Birding in Taiwan 2024 - IV

 The car park at the end of the mountain road is at 2560m above sea level and a good place to see high mountain birds,

BUT! the morning we were there it was covered with thick fog! 😭

And yet, we found a Mikado pheasant (mikado-kijiミカドキジ) foraging quietly under the trees just behind the sign.

We went a bit closer but he was just minding his own business.

beautiful tail-feathers!

Suddenly, noisy calls came from the fog - a flock of White-whiskered laughingthrushes (Taiwan-kimbane-gabichoタイワンキンバネガビチョウ) appeared from nowhere.

and started hopping on the ground around us.

A little shadow on the edge of the car park. 

a male Collared bush robin! (Alisan-hitakiアリサンヒタキ)

In the fog it actually looked really blurred like this. Lucky we had an excellent guide like Ko-san to find little birds under this weather condition.

A flock of Black-throated tits (Zuaka-enagaズアカエナガ) flew into a nearby tree👍

Another Mikado pheasant was on the mountain path.

A female Collared bush robin in the bush:)

A juvenile Collared bush robin popped out and quickly back again.

Another male Collared bush robin

a Ferruginous flycatcher (miyama-hitakiミヤマヒタキ) perched on a cable but I failed to capture his whole body! argh!

Taiwan persimmon tree (kaki柿)

Photo-taking was almost impossible in the fog but we had a great morning birding walk in and around the car park.

It was a three-night birding trip with Ko-san and although the number of species we recorded during this trip is smaller than the previous visit in 2015 but we had a wonderful time with Ko-san and we'd like to come back in a different season to see different birds. 

The posts of our 2015 trip are here ↓

Taiwan 2015 - 1

Taiwan 2015 - 2

Taiwan 2015 - 3

Taiwan 2015 - 4

Taiwan 2015 - 5

Taiwan 2015 - 6

Taiwan 2015 - 7

Taiwan 2015 - 8

Junsai-Ike Park, Kasori

After moving, I've driven past the park every other day but never stopped.

Today, I finally decided to cycle there to have a look at the place and birds there.

Long-tailed tit (enagaエナガ)

Japanese Tit (shijukaraシジュウカラ）

Varied Tit (yamagaraヤマガラ）

I did not see a wide range of birds or a rare one but still, the park was full of bird calls and peaceful:)

Hokkaido IV

The ground of the woodland was still covered with thick snow but we had chance to see woodland birds near feeders.

Jay (akesuカケス) - a subspecies found in Hokkaido has a very distinct cinnamon coloured head.

 

We had never seen so many Jays in one place! 

Nuthatch (Gojukaraゴジュウカラ) - a very white underparts compared with the ones we are familiar in Britain.

Great spotted woodpecker (Akageraアカゲラ)

Marsh tit (Hashibutogaraハシブトガラ)

 

Dusky thrush (Tsugumiツグミ) & Jay

 Japanese tit (Shijukaraシジュウカラ)

Long-tailed tit (Shimaenagaシマエナガ) - completely white face

Brown-eared bulbul (Hiyodoriヒヨドリ)

Carrion crow (Hashibosogarasuハシボソガラス)

 

 

Wren (Misosazaiミソサザイ)

All of a sudden, the little ones started to be agitated with alarm calls, and this is why: a beautiful Red fox (Kitsuneキツネ)

 The woodland looks bleak from outside but it surely is getting ready for spring!

Fledglings

Very loud callings of Long-tailed Tits' (Enagaエナガ) were heard from the thicket in Ecology Park.

there they are!

2 adults were extremely busy feeding at least 6 fledglings, all demanding their turn!

A few days later, I saw a family of Long-tailed Tits foraging through the park wood. I don't know if they were the same family but all the fledglings in this family were old enough to catch their own food:)

I spotted a rather large fledgling as well - a Carrion Crow (Hashibosogarasuハシボソガラス)

I wouldn't have known that it was a carrion crow unless an adult came to feed him.

I'm hoping to see more fledglings in the next few weeks in the park and elsewhere.

Early May in Chiba

There is not so much of a dawn chorus in May in Chiba as there is in Britain because there are not many songbirds breeding around here, but there are lots of activities going on among the thick leaves which already have grown.

An Azure-winged Magpie's nest

a flock of Azure-winged Magpie (Onagaオナガ) foraging in a tree and on the ground

a female Japanese Sparrowhawk (Tsumiツミ) calling

a pair at a different location

In Japan, Azure-winged Magpies are known to build their nests in the territory of a breeding pair of Japanese Sparrowhawks in order to avoid nest predation, mainly by Thick-billed Crows. Japanese Sparrowhawks probably benefit from it as the Magpies are colonial communal breeders and very vocal so they could be like an alarm system.

Oriental Turtle Doves (Kijibatoキジバト)

 a family of Long-tailed Tits (Enagaエナガ）

They were still so fluffy!!

A male Meadow Bunting was singing by a small pond.

It will be more lively soon as chicks start leaving their nests:)