Daliao, Kaohsiung County – the Zhong Zheng rice paddies (photo essay) and the campus of the Taiwan Military Academy. The highlights were the Emerald Dove and Crested Goshawk at the Military Academy, and the Ruddy-breasted Crake and Common Kingfisher at the rice paddies.

We then headed across the strait to mainland China to attend the World Expo in Shanghai and visit family in central China. Again, I bought the binoculars along (trip report). Shanghai was devoid of both birds and culture. It’s like Manhattan without Central Park and Times Square. With the exception of a flying turd – aka Eurasian Blackbird – Shanghai was a forgettable place. The Blackbird was only memorable because it was a lifer for me. Otherwise, it’s a downright ugly bird.

Blue Magpie
Image Credit: Birds of Shanghai

Xi Hu (West Lake) is about an hour or so by train from Shanghai. It’s a popular vacation spot for the locals. Despite the crowds and the urbanization, there were a surprisingly attractive mix of birds to be seen in the area, including Red-billed Starlings and Blue Magpies.

We then headed west to Guilin, in Guanxi Province. The scenery there is breathtaking! The karst mountains are legendary, and have been influential to countless Chinese poets and artists. Birding there was one of the best experiences of the year. The highights were a Dollarbird & Collared Crows along the Li Jiang.

Chinse Pond Heron
Image Credit: Penang Birder

Our next destination was Huangmei, in Hubei Province, for a family reunion. The area where we stayed was pretty rural – dominated by cotton, soy and various vegetable crops. Although I didn’t have much time to bird, I did manage to sneak away and roam the countryside for a few hours with my binos and a copy of Mark Brazil’s Birds of East Asia (read my book review here). The highlights were Whiskered Terns, Chinese Pond Herons, Long-tailed Shrikes and Yellow-billed Grosbeaks.

Over the course of my stay, I observed 121 species, 25 of which were lifers for me.

Back Home Again

Like John Denver sang, Hey it’s good to be back home again. Although I enjoyed the time in Asia, I was looking forward to getting back state side. Eating food from restaurants and street vendors, sleeping in a different bed everynight, and getting the Chinese version of Montezuma’s Revenge is enough to make anyone long for home. And besides, it was getting close to the start of fall migration. Next to spring migration, fall migration is the best time for birding.

This fall was very productive for birding. It seemed there were a lot more birders out and about finding (and reporting!) lots of interesting birds. Shorebirds were particularly good this year. The highlights were some Baird’s Sandpipers out at Bald Eagle SP (reported by Greg Grove) and Colyer Lake. Colyer also yielded a few Pectoral Sandpipers, as well as Least and Semi-palmated Sandpipers. A few weeks later, a Sanderling turned up on the beach at Bald Eagle.

Sanderling
Image Credit: Arthur Morris

Warblers were also plentiful, with unusually large numbers of several species. The highlight for me was my big fall-out day (report) at Scotia Barrens which occurred, oddly enough, on my birthday. I had over 200 ticks for 18 warbler species in just a few hours.

Perhaps the most interesting sighting I had was a hummingbird that came to my feeders for a few days. In late August, I had an unusual hummingbird with a bright orange gorget, rather than the ruby-red gorget one would expect for the local Ruby-throated Hummer. The hummer also had some rufous spots on its lower back, just above the tail. Turns out that it was one of the Selasphorus hummingbirds (Rufous or Allen’s), but I was unable to pin it down to the species level.

Little Big Year – sort of

Somewhere between the end of summer and the beginning of fall, I realized that I was in striking distance of getting 200 species within the state, and possibly within the limits of Centre County. While not a monumental feat, it would represent a personal milestone for me. Although I don’t consider myself an avid lister or twitcher, I must admit I was a bit enamored with the idea of trying to put together a list for myself. This is undoubtedly the influence from several of the many bird-themed books I read over the past year, such as Kingbird Highway and The Big Year. Anyway, I figured I give it a shot.

Snow Bunting
Image Credit: Tim Zurowski

In order to reach the modest goal, I was gonna have to get lucky. Since I had been away in the summer, I missed a few “easy” birds like the Black-billed Cuckoo. I made a list of the birds I needed and began to search them out, one by one. Thanks to the help of other birders reporting their observations, and some of my own right-place at the right-time luck, I was able to knock quite a few birds off my list, such as Eared Grebe, Black Scoter, White-wing Scoter, Dunlin, Snow Bunting, Rough-legged Hawk, and Harlequin Duck.

I hit the 200 mark for the state on November 1st, thanks to Drew Weber’s report of Black Scoters at Bald Eagle. I finished the year with 214 state birds. The Centre County list was a bit tougher. I entered December needing 9 birds to hit the 200 mark. While I gave it the old college try, I ended up the year a few short of the target. I finished with 196 birds for Centre County.

2010 Summary

Overall, I observed 315 species worldwide, including 36 lifers. That brings my world life list up to 502 species – 340 US birds and 162 birds outside the US.

Zhong Zheng Road Rice Paddies - Summer 2010

2010-12-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

I spent part of the summer this year (2010) in Taiwan visiting my in-laws. While there, I did a fair amount of birding as I reported in a previous post. I spent a few hours each day birding along the rice paddies scattered around my in-laws home. I spent the majority of the time at the rice paddies off Zhong Zheng Rd (中正路), just southwest of the Daliao MRT station (map).

Looking north, toward Feng Dong Road

Looking south, toward Zhong Zheng Road

I took a handful of photos by holding my point-and-shoot (Sony DSC-P10) up to the eyepiece of my spotting scope (Pentax PF-80ED). Surprisingly, many of the photos turned out pretty well. I finally got a chance to sort through most of the photos and crop them. I posted some of them below.

One of the fields at the end of the paddies was completely flooded. There was a small stand of trees and shrubs lining the “pond” which served as a rookery for a number of herons and egrets.

Black-crowned Night Herons

Black-crowned Night Herons were fairly abundant. The best time to see them is just before dusk. On a previous trip, I counted 177 individuals at the Old Railroad Bridge Park in Fongshan.

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret were also abundant. Most were observed in the drained fields adjacent to the paddies. On one occasion, a farmer was plowing a drained field in preparation for sowing. I watched a small flock of about 15-20 Cattle Egret following the tractor, snatching up various grubs and small rodents unearthed by the plow.

Little Egret

Another abundant wader! At first glance, these guys look like our Snowy Egrets, except that the Little Egret has darker lores and longer head plumes.

Intermediate Egret

Intermediate Egrets are mainly overwintering birds, although some resident birds have been observed (rarely). I did not see these birds when I first got to Taiwan in June. They started to show up early in August, around the same time as the early migrating shorebirds.

Rice is planted three times a year in Taiwan. When I first arrived in Taiwan, there were in the midst of harvesting the most recent crop. For a few weeks following harvest, the paddies were more like mudflats or shallow pools following a rain storm. This was a prime habitat for a variety of rails and waders.

Greater Painted Snipe - pair

The Greater Painted Snipe inhabit heavily vegetated wet fields and grassy marshes. Despite their name, they are not true snipe. Actually, they are more closely related to jacanas. Like jacanas (and phalarope), Painted-Snipe are polyandrous and exhibit sex role reversal. Females fight each other for territory and court males. The nest is built by the male, generally on marshy ground. After laying a clutch, the female leaves the male to incubate the eggs and rear the young. She seeks another mate.

Greater Painted Snipe (female)

Little Ringed Plover

Taiwan's smallest plover. The Little Ringed Plover is primarily an overwintering bird, but resident populations are present in the southern part of the island. The plover has a fairly interesting feeding habit. As they walk along a mudflat, they occasionally tap their feet on the ground, presumably to create a disturbance and stir their prey.

Common Moorhen

Local Taiwanese refer to moorhens as tsui gi (水鸡) - meaning "water chicken". I can not vouch for the taste. The moorhen are a common year-round resident, and are by far the most abundant rail on the island.

Ruddy-breasted Crake

Ruddy-breasted Crake are widely distributed on Taiwan; however, they can be difficult to see. They are very vigilant and wary. I was able to observe on only after playing a recording of its call and drawing it out onto the edge of a reed field. The moorhens in the area were very aggressive, driving the crake back into the reeds.

Wood Sandpiper

Common passage migrants in Taiwan. At first glance, they appear similar to our Yellow-legs. The Wood Sandpipers frequently bob their tails while feeding, in a manner reminiscent of a Common Sandpiper.

There were also a variety of swallows and martins flying around above the rice paddies. Some of the fields adjacent to the paddies were overgrown, attracting grassland birds.

Pacific Swallow

The Pacific Swallow is broadly distributed throughout Taiwan. It is similar to our Barn Swallow (which is also present in Taiwan), except that he Pac Swallows lacks both a long forked tail and the black band on the lower throat.

Plain Martin

Plain Martins are common residents of the lowland plains, particularly near water. They nest primarily on riverbanks and eroded edges of fish pond.

Zitting Cisticola

Cisticola were broadly distributed among lowland grassy plains, rice paddies and grassy scrubland. They are incessantly active. They have an interesting flight display where they fly around a territory in a high undulating flight path, chattering and singing as they go. Suddenly, they make a dive into the scrub. It was quite a spectacle.

Overall, I observed 32 species in and around the rice paddies. Unfortunately, there were some birds I was unable to photograph. Most notable were the Common Kingfisher and the Cinnamon Bittern. The Kingfishers were just too fast. My first sighting was somewhat serendipitous. I was walking the paddies in the late afternoon, during intermittent rain. Suddenly, two iridescent blue streaks shot down the grey water canal between the paddies. I jumped up on the retaining wall to see what just flew by. Couldn't see anything. A few minutes later, the birds flew back up the opposite way. One stopped and perched on the retaining wall on the other side of the canal. It only stayed for a few moments before flying off. The Cinnamon Bitterns were observed several times. Each time I saw one, it was a bird that flushed, flew about 50 yards or so, and then settled down inconspicuously in tall reeds.

Eared Grebe at BESP

2010-11-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

Eared Grebe at Bald Eagle State Park, Nov 6, 2010

The fall weather is finally here! The warblers are gone - mostly. The leaves are changing color and falling from the trees. Football season is at its midpoint. Cold weather is starting to settle in.

And that means ducks and gulls are on their way!

Reports are starting to trickle in from across the county and state. A gull here, a small rafts of ducks there. And with the regular migrants come others from out-of-town. Over the last week or so, a few interesting birds were showing up out at Bald Eagle State Park in Howard (Centre County, PA), so I grabbed my binoculars and put the spotting scope in the car and headed out to the park.

I arrived at the park around 9:00 am on a cold, rainy Saturday morning. I first hit Upper & Lower Greens Run, then headed down to the Rt. 150 overlook, and eventually made my way to the main area of the park. At Lower Greens Run, I spotted a small flock of Bufflehead and a lone Bonaparte's Gull patrolling Sayers Lake. The 150 overlook was quiet.

Upon entering the main area of the park, I headed straight down to the beach to scan for Snow Bunting. I came up empty on the buntings, but did manage to spot a Killdeer probing the sand. There was also a nice-sized flock of starlings and grackles in the trees adjacent to the beach. Most of the other areas of the park were not productive, so I headed out to the Bald Eagle viewing area to get a look at Sayers Dam. That is usually the most productive spot in the park.

I was particularly interesting in checking out the dam area, because Drew Weber spotted several White-winged Scoters there earlier in the morning. I spent about 30 minutes or so scanning the area with my spotting scope, but struck out on the scoters. I did mange to find several Common Mergansers, some Ruddy Ducks, a Common Loon and a flock of Canada Geese. There were several other ducks present, but the combination of the warm air on the surface of the lake and the cold air above caused a lot of refraction - like those wavy lines you see on the distant highway on warm days. Either way, I couldn't make out what the ducks were, so I bagged it and moved on.

Before leaving the park, I decided to search for any Northern Shrikes that may be present. This is about the time of year that one would expect a shrike to show up at the park. I checked several spots where the shrike has been observed in previous years but was unable to find one. But all was not lost. At the west boat launch, I did spot a small flock of American Coots - about 40 in all. I scanned the flock with my binos and picked out three odd birds. Two of them turned out to be female Ruddy Ducks. The other looked like a grebe.

At first glance, I was pretty sure that it was a Horned Grebe - a relatively common grebe for the east coast this time of year. In fact, several were seen at the park earlier in the week. Something about the bird did not sit right, so I went back to the car and grabbed my spotting scope. I got a pretty good look at the bird. To my surprise, it was an Eared Grebe - a western species not typically seen in the east. As the bird was in non-breeding plumage, I had to check for several key field marks to nail the ID: a slightly upturned bill, a peaked crown above the eye and a dusky neck.

To document the bird, I had to borrow my daughter's point-and-shoot digital camera and hold it up to the eye piece of my spotting scope. The resulting photos were of the "bigfoot quality", but sufficient for confirmation. This is the second Eared Grebe for me in Centre County - the first one was spotted in the Retention Pond back by lot 25 on the Penn State campus back in 2006.

Big Warbler Fall-out at Scotia Barrens

2010-09-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

Blue-winged Warbler
Photo Credit: Arjuna Limitada

Autumn migration is in full swing. It is one of the best times of year to look for wood-warblers and other birds heading south for the winter. If you live in Centre County, Scotia Barrens (SGL 176) is among the best places to be.

Earlier this week, Woodcreeper was predicting a big migration event for Thursday and Friday. Recently, the weather conditions were not conducive for migrating birds. As a result, the birds were "piling-up", waiting for the right conditions to fly. Those condiditions were supposed to be right for a big flight on Wednesday and Thursday night. Unfortunately for me, I had to work. As such, I was unable to get out into the field to look for birds. As it turned out, most of the migrants ended up a bit the the east of central Pennsylvania.

I was hoping that the birds would continue in large numbers until at least the weekend. Excitedly, I headed out to Scotia Barrens early Saturday morning. It was a really slow day. Didn't see much at all. Sunday morning rolled around, and it was damp and drizzling. It didn't look very promising. I decided to go out anyway, as Monday would bring another work week.

As it turns out, it was a phenomenal day at Scotia! Easily the best day I have had in recent memory.

Whip-poor-will
Photo Credit: Mike Danzenbaker

I arrived at the research shed about 30 minutes before dawn. A few Whip-poor-wills and a Woodcock were active. I could also hear a migrating thrush overhead - mostly Swainson's Thrush. There were also others, but I didn't feel confident enough to ID them. I walked the paved road past the research shed just after sunrise. The trees around the field station were overloaded with warblers. There were easily a few hundred warblers present, as well as a nice sized flock of Waxwings. In addition, there were several Philadelphia Vireos as well.

Black-throated Green Warbler
Photo Credit: Lillian Stokes

After about 90 minutes, I returned to the main road. It started raining and the activity really slowed down. I ran into Greg Grove and we birded along the road, finding a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. After the rain stopped, the birds picked up again. Wave after wave rolled thru. The area around the shed, as well as up and down the road about 100 yrds on each side had the most activity. Black-throated Green Warblers were seemingly everywhere. I stopped counting at 60 - there very easily could have been over 100 of that species alone. There were also large numbers of Blackburnian and Cape May Warblers.

Blackburnina Warbler
Photo Credit:

When I reluctantly left just before noon (to maintain marital bliss), the activity was still very high. In all, I observed 18 species of warbler. The full list follows:

Location: Scotia Barrens (IBA)
Observation date: 9/12/10
Number of species: 49

Ruffed Grouse 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Woodcock 2
Great Horned Owl 1
Whip-poor-will 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1
Least Flycatcher 1
Philadelphia Vireo 3
Red-eyed Vireo 8
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 7
Black-capped Chickadee 15
Tufted Titmouse 12
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Swainson's Thrush 20
American Robin 25
Gray Catbird 15
Cedar Waxwing 70
Blue-winged Warbler 3
Tennessee Warbler 4
Nashville Warbler 21
Northern Parula 4
Chestnut-sided Warbler 16
Magnolia Warbler 9
Cape May Warbler 25
Black-throated Blue Warbler 3
Black-throated Green Warbler 60
Blackburnian Warbler 22
Pine Warbler 11
Bay-breasted Warbler 3
Blackpoll Warbler 6
Black-and-white Warbler 6
American Redstart 7
Ovenbird 2
Common Yellowthroat 11
Hooded Warbler 3
Eastern Towhee 7
Scarlet Tanager 3
Northern Cardinal 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
American Goldfinch 1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Early Fall Sandpipers at Colyer Lake

2010-09-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

Baird's Sandpiper
Photo Credit: Brilliant Student

It's early fall, so sandpipers are on the move - heading south for the winter. While most people associate sandpipers with the beach or coastal mudflats, sandpipers and other waders do show up inland in pretty good numbers.

