Still on Dasyueshan

Poked my head out of the lodge at 4.50am and it was clear but when I met up with the group at 6am we had dense mist again. We birded the gardens at the edge of the forest for an hour, seeing a few regular birds, as well as getting decent views of a pair of Pale Thrushes skulking in a damp corner below the restaurant before heading in to breakfast an hour later. Afterwards we drove up the mountain and despite low cloud and/or mist there was no rain at all today, but must admit I was in two minds whether or not to turn around and drive back down. Good job I didn’t as we did pretty well, starting with a walk along the open track where a pair of Mikado Pheasants performed well and we watched the male slowly walk right across the path and up onto the grassy bank.  

Yellowish-bellied Bush-warbler

Several White-whiskered Laughingthrushes and Yellowish-bellied Bush-warblers also proved a bit of a distraction, but best of all along here was our first Taiwan Fulvettas that gave repeated views in the trees right next to us. 

Taiwan Fulvettas - an endemic of higher altitudes

We also had another very close pair at the observation platform that kept moving through the bushes right below us several times. And at the same spot a Taiwan Bush-warbler was most obliging as well. 

Another high altitude endemic - Taiwan Bush-warbler

Another trail here is very good for Taiwan Shortwing, and following our first abortive attempt we had several views of at least two birds. Never an easy bird to see well, but I think everyone had varying degrees of tickable views whilst here. A Taiwan Bush-robin was much easier and eventually hopped out onto the path in front of us, after a bit of a chase but our perseverance was well rewarded in the end. 

Taiwan Bush-robin can also be found at high altitude forests

Several Collared Bush-robins also showed well with one male in particular positively glowing in the murky gloom. After some nice fried rice in the café and a cup of tea we drove lower, stopping at the pheasant site and had more close Laughingthrushes and better yet, a cracking Taiwan Rosefinch feeding right beside the road. What a stunner!

Collared Bush-robin

 Back down by the lodge it didn’t take long to find a Pygmy Cupwing, and a star performer indeed as it worked its way across the bank above us for several minutes, showing all the time albeit usually under the overhanging foliage and no good for a photo alas. A short walk down the road resulted in a great view of a Taiwan Shortwing perched on an old fallen tree before we sent the last couple of hours birding the gardens in nice clear weather. We managed to find a flock of Rufous-crowned Laughingthrushes, but there were no barwings following them unfortunately as we wanted better views.

Masked Civet

 After dinner we had an excellent mammal session, beginning with a couple of Masked Civets feeding on kitchen scraps at the edge of the forest, followed by Red-and-white Giant Flying Squirrel and finishing off with a Taiwan Serow on the slope below. 

Dasyueshan

A rather frustrating day, as the mountain was shrouded in thick mist and it also rained most of the day as well. Lovely! We were out at 6am and sheltering under the eaves of some cabins, full of optimism to start with and hopeful the weather would lift a little. You could ‘see’ the way it was going to be today when a couple of probable Pale Thrushes disappeared into the mist before we could nail them. So as we looked out into the gloom from our sheltered position, a little luck was due and it came in the form of a small flock of Rufous-crowned Laughingthrushes that just happened to pass right by us. 

Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush - an endemic of mid/high altitude forests

They were a noisy bunch and hung around long enough for us to get great views – our first endemic of the day. A short while later, David discovered a Taiwan Barwing feeding in a tree and we rushed out and quickly relocated the bird as it made its way higher up into a conifer. So what a result as I’m always a little concerned about just where we’re going to see these two species. Anyway, not a lot happened after this apart from more sheltering from the deluge, so we had our breakfast. And nice it was too! No noodles for us, just granola, cheese on toast and some nice breads! Another group here had to settle for the set breakfast but Richard had done us proud with a fine assortment of foods and even had our own coffee.

Afterwards we drove up towards the summit, stopping for half an hour at the Mikado stake-out but there was nothing doing in the dreary conditions, apart from crappy looks at our first Collared Bush-robin. About a quarter of a mile below the top we hopped out of the minibus as the weather seemed to be clearing – oh how mistaken was I! Both bush-warblers were singing but not responding to tape, yet Flamecrests were everywhere and what a stunning bird. You could say they could light up even the dullest day. Also, a pair of Nutcrackers were hanging out along the road and we eventually made up for initial silhouette views when the weather lifted slightly and could see some plumage detail as one of them fed on the ground beside the road. We walked around the corner and then a Taiwan Bush-warbler sang really close to the road, so everyone got in position and a short, quiet bit of playback from the ipod resulted in the bird coming straight in and perching completely out in the open! Of course it decided to rain heavily just at that moment and I couldn’t be bothered to take the camera out of its raincover, but we’d all seen the bird very well anyway. So with the weather deteriorating we decided to get some hot soup in the café and warm up a bit and give us some welcome relief! Afterwards we walked around the car park and made our first attempt at Taiwan Shortwing which sang its heart out from the bamboo covered slope above us but didn’t come in – no surprise there. However, a Yellowish-bellied Bush-warbler was much more responsive and we had several really nice views of a bird flitting around at eye-level and we enjoyed plenty more views of several stunning Collared Bush-robins and White-whiskered Laughingthrushes. 

