The Deskbound Birder: South Korea and Taiwan

Friday 7 February 2020

South Korea and Taiwan - 7th February (Day 13)

We began the day at the NTU Experimental Farm to the south-east of Ren'ai. Our journey here was interesting to say the least, we could have followed the main road but Google maps sent us on the most direct route down a steep and often unmade track with multiple sharp hairpin bends and in places barely passable. We arrived at the farm at 06:50 and birded here for the first three hours of the day seeing Taiwan Bamboo-Partridge, a distant White-bellied Green-Pigeon, Taiwan Hwamei, Rusty Laughingthrush and Snowy-browed Flycatcher. The birding was very pleasant around the small woodland patches and weedy arable fields. My eBird checklist for the site can be viewed here.

Collared Finchbill - NTU Experimental Farm, Ren'ai, Taiwan

Rusty Laughingthrush - NTU Experimental Farm, Ren'ai, Taiwan

Taiwan Hwamei - NTU Experimental Farm, Ren'ai, Taiwan

Snowy-browed Flycatcher - NTU Experimental Farm, Ren'ai, Taiwan

We then headed up hill to Hehuan Shan Mountain to the north-east of Wuling and at 3,150m. The carpark at the pass was shrouded in thick fog and Taiwanese people marvelling at the thin covering of dirty snow and ice in the litter strewn car park. There were no birds to be seen. We then dropped to the the carpark at Song Shue Lodge which was bathed in sunshine but very cold. Here we recorded Taiwan Rosefinch, White-whiskered Laughingthrush, Flamecrest and Taiwan Fulvetta but there was no sign of our main target, Alpine Accentor. We headed a little further along the road to various lay-bys but saw little. My eBird checklist for the area can be viewed here.

Cutting our losses we headed back downhill and spent the last hour or so of daylight on the lower section of the Blue Gates Trail but saw little. My eBird checklist for the area can be viewed here.