In southern Centre County, many lakes are below their spring water levels as the summer wanes. This exposes mudflats that are good feeding habitats for sandpipers. There are several spots in the vicinity of State College that are particularly good: Colyer Lake (just off of Rt. 322), Julian Wetlands (on Old Rt. 220), & Bald Eagle State Park (Howard, PA).

Pectoral Sandpiper
Photo Credit: The Bird Guide

This year, Colyer has been very productive. During one week in early September, I observed eight species of sandpiper and one plover. The full list follows.

The highlights were the Pectoral & Baird's Sandpipers. The Baird's Sandpiper was especially interesting. This bird nests up in arctic tundra and migrates through the Great Plains. It is pretty uncommon along either coast. Up until this year, I have never seen one. This year, I have seen it twice. The first one was reported by Greg Grove on the beach at Bald Eagle SP. The one I spotted at Colyer was the second one.

Sightings at Colyer Lake, September 2010

Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper

Azure-winged Magpie - #500 on Life List

2010-08-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

Azure-winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyana
Image Credit: Gordon Langsbury

I was going over my bird list from my summer trip to China. It turns out that I surpassed 500 species for my life list. Species #500 was an Azure-winged Magpie.

The Azure-winged Magpie was observed on July 29, 2010, in the Li Shizhen Gardens in Hubei, China. My daughter Maria was ahead of me on the trail and stirred the bird. She spotted it and immeadiately called my attention to it. I got a good look at it as it flew past and disappered into a grove of evergreen trees. On the way out of the gardens about 15 minutes later, I spotted it again, perched in a tree where I got an really nice view.

I referenced Wikipedia to get a little background on the magpie.

The Azure-winged Magpie is a bird in the crow family. It is 31–35 cm long and similar in overall shape to the European Magpie (Pica pica) but is more slender with proportionately smaller legs and bill. It belongs to the monotypical genus Cyanopica.

It has a glossy black top to the head and a white throat. The underparts and the back are a light grey-fawn in colour with the wings and the feathers of the long (16–20 cm) tail are an azure blue. It inhabits various types of coniferous (mainly pine) and broadleaf forest, including parks and gardens in the eastern populations.

It occurs in two population groups separated by a huge geographical region between. One population lives in Western Europe, specifically the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain and Portugal. The other population occurs over a much larger region of eastern Asia in most of China, Korea, Japan, and north into Mongolia. Recent genetic analysis has shown that the two populations are distinct at species level [1], under which the Iberian Azure-winged Magpie would take the name Cyanopica cooki, though this change has yet to be formally incorporated in the European bird list.

Often Azure-winged Magpies find food as a family group or several groups making flocks of up to 70 birds. The largest groups congregate after the breeding season and throughout the winter months. Their diet consists mainly of acorns (oak seeds) and pine nuts, extensively supplemented by invertebrates and their larvae, soft fruits and berries, and also human-provided scraps in parks and towns.

This species usually nests in loose, open colonies with a single nest in each tree. There are usually between 6–8 eggs that are incubated for 15 days.

The voice is a quick fired and metallic sounding kwink-kwink-kwink usually preceded by a single krarrah.

China Trip Report - Summer 2010

2010-08-05T16:45:00.001-07:00

Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)
Image Credit:Mekshat

This summer (2010), I made two one-weeks visits to China. The first visit was to Shanghai at the end of June to attend the World Expo. The second visit was to Hubei at the beginning of August to attend a family reunion. Like my trip to Taiwan, which was sandwiched in between the China visits, I did not get the opportunity to bird extensively as I would have liked. That being said, I did manage to do a little birding in my spare time. In all, I observed 61 species, including 14 lifers (*).

I essentially used two field guides during the trip: Mark Brazil’s Birds of East Asia (my primary guide), and MacKinnon & Philip's Field Guide to the Birds of China. My reviews for both guides can be found here.

Xihu

When I was not at the World Expo, I did a bit of birding in the park adjacent to our hotel in Shanghai. I was very disappointed. Other than a few Eurasian Tree Sparrows and some Light-vented Bulbuls, Shanghai is almost devoid of birds (and culture). In order to see birds, we made a short field trip in the neighboring province of Zhejiang - to the city of Hangzhou.

Red-billed Starling (Sturnus sericeus).
Photo credit: Martin Hale, OBC

Hangzhou is located about an hour’s train ride southwest of Shanghai. The city is home of Xihu (West Lake), a major tourist draw. Incidentally, Xihu draws large numbers of Mandarin Ducks in the winter - something I long to see. I did most of my birding in the parks adjacent to Xihu and some natural areas within a few miles of the lake.

The highlights were the Red-billed Starling and the Blue Magpie. I observed both of them near the koi pond by Baochu Pagoda. The magpie was quite racous. I observed several take off from an unseen perch in a magnolia tree and glide across the pond. The are quite a spectacular sight with their red bills and long flowing tails. Later, one perched low in a tree just a few feet from where we were sitting and stayed for a few minutes before moving on. Just across the pond, there was a pair of Red-billed Starlings straifing each other - apparently battling it out for prime perch overlooking the pond.

There were also several Eurasian Blackbirds in the park. I must say that it is the most disappointing bird I have seen in quite some time. After hearing Paul McCartney sing his poetic verses about the Blackbird on the Beatles White Album, I guess I developed something of a special affection for the bird. Upon seeing the bird for the first time, I was completely let down. The Blackbird is a downright ugly bird! I immeadiately thought of a term I have heard birders throw around when they see drab Turdus thrushes. The term is "flying turd". I think whoever coined that term did so when he was looking at a Blackbird. On a positive note, the Blackbird is quite a splendid singer. I guess you can see that his combination of looks and voice make him the Lyle Lovett of the bird world.

Here are my observations:

Barn Swallow
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Brown-rumped Minivet *
Crested Myna
Eurasian Blackbird *
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Great Tit *
Indian Spot-billed Duck
Japanese White-eye
Little Egret
Light-vented Bulbul
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Mallard
Blue Magpie *
Red-billed Starling *
Red-rumped Swallow *
Rock Pigeon
Spotted Dove
Black-crowned Night-Heron

Guangxi & Hubei

Limestone Mountains, Guilin China
Photo credit: olloo

We then traveled down west for a family reunion. Before heading home, we made a detour and headed down to Guilin in Guangxi province. Guilin and the neighboring area of Yangshuo are famous for their mountainous landscapes. The mountains there have been inspirational to Chinese poets and artists for thousands of years. The scenery is so spectacular that birding almost becomes secondary.

Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus)
Image Credit: mononofu

We took a river trip through the mountains in Yangshuo via a bamboo raft. The Lijiang is a relatively calm river making for a very peaceful trip. Common Kingfishers and Plumbeous Water Redstarts were abundant along the river banks. In some places, the mountains rise up vertically along the banks creating a canyon. We stopped at a spot where water was running down the canyon wall. I guess it was technically a waterfall, but the volume of water coming off seemed much to low to justify calling it one. Regardless of its classification, the “waterfall” attracted lots of birds. Blue Whistling-Thrushes and White-tailed Robins darted around the base of the waterfall snatching flies. Light-vented Bulbuls hawked insects from perches in the trees. I also heard the high thin twitterings of Japanese White-eye flying overhead (listen here). The White-eye travel in small flocks of 20 or so birds, similar to our Waxwings, and are fairly abundant throughout southern China. There were also two hawks soaring overhead which I was unable to identify.

Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis).
Photo credit: Michelle & Peter Wong

High up on the cliff, above the waterfall (about 100 ft up), my daughter spotted a bird sitting on a small branch. It turned out to be a Dollarbird sallying for insects. Further on down the river, there was a herd of water buffalo eating vegetation. We took a detour around them. In doing so, we stumbled into a small roosting place for Collared Crows. As our raft approached, the crows took off and flew across the river directly in front of us. The white collar gave the crw the apprearance of wearing a fur stole. I never thought a crow could look so noble.

Collared Crow (Corvus torquatus).
Photo credit: Jonathan Kwong, OBC

There were also small number of fisherman on the Lijiang. Rather than using rods or nets, the fisherman were using birds - specifically Great Cormorants - to catch fish. A restrictive band is typically tied around the birds neck. The band allows the cormorants to swallow small fish, but prevents them from swallowing large fish. Upon catching a fish, the cormorant has been trained to return to the fisherman's boat where he coughs up his catch. Its all in a day's work I suppose.

Here is a list of my observations:

Black-crowned Night-Heron
Blue Whistling-Thrush
Chinese Pond-Heron *
Collared Crow *
Common Kingfisher
Common Sandpiper
Dollarbird *
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Crested Myna
White-tailed Robin
Greater Coucal *
Light-vented Bulbul
Plumbeous Redstart
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Red Collared-Dove
Common Tailorbird *
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
White Wagtail
Japanese White-eye

Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida).
Photo credit: Steve Hinton

We then traveled north to Huangmei in Hubei Province for a family reunion. My wife’s father left China when he was 16 to fight with Chiang Kai-shek. With the communist victory, Chiang’s troops fled to Taiwan. About 10 years ago, China and Taiwan restored relations and my father-in-law was able to return home for the first time in 50 years. Unfortunately his parents and all his siblings were gone. He did have quite a large number of cousins, nieces, nephews, etc. that still lived in the village. This trip was the first time my wife has gone to the village to see where her father grew up and to meet the rest of the family. It was a pretty moving experience to say the least.

The area where my wife’s family lives in Huangmei is pretty rural. Chickens running around the neighborhood (and through your house), livestock roaming the streets, swallows nesting in your living room, etc. The area is primarily rice paddies and cotton fields. There was also a sizeable lake behind the village that attracts lots of birds.

Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus).
Photo credit: Michelle & Peter Wong

In the mornings, I walked the area around the lake looking for birds. The pond was constantly patrolled by a small flock of Whiskered Terns. There were also a few Little Grebes diving for fish and several rails moving through the vegetation that I was unable to identify. Chinese Pond-Herons were ubiquitous. With there charcoal black backs, chestnut-colored heads and white tail and wings, they are quite striking birds to observe in flight. Long-tailed Shrikes were also pretty abundant in the fields adjacent to the lake. I had over 10 shrikes one morning. One began calling when I was about 30 yards away. He allowed me to approach to within 20 feet before he got uncomfortable and took off. Below is a shaky video clip of the encounter.

After the reunion, we packed up to head home. On the way to the Wuhan airport, we made a quick stop at the Li Shizhen Gardens. Li Shizhen, a distant relative of my wife, was a legendary physican and pharmacologist. He is considered by many to be the father of Chinese herbal medicine. In addition, he was perhaps the greatest naturalist in Chinese history. The Li Herbal Gardens are located about a ¼ mile from the Yangtze River and are surrounded by lots of wetlands. There were quite a few birds present in the gardens themselves, including several White Wagtails, Oriental Magpie-robins and Masked Laughingthrushes. The Laughingthrushes quicky took cover when they spotted me, but were very responsive to pishing.

Here are my observations:

Little Grebe
Little Egret
Chinese Pond-Heron
Whiskered Tern *
Common Kingfisher
Lesser Coucal
Eurasian Hoopoe
Long-tailed Shrike
Black Drongo
Pacific Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Light-vented Bulbul
Masked Laughingthrush
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Eurasian Blackbird
Crested Myna
Common Myna
White Wagtail
Yellow-billed Grosbeak *
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus).
Photo credit: John Henry

The highlight of the whole trip was an Azure-winged Magpie that we saw at the Li Herbal Gardens. My daughter Maria was ahead of me on the trail and stirred the bird. She spotted it and immeadiately called my attention to it. I got a good look at it as it flew past and disappered into a grove of evergreen trees. On the way out of the gardens about 15 minutes later, I spotted it again, perched in a tree where I got an really nice view. Really a handsome bird. Even more monumental for me is the fact that it was the 500th bird on my life list.

Taiwan Trip Report - Summer 2010

2010-08-05T11:59:00.001-07:00

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).
Photo credit: Cards Unlimited

This summer (2010), I spent about four weeks in Taiwan visiting in-laws. Although I did not get the opportunity to bird extensively as I would have liked, I did manage to sneak some time in.

I essentially used two field guides during the trip: Mark Brazil’s Birds of East Asia (which I previously reviewed), and Wu Sen-Hsiong's Field Guide to the Wild Birds of Taiwan. In addition to field guides, I also made use of publicly accessible field recordings from the Macauley Library.

I also picked up several excellent photographic guides while in Taiwan: Taiwan Birds (Owl Publishing), Photo Guide to the Wild Birds of Taiwan by Jason Chen, and A Photographic Guide to Birds of Taiwan (Taiwan Wild Bird Society).

Taiwan Birds (Owl Publishing)

Photo Guide to the Wild Birds of Taiwan by Jason Chen

A Photographic Guide to Birds of Taiwan (Taiwan Wild Bird Society)

The first two books are entirely in Chinese, except for Latin and common names; however, they both are worthwhile to have. The photos in the book by Owl Publishing are not the best, but the book has excellent range maps for Taiwan. Jason Chen’s book has the best photos among the three. The pictures are large and usually have several photos per bird. The book published by the Taiwan Wild Bird Society has good photos, but the photos are small and there is typically only one. The advantage of the book is that it is written in English and gives detailed descriptions of habitat, behavior and distribution.

Birding in Daliao

Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica).
Photo credit: Tamilnadu

I did most of my birding in Daliao (Kaohsiung County), as on previous trips. The campus of the Taiwan Military Academy is about a half mile from my in-laws home. Behind the campus is a wooded area used for training exercises. The locals also use it as a community garden and park. The habitat is mostly low hills that were largely overtaken by grasslands and bamboo thickets, with a few hardwood trees scattered about. It’s a haven for birds, as Daliao is a fairly well developed area. The grounds of the military academy are sort of like a forested island in the middle of a mixed urban and agricultural area.

Over the course of my stay, I observed 33 species on the campus, including three lifers (Crested Goshawk, Emerald Dove & Striated Swallow). I also observed a small flock of Indian Silverbill. I have seen them before in Dubai, but never in Taiwan. The Silverbill are not native to Taiwan. They have only recently become established there, probably due to escapes from the songbird trade which is fairly prominent in Taiwan.

Chinese Bamboo Partridge (Bambusicola thoracicus)
Image Credit: Stip Hushan Dam!

Another highlight was the Chinese Bamboo-Partridge. I have heard the Bamboo-Partridge there many times. The call is distincitive - no mistaking it for anything else (listen here). There is one particularly densely wooded hill adjacent to the rifle range that seems to be favored by the partridge. I used my iPod to call them in. Only had to play the call twice before they all came to investigate. I saw two running in the grass, but they quickly took cover and I didn't get a clean look. The third one popped up on a stump and started calling vociferously. He stayed a good 7 or 8 minutes before dropping down out of sight. It was all pretty exciting.

Here is a list of my observations:

Chinese Bamboo-Partridge
Great Egret
Cattle Egret
Crested Goshawk *
White-breasted Waterhen
Common Moorhen
Barred Buttonquail
Oriental Turtle-Dove
Red Collared-Dove
Spotted Dove
Emerald Dove *
Lesser Coucal
House Swift
Black-browed Barbet
Black Drongo
Black-naped Monarch
Gray Treepie
Barn Swallow
Pacific Swallow
Striated Swallow *
Collared Finchbill
Light-vented Bulbul
Golden-headed Cisticola
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Plain Prinia
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler
Japanese White-eye
Common Myna
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Indian Silverbill
White-rumped Munia
Nutmeg Mannikin

Rice Paddies

Ruddy-breasted Crake (Porzana fusca).
Photo credit: Robin Newlin, Birds Korea

There are also a number of small farms and rice paddies scattered through Daliao, as they are just about everywhere in Taiwan. The rice paddies are home to a variety of waders, rails, etc. In addition, Taiwanese farmers harvest and replant rice three times a year. The end of July is one of those times. As a result, many of the rice paddies are temporarily converted into mudflats – a favored habitat among migrating shorebirds. The beginning of August is not the best time for migrants, but there are a few early migrants that do show up from time to time. Another great spot for waders is the wetlands adjacent to the Old Railroad Bride Park in Fongshan; however, I was unable to bird there, as the wetlands were destroyed by mudslides last year during typhoon season. Its quite a tragic loss considering that the wetlands were one of the few breeding spots for the Pheasant-tailed Jacana in Taiwan.

Several times a week, I hauled my spotting scope and tripod around Daliao to check out the rice paddies. Early morning and just before sunset are the best times to go, particularly if you want to avoid the hot tropical sun. Another good time is the morning after a heavy evening thunderstorm. During the course of my birding adventures, I observed 32 species in the rice paddies, including six lifers (Cinnamon Bittern, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Green Sandpiper, Common Kingfisher, Common Hill Myna & Javan Myna).