Collared Bush-robin - a high altitude endemic

Buoyed by this success we opted to walk along a nearby trail but it really was dark and gloomy and a torrential downpour literally dampened any optimism with another calling shortwing – although this bird was so close but we just couldn’t see it in the dense bamboo. But the rain eased and we checked out a different spot and found ourselves watching a pair of Mikado Pheasants – the iconic bird of Taiwan! Just like that, a totally unexpected find and we were even treated to clearer conditions and much better visibility for a short while to help us ‘soak’ up the beauty of the bird. See what I did there….?

Mikado Pheasant in the mist - the best endemic?

 Then we drove back down to the lodge where I planned to have lunch and then walk some of the trails for a couple of skulkers we still needed. Well we had lunch amidst a crowd of noisy locals (bagels and cheese was nice) and then arranged to meet some 20 minutes later. However, the weather had one more trick up its sneaky sleeve and it literally chucked it down for the rest of the day. Oh and don’t forget pea-soup thick mist as well. So that was it – rain stopped birding due to a waterlogged forest! We did walk around the cabins a bit, hiding in sheltered little areas waiting for the rain to ease but it never seemed likely, so we called it quits. And met up again at 6pm for dinner. Its really strange here as everyone comes at the same time and its all over and done with very quickly and the staff are trying to get rid of us at seven!

Taiwan - Fabulous Dasyueshan

We met for breakfast at the rather civilised hour of 6.30am and tackled our first Taiwanese breakfast, which fortunately had toast, fried eggs and coffee, as well as plenty of unidentified inedible objects! So we finally left at 7.15am and drove out of the city and into the countryside at the base of Dasyueshan Mountain, following a narrow lane to a new area where there were several singing Taiwan Hwamei. 

Taiwan Hwamei - our first endemic of the tour

After a little while we had great views of a pair sat in a tree singing their hearts out on the slope above us and it was very nice to be able to watch them at leisure. As an aside, I was a little surprised to see blue skies and boy was it warm (!), especially after the heavy overnight rain. Despite this, there was a lot of bird activity with Pacific Swallows, House Swifts, Striated Swallows, and a few Silver-backed Needletails overhead, as well as lots of Vinous-throated Parrotbills, Plain Prinias, Chinese Bulbuls, Javan Mynas, Taiwan Barbet, Black-naped Monarch, Grey Treepie and Oriental Cuckoo all being noted. 

Vinous-throated Parrotbill

Best of all though, was a pair of Taiwan Scimitar-babblers that responded very well to the ipod and I managed a decent, albeit distant, record shot.  

Taiwan Scimitar-babbler - a widespread endemic

A short drive up the road to a fruiting tree and we found several Rufous-capped Babblers, Red Collared-dove, Japanese White-eye, Collared Finchbill and Himalayan Black Bulbuls that actually looked a lot different to the mainland forms. The only slight disappointment was hearing Taiwan Bamboo-partridge calling form below us, and with no access to the fields we had no hope of seeing it. It’s always a tricky species and I know it will take some finding! Another short drive higher up and we had White-bellied Erpornis, and our first views of Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, now an endemic species according to the IOC and one of a 4-way split – thanks IOC now I’ve seen them all!! The highlight for me was seeing a male Malayan Night-heron perched up in a tree, with a female sat on a nest nearby, and that’s not something you see everyday is it? 

Malayan Night-heron

With the temperature soaring, we had a nice raptor session this morning as well with lots of Crested Serpent-eagles, Japanese Sparrowhawks and a few Crested Goshawks adding some variety.

Our next stop alongside a tumbling stream gave us Brown Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Plumbeous Water-redstart, a male Grey-chinned Minivet (narcissus race..?) attacking its reflection in our wing mirror and in-your-face views of Rufous-faced Warbler. 

Rufous-faced Warbler

So from here we drove right up into the mountains, passing through great forest and marvelling at spectacular views until we reached the police station where we went inside and had our picnic lunch! What? Yeah, very surreal to use their kettle to make some tea and have a picnic on their dining table – not something you could do in the UK right? Can you imagine just popping in to the local constabulary and asking to have a picnic there and using their toilet!!!!! Welcome to friendly Taiwan! As we munched on sandwiches, cake, biscuits, fruit and all sorts the mist descended and left to go up ever higher to the Swinhoe’s Pheasant stake-out. 

