Pennington Marsh - 12th November

After dropping Tobias at school I had a short wander around Pennington Marsh. It was a beautiful clear day but in the Force 5-6 NW wind it was distinctly cold and wintery. The water levels in the lagoons were high as was the tide and there were large numbers of Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, Shoveler, Brent Goose, Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit and Dunlin on the flooded meadows. There was a single white-headed Ruff amongst the Godwits and at least three Water Pipit forced to the edges of the marshes by the high-water. A male Marsh Harrier caused the birds to fly also flushing around 75 Golden Plover from the marshes. A single Chiffchaff was present in the Bramble of the old landfill.

Water Pipit - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Chiffchaff - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Grey Heron - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Brent Goose, Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, Oystercatcher and Black-headed Gull - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Brent Goose, Wigeon, Teal and Dunlin - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Brent Goose, Wigeon, Teal, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin and Black-headed Gull - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Wigeon and Pintail - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Shoveler, Lapwing and Black-headed Gull - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Shoveler - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Shoveler and Wigeon - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

China Wetlands (Birdquest) Tour - 13th November (Day 10)

Today we birded the area around Wu Cheng within the Poyang Hu Reserve all day. We had experienced heavy overnight rain but this eased off over breakfast to give damp and cloudy conditions with mist and occasional showers - far from ideal conditions for birding a marshland. Our first stop was a tower hide but views of the marsh were obscured by fog but we did see our first Chinese Hwamei plus Grey-backed Thrush. Pallas’s Warbler and Black-collared Staring. Next, an area of rice paddies dropping down into marshland. The rice paddies were alive with birds with Black-faced Bunting, Chestnut-eared Bunting, Little Bunting, Oriental Sky Lark, Buff-bellied Pipit, Water Pipit, Daurian Redstart, Black-collared Starling, Red-billed Starling and Stejneger’s Stonechat. On the marshland we recorded our first, distant, White-naped Crane and a Marsh Grassbird which showed reasonably well plus Common Crane, Oriental Stork, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Tundra Bean Goose and Taiga Bean Goose. A short walk into arable fields produced two Chinese Hwamei, White-browed Laughing Thrush and large numbers of Pallas’s Warbler plus Yellow-browed Warbler and Dusky Warbler. We then birded the causeway extending through vast areas of marsh and mudflats seeing many Greater White-fronted Goose, Tundra Bean Goose, Taiga Bean Goose plus Chinese Pond Heron, Temminck’s Stint (two), Red-necked Stint (one) and many Kentish Plover but the fog and rain hindered our viewing and we decided to head for lunch.

Marsh Grassbird of race sinensis - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

White-naped Crane, my first and a little distant - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Water Pipit of race blakistoni - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Daurian Redstart - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

White-browed Laughing Thrush - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Chinese Hwamei - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Dusky Warbler - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Pallas's Warbler - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Pallas's Warbler - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Pallas's Warbler - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Tundra Bean Goose and at least five Taiga Bean Goose (rear left of centre - paler, longer and more swan like necks and long sloping bill and forehead) - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Spotted Redshank - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Greater White-fronted Goose - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Chinese Pond Heron - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Hooded Crane - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

After lunch we pretty much repeated our footsteps from this morning mainly looking for Lesser White-fronted Goose but with no success. The highlight of the afternoon was driving a raised embankment at the end of the causeway and scanning a large flock (perhaps 1,500 birds) of Taiga Bean Goose and Tundra Bean Goose mixed with a few Greater White-fronted Goose while in the same fields fed 12 Siberian Crane around 50 White-naped Crane, two Hooded Crane and around 50 Common Crane – it was quite a spectacle. The views of the cranes were probably our best yet and we spent a while watching this spectacular birds. A final stop at a view point on the way back to the hotel produced a lovely flock of six Black-throated Tit but the views were hampered by mist.

Buff-bellied Pipit of race japonicus - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Greater White-fronted Goose - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

White-naped Crane and Common Crane - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Greater White-fronted Goose - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

White-naped Crane and Siberian Crane - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

White-naped Crane - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

White-naped Crane and Siberian Crane - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

White-naped Crane and Siberian Crane - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

Rice Paddies where the above cranes and geese were feeding - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng

We headed back to the hotel and spent the last 30 minutes of day light scanning the river adjacent to the hotel and walking to a temple view point but appart from a Peregrine and Asian Brown Flycatcher we saw little.

Discussions over dinner focused on a potential change to the itinerary given the poor weather and that we had seen most of the birds available here. We would see what the weather in the morning brought before deciding.

Wu Cheng

Selling fish in Wu Cheng

Well stocked fridge in our restaurant at Wu Cheng

Our guides and driver at Wu Cheng - note the dish in the middle of the table that consists almost entirely of green chillies!