Yellow Bittern
Cinnamon Bittern *
Intermediate Egret
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White-breasted Waterhen
Ruddy-breasted Crake *
Common Moorhen
Little Ringed Plover
Green Sandpiper *
Wood Sandpiper
Long-toed Stint
Greater Painted-snipe
Red Collared-Dove
Common Kingfisher *
Gray Treepie
Eurasian Magpie
Plain Martin
Barn Swallow
Pacific Swallow
Striated Swallow
Light-vented Bulbul
Zitting Cisticola
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Plain Prinia
Common Hill Myna *
Javan Myna *
Common Myna
White Wagtail
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Nutmeg Mannikin

Field Trips

Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis).
Photo credit: Jemi & John Holmes

In addition to local birding, I also made two field trips to Kenting National Park at the southern tip of Taiwan, and to Dawushan in eastern Kaohsiung. I have been to Kenting a number of times over the years. Overall, I have been disappointed with the birding in the park. The only bright spot I can recommend is the Longluan Lake area. I spent about 2 hours in the park adjacent to the lake. I observed about 20 species. The highlights were an Osprey, my first in Taiwan, and several Black-naped Terns. I also heard a Hwa-mei calling, but I was unable to pish it out.

It rained during the Dawushan trip so I didn’t see too much during that outing other than a small flock of Grey-cheeked Fulvetta and few circling Silverback Needletails, the latter of which was a lifer. In fact, I spent most of the time on Dawushan ot a mountain coffee plantation drinking iced coffee and watching the storm roll through the valley. On the way home, we stopped in Fongshan to eat. While waiting to get seated, I heard a strident screech above (listen here). I looked up and saw two Savanna Nightjars circling overhead. Quite impressive birds. Although they are roughly the same size, they seem larger and louder than our Common Nighthawks, probably because they spread their primary feathers during flight like some raptors. My brother-in-law says the locals call them Night Eagles.

Here are my observations:

Gray Treepie
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Common Myna
Black-naped Monarch
Black Drongo
White-breasted Waterhen
Striated Swallow
Spotted Dove
Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler
Red Collared-Dove
Pacific Swallow
Lesser Coucal
Little Egret
Savanna Nightjar *
Styan's Bulbul
Black-naped Tern
Gray-cheeked Fulvetta
Silver-backed Needletail *
Hwamei
Indian Spot-billed Duck
Osprey
Black-browed Barbet
Black Bulbul

In all, I observed 61 species, 11 of which were lifers for me. The overall highlight of the trip was birding around the rice paddies. Finding birds there sometimes requires a lot of patience, and a bit of being in the right place and the right time (when birds flush). There were also some disappointment. There were several of the less common rails that I was unable to find. I also didn't get the chance to observed birds during the peak of migration. Hopefully, I be able to get some of these birds on a future trip.

Laughing Gull at Toftrees Pond

2010-05-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

Laughing Gull Standing on a Log
Toftrees Pond (SGL 176)
May 12, 2010
Photo Credit: Chet Gottfried

This spring has been pretty good for uncommon migrants. There have been reports by Matt O'Donnell of Scoters out at Bald Eagle State Park, Common Moorhens in flooded farm fields, and most recently, a Least Bittern out at Toftrees Pond. Having never seen a Least Bittern, I made my way over to Toftrees to search for the bird. As it turns out, I was too late - the bird had flown (sorry, couldn't resist the Beatles/Norwegian Wood allusion).

Although I was somewhat disappointed in having missed a potential life bird, the trip was well worth the effort. Upon my arrival at the pond, and prior to searching for the bittern, a gull that was circling the pond caught my eye.

I could see from a distance that it was one of the hooded gulls, but was not quite sure which one. My first thought was that it was a Bonaparte's Gull, as they are the gulls that are most frequently seen during migration in Centre County. However, something about the gull did not quite feel right to me - the most obvious being the size of the gull. It seemed too large for a Bonaparte's. I began to entertain other possibilities.

Laughing Gull in Flight (top view)
Photo Credit: Chet Gottfried

The head of the bird looked like it hadn't completely molted. The hood was dark and nearly complete - except for a small whitish area up near the forehead. The eye arcs were distinct. The bill was dark, with hints of orange coming through. The legs were also dark.

When the bird was in flight, the tail was white. The wings were dark grey with black ends. The black extended up from the tip a fair bit and was apparent on both the underside and upperside. The trailing edge of the wings was white. The white did not extend to the tip - it stopped well short (about two-thirds).

All in all, I got a pretty good luck at it. I was pretty sure that the bird was a Laughing Gull - probably a second year breeder.

Laughing Gull in Flight (side view)
Photo Credit: Chet Gottfried

Although Laughing Gulls are fairly common on the coast (just ask any Jersey beach-goer), they are not so common in central Pennsylvania. It was a pretty exciting find; however, I wanted to document the find. Unfortunately, I did not have a camera handy. Same thing happened to me last time I saw Bigfoot. For confirmation, I asked a friend - Chet Gottfried - to try a get a few photos of the bird to confirm and document the ID. As you can see from the photos accompanying this post, Chet is an excellent photographer. He got photos of the gull at all the critical angles - showing the distinguishing field marks.

Starlings & Humans Collide

2010-02-02T17:32:00.000-08:00

European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Image Credit: Lloyd Spitalnik

If you live in the Pennsylvania, I don’t have to tell you that it’s winter time. And just like every winter, birds from more northern areas have flown south. For some North American birds, “south” means South America. For others, it may mean the tropics, or perhaps Florida and the Gulf Coast. And for some hardier birds, “south” may mean New York or Pennsylvania.

Moreover, among those birds that winter in Pennsylvania, some may not be migrants at all, but rather year round residents. These resident birds may be joined by their feathered brethren from slightly further north. In some cases, large flocks of birds may gather, such as flocks of crows, blackbirds, or starlings.

The reasons that these birds flock in the winter are several-fold. More birds mean more eyes to look for hungry predators like Cooper’s Hawks or Owls. There also appear to be advantages in find food. In some cases, these flocks can be quite large, numbering from a few hundred to a few thousand birds – perhaps tens of thousands. As you can imagine, this some times causes problems for people, the solutions for which are not always pleasant.

Last week in State College, PA, the USDA found it necessary to exterminate several thousand European Starlings that were said to pose a safety risk to airplanes taking off and landing at the University Park Airport. As it turns out, in 2006, a plane taking off from the airport struck a flock of starlings and sustained some engine damage necessitating its return to the airport for repairs. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, but the potential for such remains.

In an effort to prevent another bird-plane collision, the FAA ordered that a “wildlife assessment” be done and any problems identified be dealt with as required. As it turns out, the agricultural fields surrounding the University Park Airport are popular winter roosting sites for large flocks of European Starlings, as well as other birds. As a result of the wildlife assessment, it was determined that several thousand starlings needed to be exterminated.

This past week, that plan was put into action. According to a report in the Centre Daily Times, the feed tainted with a pesticide was fed to a flock of between 15,000-20,000 starlings on January 27th. The pesticide used was DRC-1339, which contains the toxic substance 3-chloro-4-methylbenzenamine hydrochloride. The toxin reportedly kills the starlings within 1-3 days after ingestion.

Proponents of the use of DRC-1339 state that the birds die in a manner that in “non-violent” and “apparently painless”. They sight the absence of convulsions and spasms in support of this claim. According to Cornell University, the pesticide kills the birds by causing uric acid to accumulate in the kidneys and blood vessel, resulting in the death of the birds from “uremic poisoning and congestion of major organs”. To put it simply, the kidneys become necrosed and the birds are not able to eliminate wastes which subsequently build up in the bloodstream. The birds become listless, experience breathing problems and organ failure, and eventually succumb to heart failure.

That doesn’t seem “non-violent” and “apparently painless” to me. In reality, it’s not a very pleasant way to go!

Personally, I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. Certainly, nobody wants to see an airplane crash due to a collision with birds. From that standpoint, it was obviously necessary to do something about the starlings at the airport. That being said, other non-fatal methods should have been tried. I have not heard or read that they were. If these methods were tried and shown to be ineffective, was there no more humane way to put the birds down other than poisoning them and causing their organs to fail?

Perhaps there is no easy answer to this problem, but we, as humans have bought these problems on ourselves. We too often resort to the most-convenient or expedient method of pushing problems under the rug, rather than addressing them at their root cause. The European Starlings are not native to North America. They are European birds, as the name suggests. We introduced them here. We have destroyed the habitats of their competitors, leaving behind the fractured habitat in which they thrive. And we detest them.

This starling situation reminds me of something Terry Tempest Williams wrote about starlings she once observed during a Xmas bird count feeding at a Salt Lake City garbage dump. Her account can be found in her wonderful book, Refuge

"I don't want to like [starlings]. They are common. They are aggressive, and they behave poorly, crowding out other birds. When a harrier happens to cross over from the marsh, they swarm him. He disappears. They want their trash to themselves."

"Perhaps we project on to starlings that which we deplore in ourselves: our numbers, our aggression, our greed, and our cruelty. Like starlings, we are taking over the world."

She continues,

"What makes our relationship with starlings even more curious is that we loathe them, calling in exterminators because we fear disease, yet we do everything within our power to encourage them as we systematically erase the specialized habitats of specialized birds."

The symmetry of starling flocks takes my breath away; I lose track of time and space. At the dump, all it takes is the wave of a hand. They rise. Hundreds of starlings. They wheel and turn, twist and glide, with no apparent leader. They are collective. A flight of frenzy. They are black stars against a blue sky. I watch them above the dump, expanding and contracting along the meridian of a winged universe. ."

When viewed through the lens Tempest Williams provides, Starlings don’t seem so bad – certainly not worthy of senseless extermination. Actually, anyone who has seen a newly molted starling in the spring will realize that the birds are actually quite beautiful. Watching a large flock of them in flight leaves you breathless.

More Winter Birding in Florida

2010-01-07T13:50:00.001-08:00

Wilson’s Plover
Image Credit: tringa.org

Keeping with tradition, I spend another Xmas holiday in the Sunshine State. I was happy to leave the cold and snow shoveling back in Pennsylvania where they belong. As always, I spent a fair amount of time taking in the birds. Info on field guides and bird finding guides can be found in the report for my previous Florida birding trip.

For this trip, I visited a few of the sites from previous trips, and I also added a few new locations. As on previous trips, I did a fair amount of birding within 30 minutes of Kissimmee, the home of the immortal Vassar Clements.

Central Florida

The first two places I visited were in Central Florida, about an hour north of Kissimmee. The primary goal for our first destination, De Leon Springs State Park, was not avian. And unlike last year, it was not the manatees we sought. This year, it was pancakes at the Sugar Mill Inn. After checking in with the hostess, we had to wait about an hour to be seated. I used this hour to search the nearby shrubbery and waterside for birds. As expected, Palm Warblers were abundant. Although it was exciting to see such a concentration of warblers, the highlight by far was a lone male Painted Bunting. He was undoubtedly the handsomest fella I encountered during the entire Florida trip.

Painted Bunting
Image Credit: Collin County YMCA

After my gluttonous encounter at the pancake house, we made our way over the Blue Springs State Park to take in the manatees. We also took a short “cruise” up the St. John’s River to look for birds. Waders were abundant, as were Vultures and Bald Eagles. The vultures were particularly interesting. Turkey Vultures, which I have encountered many times in Pennsylvania, are quite skittish. They don’t seem to like being around people – at least not live ones. Black Vultures, on the other hand, are down right creepy. They seem to be attracted to people and will take up a perch just above where you happen to be –as if they are patiently waiting around for you to kick the bucket. It makes one think twice before snoozing off in a hammock. Vultures aside, the highlight of the St. John’s trip was a Yellow-crowned Night Heron perched in a tree along the banks of the river.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Image Credit: Tom Dempsey

Two other prime spots for birding in the Kissimmee area are the Joe Overstreet Road and the Disney Wilderness Preserve. The Joe Overstreet Road is an unpaved road leading past cattle pastures and sod farms on the way to the east side of Lake Kissimmee. The Disney Wilderness Preserve is a mix of pine flatlands, oak scrub and wetlands adjacent to Lake Hatchinea.

The targets along the Joe Overstreet Road were Loggerhead Shrike and Sandhill Cranes, both of which were seen in abundance. There were also a fair number of Bald Eagles observed as we approached the lake. However, the highlight was a pair of Whooping Cranes that have been frequenting the area for several years. The Whooping Cranes are part of a program to re-introduce the birds to Florida.

Whooping Crane
Image Credit: Birdfinders

At the Disney Preserve, which is managed by the Nature Conservancy, the level of activity was somewhat subdued. It was quite chilly and overcast the day I went there – about 40°F. There were a few Eastern Meadowlark and Loggerhead Shrike observed along the entrance road, and a few Sandhill Crane could be heard bugling in the distance. Other than a few Palm Warblers, not much else was observed along the road or around the visitors center. I decided to hike the scrub trail adjacent to the lake. My targets were Bachman’s Sparrow and Brown-headed Nuthatch. For most of the trail, the birding was not so good, probably due to the weather. However, I did encounter a wave of birds moving through the scrub. They were primarily a mix of Palm, Yellow-rumped, and Pine Warblers. Traveling along with the warblers were a small handful of Brown-headed Nuthatch. Bachman’s Sparrow proved to be elusive. I did see several sparrow-like birds along the trail, but they dropped down into the heavy underbrush and I failed to draw them out. As such, I was unable to verify their ID. Guess I’ll have to go back again next year…

Brown-headed Nuthatch
Image Credit: Birds & Buildings

Gulf Coast – Sanibel Island

In addition to local birding, I also made a field trip to Sanibel Island on the Gulf Coast. On Sanibel, I had two locations on my list of places to go, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, and the beach adjacent to the Island Inn where we were staying. To my surprise and delight, the birding actually began on the causeway from the mainland to the island. Just before reaching the toll plaza, I spotted a Swallow-tail Kite on the sign support arching over McGregor Blvd. I also spotted several other birds near the causeway islands, such as Osprey, Brown Pelicans and Laughing Gulls. Overall, birding was limited on the causeway because the tide was up.

Roseate Spoonbill
Image Credit: Academic Dictionary

Upon reaching the island, we headed straight for Ding Darling NWR. The birding was fantastic. At our first stop, we observed large flocks of White Pelicans and Roseate Spoonbills, and a sizeable mixed flock of shorebirds, which included Willets, Wilson’s Plovers, Least Sandpipers and both Long-billed & Short-billed Dowitchers. As we continued along the road, we observed a variety of herons and egrets, as well as several Common Ground Doves.

Sandwich Tern
Image Credit: Kate St. John

The following morning, I got the kids up before sunrise to get out to the beach at low tide, with flashlights in hand, to collect shells. Surprisingly, we were not alone. In fact, we were late comers, as the beach was already bustling with a dozen or so other shell collectors. Rather than collect shells, I set up my tripod and spotting scope and scanned the beach and gulf for shorebirds, gulls and terns. Once the sun came up, there was quite a bit to see. The highlights for me were the Sanderlings running along the surf line and the various terns (Sandwich, Forster’s & Royal) diving for fish.

Other Sightings

I also made a few limited outings while doing other things, like shopping, visiting friends or touring the Venus Project with Jacques Fresco and Roxanne Meadows. On the grounds of the Venus Project, I observed several warblers, including a male Yellow-throated Warbler. I also found several owl pellets from an unID’d owl.

Overall, the trip was quite productive. In total, I observed 94 species, five of which (Painted Bunting, Wilson's Plover, Sandwich Tern, Common Ground Dove, Brown-headed Nuthatch)were lifers for me. As with any birding trip, there were a few disappointments, the most notable of which occurred during an attempted outing to the Muck Farms between Zellwood and the north reclamation area of Lake Apopka. To my great disappointment, these areas were fenced off and apparently off-limits to the general public. I had hoped to get back on the Hopper Farm Road to look for roosting tyrannids, which reportedly include Western & Cassin’s Kingbirds, as well as the occasional Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Hopefully these areas will be accessible in the future. Disappointed, but not completely deflated, I made my way over to Trimble Park in search of the elusive Limpkin. Unfortunately, I was unable to find it.

Maybe next year….

Below is a summary of my observations. If anyone has questions as to where a particular bird was spotted, please feel free to post a question here.

