69 Species at Cape Nanhui

by Craig Brelsford
Founder, shanghaibirding.com

Stimulating discussions about leaf warblers enlivened the lulls on Sat. 24 Sept. 2016, a day in which my wife Elaine Du and I once again partnered with veteran British birder Michael Grunwell. We noted 69 species, starting at the sod farm south of Pudong airport then spending the rest of the day at Cape Nanhui. Highlights:

Ruff

Ruff, by Elaine Du.
Note the scaly upperparts and buffy head of this juvenile Ruff, as well as the white sides to its tail. Elaine got these shots with my iPhone 6 plus Swarovski ATX-95 spotting scope mounted atop our Manfrotto head and Gitzo tripod. (Elaine Du)

Juvenile spotted on mudflats at high tide. A far-northern, trans-Eurasian breeder, Philomachus pugnax is a scarce passage migrant in Shanghai. Amid the greenshanks and godwits, the Ruff stood out with its buff-washed head and scaly upperparts. Juvenile Ruff resembles Buff-breasted Sandpiper, a much smaller American bird that we quickly ruled out.

Eurasian Hobby

Peregrine Falcon, Nanhui, 24 Sept. 2016.
Eurasian Hobby, Nanhui, 24 Sept. (Craig Brelsford)

1 juv. Earlier mis’ID as Peregrine Falcon; corrected 3 Oct. 2016.

White-winged Tern

A week ago ca. 2500, on Saturday only 10. Coastal birding is a parade of change, especially in migration season.

Other goodies: Eurasian Wryneck 2, Japanese Paradise Flycatcher 6, Amur Paradise Flycatcher 1, Richard’s Pipit 5, White’s Thrush 5 first-of-season, Rufous-tailed Robin 1 first-of-season. We introduced Benjamin to Reed Parrotbill calling unseen from the reeds below, we had a strong count of 16 Blue-and-white Flycatcher, and we noted two endangered species: Far Eastern Curlew and Yellow-breasted Bunting.

Microforest 4
Microforest 4 (30.953225, 121.959083), Sat. 24 Sept. This is the largest of the eight microforests at Cape Nanhui and an astonishingly effective migrant trap. With woodland birds migrating through and trees all around, one almost begins to forget that this speck of woodland is just a stone’s throw from the mudflats and the East China Sea. (Craig Brelsford)

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Craig Brelsford

Craig Brelsford is the founder of shanghaibirding.com. Brelsford lived in Shanghai from 2007 to 2018. Now back home in Florida, Brelsford maintains close ties to the Shanghai birding community and continues his enthusiastic development of this website. When Brelsford departed China, he was the top-ranked eBirder in that country, having noted more than 930 species. Brelsford was also the top-ranked eBirder in Shanghai, with more than 320 species. Brelsford’s photos of birds have won various awards and been published in books and periodicals and on websites all over the world. Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, published in its entirety on this website, is the most Shanghai-centric field guide ever written. Brelsford is a graduate of the University of Florida and earned a master's in business administration at the University of Liege, Belgium.

3 thoughts on “69 Species at Cape Nanhui”

  1. Sorry but not convinced that your falcon is a Peregrine, the head-pattern alone says juvenile Hobby to me. Will be interested to see if there are any similar comments.

    Reply

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