I must have boasted so much about the success of my last weeks trip to Hengsha during Roger son’s birthday party. On 29th August, Roger, Kevin Pickering and myself was on our way to Hengsha. Yay, Hengsha once more. My second trip to Hengsha in 5 days. Hertz China(zuche) has their own immigration system, as i have to send my passport/visa details every year after renewal otherwise the system will not allow me to rent a car. Even after sending mails and calling their Customer support, they failed to activate my registration which resulted in hiring a black car.
Good job Hertz! The service orientation of the Chinese is not totally bad as most of the foreigners complain but zuche proved to be one of those with the heavy head.
Weather report for 29th showed as partly cloudy with no showers on Wednesday. By the time i got out of the house by Friday morning, it looked like a thunderstorm was imminent. As soon as i reached Roger’s home, heavens broke loose. The visibility on the express highway was no more than 50 metres. I had a very sad feeling in my stomach that the day’s going to be lost. By the time we reached the ferry pier, thunderstorm has stopped and it was drizzling. We had showers in between but overall a pretty good day with key species.
We hit the usual places from my previous trip. The recent rain has flooded most of the inland pools and there was very less Calidris activity. The tide was coming in when we hit the south-eastern sea wall. Plenty of Black-tailed Godwits and Great Knots were enjoying their last meal before the tide filled in. While we were watching the waders at high tide, we missed to nail the ID of a female harrier which best suited for a female Pied Harrier. The harrier was much darker(grey) and the white rump was visible but we didnt catch any more details as the bird flew ahead of us. We also had few Cuculus Cuckoos perched on a pole. Two of them were much darker above, my best would be on an Indian Cuckoo and other two are of Common/Oriental Cuckoo type.
Earlier this morning, we had our first passerine migrant “Asian Brown Flycatcher” to add to the list, Kevin scoped in a female Siberian Blue Robin. Afterwards it was all blue. There were several first winter birds and an adult male flew just few inches away from me and Roger before disappearing in the thick grass. A female Yellow-rumped flycatcher and a first winter Grey-streaked flycatcher put a decent lead on the passerine list. We then spent quiet some time photographing few waders while a dozen “Pacific Swifts” flew overhead.
1-st winter male
There is a new checkpost to the southeast sea wall which was not present on my last visit and several of the roads were blocked by breakwater stone blocks. God knows what they are planning to do. We stopped to see a flock of Common Greenshank and the huge flock of Oriental Pratincoles camouflaged by the wet ground were total surprise. Kevin counted 49!!! Just one short for an half century.
I’m not spotted
They always have that look
We were also delighted to find a single “Little Curlew”. Our same “Team” found the “Little Curlew” in Yangkou in May. It’s a nice addition to have the bird in our own patch. We saw a good flock go Garganey and Eurasian Teal in a pond. We stopped behind the “Angel bay holiday Resort” to see the curlews and Whimbrels. The birds were in a alarm and took off, we were expecting a raptor that would have caused the panic but the unexpected guest of the day was a “Lesser Frigatebird”.
Mr.Little
The Pirate of Donghai
A classy finish for the day and a bright start for the season.
Some more shots from the day.
Species List :
| Common name | Scientific name | Location |
| Ducks, Geese and Swans (Anatidae) – 2 / 173 | ||
| Garganey | Anas querquedula | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Eurasian Teal | Anas crecca | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Herons, Bitterns (Ardeidae) – 8 / 72 | ||
| Yellow Bittern | Ixobrychus sinensis | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Black-crowned Night Heron | Nycticorax nycticorax | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Chinese Pond Heron | Ardeola bacchus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Grey Heron | Ardea cinerea | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Purple Heron | Ardea purpurea | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Great Egret | Ardea alba | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Little Egret | Egretta garzetta | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Chinese Egret – VU | Egretta eulophotes | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Frigatebirds (Fregatidae) – 1 / 5 | ||
| Lesser Frigatebird | Fregata ariel | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Kites, Hawks and Eagles (Accipitridae) – 1 / 256 | ||
| Eastern Marsh Harrier | Circus spilonotus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Rails, Crakes and Coots (Rallidae) – 2 / 151 | ||
| Common Moorhen | Gallinula chloropus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Eurasian Coot | Fulica atra | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Stilts, Avocets (Recurvirostridae) – 1 / 10 | ||
| Black-winged Stilt | Himantopus himantopus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Plovers (Charadriidae) – 4 / 67 | ||
| Grey-headed Lapwing | Vanellus cinereus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Little Ringed Plover | Charadrius dubius | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Kentish Plover | Charadrius alexandrinus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Lesser Sand Plover | Charadrius mongolus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae) – 24 / 96 | ||