American Black Duck 2
American Coot 20
American Crow 1
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel 8
American Robin 60
American White Pelican 80
Anhinga 1
Bald Eagle 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Black Vulture 10
Black-bellied Plover 1
Blue Jay 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Blue-winged Teal 4
Boat-tailed Grackle 10
Brown Pelican 6
Brown-headed Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 2
Cattle Egret 15
Cedar Waxwing 20
Common Ground-Dove 1
Common Moorhen 20
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Dunlin 20
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
Eastern Towhee 2
Eurasian Collared Dove
Fish Crow
Forster's Tern 10
Glossy Ibis 28
Gray Catbird 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 3
Green Heron 1
Herring Gull 5
Hooded Merganser 18
Killdeer 2
Laughing Gull 8
Least Flycatcher 1
Least Sandpiper 20
Lesser Scaup 21
Little Blue Heron 1
Loggerhead Shrike 4
Long-billed Dowitcher 20
Mallard 16
Mourning Dove 2
Muscovy Duck (Domestic type) 4
Northern Cardinal 1
Northern Harrier 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
Osprey 5
Painted Bunting 1
Palm Warbler 5
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Pine Warbler 26
Red Knot 8
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Ring-billed Gull 4
Rock Pigeon 12
Roseate Spoonbill 200
Royal Tern 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 6
Sandhill Crane 100
Sandwich Tern 6
Savannah Sparrow 25
Semipalmated Plover 20
Short-billed Dowitcher 10
Snowy Egret 3
Sora 1
Swallow-tailed Kite 1
Tree Swallow 200
Tricolored Heron 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
Turkey Vulture 1
White Ibis 6
Whooping Crane 2
Wild Turkey 14
Willet 50
Wilson's Plover 15
Wood Stork 2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Yellow-throated Warbler 1

October Birding in Eastern Nebraska

2009-12-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

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Le Conte's Sparrow
Image Credit: Illinois Birds

I spent a few days in the middle of October visiting Nebraska for some meetings at the LaVista Convention Center. Most of my time was taken up by business; however, I did take advantage of my free time to do a little birding in the area.

I birded mainly in two areas, Chalco Hills Rec Area at Wehrspann Lake and the grassy fields adjacent to the Cabelas and the Convention Center.

Sedge Wren
Image Credit: Royse Photos

In all, I observed 48 species. The highlights for me were the sparrows. Here are my observations:

Canada Goose 200
Mallard 20
Pied-billed Grebe 9
American White Pelican 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Sora 1
American Coot 300
Killdeer 3
Herring Gull 1
Mourning Dove 6
Chimney Swift 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 2
Barn Swallow 18
Black-capped Chickadee 20
Sedge Wren 2
Marsh Wren 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
Eastern Bluebird 6
American Robin 300
European Starling 100

Clay-colored Sparrow
Image Credit: Scott Franke

Cedar Waxwing 20
Orange-crowned Warbler 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 18
Clay-colored Sparrow 6
Field Sparrow 60
Vesper Sparrow 40
Savannah Sparrow 25
Henslow's Sparrow 1
Le Conte's Sparrow 1
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow 14
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 12
Lincoln's Sparrow 14
Swamp Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 14
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco 3
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Western Meadowlark 25
Brewer's Blackbird 200
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 20
House Sparrow 2

Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Image Credit: Bird Photography

I hit all my targets, except for Harris' Sparrow; although I did give it the ol' college try. Nevertheless, I was quite content with what I was able to see during my brief visit.

Nuttall's Woodpecker - #300 on US Life List

2009-11-03T19:12:00.001-08:00

Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii
Image Credit: Ron Wolf

I was going over my life list this weekend after my Nebraska and SoCal trips. It turns out that I surpassed 300 species for my US life list. I am now standing at 317 species on my US list, and 472 species on my world list. Although I am making ground, Phoebe Snetsinger
has nothing to worry about.

US species #300 was Nuttall’s Woodpecker. The bird was observed in Big Sycamore Canyon in Point Magu State Park (Ventura, CA). We had just entered the park and were making our way down the main trail toward the camping area. I heard the woodpecker calling, but was unable to locate it. After a few minutes searching, my daughter LeAnn spotted it in a tree a few feet off the road. The bird hung around for several minutes, providing me with some really good looks. I subsequently heard two others about an hour or so later in the same location.

I referenced Wikipedia to get a little background on the bird.

Nuttall's Woodpecker is common in groves of live oak and chaparral west of the Sierra mountains in the state of California and extends south into the top of the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. It is a small woodpecker about 6 to 7 inches in length. It is primarily colored black and white, with a barred pattern across its back and wings, and a plain black tail. Its white breast is also speckled with black on the flanks and rump. The male Nuttall's also has a red patch on the back of its head. Nuttall's Woodpecker is very similar in appearance to the Ladder-backed Woodpecker, but Nuttall's Woodpecker has more black on the head, face, and upper back, and males have less red on the head. The range of the two species only intersects a minimal amount in southern California and northern Baja California, so misidentification should not be a concern over the majority of their range.

I also referenced the Stanford Birds to get a little life history.

Diet: Insects (80%); also few acorns, sap, occasionally grain. Nuthatch style of gleaning from underside of limbs.

Breeding: Oak woodland, chaparral, riparian (esp willow-cottonwood) woodland; often foothill canyons. Usually nests in dead riparian deciduous tree. Unlined. Excavation ca. 13 days, not reused.

Displays: Mostly territorial: head bobbing and turning, crest raising, bill directing and raising, wing spreading and aerial displays.

Notes: Pairs remain on year-round territories. Male performs most of incubation including all nocturnal incubation and brooding. Preferentially forage on oaks; females forage on smaller branches and twigs more frequently than do males. Occaisonally hybridizes with Ladder-backed and Downy, with which it is especially territorial.

Birding in Southern California

2009-11-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

Black-throated Sparrow
Image Credit: Panoramio

I had a few days off last week for some business on the left coast. Although I lived in San Fran for a few years during my post-doc, I never found much time to bird. As such, I decided to take advantage of my trip to SoCal to do a little west coast birding. I birded in several areas: Laguna coast, Santa Monica Mountains, Ventura coast, Joshua Tree National Park and the Huntington Library Botanical Gardens.

I used two guides for the trip, The Field Guide to Birds of Western North America by David Sibley and A Birder’s Guide to Southern California by Brad Schram. The Schram guide was most helpful, as it gave detailed information on the best areas to see birds in SoCal. I highly recommend this birdfinding guide!

A Birder's Guide to Southern California, Brad Schram

With the preliminaries out of the way, let’s get to the birds!

Laguna Coast

I arrived at LAX in the afternoon. After getting my bags and picking up a rental car, I headed down to visit some old Penn State friends in Irvine. Having a few hours to spare until my friends got off of work, I decided to wander around the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve. As described on the reserve’s website, Upper Newport Bay “is one of only a few remaining estuaries in Southern California and is the home of nearly 200 species of birds...The Bay is an important stopover for migrating birds on the Pacific Flyway and up to 30,000 birds can be seen on any day during the winter months.”

As I was driving along the Back Bay Drive, I was scanning the estuary for birds. My first sighting was a Great Blue Heron, followed by a Great Egret and a small flock of unID’d Gulls. Once I found a parking area, I was able to scan the water and shoreline more carefully. I spotted quite a few interesting birds, including a few lifers such as the Cinnamon Teal and Marbled Godwit.

Cinnamon Teal
Image Credit: Greg Lasley

Here are my observations:
American Wigeon
Mallard 2
Cinnamon Teal 8
Northern Pintail 10
American White Pelican 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 2
Green Heron 1
American Coot 4
Black-bellied Plover 1
Willet 50
Whimbrel 1
Marbled Godwit 20
Sanderling 2
Western Gull 1
Forster's Tern 4
Black Skimmer 60
Black Phoebe 1
American Crow 3
Song Sparrow 3

The next morning, I headed down to Laguna Beach to look for Gulls and Shorebirds. I was not disappointed. After eating a tasty breakfast burrito as a local beach shack, I headed down Marine Drive to the coastal access point. The first birds sighted were a mixed flock of Western and Heermann’s Gulls. I followed the gulls down to a rocky outcropping where a number of shorebirds were feeding, including Surfbirds, and both Ruddy and Black Turnstones. I made my way about a mile down the beach before retuning to Cliff Drive. A number of birds were observed along the way.

Surfbird
Image Credit: Brad Sillasen

Here are my observations:
Brown Pelican 15
Brandt's Cormorant 5
Double-crested Cormorant 4
Pelagic Cormorant 7
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Willet 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Black Turnstone 11
Surfbird 14
Heermann's Gull 18
Western Gull 25
Herring Gull 1
Anna's Hummingbird 1
Brewer's Blackbird 4

Hollywood Hills

I spent most of the next day attending to business in LA, after which I fought through the lovely LA traffic toward Griffith Park. The park sits just east of the Hollywood Hills and provides a nice view of the famous Hollywood sign. You can drive up to the top, but its hard to see birds that way. Alternatively, you can make the short 20 minute hike to the top and view birds along the way. I choose the latter, taking in many birds, including a sizable flock of Bushtits, lots of Acorn Woodpeckers, and a Northern “Red-shafted” Flicker.

Red-shafted Flicker
Image Credit: IBC

Here are my observations:
Acorn Woodpecker 9
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1
Black Phoebe 2
Common Raven 1
Bushtit 19
American Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 20
California Towhee 1
White-crowned Sparrow 1
House Finch 2
Lesser Goldfinch 3

Ventura County

This was the day for the BIG TRIP out to the Channel Islands, specifically to Santa Cruz Island, to see the Island Scrub Jay. As luck would have it, the trip didn’t pan out. The Santa Ana winds were blowing that day making for choppy seas. The trip was cancelled.

Rather than let the day go to waste, I decided to do some birding on the Ventura Coast and in Big Sycamore Canyon. I made two stops along the Ventura Coast, first at the Ventura Pier, and then at Emma Woods State Beach. Of the two, Emma Woods Beach was the more productive, especially along the Ventura River Trail where I spotted a large flock of White-crowned Sparrows, an Eared Grebe and a pair of Bewick’s Wrens.

Heermann’s Gull
Image Credit: Richard Wong

Here are my observations:
Mallard 8
Ruddy Duck 3
Pied-billed Grebe 4
Western Grebe 5
Eared Grebe 1
Brown Pelican 18
Great Blue Heron 1
Snowy Egret 2
Black-bellied Plover 1
Willet 60
Marbled Godwit 23
Sanderling 11
Heermann's Gull 30
Western Gull 50
Osprey 1
American Kestrel 1
American Coot 20
Bushtit 3
Bewick's Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Black Phoebe 1
California Towhee 2
Vesper Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 40
House Finch 1

In the afternoon, I headed down to Big Sycamore Canyon in Point Magu State Park. As the name suggests, there were quite a few sycamores in the park. Among other birds, these trees served as home to a sizable population of Black-hooded Parakeets. The park is also home to a number of chaparral and riparian species. I observed several of these in the park, including California Thrasher, Wrentit, and Nuttall’s Woodpecker. There is also beach access just across Highway 1 where a variety of birds can be seen.

Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Image Credit: San Jose Parks

Here are my observations:

Western Grebe 3
Brown Pelican 9
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Pelagic Cormorant 2
Sanderling 12
Heermann's Gull 8
Caspian Tern 2
Black-hooded Parakeet 8
Nuttall's Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 1
Black Phoebe 1
Western Scrub-Jay 1
Common Raven 1
Wrentit 5
California Thrasher 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 20
California Towhee 2
Savannah Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 2

Santa Monica Mountains - Malibu

The following morning, I headed back to LA. On the way back, I made two stops. One at Malibu Creek State Park and the second at Malibu Lagoon.

Malibu Creek Park is composed of 7,000 acres of rugged country in the middle of the Santa Monica Mountains. I hiked along the main path paralleling the creek. My destination was the old M*A*S*H site; however, due to all the birds observed during the hike, I never made it. In fact, I didn’t go much beyond the visitor’s center. Among the many birds observed in the park were Say’s Phoebe, Cassin’s Kingbird and Oregon Juncos.

Oregon Junco
Image Credit: Michael Franz

Here are my observations:

Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 2
Acorn Woodpecker 9
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1
Black Phoebe 2
Say's Phoebe 2
Cassin's Kingbird 2
Western Scrub-Jay 8
American Crow 3
Common Raven 1
Oak Titmouse 19
Bushtit 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Western Bluebird 8
California Towhee 1
Song Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 4

Malibu Lagoon was next on the agenda. I hit the beach late in the afternoon. It was a bit breezy and there were not many people on the beach. Up near the lagoon, a number of gulls and pelicans were resting on the beach. Among the Heermann’s, Herring and Western Gulls were several California Gulls – lifers for me. My daughter made friends with a fairly tame Greater White-fronted Goose, to whom she fed some bread. Also, to my surprise, my wife spotted three Snowy Plovers. The lagoon itself was teeming with waterfowl, cormorants and waders. Notable among them were several Clark’s Grebes, a Solitary Sandpiper and a large flock of Marbled Godwits.

Snowy Plover
Image Credit: Birds & Blooms

Here are my observations:

Greater White-fronted Goose 1
Gadwall 4
Mallard 20
Northern Shoveler 12
Ruddy Duck 20
Pied-billed Grebe 6
Clark's Grebe 2
Brown Pelican 40
Double-crested Cormorant 20
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 6
Snowy Egret 9
American Coot 200
Black-bellied Plover 1
Snowy Plover 3
Killdeer 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Marbled Godwit 60
Heermann's Gull 8
Western Gull 70
California Gull 4
Herring Gull 5

Joshua Tree National Park

Having birded the coastal areas, I decided to head inland to Joshua Tree to look for desert species. I entered the park via the north entrance, near 29 Palms. I hit most of the scenic spots indicated on the park map. Overall, the birds were pretty sparse, as one might expect. That being said, there were some excellent birds to be seen, many of which were lifers for me. The first stop was at Jumbo Rocks where I saw a lone Phainopepla. The following few stops yielded few birds. I then hiked out to Barker Dam, only to find evidence of California’s drought – no water and no birds. On the hiking trail, I spotted a small flock of Black-throated Sparrows, and my wife pointed out a Verdin. We then visted most of the other scenic spots in the park but saw nothing other than a few Ravens and some Red-tailed Hawks. Our final stop was Cottonwood Springs, which we hit about an hour before sunset. It was teeming with birds, including a large covey of Gambel’s Quail, and small flocks of Black-throated Sparrows and Lesser Goldfinch, and a nice mix of other passerines.

Gambel’s Quail
Image Credit: Richard Seaman

Here are my observations:

Gambel's Quail 20
Red-tailed Hawk 4
American Kestrel 1
Loggerhead Shrike 1
Common Raven 5
Verdin 1
Cactus Wren 4
Northern Mockingbird 1
American Pipit 1
Phainopepla 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Black-throated Sparrow 7
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 2
Western Meadowlark 1
House Finch 2
Lesser Goldfinch 8

Huntington Library Botanical Garden

The last leg of the trip, before returning to LAX, was a stop at the Huntington Botanical Gardens near Pasadena. According to the Huntington Library website, the gardens “covers 207 acres, of which approximately 120 are landscaped and open to visitors. More than 14,000 different varieties of plants are showcased in more than a dozen principal garden areas.”. As you can imagine, the gardens draws a nice variety of birds, including many hummingbirds. During my visit, I found the desert garden to be the most productive for birding. Among the many birds seen there were two exotics - Red-whiskered Bulbul and Yellow-chevroned Parakeet.

Red-whiskered Bulbul
Image Credit: Avian Resources

Here are my observations:

Mallard 4
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Rock Pigeon 8
Band-tailed Pigeon 3
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet 2
Anna's Hummingbird 5
Allen's Hummingbird 2
Acorn Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1
Black Phoebe 3
Western Scrub-Jay 2
American Crow 11
Bushtit 40
Cactus Wren 1
House Wren 1
Red-whiskered Bulbul 14
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8
Wilson's Warbler 1
Spotted Towhee 3
California Towhee 4
Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 1

Summary

Before I knew it, it was time to head home. But the birding was not done. On the way to LAX, I observed several White-throated Swifts circling above on the exit ramps on 405. That bought my total for the trip to 104 species, 36 of which were lifers for me. In addition, I observed several sub-species that were also lifers – the Sooty Fox Sparrow, the Oregon Junco and the Red-shafted Flicker. Incidentally, I surpassed the 300 species mark for the US on the trip, with Nutall's Woodpecker being 300. In total, I have 317 US species (472 World). Although there were many exciting birds, the highlights of the trip were the Verdin and the Black-throated Sparrows. I found that the Sibley Guide, as well as every other other guide I checked, does not do the Black-throated Sparrow justice. It was one of the most spectacularly handsome birds I have seen anywhere in the world.

Little Stint - #400 on Life List

2009-03-22T04:27:00.000-07:00

Little Stint, Calidris minuta
Image Source: Wikipedia

I was going over my life list this weekend in an effort to try and organize all my birding data. Although I have been birding since 1983, I didn't start keeping records until 2001. On record, I have observed 407 species of birds. Of these 249 have been observed in the U.S., 115 in Asia (Taiwan & Hong Kong), and 43 in the Arabian Peninsula (UAE & Oman).

On my recent trip to the Middle East, I passed the 400 species mark. Being that there are approximately 10,000 species of birds, it would seem that I still have a ways to go to catch-up with Phoebe Snetsinger.

