JAPAN CRUISE DAYS 4 & 5: TAIWAN

We docked at Keelung Port later than scheduled and I didn't get off the ship until the ungodly hour of 9am. The wall of heat and humidity hit me on exiting the terminal and I was glad to meet up with young local guide Joshua. We had an easy day planned visiting a few mountain sites around Taipei and after a 50 minute drive we reached the first site up in the hills. A steep walk up to a small lake which was notable for the first sighting of Taiwan Barbet today. I'd get better views at the next stop but it's kind of neat to see these again after such a long time. I think my last visit to Taiwan was maybe 2015.... 

Not the best Taiwan Barbet photo you'll ever see....

There was also several Grey Treepies, Light-vented & Black Bulbul, and a couple calling Taiwan Scimitar-Babblers. As we left here and drove down the road a cracking Taiwan Blue Magpie was perched on a bollard beside there road and in hindsight I should have gone back to get a photo as it's such a stunning bird, but we expected more views later. In fact we saw quite a few more magpies, but always whilst on a highway of a busy road and never did get a chance to get a pic. Oh well. 

We checked out a site to see if there were any lingering Black-faced Spoonbills, but there wasn't any. No surprise there, but did see Yellow-bellied Prinia, Vinous-throated Parrotbill and a few Rufous Turtle-Doves and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks. 

The first Malayan Night Heron sighting..

The second sighting was this adult...

The 3rd sighting was this bird on a nest

By the time we reached Taipei Botanical Gardens dark clouds threatened the anticipated afternoon rains, but fortunately the downpour was delayed, giving us a good hour to walk around. It's a very good birding site and I had an immature Malayan Night Heron in a tree, a very close adult beside one of the quieter paths and another adult sat on a  nest with a tiny white fluff ball of a chick. They are cracking birds and I very much enjoyed seeing them. Also see was a Black-naped Monarch on a nest, several Swinhoe's White-eyes, a pair of confiding Taiwan Scimitar-Babblers, but it was a shame the calling Black-streaked Scimitar-Babbler failed to show. 

Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler

And then the rain started so I decided to call it a day and Joshua drove me back to the port in Keelung where I wa glad to get back onboard ship, have a shower and sip a few more cocktails! 

For Day 5, we were meant to be in Hualien, where I hoped to access more montane areas for a good selection of endemics but the port was closed so we had to remain in Keelung. So a spare day to relax and prepare for a busy schedule ahead was much appreciated.