by Craig Brelsford
Founder, shanghaibirding.com
On Saturday 24 Oct. Elaine and I noted 53 species on Lesser Yangshan Island and at Cape Nanhui. The most notable birds on Lesser Yangshan were Eurasian Wryneck, Hair-crested Drongo, and Hawfinch. We saw a “flock” of 3 Northern Boobook. At Nanhui, Eurasian Woodcock was found in the microforests along the sea wall. Brown-headed Thrush and Red-throated Thrush are uncommon passage migrants in Shanghai.
Once again, our team consisted of Michael Grunwell, Stephan Popp and wife Xueping, and Elaine and me. The moment with the woodcock was team birding at its best. Walking along the road atop the sea wall, I stumbled upon the woodcock. It exploded from cover and left the forest. I immediately knew I had scared a brown non-thrush, but I hadn’t seen the long bill. “Brown bird!” I cried out. The woodcock appeared from behind a line of trees just long enough for Michael to see it. “Woodcock!” he cried out.
Weather: Hazy and warm, with a steady northeasterly wind. High 25°C.
List 1 of 2 for Sat. 24 Oct. (35 species)
Lesser Yangshan Island (Xiǎo Yángshān [小洋山]), island in Hangzhou Bay, Zhejiang, China. List includes birds noted at Garbage Dump Gully (30.644179, 122.058308), Garbage Dump Coastal Plain (30.643407, 122.055752), Xiǎoyánglíng Cove (30.645001, 122.061773), & Temple Mount (30.639945, 122.048277). 07:00–11:50. Note: Hyperlinks connect to entries in Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, published in its entirety on this website.
Little Egret Egretta garzetta 1
Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus 1
Eastern Buzzard Buteo japonicus 1
Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis 2
Northern Boobok Ninox japonica 3
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis 1
Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla 1
Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 4
Bull-headed Shrike Lanius bucephalus 1
Long-tailed Shrike L. schach 5
Hair-crested Drongo Dicrurus hottentottus 1
Oriental Magpie Pica serica 4
Japanese Tit Parus minor 3
Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis 30
Brown-flanked Bush Warbler Horornis fortipes 2
Pallas’s Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus 3
Yellow-browed Warbler P. inornatus 8
Arctic-type leaf warbler P. borealis/P. examinandus/P. xanthodryas 3
Zosterops sp. 8
White’s Thrush Zoothera aurea 3
Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa latirostris 1
Siberian Rubythroat Calliope calliope 1
Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus 2
Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla 2
Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus 15
Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius philippensis 3
Stejneger’s Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri 3
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus 5
White Wagtail Motacilla alba 4
Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni 15
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla 2
Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes 1
Meadow Bunting Emberiza cioides 3
Little Bunting E. pusilla 1
Black-faced Bunting E. spodocephala 2
Reptiles
snake sp. 1 black, fuzzily defined postocular eyestripe, long body, long head
List 2 of 2 for Sat. 24 Oct. (31 species)
Around Pudong Nanhui Dongtan Wetland (Pǔdōng Nánhuì Dōngtān Shīdì [浦东南汇东滩湿地]), Shanghai, China (30.920507, 121.973159); includes birds found at Magic Parking Lot (30.882784, 121.972782). 12:30–15:45. Note: Hyperlinks connect to entries in Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, published in its entirety on this website.
Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope 7
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 10
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 30
Great Egret A. alba 20
Little Egret Egretta garzetta ca. 100
Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola 1
Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago 1
Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis 30
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida 1
Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 1
Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus 1
Long-tailed Shrike L. schach 3
Pallas’s Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus proregulus 4
Yellow-browed Warbler P. inornatus 5
Plain Prinia Prinia inornata 3
Vinous-throated Parrotbill Sinosuthora webbiana 5
White’s Thrush Zoothera aurea 8
Grey-backed Thrush Turdus hortulorum 4
Eyebrowed Thrush T. obscurus 1
Pale Thrush T. pallidus 1
Brown-headed Thrush T. chrysolaus 1
Red-throated Thrush T. ruficollis 1
Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa latirostris 3
Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus 6
Mugimaki Flycatcher Ficedula mugimaki 3
Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus 20
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus 10
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea 1
White Wagtail M. alba 2
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla 3
Black-faced Bunting Emberiza spodocephala 2
Featured image: Xueping Popp (L) and Michael Grunwell (R) in one of the microforests on landward side of the levee at Cape Nanhui. During migration season, these plantations of locust trees contain an astonishing number of woodland birds. (Craig Brelsford)