The Little Stint was #400. I observed it at the Ras Al Khor Wildbird Sancturary in Dubai. There were several hundred individuals present, along with an assortment of other waders.

I referenced Wikipedia to get a little background on the bird. Here is an excerpt:

The Little Stint, Calidris minuta, is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America and to Australia. It is gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks with other Calidris waders, particularly Dunlin, on coastal mudflats or the edges of inland pools.

Its small size, fine dark bill, dark legs and quicker movements distinguish this species from all waders except the other dark-legged stints. It can be distinguished from these in all plumages by its combination of a fine bill tip, unwebbed toes and long primary projection. The call is a sharp "stit",

The breeding adult has an orange wash to the breast, a white throat and a strong white "v" on its back. In winter plumage identification is difficult. Juveniles have pale crown stripes and a pinkish breast.

This bird nests on a bare ground scrape laying 3-5 eggs. It is polygamous, and male and female may incubate separate clutches.

Food is small invertebrates picked off the mud.

Birding in the UAE and Oman

2009-03-17T04:08:00.000-07:00

Greater Flamingo
Photo Credit: Arkive

It’s not quite spring! Nevertheless, Spring Break was on the calendar, so we packed up the family and headed east – to the Middle East actually - to visit friends. As always, I brought my bird book and binoculars. I never go anywhere without them.

We spent spring break in Dubai, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I used two guides for the trip, Birds of the Middle East by Porter et al., and Birds of the United Arab Emirates by Richardson.

Birds of the Middle East

The Porter guide is the best guide for the region. I was quite happy with it, however, it could use a few improvements. Most noteably of which are the range maps which show only the know breeding areas. Overwintering area and migration regions are not show. Also,a few of the paintings could be improved, such as the Purple Sunbird and the Laughing Dove.

Birds of the United Arab Emirates

The Richardson guide is a must-have. Although it has line drawings of most and photos of many of the regions birds, I would defer to Porter for IDs. The strengths of the Richardson guide are its limitation to UAE birds, its info on migrations and seasonal abundance, and its descriptions of the key birding sites in the region.

I would also like to thank Steven Feldstein and Tommy Pedersen for help in sorting out some of my observations.

Mizrah
We arrived in town – the Mizrah district - late Friday night. I could hardly sleep, anticipating what yards birds would make their appearance in the morning. Just before 6 am, I heard the first bird song. It sounded very familiar. I suspected that it was a House Sparrow. Not wanting my first Middle Eastern bird to be a House Sparrow, I refused to verify it by sight. I decided to hold out for something else. I didn’t have to wait very long. I was rescued by a White-cheeked Bulbul.

White-cheeked Bulbul, Pycnonotus leucotis
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The House Sparrow was second. In retrospect, I believe I owe the House Sparrow an apology. The House Sparrows in Dubai were quite interesting in their own right. Relative to the one’s back here in the US, they are somewhat paler in appearance. In addition, they frequently build their nests in trees, like birds are supposed to do, rather than in the space below one’s air conditioner or in a crack in the siding.

Over the course of the next two hours, a few more birds showed up, the highlights being the Eurasian Hoopoe and the Crested Lark. These birds were nesting nearby and made regular appearances in the yard. The Hoopoe would typically show up fairly late in the morning, usually alone but sometimes in a pair. They methodically probed the lawn for insects/invertebrates in a manner more becoming a dowitcher or other long-billed sandpiper. I tracked down their nest to a small hole in the base of a neighbors garden wall.

The Crested Larks were relatively abundant in the neighborhood. Although they were observed in the morning, they were much more common in the early afternoon just after the lawn sprinklers shut off. They were also frequent visitors in vacant lots around clumps of vegetation. They mainly procured their food by hopping around the ground, pecking at the dirt or gleaning insects. Occasionally, they would begin singing and fluttering about 20-30 ft. above the ground, struggling to hover. I observed one singing from his hover-spot at over 100 ft. It was quite impressive!

Here are my observations for yard birds for the week:
White-cheeked Bulbul
House Sparrow
Eurasian Hoopoe
Crested Lark
Rock Pigeon
Collared Dove
Common Mynah
Ring-necked Parakeet
Common Swift
Laughing Dove
Graceful Prinia
Red-vented Bulbul
Purple Sunbird

Sharjah

Indian Roller, Coracias benghalensis
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Later that morning, we headed to the neighboring emirate of Sharjah to pick-up the kids at the Girl Scout camp. Although we didn’t stay long, I did observe several interesting birds: Laughing Dove, Long-legged Buzzard, and Indian Roller.

We then took a ride through the sand dunes in the desert. It’s a bit of a local sport in the Emirates. During the course of the trip, we made several stops the observe wandering packs of camels and take in some of the birds. It was the hottest part of the day, so there were not as many birds as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I made a few interesting observations.

Sharjah Observations:
Laughing Dove
Long-legged Buzzard
Indian Roller
Southern Gray Shrike
Red-wattled Lapwing
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
European Bee-eater
Little Green Bee-eater

Old Town & Dubai Creek

House Crow, Corvus splendens

Sunday, we headed downtown to visit the old souks (markets) along the Dubai Creek. We had to take a small abra across the creek. It is only about a 10 minute ride, but there were plenty of birds – mostly Black-headed Gulls – to keep one busy. There were also a few gulls of the Black-backed Gull complex, most likely Steppe Gulls, and one Socotra Cormorant on the creek. Once on the other side, we toured the souks and then visited the Al Fahidi Fort (now a cultural museum) near the Persian Mosque. The wall of the fort afforded numerous nesting places for swifts, who seemingly took advantage of every one. There were thousands of Pallid Swifts circling the sky above the fort. In many cases, you could literally reach out and grab one, as they came within arm’s length. Outside the fort and along the banks of the creek, House Crows were plentiful.

Dubai Creek Observations:
Steppe Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Socotra Cormorant
Pallid Swift
Red-vented Bulbul
House Crow
Ring-necked Parakeet

Safa Park

Purple Sunbird, Nectarinia asiatica

Safa Park is an urban park located along Sheikh Zayed Road, near the downtown business district. It is a manicured garden-style park with mowed lawn, trimmed hedges, and artificial water features. That being said, it had a surprising diversity of birds.

The first bird of the day was an old-world warbler that I could not ID. I got a few brief looks at it, but still could not key it out. It was grayish-brown on the back, and white on the throat, breast, and vent. It was otherwise unmarked. The only “marks” that I could distinguish were a dark narrow pointed bill with a touch of yellow on the lower mandible. It also had a white or buffy supercilium and somewhat darker primaries. It was feeding in the understory of a broadleaf tree. In combing through the field guide and consulting with a experienced birder in the region, my best guess is that it was a Lesser Whitethroat. But it’s just a guess.

I spent about 2.5 hours in the park, until it got too hot for the kids. In all, I observed about 25 species, the highlights being the Purple Sunbird, Pied Mynah, Indian Silverbill, and Egyptian Goose. The Purple Sunbird was the most spectacular bird in the park. The apparently evolved to fill the same niche as hummingbirds by convergent evolution. At a distance or in low light, the Purple Sunbird appears black. However, in full sun, it takes on a metallic steel blue or purple irridesence. Unlike the hummer, it has a melodious song. I observed one singing from a well-lit perch. While singing, it displayed scarlet and yellow pectoral tufts. I found no mention of these in the Porter field guide.

Pied Mynah, Sturnus contra
Image Credit: Wikipedia

The Egyptian Goose was observed in the fenced in bird sanctuary at the back of the park. The goose is a tropical African species that occasionally winters in Cyprus. Its presence in the Arabian peninsula is most likely due to its introduction or escape from exotic collections. It has since established breeding colonies in the region. Pied Mynahs are also apparently introduced.

Safa Park Observations:
Lesser Whitethroat (putative)
Laughing Dove
Red-vented Bulbul
White-cheeked Bulbul
Black-headed Gull
Indian Roller
Pied Mynah
Common Mynah
House Sparrow
Indian Silverbill
Graceful Prinia
Sparrowhawk
Grey Heron
Mallard
Red-wattled Lapwing
Common Sandpiper
Ring-necked Parakeet
Egyptian Goose
White Wagtail
Gray Wagtail
Eurasian Hoopoe
Little Grebe
European Roller
Purple Sunbird
House Crow
Gray Francolin

Mushrif Park

Little Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Mushrif Park is a natural woodland park located in the Mizhar area, about 10 miles from the Dubai Airport. The park has one main road going straight through the middle and connecting to another road which encircles the park’s perimeter. Many birds can be seen from the car. Getting out and walking around can also flush out a few surprises. I spent about 2 hours in the park. The highlights were the Menetries Warbler, Great Spotted Eagle, Southern Gray Shrike and the Little Green Bee-eater. The Bee-eaters were first spotted on a fence near the maintenace area. Two bee-eaters were perched on the end of an acacia tree, in a manner reminiscent of a shrike or kingfisher. Upon spotting its prey, it would sally forth and snatch it out of the air or glean it off a leaf. Their skillful gathering of food was quite a spectacle to watch.

Mushrif Park Observations:
Laughing Dove
Southern Grey Shrike
Ring-necked Parakeet
Eurasian Hoopoe
House Sparrow
Collared Dove
Red-vented Bulbul
Rock Pigeon
White-cheeked Bulbul
Gray Francolin
Purple Sunbird
Great Spotted Eagle
Menetries Warbler
Graceful Prinia
House Crow

Ras Al Khor Waterbird Sanctuary

Ras Al Khor Sanctuary is essentially a lagoon at the end of a Dubai Creek. The area is completely fenced off and has guards 24/7. The only access one has to the park is a series of bird blinds – which are quite good. The blinds also have stationed guards.

The number of shorebirds the area draws is quite impressive. I think they must feed the birds or something. I know for a fact that they feed the Flamingos, as the guard showed me the food pellets. Anyway, we stayed for a little more than an hour and got a good look at a number of interesting birds – the highlight being the Greater Flamingos. In all, there were about 5000 flamingo according to the guard. From what I saw, it seemed there were less, but then again we only had a view of part of the lagoon.

In addition to the Flamingo, we also saw a nice variety of other waders and other birds, the highlights being: Cormorant, Common Snipe, Western Reef Heron, Terek Sandpiper, Eurasian Curlew, Temminck’s Stint, Little Stint, Redshank, Greenshank & Greater Spotted Eagle.

Greater Spotted Eagle, Aquila clanga
Photo Credit: Arkive.org

Ras Al Khor Observations:
Greater Flamingo
Greenshank
Black-winged Stilt
Cormorant
Common Snipe
Western Reef Heron
Kentish Plover
Terek Sandpiper
Ringed Plover
Greater Spotted Eagle
Little Egret
Great Egret
Little Stint
Eurasian Curlew
Redshank
Temminck's Stint
Common Sandpiper

Musandam, Oman

Hume’s Wheatear, Oenanthe albonigra
Photo Credit: Ardeola's photostream

On Friday, we went over the border into the northern part Oman, to Musandam. We stayed at the Golden Tulip Hotel, overlooking the Gulf of Oman. There are a number of small islands overlooking the Strait of Hormuz. We hired a dhow to take us out looking for dolphins and such. We saw a number of spectacular birds both on the mainland and out on the islands. The highlights were the Isabelline Shrike, Hume’s Wheatear, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Clamorous Reed Warbler, African Rock Martin and Great Black-headed Gull.

The Great Black-headed Gull was spotted from our hotel balcony. All morning we had large flocks of Black-headed Gulls, but I was careful to scan each one for tag alongs. The Great Black-headed Gull caught my eye because of its size and large yellow bill. I was really excited to see it. There were also a few Socotra Cormorants as well. Outside our hotel there were lots of rocky cliffs attended by feral and domesticated goats. There were also a few birds in the mix. The Isabelline Shrike was perched atop an acacia tree and hunting insects and lizards. I observed it snatch-up at least one small lizard or geckoe.

Great Black-headed Gull, Larus ichthyaetus
Photo Credit: Juhani Kyyrö, Virtual Bird

Oman Observations:

House Sparrow
Laughing Dove
Purple Sunbird
Isabelline Shrike
Socotra Cormorant
Black-headed Gull
Great Black-headed Gull
African Rock Martin
Hume’s Wheatear
Yellow-vented Bulbul
Caspian Tern
Clamorous Reed Warbler

Overall, I observed 61 species, 43 of which were lifers for me. As always, there were a few disappointments. I has several birds on my target list that I did not get the opportunity to see, such as the Masked Shrike, Little Owl and Arabian Babbler, but I can not complain.

Review: Birds of East Asia

2009-01-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

Birds of East Asia by Mark Brazil

Birds of East Asia is a fantastic field guide. As always, Mark Brazil does not disappoint!

The region covered includes Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Eastern China & Eastern Russia. The guide describes 985 species on 236 full color plates (19 extraliminal species are also described). Although the geographic range covered and the number of species described are quite large, the guide itself is not too cumbersome to be carried into the field (but it won'f fit in your pocket).

Taxonomy follows Howard and Moore. As anyone who has birded in Asia is aware, there is a tendency by taxonomists toward "lumping". To address this issue, the author makes a great effort toward the description and depiction of sub-species, paticularly in cases where an impending taxonomic split seems likely. The plates are very well done, with the size of each bird sufficient to see distunguishing field marks. For raptors, as well as many shorebirds, waders and waterfowl, there are also paintings of the birds in flight which can be very helpful for identification. In addition, for most birds, male, female and juvenile plumages are all shown where appropriate. The description, range, habitat, and voice are all indicated on the page facing the plates, along with an accompanying range map, making it much more user friendly than some other guides. In addition, contrary to some guides in the region, the text is entirely in English. On the down side, there is not much description of bird behaviors which can be very useful in distinguishing similar species in the field.

I would highly recommend this guide, particularly for Taiwan and China, where I have birded many times. Although I have not personally birded in Japan, Korea or Russia, I have studied other guides for these regions in preparation for forthcoming trips. While I have a highly favorable opinion of the guides put out by the Wild Bird Society of Japan, they are somewhat outdated. All in all, Mark Brazil's guide to the Birds of East Asia is by far the best guide for the region.

Winter Birding in Florida

2009-01-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

Burrowing Owl ( Athene cunicularia).
Photo credit: Birds of Sanibel

This past holiday, I spent New Year’s week in Florida visiting relatives and soaking up some sunshine. Needless to say, I planned to do a fair amount of birding while there. As I have been to Florida several times before, I was not expecting to see anything exotic, but one can always hope to come across a vagrant from the West Indies. Perhaps a Bahama Mockingbird or a La Sagra’s Flycatcher? Unfortunately, there were no vagrants observed, but there were quite a few exciting birds.

To prepare for the trip, I studied the field marks for the birds I was likely to see, as well as for a few target birds. I used Sibley’s Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America as my primary guide. I also used the Bill Pranty’s A Birder's Guide to Florida, 5th Edition, which is available from ABA sales. I found this guide to be most valuable. The book is not a field guide, but rather a guide to find the best places to observe birds. It describes over 300 birding sites throughout the state, including exact locations of species that can be seen there. In addition, the book also gives website site URLs so that one can preview a given area, and physical addresses that can be dropped right into your GPS system to help you find the sites easier. In several cases, target birds were literally found exactly where the guide said they would be.

Pranty's Birder's Guide to Florida

Central Florida

Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis).
Photo credit: Jim Neiger

I did most of my birding within 30 minutes of the hotel we stayed at in Kissimmee. The main locations were Lake Toho and East Lake Toho. The highlights were the Snail Kite and the Monk Parakeet. At first glance, the white rump of the Snail Kite led me to believe that it was a Northern Harrier. Its behavior was also consistent with the Harrier. I almost brushed it off without looking through my binos. Tree Swallows were also plentiful. Just before sunset, a large flock (10,000+) was observed swarming over the lake. The Monk Parakeets were also exciting to see. I encountered them at the old Kissimmee Power Station near East Lake Toho – precisely where the Pranty guide said they would be. I also observed the parakeets at a few other sights, as they appear to have established a stable feral population.

We also made brief stops at several parks and springs north of Orlando to take in the wildlife. The target species for the springs were not avian, but rather mammalian. We were looking for manatees. De Leon Springs did produce one manatee, but the water was murky and visibility was poor. We did catch a brief glimpse of one proboscis, as its owner snatched a quick breath and submerged. We also took a nice tour of the river, catching views of lots of birds (mostly waders). Later, we stopped at Blue Springs Park. There the water was much clearer and the manatees were more plentiful. We observed at least 40 manatees while there. The ranger counted 72 for the day. As far as birds go, Blue Springs was disappointing. We spotted mostly Anhingas and Cormorants. There was one Eastern Pewee back by the source of the spring, but that was about it.