Swinhoe's Pheasant - one of the key endemics

Rounding the corner just before the site, sure enough there was a male pheasant right there in front of us, with a few Steere’s Liocichlas for company. We had a nice look through the windscreen before driving by and parking further up the hill so as not to disturb the area. Sure enough we walked back downhill and sat down beside the road and had more stunning views of a truly spectacular bird for a while, chatting to some locals and also seeing a White-tailed Robin as well. Easy birding!

Steere's Liocichla - exceedingly common endemic

 Back up at the large layby a Taiwanese photographer had set up a little feeding station and allowed us in to take a look at a Taiwan Hill-partridge that was just sat in the leaf litter about 10 metres away. Nice! Always a tricky species and this really took the pressure off I can tell you. This stretch of road also gave us a Large Hawk-cuckoo that had been continually calling, and we nailed the endemic Yellow Tit and a pair of endemic Rusty Laughingthrush. How about that? 

Rusty Laughingthrush - a much scarcer endemic

A decent supporting cast of Oriental Honey-buzzard, Black-throated and Green-backed Tits, White-eared Sibia, Taiwan Yuhina, and more liocichlas and fulvettas meant that a very pleasurable hour or so was had by all. 

White-eared Sibia - another common endemic

Leaving here we continued up the mountain, stopping for a White-backed Woodpecker en-route,  and headed for the Mikado Pheasant site but it was getting late and there was nothing doing, apart from a brief White-whiskered Laughingthrush, so headed down to the lodge and an early night.

Qinghai - Tibet and Beyond! 2014

Really excited about this new tour next year, which runs from 5th - 27th June 2014. it's a long tour designed to see the very best of the Tibetan Plateau, but as I always try and do, add that something just a little different to the itinerary. So we will not head the 1500kms or whatever it is to Lhasa in the Tibetan Autonomous Region due to last year's restrictions (in fact you just couldn't go there as it was off limits), so we will fly to Xinjiang. Where? Well it's at the edge of the Takla Makan Desert and we can search for the endemic Biddulph's Ground-jay - a bird hardly any 'western' birder has seen before. Oh and we'll also drive up into the Tien Shan Mountains as well.

You can see the full itinerary at this link: http://www.zootherabirding.com/page_2878164.html

I'd like to thank my good friend Tang Jun for allowing me to use his excellent photos.

So here's a few images of the goodies in store for us...

Henderson's ground-jay

Ibisbill

Kozlov's Bunting

Kozlov's Babax

Przevalski's partridge

Pink-tailed Finch - a monotypic family

Ala Shan Redstart

Tibetan Rosefinch

Tibetan Sandgrouse

Biddulph's Ground-jay

Lammergeier mania!

During my recent visit to northern India I had the privilege to witness one of my favourite birds, the awesome Lammergeier mobbing a Himalayan Griffon Vulture. As you can see by the following photos, the Lammergeier really had a right old go at the griffon and it was awesome to be able to watch this at reasonably close range.

First of all the Lammergeier came quite low over our heads before heading out across the valley below us.

Then it suddenly swooped up and began chasing one of the griffons for no apparent reason.

And the Lammergeier actually locked talons with the griffon for a few seconds...

Before the griffon went into a steep dive and flew away. Amazing!

Madagascar Tour 26th Sept - 26th October 2013

Our extensive tour of the endemic-rich island of Madagascar is going ahead and we still have a few vacancies left. It includes all the more 'regular' sites as well as an extension to the Masoala Peninsula for the mythical Helmet Vanga.

Scaly Ground-Roller from the Zoothera 2012 Tour

This really is an amazing tour, full of superb birds like the Scaly Ground-Roller above.

Take a look at our itinerary: http://www.zootherabirding.com/page_2749050.html

And last year's tour report: http://cdn-20.create.net/sitefiles/20/7/4/207422/Madagascar_20121.pdf

If interested just email our office:  info@zootherabirding.com or ring on +44 (0)1803-431765.

Happy Birding!

More India Photos

Just had to post these photos from our dawn Elephant ride at Chitwan before proceeding with the birds from higher elevations.

Sunrise at Chitwan

Elephant ride at dawn

Another favourite from Chitwan was this Kalij Pheasant that was feeding by the path and didn't take any notice of our jeeps.

Kalij Pheasant

Well as promised here are a couple pics of the Grey-crowned Prinia from Pangot - oh how I wish I had my usual Nikon lens!!

Grey-crowned Prinia

It was pretty good up at Pangot, which is 10-15 kilometres above Nainital and a nice picturesque village. Much better to stay here than in Nainital I think. In the garden of the lodge Streaked Laughingthrush and Black-headed Jays were very common.

Streaked Laughingthrush

Black-headed Jay

Also quite common here was Russet Sparrow.

Russet Sparrow