On the day of Christmas, i went on a half day to stint to scout a “Prospective” property, the perks being very close to Nanhui. Even though the property din’t pan out, it was a pretty good winter day. The “December Skies” were absolutely gorgeous blue with no signs of smog and an incredible light which i have seen it only a couple of times in the past years. A good day to be out for birding. The day started with 5 “Falcated Ducks“(2 males and 3 females) opposite to the holiday inn, the brilliant light made me the enjoy the striking greenish head of the males.

Falcated Duck

Two male Falcated Ducks

Two Great Bitterns put a good show, stunning birds and definitely these are great birds in terms of size compared to the Yellow, Cinnamon and Black Bitterns.(Von Schrenck is still not in my list).

Adult Boomer

Adult Boomer

The other individual was so confident about its camouflage skill and merged into the reeds by prolonging its neck and pretending to be a reed.

The "odd" reed

The “odd” reed

Pipits were in good no’s, especially the Buff-bellied Pipit were in big flocks scavenging on the road. Last winter, me and Kevin Harding found our first “Water Pipit” in Hengsha. However, i was able to record some good shots of the “Water Pipit”.

Buff-bellied Pipit

Buff-bellied Pipit (aka) American Pipit

 

Water Pipit

Rufous upper tail coverts (ssp blakistoni)

Water Pipit

Fine streaking restricted to upper breast and white belly

Support cast

Yellow Wagtail

The day didn’t just end here. The “Ruddy Shelduck” which i saw in early November have found a partner and they were absolutely enjoying their winter days in Shanghai. The WWF site was filled up with water from the recent rain, numerous “Great Cormorants” and “Eastern Spot-billed Ducks” found a safe haven there. The reed beds which were converted into shrimp ponds over the autumn, held a dozen “Common Shelducks“.

Eastern Spot-billed Duck

Common Shelduck

The no of Eurasian Spoonbills have gone considerably high as the Black-faced Spoonbills outnumbered the Eurasian during my last visit in November. I was able to pick out one Black-faced among the 80+ Eurasian Spoonbills. The other huge bird of the day is “Oriental Stork”, 6 birds were feeding very actively.

Oriental Stork Oriental Stork

Finally, the lifer of the day, Blyth’s Pipit. In fact, it was the first bird i saw on that day. It took bit of a homework on the pipits especially the Blyth’s and Water.

Blyth's Pipit

The ugly smog which usually restricts the distant objects is not a hurdle today. I found my fondness for the metal birds.

SF_Airlines China_Southern

Checklist :

 

Species
Ruddy Shelduck
Common Shelduck
Falcated Duck
Mallard
Eastern Spot-billed Duck
Northern Shoveler
Common Pochard
Tufted Duck
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Oriental Stork
Great Cormorant
Great Bittern
Gray Heron
Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
Little Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Eurasian Spoonbill
Black-faced Spoonbill
Eastern Marsh-Harrier
Northern Harrier
Common Buzzard
Eurasian Moorhen
Eurasian Coot
Kentish Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Common Sandpiper
Common Greenshank
Dunlin
Brown-headed Gull
Common Kingfisher
Eurasian Kestrel
Long-tailed Shrike
Eurasian Magpie
Barn Swallow
Light-vented Bulbul
Blyth’s Pipit
Water Pipit
American Pipit
Chestnut-eared Bunting
Pallas’s Bunting

Total : 42 species