These are my observations:
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Great Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tri-colored Heron
American Bittern
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
White Ibis
American Coot
Common Moorhen
Anhinga
Double-crested Cormorant
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-necked Duck
Eurasian Collared Dove
White-winged Dove
Monk Parakeet
Snail Kite
Osprey
Northern Cardinal
Palm Warbler
Eastern Pewee
Tree Swallow

In addition to local birding, I also made a few field trips to Merritt Island and the Canaveral National Seashore on the East coast, and several parks in the vicinity of Fort Lauderdale in the South Florida.

Merritt Island & Canaveral National Seashore

Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula).
Photo credit: John Inram

The drive to Titusville took about two hours from the Orlando area. Once we arrived in Titusville, birds started showing up. They were mostly Ring-billed Gulls and Boat-tailed Grackle, but there was a sizable flock of Black Skimmers at the bridge between the island and the mainland. At Merritt Island, we spent the entire trip along the Black Pointe Wildlife Drive. It’s about a seven mile drive, with several places to stop and hike around. We spent about 3 hours on the drive, stopping frequently to check out the birds – and the gators. The ponds along the drive supported thousands of water fowl and waders. The majority of the fowl present were American Coots and American Wigeon, but there were also a nice mix of Shovelers, Teal and Pintails. Stand-outs for me were the Mottled Duck and Virginia Rail, but the highlight was undoubtedly a pair of Florida Scrub-Jays near the Ranger’s kiosk by the enterance.

Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens).
Photo credit: Faizani

The Canaveral National Seashore is less than 10 minutes drive from Black Pointe Drive. We arrived there about an hour before sunset, and mostly walked the beach looking for seashells. As always, I brought my binos just in case something should pass by. I bumped into a local woman on the beach. She also had binos and was scanning the horizon. I assumed she was looking for birds, but it turns out that Right Whales were migrating. Of course they weren’t there while I was there, but I did spot a three Northern Gannets and a handful of Brown Pelicans during the search, so it was not entirely fruitless.

Among the birds working the beach, were Ruddy Turnstones and Black-bellied Plovers. There were also a number of Ring-billed Gulls and several Royal Terns making their way down the beach. The highlight for me was the Sanderlings. Although I have seen them countless times, I never cease to enjoy their choreographed dance with the surf line.

These are my observations:
Tri-colored Heron
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Double-crested Cormorant
American Wigeon
Northern Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
American Coot
Common Moorhen
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Willet
Yellowlegs
Killdeer
Black-bellied Plover
Sanderling
Western Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Wood Stork
Sandhill Crane
Brown Pelican
Pied-billed Grebe
Hooded Merganser
Northern Shoveler
Mottled Duck
Sora
Virginia Rail
Northern Gannet
Royal Tern
Black Skimmer
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Black Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Fish Crow
Florida Scrub Jay
American Kestrel
Gray Catbird
Boat-tailed Grackle
Tree Swallow
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Fort Lauderdale Area

Loggerhead Shrike ( Lanius ludovicianus).
Photo credit: Kaweah River Birds

We also made a road trip down to the Fort Lauderdale area to visit my in-laws. The ride down takes about 3 hours or so from Kissimmee. One of the highlights was the two dumps we passed on the way down. There were literally thousands of Black Vultures feeding at the dumps and circling in kettles above. Once we reached our destination, we set out to look for birds. Specifically, we were looking for Burrowing Owls. According the Pranty, Brian Piccolo Park (Piccolo was memorialized in the 70’s telemovie Brian’s Song) is a reliable place to see the owls. We were not disappointed. I asked the attendant at the kiosk for the location of the burrows. She pointed out several for me, but said I probably would not see any due to a girls softball tournament that was going on that day. The first two burrows produced no owls, but the next four I checked had 2-3 owls each. I was surprised at how well acclimated the owls were to people. The were several softball games going on simultaneously. Families were picnicking all over the fields and kids were running around making lots of noise. Nevertheless, the owls were all perched at the mouth of their burrows – sometimes only a few feet from a family on lawn chairs or kids wrestling. The owls seemed unfazed by all the excitement. My wife even got a few good shots with her point-and-shoot digital camera.

In addition to the owls, we also found a nice sized flock of about 20-25 Monk Parakeets. They too were unaffected by all the activity. Several Loggerhead Shrike were also observed at the back end of the park near a canal. They were catching insects and anoles.

On the way back to my in-laws restaurant (Red Ginger in Coral Springs), we made a stop at the John U Lloyd Seashore to swim. Again I brought my binos – just in case. Overall, the beach was disappointing. There was also a Mangrove Trail we wanted to explore, but the trail was not maintained and could not be hiked. The beach did produce a few birds, mostly Brown Pelicans and Laughing Gulls, but there were a few Gannets as well. The Gannets observed here, like those at Canaveral, were mostly immature birds. With the naked eye, I initially thought I was seeing Brown Boobies. However, once I trained my field glasses on them, I was convinced that they were not. The white upper tail coverts were pretty clear.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Before heading back to Kissimmee, we stopped at Tree Tops Park. Overall, the park was pretty quiet. Our target there was a La Sagra’s Flycatcher that had been reported to winter there. Unfortunately, we did not find it. The boardwalk trail around the marsh produced only a Cormorant and a Green Heron. We then hiked the hammock trail looking for warblers and found quite a few. Two species of vireo were also observed.

These are my observations:
Little Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Tri-colored Heron
Green Heron
Cattle Egret
American Coot
Common Moorhen
Anhinga
Double-crested Cormorant
White Ibis
Laughing Gull
Brown Pelican
Northern Gannet
Belted Kingfisher
Eurasian Collared Dove
Wild Turkey
Bald Eagle
Burrowing Owl
Monk Parakeet
American Kestrel
Boat-tailed Grackle
Loggerhead Shrike
Boat-tailed Grackle
Blue-gray Gnatcacher
Blue-headed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Black & White Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Mockingbird

Overall, I observed 71 species – five of which were lifers for me. The overall highlight of the trip was the Burrowing Owls. There were disappointments, as there were several target species that we did not get the opportunity to see - particularly the Roseate Spoonbill and the Limpkin. We had also intended to spend more time around Kissimmee – particularly in the Three Lakes WMA and Joe Overstreet Road (both near the south end of Lake Kissimmee) where we were targeting the Brown-headed Nuthatch and Red-cockaded Woodpecker. On the bright side, I now have an excuse to go back!

The Precarious State of China's Birds

2008-12-24T13:11:00.000-08:00

Chinese Crested Tern
Image Credit: Liao Pen-Hsing, Taipei Times

Below is a link and an exerpt on the state of birds in China. The article points out the need for habitat conservation and cultural changes that need to be implemented in China to save its birds.

The Loneliness of the Chinese Birdwatcher

China is not a good place to be a bird. I learnt this when I moved from Hong Kong, still a British colony, to Beijing. Though my home in Hong Kong was in the heart of the city, dense scrub tumbled down the slopes from the Peak. I was driven out of bed every morning by a raucous dawn chorus. The violet whistling thrush was among the first to start up, and the hwamei (“beautiful eyebrow”), with white eyestripe and rich territorial song. The koel, a tropical cuckoo that lurks in thick cover, has a rising bisyllabic wolf-whistle. The grey treepie, a corvid, was a late riser, but hoodlum gangs soon made up for it. Layered over the top of all this came the screeches of sulphur-crested cockatoos. These aerial zoomers were a feral flock. The oldest had short lengths of chain on their legs and were released in 1941 from the aviary at Flagstaff House as the Japanese army closed in.

In my hutong neighbourhood in Beijing, by contrast, the mornings were strangely silent. In 1958 Mao Zedong had declared war on songbirds, sparrows in particular: he claimed they consumed scarce grain. For three days and nights my neighbourhood, gripped like much of northern China by hysteria, had beaten pots and pans to keep birds on the move until they collapsed in exhaustion on the roofs and pavements of the courtyard houses. The consequence was a plague of locusts the next year that helped bring on a famine. “Suan le,” Mao had said when told that the anti-sparrow campaign was not working. “Forget it then.”

Read the full artile in the Economist

Birding Babylon

2008-12-19T17:13:00.000-08:00

Birding Babylon - Jonathan Thouern-Trend

Birding Babylon - A Soldier's Journal from Iraq is a inspiring book! I picked up a copy on the recommendation of a fellow birder. The book quite short - only 80 pages. It is an edited selection of journal enteries by a soldier serving a tour of duty in Iraq with the 118th Area Support Medical Battalion.

The book is not so much about the military operations in Iraq as the title suggests. Rather, it contains the observations of a life long naturalist who somehow found a way to find hope and serenity amidst the violence of war. On one occasion, he discovered a Little Owl nesting in the shelter of a concrete bunker. He also speaks of birding in full battle gear the day following a rocket attack and finds centeredness in watching a Squacco Heron. Following a sandstorm, he finds calmness in watching two white-cheeked bulbuls chasing a moth.

Squacco Heron
Image Credit: Mike Lane

The following is a brief excerpt from the book's preface:

Most people's view of Iraq focuses on the chaos and violence of war. To read about something universally familiar as the migration of birds, or watching ducks in a pond, fufilled a need to know that something worthwhile or magical was happening, even in the midst of suicide bombings and rocket attacks...Knowing that the great cycles of nature continue despite what people happen to be doing is reassuring, I think. There is an order we can take comfort in and draw strength from.

I would definately recommend this book to anyone who needs some inspiration. It's a nice read for birders as well. You can get it at Amazon. I found it helpful to keep a field guide, Birds of the Middle East, within arms reach so that I could look up the birds the author encountered.

You can also check out more of the authors journal at his blog, Birding Babylon.

Audubon Guide to Wetlands Protections

2008-11-12T16:51:00.000-08:00

American Black Duck, Anas rubripes
Image Credit: Glen Tepke

I received the following message from the PABirds listserve. It was posted by Carmen Santasania regarding the new Audubon Guide to Wetlands Protections. I felt it was important to pass it along, as protecting wetlands is crucial for protecting wild birds.

A Resource for Audubon State Offices, Chapters, and Wetlands Advocates, prepared by the Public Policy Office, is now posted on our website. The guide provides an overview of the need for wetlands protections; how to launch a wetlands campaign; federal and state authorities that apply to wetlands; and recent developments in the judicial, regulatory, and congressional arenas. The guide is intended as a resource for people who want to make a difference at the local level, whether they are long-time wetlands advocates who want to increase their effectiveness or new wetlands advocates who are interested in protecting their local wetlands. Key reference materials are included as appendices.

The guide (958kb PDF) can be downloaded from Audubon’s website.

South Korea Pushing Birds to Extinction

2008-10-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

Spoon-billed Sandpiper: Are Its Days Numbered?
Photo Credit: Peter Ericsson

I recently came across an article on the Saemangeum land reclamation project on the Reuters web site. The article details the mindless habitat destruction on wetlands on the west coast of South Korea, and its decimating effects on migratory shore birds that feed there. Some of the birds, such as the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Spotted Greenshank, are critically endangered.

Here is an exerpt from the article:

SEOUL (Reuters) - A huge South Korean land reclamation project has destroyed wetlands, killed migratory birds and pushed endangered species toward extinction, a report obtained at the weekend said.

The Saemangeum land reclamation, completed in 2006 on the west coast and covering about 400 square kms (155 sq miles) -- about seven times larger than Manhattan -- has removed one of the largest feeding grounds on the Yellow Sea for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds who pass by each year, it said.

"Within Saemangeum, (we) recorded a decline of 137,000 shorebirds, and declines in 19 of the most numerous species, from 2006 to 2008," according to the study by conservation groups Birds Korea and Australasian Wader Studies Group that will be released at an international Ramsar convention on wetlands this week in South Korea.

Read the entire article here.

Spotted Greenshank
Photo Credit: i-owen

Some Additional Reading Suggestions

Here is a link to another article in the BBC explaining the impact of the development project on migrating birds.

Here is a link to an article in the Korea Times which lays out the government's short-sighted objectives and hopes for the project. Apparently South Korea wants to create a business haven similar to that of Dubai.

Endemic Birds of Taiwan: Update

2008-10-05T18:53:00.001-07:00

Taiwan Fulvetta, Alcippe formosana, formerly a sub-species of the Streak-throated Fulvetta, Alcippe cinereiceps.
Photo Credit: pseudolapiz

This summer, the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) issued a major update to their world birdlist (Gill, F., Wright, M. & Donsker, D., 2008. IOC World Bird Names (ver. 1.7)). According to the press release, the updated list "[includes] changes of names, additions of newly described species as well as proposed splits and lumps...". As such, the IOC presently recognizes 10,354 extant species of birds in the world.

Taiwan Scimitar Babbler, Pomatorhinus musicus
Photo Credit: K.K. Kuo, Birding in Taiwan

As a result of these recent changes, Taiwan has gained six endemic species, bringing the total number of endemic species to 22. Not all authorities concur with the IOC changes. For example, the Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, which is recognized by the American Ornithological Union (AOU) and the American Birding Association (ABA), accepts only 15 endemics for Taiwan. The remaining seven species are considered endemic sub-species.

Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax ruficeps
Photo Credit: K.K. Kuo, Birding in Taiwan

The list of endemic birds follows:

Taiwan Endemic Species (recognized by IOU and AOU)

Collared Bush Robin, Tarsiger johnstoniae
Mikado Pheasant, Syrmaticus mikado
Rusty Laughingthrush, Garrulax poecilorhynchus
Steere's Liocichla, Liocichla steerii
Styan's Bulbul, Pycnonotus taivanus
Swinhoe's Pheasant, Lophura swinhoii
Taiwan Barwing, Actinodura morrisoniana
Taiwan Blue Magpie, Urocissa caerulea
Taiwan Bush Warbler, Bradypterus alishanensis
Taiwan Partridge, Arborophila crudigularis
Taiwan Whistling Thrush, Myophonus insularis
Taiwan Yuhina, Yuhina brunneiceps
White-eared Sibia, Heterophasia auricularis
White-whiskered Laughingthrush, Garrulax morrisonianus
Yellow Tit, Parus holsti

Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax ruficeps
Photo Credit: Chi Liu

Endemic Species (recognized by IOU only)

Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler, Pomatorhinus erythrocnemis
Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax ruficeps
Taiwan Barbet, Megalaima nuchalis
Taiwan Fulvetta, Alcippe formosana
Taiwan Hwamei, Garrulax taewanus
Taiwan Scimitar Babbler, Pomatorhinus musicus
Taiwan Wren-Babbler, Pnoepyga formosana

Taiwan Wren-Babbler, Pnoepyga formosana
Photo Credit: John&Fish's Photostream

The five contested species were prososed by Nigel Collar of BirdLife International in a recent research paper entitled A partial revision of the Asian babblers (Timaliidae). The full paper can viewed at Dr. Collar's website.

Taiwan Hwamei, Garrulax taewanus
Photo Credit: K.K. Kuo, Birding in Taiwan

Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush was forerly considered a sub-sepcies of the White-throated Laughingthrush, Garrulax albogularis. The Rusty Laughingthrush was formerly one of three sub-species of Rusty Laughingthrush. It will retain both its English and Latin names, the other two sub-species were reassigned. Similarly, the Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler was formerly a sub-species of the Spot-breasted Scimitar-Babbler. While it retained its Latin name, its common name was changed as indicated. The Taiwan Hwamei was formerly a sub-species of Chinese Hwamei, Garrulax canorus. The Taiwan Wren Babbler was derived from the Scaly-breasted Wren Babbler, Pnoepyga albiventer. Lastly, the Taiwan Fulvetta was derived from the Streak-throated Fulvetta, Alcippe cinereiceps.

New Species: Nonggang Babbler

2008-10-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

Nonggang Babbler
Image Credit: Jiang Aiwu

A New Species of Babbler (Timaliidae: Stachyris) from the Sino-Vietnamese Border Region of China
Zhou Fang and Jiang Aiwu

Abstract

Since 2004, we have surveyed birds in the southwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. Many times during February, July, and October 2005 and January 2006, we observed, in Nonggang Natural Reserve of Guangxi, a species in the family Timaliidae that has never been recorded before in China or Southeast Asia. Nonggang Natural Reserve is located in the Sino-Vietnamese border region at 22°13′–22°34′N, 106°42′–107°05′E, 18 km southeast of the Vietnamese border. On 21 January 2006, we captured two individuals. Subsequent investigation showed that the specimens belonged to a previously undescribed species, which we designate Stachyris nonggangensis, the Nonggang Babbler.

Access full article at the The Auk 125(2):420–424, 2008

Finding Warblers in State College, Pennsylvania

2008-09-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

Wilson's Warbler, Wilsonia pusilla
Photo Credit: Michael Woodruff

Each spring and fall, birdwatchers look forward to the return of migrating birds. Among the birds they most anticipate are the wood-warblers. Wood-warblers are deserving of attention, not only for their spectacularly colored plumages, but also for their diversity. More than 50 species can be observed in North America

As most birders know, identifying warblers takes some practice. Males are usually easier to identify than females due to their bright colors and distinctive patterns. Knowing their songs and calls is also immensely helpful. Identifying the females is a more difficult, as their plumage tends to be a dull, washed-out version of the males. Once fall rolls around, warbler identication can be a bit tricky. Males have already begun to molt, and have lost most of their breeding plumage. In addition, juvenile birds are present, and typically look more similar to females than males. A few previously distinct species begun to look more similar to each other.