| Common Snipe | Gallinago gallinago | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Black-tailed Godwit | Limosa limosa | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Little Curlew | Numenius minutus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Whimbrel | Numenius phaeopus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Eurasian Curlew | Numenius arquata | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Far Eastern Curlew – VU | Numenius madagascariensis | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Spotted Redshank | Tringa erythropus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Common Redshank | Tringa totanus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Marsh Sandpiper | Tringa stagnatilis | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Common Greenshank | Tringa nebularia | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Green Sandpiper | Tringa ochropus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Wood Sandpiper | Tringa glareola | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Grey-tailed Tattler | Tringa brevipes | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Terek Sandpiper | Xenus cinereus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Common Sandpiper | Actitis hypoleucos | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Ruddy Turnstone | Arenaria interpres | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Great Knot – VU | Calidris tenuirostris | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Sanderling | Calidris alba | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Red-necked Stint | Calidris ruficollis | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Little Stint | Calidris minuta | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Long-toed Stint | Calidris subminuta | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Sharp-tailed Sandpiper | Calidris acuminata | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Curlew Sandpiper | Calidris ferruginea | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Dunlin | Calidris alpina | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Coursers, Pratincoles (Glareolidae) – 1 / 17 | ||
| Oriental Pratincole | Glareola maldivarum | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Gulls, Terns and Skimmers (Laridae) – 4 / 102 | ||
| Gull-billed Tern | Gelochelidon nilotica | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Little Tern | Sternula albifrons | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Whiskered Tern | Chlidonias hybrida | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| White-winged Tern | Chlidonias leucopterus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae) – 1 / 335 | ||
| Spotted Dove | Spilopelia chinensis | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Cuckoos (Cuculidae) – 2 / 149 | ||
| Indian Cuckoo | Cuculus micropterus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Common Cuckoo | Cuculus canorus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Nightjars (Caprimulgidae) – 1 / 98 | ||
| Grey Nightjar | Caprimulgus jotaka | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Swifts (Apodidae) – 1 / 106 | ||
| Pacific Swift | Apus pacificus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Rollers (Coraciidae) – 1 / 12 | ||
| Oriental Dollarbird | Eurystomus orientalis | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Kingfishers (Alcedinidae) – 1 / 93 | ||
| Common Kingfisher | Alcedo atthis | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Shrikes (Laniidae) – 2 / 33 | ||
| Brown Shrike | Lanius cristatus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Long-tailed Shrike | Lanius schach | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Crows, Jays (Corvidae) – 2 / 131 | ||
| Azure-winged Magpie | Cyanopica cyanus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Black-billed Magpie | Pica hudsonia | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae) – 1 / 151 | ||
| Light-vented Bulbul | Pycnonotus sinensis | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Swallows, Martins (Hirundinidae) – 2 / 88 | ||
| Barn Swallow | Hirundo rustica | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Red-rumped Swallow | Cecropis daurica | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Cisticolas and allies (Cisticolidae) – 2 / 159 | ||
| Zitting Cisticola | Cisticola juncidis | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Plain Prinia | Prinia inornata | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Sylviid Babblers (Sylviidae) – 2 / 70 | ||
| Vinous-throated Parrotbill | Sinosuthora webbiana | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Reed Parrotbill | Paradoxornis heudei | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Starlings, Rhabdornis (Sturnidae) – 2 / 123 | ||
| Crested Myna | Acridotheres cristatellus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| White-cheeked Starling | Spodiopsar cineraceus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Chats, Old World Flycatchers (320) (Muscicapidae) – 6 / 320 | ||
| Grey-streaked Flycatcher | Muscicapa griseisticta | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Asian Brown Flycatcher | Muscicapa latirostris | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Siberian Blue Robin | Larvivora cyane | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Yellow-rumped Flycatcher | Ficedula zanthopygia | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Blue Rock Thrush | Monticola solitarius | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Stejneger’s Stonechat | Saxicola stejnegeri | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Old World Sparrows, Snowfinches (Passeridae) – 1 / 51 | ||
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow | Passer montanus | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Wagtails, Pipits (Motacillidae) – 3 / 67 | ||
| Eastern Yellow Wagtail | Motacilla tschutschensis | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Grey Wagtail | Motacilla cinerea | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| White Wagtail | Motacilla alba | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Finches (Fringillidae) – 1 / 219 | ||
| Chinese Grosbeak | Eophona migratoria | Hengsha, Chongming, Shanghai, China |
| Species: 79 | ||
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