by Craig Brelsford
Founder, shanghaibirding.com
On Saturday 12 Dec., birding once again with the Dream Team, my wife and partner Elaine Du and I noted 69 species on Lesser Yangshan Island and at Cape Nanhui. We found Horned Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, and Greater Scaup at Dishui Lake (30.908702, 121.945124), we noted 600 Common Shelduck off the coast at Nanhui, and we added to our Shanghai-area autumn-winter list Tundra Swan, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Brown-eared Bulbul, and White-rumped Munia.
Lesser Yangshan has been thin lately, but it was with past December views of Brown-eared Bulbul in mind that we made the 25-km trek across the Donghai Bridge to the little island. Sure enough, we quickly found a single Brown-eared Bulbul, a scarce winter visitor in the Shanghai area. The bird was in Garbage Dump Gully (30.644194, 122.058660) and was flying excitedly from tree to tree. We guessed it had just arrived. In the trees in the courtyard we found a pair of Swinhoe’s White-eye.
Finding little else of interest, we left Lesser Yangshan after less than an hour. Our first stop at Cape Nanhui was an overgrown field near Dishui Lake. Here we found a strong mix of buntings, among them Rustic Bunting and Yellow-browed Bunting.
At Dishui Lake, the first bird I laid eyes on through the scope was the Red-breasted Merganser. Dream Team member Xueping Popp snapped up record shots of the distant duck. The straighter bill of our Red-breasted Merganser distinguishes it from the hooked bill of Common Merganser. Tufted Duck were the most numerous diving duck, and Falcated Duck the most numerous dabbler. The Horned Grebe, also known as Slavonian Grebe, was in the same northeastern corner of Dishui where Elaine and I found 3 Horned Grebe six days ago.
A quick stop at the Magic Parking Lot (30.885045, 121.968261) once again revealed late Barn Swallow. Absent from Dishui Lake, they were present in their dozens over the smaller pond behind the Holiday Inn. For the past three weeks, we have noted Barn Swallow there and nowhere else. A Peregrine Falcon soared over the carpark.
The problem with the sea-wall road at Cape Nanhui is that another wall runs along the road, blocking one’s view of the mudflats below. Barred thereby from scanning as one drives, one is forced to make periodic stops and get out of the car. During one of these stops, we found the impressive flock of Common Shelduck. A much luckier view was that of the Common Goldeneye. A random stop produced a single white spot in the muddy sea far out. The scope brought him in just before he took another long dive.
At Nanhui we ran into Hé Xīn (何鑫). He alerted us to the presence of Tundra Swan, and he told us he had seen an Oriental Stork. He also found Swan Goose. We were able to locate the Tundra Swan but missed the stork and Swan Goose.
The Dream Team consists of veteran U.K. birder Michael Grunwell, husband-and-wife team Stephan Popp and Xueping Popp, my wife Elaine Du, and me.
With the new additions, Elaine’s and my Shanghai autumn-winter list contains 260 species. We started the list on 11 Sept.
List 1 of 2 for Sat. 12 Dec. (17 species)
Lesser Yangshan Island (Xiǎo Yángshān [小洋山]), island in Hangzhou Bay, Zhejiang, China. List includes birds noted at Garbage Dump Gully (30.644194, 122.058660), Garbage Dump Coastal Plain (30.643299, 122.056269), & Temple Mount (30.639866, 122.048327). Mostly cloudy. Winds NNE 11 km/h. Visibility 10 km. Sunrise 06:44, sunset 16:52. High 11°C. SAT 12 DEC 2015 07:00–07:50. Craig Brelsford, Elaine Du, Michael Grunwell, Stephan Popp, & Xueping Popp.
Eastern Buzzard Buteo japonicus 1
Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach 4
Oriental Magpie Pica serica 2
Japanese Tit Parus minor 3
Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis 15
Brown-eared Bulbul Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis 1
Swinhoe’s White-eye Zosterops simplex 2
Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus 2
Pale Thrush Turdus pallidus 2
Dusky Thrush T. eunomus 1
Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus 1
Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus 5
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus 5
White Wagtail Motacilla alba 5
Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni 3
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla 1
Yellow-throated Bunting Emberiza elegans 1
List 2 of 2 for Sat. 12 Dec. (62 species)
Around Pudong Nanhui Dongtan Wetland (Pǔdōng Nánhuì Dōngtān Shīdì [浦东南汇东滩湿地]), Shanghai, China (30.920507, 121.973159); list includes birds found at Magic Parking Lot (30.885045, 121.968261), Magic GPS Point (30.880623, 121.964545), the empty blue-roofed building & nearby microforests (30.961368, 121.952136), and Dishui Lake (30.908702, 121.945124). Mostly cloudy. Winds NNE 11 km/h. Visibility 10 km. Sunrise 06:44, sunset 16:52. High 11°C. SAT 12 DEC 2015 08:30–13:40. Craig Brelsford, Elaine Du, Michael Grunwell, Stephan Popp, & Xueping Popp.
Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus bewickii 170
Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna 600
Falcated Duck Anas falcata 450
Gadwall A. strepera 30
Eurasian Wigeon A. penelope 50
Mallard A. platyrhynchos 40
Eastern Spot-billed Duck A. zonorhyncha ca. 400
Northern Shoveler A. clypeata 50
Northern Pintail A. acuta 60
Common Pochard Aythya ferina 10
Tufted Duck A. fuligula 120
Greater Scaup A. marila 10
Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula 1
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator 1
Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus 1
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 15
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus 30
Horned Grebe P. auritus 1
Black-necked Grebe P. nigricollis 5
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia 70
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax 4
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea ca. 50
Great Egret A. alba 10
Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia 3
Little Egret E. garzetta ca. 100
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 30
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra ca. 200
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus 20
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 1
Dunlin Calidris alpina 10
Vega Gull Larus vegae or Mongolian Gull L. mongolicus 5
Feral Pigeon (Rock Dove) Columba livia 5
Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis 5
Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis 10
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis 1
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus 1
Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach 10
Chinese Penduline Tit Remiz consobrinus 5
Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis 10
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica ca. 70
Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus 1
Plain Prinia Prinia inornata 4
Vinous-throated Parrotbill Sinosuthora webbiana 20
Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus 10
White-cheeked Starling Spodiopsar cineraceus 15
Pale Thrush Turdus pallidus 3
Naumann’s Thrush T. naumanni 1
Dusky Thrush T. eunomus 2
Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus 2
Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus 8
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus ca. 150
White-rumped Munia Lonchura striata 3
Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis 2 taivana
White Wagtail M. alba 5 leucopsis
Richard’s Pipit Anthus richardi 1
Olive-backed Pipit A. hodgsoni 5
Buff-bellied Pipit A. rubescens japonicus 3
Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla 15
Yellow-browed Bunting E. chrysophrys 1
Rustic Bunting E. rustica 20
Black-faced Bunting E. spodocephala 1
Pallas’s Reed Bunting E. pallasi 8
Mammals
Siberian Weasel Mustela sibirica 1
Featured image: Xueping Popp (L), Elaine Du (C), and Michael Grunwell (R) view Horned Grebe at Dishui Lake, Cape Nanhui, Shanghai. (Craig Brelsford)