Warblers themselves don't always cooperate either. For starters, they are small birds - about 4 to 5 inches long. And they don't sit still - they are very active, hoping from branch to branch gleaning insects. In addition, many warblers spend a lot of time in dense foliage or up in the canopy of trees, making observation challenging.

Although each species of warbler has its own habitat requirement, they generally prefer mature woods and heavy brush. As such, warblers can usually be found in many state parks or gamelands. Many birds have found that forest edges or clearings often provide the best opportunites for spotting warblers. Flycatchers tend to like these areas as well.

Another thing to keep in mind is that warblers are always on the move. They tend to travel in mixed species flocks, typically with several other warbler species. Sometimes, one only has to stand in a good spot for a few minutes and simply wait for a wave of warblers to come by. Chickadees are also a favorite travelling partner of warblers. As such, one can often track down warblers by listening for the chatter of chickadees.

In State College, PA, there are several good places to view warblers, including the Scotia Barrens, Bear Meadows, Toftrees Gamelands, and Lederer Park. To be sure, the occurance of warblers is not limited to these parks. Any place with suitable habitat will likely yield warblers.

If you happen to be in State College, and you are looking for a place to do a little bird watching, here are some places you might want to go.

Lederer Park

Blackburnian Warbler, Dendroica fusca
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Lederer Park is located on University Drive, between College Avenue and Atherton Street. Click here for directions. The park contains a mix of decidous hardwood trees and conifers with a shrubby understory. The park is also home to the Evans Oak Arboretum. The central area of the park is maintained as a mowed field. Around the perimeter of the field is a short hiking trail. The trees and shrubs adjacent to the trail are the best place to observe warblers. Among the Warblers to be found here are Nashville Warblers, Black-throated Green Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, and Chestnut-sided Warblers. Philadelphia Vireo have also been observed here.

Toftrees Gamelands

Black & White Warbler, Mniotilta varia
Photo Credit: Utah Birds

Toftrees Gameslands (SGL 176)is a managed hunting area. The area is irrigated daily with treated wastewater. The habitat in the gamelands is a mix of forest and farmland habitat. There are also a number of artifical ponds, the largest of which is located adjacent to the Tofrees Golf Course. Toftrees gamelands are located behind the Toftrees Resort and Golf Club. Click here for directions. The easiest way to access the gamelands is to park in the hunter's parking lot just off Cricklewood Drive, adjacent to the Ale House parking lot. The best places to find warblers are in the trees and shrubs surrounding the artificial ponds. Toftrees is a good place for Yellow Warblers, American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroats, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Toftrees pond is also a good place for ducks and shorebirds.

Bear Meadows

Black-throated Blue Warbler, Dendroica caerulescens
Photo Credit: Michael Hogan

Bear Meadows is a remnant boreal bog encompasses 320 acres. The dominant tree species are black spruce and balsam fir. There are also a number of deciduous trees, and a thick understory dominated by rhododendron and high-bush blueberry. Bear Meadows is located in the Rothrock State Forest. It is just of Rt. 322, on Bear Meadows Rd, a few miles past the Tussey Mountain Ski area. Click here for the map. The best place to park is in the small parking area near the National Natural Landmark headstone. Warblers are abundant on the hiking trails bordering the swamp, as well as Sinking Creek. Bear Meadows is a good place to find Wilson's Warblers, Hooded Warblers, Canada Warblers, and Black-throated Blue Warblers.

Scotia Barrens

Blue-winged Warbler, Vermivora pinus
Photo Credit :Wikipedia

Scotia Barrens is also part of SGL 176 and is a managed wildlife area. The vegetation in the Barrens is dominated by Pitch Pine and Scrub Oaks. Ruffed Grouse and American Woodcock are abundant here. The Barrens are located in west of downtown State College, just off of Rt. 322. Click here for a map. Parking in the gamelands is not a problem. There are a number of area adjacent to the Scotia Range Road where one can simply pull over. Just be careful not to block access to any of the gated service roads. Warblers can be observed just about anywhere in the barrens, but the best places are the Scotia Pond, the "research station", and the large Welcome sign (which is located about two miles from the enterance). Among the warblers that can be observed here are Blue-winged Warblers, Golden-winged Warblers, Ceruelean Warblers, and Cape May Warblers. Flycatchers are also abundant here.

To get a more detailed list of all the birds that have been observed in the State College area, you can check eBird or the State College Bird Club. The bird club web site also has information for other birding hotspots.

White-backed Vulture: Soon to be Extinct?

2008-09-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

Here is an exerpt from an article on White-backed Vultures that appeared on Wildlife Extra.com

Critically endangered Asian vulture conservation efforts not enough to save the species

Captive breeding colonies of a critically endangered vulture, whose numbers in the wild have dwindled from tens of millions to a few thousand, are too small to protect the species from extinction, a University of Michigan analysis shows...With a seven-foot wingspan, the oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis) was an awesome presence in south Asia until the mid-1990s, when populations began to collapse. At first the cause was unclear, but researchers eventually zeroed in on an anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac, that is used to alleviate arthritis-like symptoms in livestock but is toxic to vultures. Vultures that feed on carcasses of animals treated with the drug die of kidney failure within a day or two after eating the tainted meat. And although India, Nepal and Pakistan outlawed its manufacture in 2006, diclofenac is still available, and birds are still dying.

Read the full article HERE

New Species: Olive-backed Forest Robin

2008-08-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Brian Schmidt

A new species of African Forest Robin from Gabon
(Passeriformes: Muscicapidae: Stiphrornis)

Here is the abstract from a journal article in Zootaxa:

We describe a new species of forest robin from the Gamba Complex in southwest Gabon. This common bird, Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus sp. nov., inhabits primary lowland forest and forages on or near the ground like the other members of the genus Stiphrornis of central and western Africa. Unique phenotypic features of the new species include the male’s bright orange chin, throat, and breast, creamy yellow belly, olive green back and rump, and gray flanks. Mitochondrial sequence divergence corroborates our assessment based on its distinct physical characteristics that this is a new species, and suggest that Stiphrornis erythrothorax is likely the most closely related congener.

Read the full article at Zootaxa

Summer Birding in Taiwan

2008-08-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

White-eared Sibia (Heterophasia auricularis).
Photo credit: Huang Wen-Hsin, Birding in Taiwan

This past summer, I spent about seven weeks in Taiwan. My primary purpose was to visit with family, but, needless to say, I did a fair amount of birding while there. I was also Taiwan earlier in the year for the Chinese New Year. My birding report for that trip can be view here.

To prepare for the trip, I studied the field marks for the birds I was likely to see, as well as for a few target birds. I used Wu Sen-Hsiong's Field Guide to the Wild Birds of Taiwan as my primary guide, and Severinghaus & Blackshaw’s New Guide to the Birds of Taiwan as a supplement. Brief reviews of both guides can be found in the post below (scroll down). In addition to field guides, I also made use of publicly accessible field recordings from the Macauley Library to learn the various calls and songs of Taiwan birds. Being a tropical country, Taiwan’s forests are very thick with vegetation, making it difficult to find and identify birds by sight alone. Knowing the songs and calls made it easier to track down birds and identify them.

Kaohsiung County and Tungkang River

Painted Snipe (Rostratula benghalensis).
Photo credit: Huang Wen-Hsin, Birding in Taiwan

I did most of my birding close to my in-law’s home in western Kaohsiung county, near Daliao. Click for map, as well as in the agricultural areas along the Tungkang river in Ping Tung county. Click for map. These areas are located in the southwestern alluvial plains of Taiwan at an elevation below 50 meters. The habitats encountered were a mix of agricultural lands, mostly rice paddies and cane fields, as well as low hills that were largely overtaken by grasslands and bamboo thickets, with a few hardwood trees scattered about. A very small pond was also present. The highlights were the Painted Snipe and the Zitting Citicola – the Snipe for its wonderful plumage and the Cisicola for its entertaining flight display.

These are my observations:
Bamboo Partridge
Barn Swallow
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black Drongo
Black-naped Monarch
Bustard Quail
Cattle Egret
Collared Scops Owl
Common Moorhen
Common Sandpiper
Crested Myna
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Gold-capped Cisticola
Great Egret
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
House Swift
Indian Pranticole
Japanese White-eye
Lesser Coucal
Light-vented Bulbul
Little Egret
Little Ringed Plover
Long-toed Stint
Scaly-breasted Munia
Orange Weaver
Oriental Turtle Dove
Pacific Swallow
Painted Snipe
Plain Prinia
Sand Martin
Spotted Dove
Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler
Tree Pie
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
White Wagtail
White-breasted Water Hen
White-rumped Munia
Wood Sandpiper
Yellow Bittern
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Zitting Cisticola

In addition to local birding, I also made a few field trips to Kenting National Park at the southern tip of Taiwan, Alishan in central Taiwan, Taipei Botanical Garden in the north, and a very brief trip to Victoria Point in Hong Kong.

Kenting National Park

Mountain Scops Owl (Otus spilocephalus hambroecki).
Photo credit: Huang Wen-Hsin, Birding in Taiwan

I have been to Kenting a number of times over the 15-20 years I have been visiting Taiwan. Overall, I have been very disappointed with the birding in the park, particularly with the Sheding Forest Recreation Area. The Baisha beach and other coastal areas have also been somewhat disappointing. The only bright spot I can recommend in Kenting is the Longluan Lake area. That being said, Kenting is a world renowned place for hawk migration, although I have never been there at that time. The highlights were the Mountain Scops Owl and the Hwa-mei.

Here are my observations:
Barn Swallow
Black Bulbul
Black Drongo
Black-browed Barbet
Black-naped Tern
Bronzed Drongo
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Hwamei
Japanese White-eye
Mountain Scops Owl
Oriental Turtle Dove
Pacific Swallow
Red-capped Tree Babbler
Spotted-billed Duck
Spotted Dove
Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler
Styan's Bulbul*
Grey Treepie

Alishan

Taiwan Barwing (Actinodura morrisoniana).
Photo credit: 小綠

Alishan was the highlight of the trip. Its highest peak is Datashan (2663 m). The elevation in the Alishan Forest area is between 2200-2400 m. The mountain range offers a chance to see many of the endemic birds, as well as other high elevation species. And the scenery was spectacular and sometimes draws your attention away form the birds.

Getting to Alishan was half the fun. We took a train to the Chiayi station. From Chiayi, we took the mountain railroad up to Fenchihu (1000 m). Fenchihu is an old railroad town with a shopping area and plenty of places to eat the famous Fenchi lunchbox – basically rice, eggs, and pickled veggies. From Fenchihu, we were picked-up by shuttle van and taken up to our hostel. We spent three days up on the mountain at the Jane-Su Homestay in Chiayi County. The homestay is situated at 1450 m, in the middle of a high mountain oolong tea plantation, and affords a spectacular view of the Alishan area. One feels as if they were floating on a sea of clouds. I highly recommend the homestay!

Sea of Clouds.
Photo Credit: Jane-Su Homestay

Although the mountain roads are relatively well-marked, they can sometimes be difficult to navigate, particularly for the out-of-towner. Summer time is also typhoon season in Taiwan. As such, is it not uncommon to have small mudslides or wash-outs. As such, we hired a local guide from the homestay to drive us around.

I would typically rise just before sunrise, and bird along the roads around the homestay. The vegetation was a mix of conifers, broadleaf trees, and bamboo. Activity was extremely high – at some points at felt a bit overwhelmed with all the birds. Anyway, I did manage to regain my composure and focus on the birds at hand.

The guide would pick us up around 7:00 am, and take us around to some of the local scenic hotspots such as Titanic Rock, Shenmu (Sacred Tree), the Twin Sister Lakes, and a grove of ancient cypress trees. We also visited a local coffee plantation, and a oolong tea plantation operated by the homestay owner.

The highlights of the Alishan trip were the endemic birds (*), particularly the Taiwan Yuhina and the White-eared Sibia. Other notables include an adult Malayan Night Heron and the Large-billed Crow.

Here are my observations:
Bamboo Partridge
Brown Bullfinch
Collared Bush Robin*
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Ferruginous Flycatcher
Green-backed Tit
Grey-cheeked Fulvetta
House Swift
Japanese Green Pigeon
Large-billed Crow
Malayan Night Heron
Mountain Scops Owl
Pacific Swallow
Plumbeous Water Redstart
Red-capped Tree Babbler
Oriental Turtle Dove
Steere's Liocichla*
Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler
Taiwan Barwing*
Taiwan Hill Partridge*
Taiwan Laughingthrush*
Taiwan Yuhina*
Vinaceous Rosefinch
Vivid Niltava
White-eared Sibia*
White-tailed Blue Robin
Rufous-faced Warbler

Taipei Botanical Garden and Xindian River

Black-browed Barbet ( Megalaima oorti).
Photo credit: Birding in Taiwan

The Taipei Botanical Garden is situated in downtown Taipei, close to the National Taiwan University. Although the setting was primarily urban, birding in the small park was surprisingly good. We also visited the Riverside Park near the Xindian River. The highlights of the garden were two juvenile Malayan Night Herons, and a nesting Black-browed Barbet. The Riverside Park was home to a small colony of Sacred Ibis that apparently escaped from the Taipei zoo and are now breeding.

Here are my observations:
Black Bulbul
Black-billed Magpie
Black-browed Barbet
Black-collared Starling
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-naped Monarch
Cattle Egret
Crested Myna
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Great Egret
House Swift
Besra
Japanese White-eye
Light-vented Bulbul
Little Egret
Malayan Night Heron
Oriental Turtle Dove
Pacific Swallow
Rock Pigeon
Sacred Ibis
Spotted Dove
Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler
Gray Treepie

Hong Kong Trail

Red-whiskered Bulbul.
Photo Credit: Nikhil Devasar, Oriental Bird Club

I also made a very brief (overnight) trip to Hong Kong. Didn’t have much time to bird, but I did manage to sneak about 2 hours in to walk the Hong Kong Trail around Victoria Point. It was rather late in the morning (10:30) and quite warm (40 celcius), but I did manage to see and hear a few birds. The highlights were the Red-Whiskered Bulbul and the Blue Whistling Thrush.

Here are my observations:
Black Kite
Blue Magpie
Blue Whistling Thrush
Crested Myna
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Japanese White-eye
Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Light-vented Bulbul
Masked Laughingthrush
Oriental Magpie Robin
Red-whiskered Bulbul

Overall, I observed about 82 species – 43 of which were lifers for me. The overall highlight of the trip was the Taiwan Yuhina and the White-eared Sibia. Although these birds are fairly common in the mountains, I just found them absolutely spectacular to watch There were also a few disappointments. Taiwan has 16 completely endemic species according to the Clements Checklist of Birds (or 22 by IOC guidelines), all of which I had targeted for the trip. I observed eight of the endemics on this trip (Collared Bush Robin, Steere’s Liocichla, Taiwan Barwing, Taiwan Bulbul, Taiwan Hill Partridge, Taiwan Laughingthrush, Taiwan Yuhina, and White-eared Sibia). There are still seven more that I did not get the opportunity to see, particularly the Formosan Blue Magpie. We had intended to spend more time in the moutains near Huben and Hualien, but two typhoons (Kalmaegi & Fung-wong) hit the island and dumped several feet of water, and washing-out a number of roads ad bridges, as well as causing a few mudslides.

On the bright side, I now have an excuse to go back!

Guide to Birding in Taiwan

2008-08-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

Taiwan Tit (Parus holsti)
Image Source: Birding Holidays

Taiwan is a wonderful place to watch birds. Each year, approximately 450 species of birds can be found on the small island. As such, Taiwan has the second highest bird density in the world (Madagascar is first). In addition, Taiwan has 15 endemic species, the majority of which can be found in the mountainous regions.

Geographically, Taiwan has many features that make it an attractive place for birds. The majority (almost 70%) of the island is comprised of mountains with elevations of 100 meters or greater – more than half of which are over 1000 meters. The tallest peak on the island is Yushan (Jade Mountain), with an elevation of 3,952 meters. The remainder of the island is primarily alluvial plains - with a lots of agricultural development (and lots of people). As such, Taiwan offers a wide variety of birding habitats, including coastal wetlands, estuaries, grasslands, agricultural areas, tropical rainforests, broadleaf & bamboo forests, and high alpine forests.

The other feature contributing to Taiwan’s high bird density is it location. Taiwan is located in the western Pacific, about 130 km east of mainland China. The Tropic of Cancer passes directly through the southern part of the island. More importantly, it lies at the midpoint of the migration routes for birds traveling between their summer breeding grounds in Japan, China and Siberia, and their southern wintering grounds in the Philippines, Indonesia, and New Zealand.

Logistically, it is pretty easy to get around. The roads are good and the accommodations and food are reasonably priced. For those interested in planning an itinerary, I would suggest reading the trip reports posted on Surfbirds, particularly those of Andy Mears and Albert Low.

FINDING A FIELD GUIDE

After binoculars, a good field guide can be a birders most important tool. I have used several in the past, such as MacKinnon and Phillip’s Field Guide to the Birds of China, James Wan-Fu Chang's Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan, Wu Sen-Hsiong's Field Guide to the Wild Birds of Taiwan, and Severinghaus and Blackshaw’s New Guide to the Birds of Taiwan. All the guides are good, but each has its strong points, as well as its drawbacks, as I discuss below.

Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan

James Wan-Fu Chang's Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan covers 458 species. Although the common and scientific names of each species is given in English, the main text is written primarily in Chinese, making it problematic for birds not versed in Mandarin. However, there are very brief English language descriptions of the range, habitat and status of each bird which I found helpful. In addition, reasonably good range maps are also shown for each bird (excluding vagrants). On the down side, I found the plates to be somewhat below the standard that most birders have come to expect. Paintings appear hastily done and often do not sufficiently show key field marks which are helpful in distinguishing similar species.

Field Guide to the Wild Birds of Taiwan

Wu Sen-Hsiong's Field Guide to the Wild Birds of Taiwan (ISBN 957-9578-00-1) covers 444 species. Like Chang’s guide, it is also written in Chinese. However, with the exception of the common and scientific names, there are no English language descriptions of any kind. That being said, the range maps and paintings are far superior to Chang’s guide. Key field marks are clearly indicated, and paintings of birds in flight are also shown when appropriate (e.g. gulls, terns, shorebirds, hawks, etc)

Field Guide to the Birds of China

MacKinnon and Phillip’s Field Guide to the Birds of China is more extensive, covering 1329 species. This guide addresses some of the drawbacks of the previous two guides. For starters, it is written entirely in English. The paintings are generally of high quality, and differences between subspecies are indicated. Range maps are also shown on the page facing the paintings. The descriptions of many (but not all) species are fairly well detailed, and the ranges for subspecies is also described. The guide does have some minor problems, which are probably unavoidable. Because of the number of species described, the guide is quite bulky - and somewhat expensive. In addition, the descriptions are in the back of the guide, rather than on the page adjacent to the paintings, making it somewhat inconvenient to use. Some of the species descriptions, particularly those of the Taiwan endemics, seemed to have been glossed over. And although most of the paintings are of high quality, not all were. Overall, I think they are slightly inferior to those of the Wu guide.

New Guide to the Birds of Taiwan

Severinghaus and Blackshaw’s New Guide to the Birds of Taiwan has the least coverage of any of the guides - only 201 species covered. Species covered include the endemics, the most common summer/winter residents (approx. 150 birds), and the migrants one is likely to see. Rare visitors and vagrants are not represented. In addition, the paintings are not the best, and only show a small handful of birds (about 45 birds on eight color plates). The artist is apparently the same person who did the paintings from the Chang guide. A few other birds, including hawk silouettes, are done in b&w pencil drawings, and are surprisingly good. The guide also has a very strong upside, making it indispensible. For starters, it is written in English (and Mandarin). It has excellent descriptions of the habitat and subtle behaviors that are very helpful in making IDs. In addition, the verbal descriptions of the bird calls and songs are also remarkably good.

If I could only choose one guide, my personal recommendation would be Field Guide to the Wild Birds of Taiwan by Sen-Hsiong Wu. It is jointly published by the Taiwan Wild Bird Society and the Wild Bird Society of Japan. I picked-up a copy in Taiwan for about $30. If I could add another as a supplement, it would be the Severinghaus and Blackshaw guide. This one is a bit harder to find, as it is out of print. I found a copy in an on-line antiquarian book store for about $25.

RESOURCES FOR BIRD IDENTIFICATION

When planning any birding adventure, it is always a good idea to do your homework ahead of time. That means familiarizing yourself with the birds you are likely to see. For me, that entails learning the field marks, the calls and songs, as well as the best places to find birds once you arrive at your destination.

For field marks, a good place to start is with a field guide, as stated above. In addition, there are also a number of sites on the internet where you can view photos of birds. Sometimes this can be very helpful, as painting don’t always do a bird justice. For Taiwan, I have found Birding in Taiwan and Oriental Bird Club to be two excellent websites.

Field Recordings

Learning the calls and songs is a must for Taiwan. For birds calls and songs, there are a number of commercially available tapes and CD’s. While these are helpful, they do pose a few problems. For starters, they tend to be costly. In addition, only a limited number of species are represented, and then only by their most common songs and calls. Alternate songs and calls are frequently left out. Fortunately, the internet comes to the rescue again. A number of websites have made field recordings available. In addition to the calls and songs, the location of the recordings is also given, allowing one to distinguish variations in calls between subspecies.

The best site - by far - is Cornell’s Macauley Library. This site contains countless hours of field recordings of many (but not all) birds across the globe. Most species are represented by multiplue recordings, which typically include alternate calls and songs. The Cornell site does have its downside. For example, because they are field recordings, they sometimes contain background noise, such as traffic, barking dogs, wind, and other birds. In addition, not all the recordings are publicly available at present, and not all birds are represented.

In addition to the Cornell site, there are also several good sites that are specifically dedicated to Taiwan birds. These sites contain a fair number of field recordings that can be used as a supplement to the Cornell recordings. Moreover, one may also find recordings of species that are not reprensented in the Cornell collection. In the case where the Cornell field recordings contain background noise or are of poor quality, one may find a better quality recording. In addition, these website typically contain other useful informations, such as general descriptions, data on range and habitat, life histories, and photos. For Taiwan birds, the most useful sites are Birds of Taroko Gorge, the Taiwan Goverment Information Office, and Wayne Hsu’s Page.

Birding Guides

Birdwatching in Taiwan

Where to go? That is best determined by reading trip reports or picking up a copy of a birding guide. Although I have never used a birding guide in Taiwan, there are several that are commercially available. The one that appears to be the most recommended is Birdwatching in Taiwan, by Rui-De Shi. This guide covers 52 birding area in Taiwan, as well as some of its surrounding islands. According to the publisher’s description, “the book also introduces the distinguishing features of ecosystems, the best seasons for visiting, and transportation details”.

OTHER RESOURCES

It is also a good idea to plan your itinerary in advance. To do so, it is helpful if you know a little something about the geography and culture, as well as the infrastructure and accommodations, of the place you are visiting. The internet offers a good resource for this type of information. As I have stated above, trip reports from other birders can be very helpful. For those, I have found Surfbirds to be the best site. Bird blogs are also good resources. I have added a few Taiwan bird blogs to my blog role on the right column of this page. There are also a number of eGroups and listservs through which one can get in touch with others who live or bird frequently in the region of interest. For Taiwan, I have found Yahoo!'s Oriental Birding Club to be very helpful. One could also do a Google search for more sites.

Birding in Taiwan

2008-03-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

Black-faced Spoonbill - Photo Credit: Birding in Taiwan

I was in Taiwan in February for the Chinese New Year. I was visiting my in-laws in Kaohsiung county – where I ended up doing most of my birding, although I did manage to sneak in a field trip or two.

Finding a field guide was somewhat problematic. I read a few reviews on the web and asked around, and just about everyone recommended the "Field Guide to the Wild Birds of Taiwan" by Sen-Hsiong Wu. It is jointly published by the Taiwan Wild Bird Society and the Wild Bird Society of Japan. I picked-up a copy in Taiwan for about $30, as I was unable to find one here in the states. I am told that it is available through the ABA, but I did not check it out. Anyway, the paintings in the field guide are excellent, and the range maps are most useful. There are a few drawbacks to the book, the main one being that it is written entirely in Chinese – although the English and scientific names are given. In addition to Wu's book, I also used "A Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan" by James Wan-fu Chang. I borrowed a copy from the Penn State library. It too is written primarily in Chinese, and the paintings are inferior to the Wu book; however, Chang gives brief habitat descriptions and status reports in English that I found helpful.

Anyway, here is a list of my observations. I grouped the observations by location, so there are some duplications.

Da Liao Training Area – This area was about a quarter mile from my mother-in-law's house in Kaohsiung county. Part of the area in used by the Taiwanese military for training, and the rest is an abandoned cemetery that has largely overtaken by grasslands and bamboo thickets. A very small pond was also present. There were also a few hardwood trees scattered about. Overall, it was about 2-3 times the size of Sunset Park in State College.

Striated Prinia
Plain Prinia
Light-vented Bulbul
Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler
Black-naped Monarch
Brown Shrike
Spotted-necked Dove
Arctic Warbler
Gray Treepie
Brown-headed Thrush
White's Thrush
Scaly-breasted Munia
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Japanese White-eye
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
Common Moorhen

Old Railroad Bridge Park, Ping Tung River – This area is a large wetlands area located in Fong Shan. It is adjacent to the Ping Tung River. Part of the area consists of a park and a baseball field and is pretty heavily used as a rec area, but the marshy portion has been set aside for the local wildlife, and is accessible by trails. It consists primarily of a few marshy ponds and riverside mudflats.

Light-vented Bulbul
Little Chinese Bittern
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Common Moorhen
Brown Shrike
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Pheasant-tailed Jacana
Wood Sandpiper
Plain Prinia
Barn Swallow
Pacific Swallow
Spotted-billed Duck
Black-crowned Night Heron
House Swift
Common Moorhen

Dowtown Kaohsiung – We were visiting the Tzu Chi Buddhist Temple in downtown Kaohsiung. The temple was located adjacent to the Ai River. There was a small park and a river walk along the banks, so I grabbed my binoculars and took a short walk.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Collared Finchbill
Brown-headed Thrush
Light-vented Bulbul
Grey Wagtail
Pied Wagtail
Common Sandpiper
Little Ringed Plover
Asian Glossy Starling
Spotted Dove

Zheng Wen River - We went up to the Black-faced Spoonbill Conservation Area in Cigu (near Tainan). The area is located at the mouth of the Zheng Wen River. Virtually the entire region is occupied by fish farms of one sort or another that are subdivided by short mud walls, much in the way that rice paddies are. Anyway, there were lots of places for birds to settle down, and lots of mudflats and shallow water for them to feed in.

Black-billed Magpie
Caspian Tern
Black-winged Stilt
Common Greenshank
Common Redshank
Snowy "Kentish" Plover
Green-winged Teal
Common Sandpiper
Common Snipe
Black-crowned Night Heron
Grey Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
Intermediate Egret
Black-faced Spoonbill
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Northeast Taiwan – We took a road trip up to the northeaster part of Taiwan to visit the Taroko Gorge and the Jhiben Hot Springs. During the trip, we stopped a number of places to eat, shop, etc. I took advantage of part of that time to do some birding.

Grey Heron
Cattle Egret
Great Egret
Little Egret
Intermediate Egret
Black-crowned Night Heron
Chinese Little Bittern
Ring-necked Pheasant
Common oorhen
Common Sandpiper
Spotted Dove
Oriental Turtle Dove
Red Turtle Dove
House Swift
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
Oriental Skylark
Pacific Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black Drongo
Large-billed Crow
Gray-throated Minivet
Black Bulbul
Light-vented Bulbul
Styan's Bulbul
Blue Rock Thrush
Plumbeous Water Redstart
Plain Prinia
Yellow Wagtail
Pied Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Brown Shrike
Long-tailed Shrike
Crested Mynah
Common Mynah
White-rumped Munia
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Overall, I observed about 65 species – most of which were lifers for me. The highlight of the trip was the Black-faced Spoonbill. There were also a few disappointments. Taiwan has about 15 completely endemic species. With the exception of Styan's Bubul, just about all of them live in the mountains. On the day we were to make a trip up into the mountains, I came down with a case of rotovirus, comlete with its attending pleasantries. As such, I missed the chance to see many of the endemics, such as the Yellow Tit, Swinhoe's Pheasant and the Formosan Magpie.

New Species: Togian White-eye

2008-03-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

Image Source: National Geographic

A new white-eye (Zosterops) from the Togian Islands, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Here is the abstract from the Wilson Journal of Ornithology

We encountered white-eyes (Zosterops) that did not match any known species during ornithological field observations in the Togian Islands, Gulf of Tomini, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Subsequently, we collected a specimen and made tape recordings. We consider the Zosterops of the Togian Islands to be a new species that differs most strikingly from the Black-crowned White-eye (Z. atrifrons) in lacking a white eye ring and in soft-part colors. The new species has a somewhat higher-pitched, less modulated song than Z. atrifrons. It seems uncommon and has been encountered only near sea level on three small islands, and it may be best considered Endangered.

Access the full article in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology

Pennsylvania Migration Count

2007-05-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Audbon Society

For those of you that know me personally, you certainly know that I am an avid birdwatcher. As you may or may not be aware, we are currently in the midst of spring migration – when many birds return from their winter feeding grounds to breed.

A variety of factors have affected bird populations over of the years, including climate change and habitat destruction.In an effort to keep tabs on bird populations, various programs to monitor bird have sprung up over the years. The most popular of these programs is probably the annual Christmas bird count.

The Christmas count is useful, but does have its limitations, as it only monitors the birds that are present during the winter months. As I am sure you are aware, many birds leave their breeding grounds and fly south in search of food and other resources. In the spring, they return. To monitor the population sizes of these birds, a small handful of migration counts have cropped up over the years.

This past weekend, I participated in the Pennsylvania Migration Count (PAMC). The PAMC is actually a smaller part of the North American Migration Count (NAMC). The goal of the NAMC is to get a picture of the progress of spring migration, obtain data on the abundance and distribution of each migratory species. It is important to note that all the birds that are counted in a particular area such as Pennsylvania do not necessarily nest or breed here. Some nest a far north as the artic tundra and are simply passing through in much the same way they do in the fall.

My responsiblilites for the PAMC were to monitor three regions in Centre Country - two local parks (Sunset Park near Joe Paterno’s house and Millbrook Marsh just east of Beaver Stadium) and a small pond adjacent to the State College water treatment plant (Centre Furnace “Duck” Pond of Rt. 26). In all, I observed 322 individual from 42 species in a four hour period.

Although most of the birds were expected, such a large number of Mallard Ducks, there were several pleasant suprises such as several Wood Thrush, three Baltimore Orioles, a Pileated Woodpecker, a Solitary Sandpiper, two Spotted Sandpipers, and a Wilson’s Snipe. Click here for the full list.

Later this year, the data from the state will be summarized and publsihed. I will keep you updated.

New Species from India: Bugun Liocichla

2006-10-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

Bugun Liocichla, Liocichla bugunorum
Photo Credit: Kolkata Birds

A new species of Liocichla (Aves: Timaliidae) from
Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

This paper describes a new bird species of the genus Liocichla discovered near Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in western Arunachal Pradesh, India. While the taxon most closely resembles L. omeiensis, an endemic of China, the many points of difference in plumage, size and vocalisations indicate a new species. The known population is very small and only three (breeding?) pairs responded to song playback in May 2006. The plumage and the vocalisations are distinctive and therefore the paucity of records suggests a small and highly localized population.

View the full article at Indian Birds Vol. 2 No. 4 (July-August 2006

New Species: Taiwan Bush-Warbler

2005-10-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

Taiwan Bush-Warbler, Bradypterus alishanensis
Photo Credit: Shei Wen Tu, Birding in Taiwan

A new bush-warbler (Sylviidae, Bradypterus) from Taiwan

ABSTRACT

A bush-warbler of the genus Bradypterus, known from the mountains of Taiwan since 1917, has never been formally named as a distinct taxon. Songs of the Taiwan population differ strikingly from those of its Asian congeners in being much clearer, sweeter, more piercing, and in having a very different structure of elements. Several subtle but consistent morphological differences exist between specimens from Taiwan and all named taxa, principally in bill size and shape, plumage color and reduced variability, pattern of undertail coverts, and wing formula. Therefore, the Taiwan population is best treated as a new species.

View the full article at The Auk 117(2):279-289, 2000

New Species: Calayan Rail

2005-08-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Des Allen, Birdlife.org

Here is an exerpt from a BBC News article from 2004. Access the full article here

New bird spotted in Philippines
By Alex Kirby
BBC News Online environment correspondent

An international expedition has found a bird species new to science on a remote island in the northern Philippines.

The team of Filipino and UK researchers discovered the bird, a rail, living by a stream in the forests of Calayan.

They think the birds number only about 200 pairs at most, and since they are found nowhere else they might soon be at risk from development pressures.

They say the Calayan rail is flightless "or nearly so": it belongs to a global family including coots and moorhens.