Life Birds;

• White-naped Crane
• Marsh Grassbird
• Chinese Hwamei
• White-browed Laughingthrush

Links to Other Days of the Trip (Click to View)

Day 1 and 2 - Travel and Beijing Area

Day 3 - Ming Tombs

Day 4 - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yengdu

Day 5 - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yengdu

Day 6 - Yancheng Nature Reserve, Yengdu and Dongtai, Yancheng

Day 7 - Dongtai, Yancheng

Day 8 - Kengkou, Wuyuan

Day 9 - Nanjishan Wetland Reserve, Nancheng

Day 11 - Poyang Hu Reserve, Wu Cheng and Emei Feng, Taining

Day 12 - Emei Feng, Taining

Day 13 - Emei Feng, Taining and Changle

Day 14 - Changle, Fuzhou

Day 15 - Nanshan Park, Changle and travel

Extremadura - 18th January (Day 3 of 4)

We awoke at 06:30 to rain as was forecast despite the doubts we had of the accuracy of the forecast of rain the evening before. After a quick breakfast we headed out and drove north back through Monfrague National Park to Navaconcejo where we stopped at the Rio Jerte for Dipper here in Extremadura of the race 'aquaticus'. After a bit of scanning we eventually picked up a bird feeding on rocks in the middle of the river, after driving parallel with the river a short way we eventually got good views as it sang and fed in the middle of the river although it was still a little dark and murky for a decent photograph. We then headed up over the pass through the Tras la Sierra (Extremaduran Gredos) towards the pass at Puerto de Honduras where Ricardo had a site for our main target, Iberian Green Woodpecker and also for Citril Finch, but as we climbed the snow became thicker until we decided that the road was not going to be passable so after reversing some distance back down the road as it was too narrow to turn we headed back through Navaconcejo and took the lower pass via Puerto de Cabezabellosa. We then drove up the highway to the forest at Hervas where eventually after almost three hours on the road we reached our destination. We parked at the end of a rough track and walked through the very English like landscape consisting of small pastures and woodland blocks. The woodland here was dominated by ash, poplar and oak and it was not long before we heard the familiar yet noticeably high pitched 'yaffle' call of Iberian Green Woodpecker. After much scanning and playback I eventually picked the bird up rather distantly feeding on the ground, it looked fairly similar to 'our' Green Woodpecker but with less black on the face, and seemingly more green washed underparts. We tried to get closer views but to no avail. Other birds here were Nuthatch, Cirl Bunting, Iberian Azure-winged Magpie, Rock Bunting, Long-tailed Tit of the race 'irbii' and Serin.

Dipper of the race 'aquaticus', one of the black-bellied races at Navaconcejo

Snow bound road on way to pass at Puerto de Honduras

Habitat at Hervas. Iberian Green Woodpecker was the target here and was seen foraging in the meadow and calling from the ivy clad Poplars at the left side of this image.

Long-tailed Tit of the race 'irbii' with grey rather than pinkish scapulars at Hervas

Male Cirl Bunting at Hervas

We then headed back south on the E-803 highway but cut off at La Granja and passed through Tierras de Granadilla. This was an area of arable fields and holm oak studded pasture which we simply drove through with occasional stops but which yielded several hundred Common Crane, many White Stork, a roost of nine Stone Curlew, Thekla Lark and many of the other now familiar roadside birds. 

Flock of Common Crane at Tierras de Granadilla

Common Crane at Tierras de Granadilla

A stop at a pool at Fresnedillas produced several Crag Martin, Wigeon, 

Shoveler and Great White Egret

Thekla Lark at Tierra de Granadilla

White Stork were by now a familiar site nesting on a range of elevated structures

We then headed for the rice fields at El Batan. This rather unattractive area, consisting of flooded fields used for rice production and seemingly derelict factory farm buildings, was nonetheless very birdy. Our first stop at a flooded rice field pool produced Ruff, Greenshank, many Snipe, Green Sandpiper and a Lesser Yellowlegs which showed well and has been present since November. A Bluethroat showed very well as it worked a feeding circuit around the pool and eventually approached to within 10m or so. A Water Pipit also gave similarly excellent views. We spent the rest of the day birding this area seeing many hundreds of White Stork, Sardinian Warbler, Dartford Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Hen Harrier, Little Owl, another Bluethroat, Hoopoe, many Spanish Sparrow and small flocks of introduced Red Avadavat and Common Waxbill. 

Lesser Yellowlegs at El Batan. This adult bird has been present since November 2014

Green Sandpiper at El Batan

Bluethroat at El Batan

Little Egret at El Batan

Water Pipit at El Batan

White Wagtail at El Batan

Common Waxbill at El Batan. A flock of around 20 of these smart introduced birds was present

Red Avadavat at El Batan

Male Stonechat at El Batan

Spanish Sparrow at El Batan. This is an abundant species in Extremadura

Part of a flock of around 300 White Stork at El Batan

Little Owl at El Batan

Hoopoe at El Batan

We finished the day at the rocks of Salto del Gitano in Monfrague National Park where we watched the Griffon Vultures spiralling round the cliffs and watched large flocks of Wood Pigeon pass over head to roost. We waited until after dark when, just at the last embers of light, we heard the distinctive 'whoo' of an Eagle Owl, somehow, Richardo managed to pick the bird out sitting right at the very top of Pena Falcon and through the scope the ear tufts were just visible in the darkness and at considerable distance. We headed back to the accommodation for 19:30 after another full and productive day in the field.

These are the rocks at Salto del Gitano in the Monfrague National Park. Amazingly, Ricardo picked out an Eagle Owl in near darkness at the very top of Pena Falcon, the middle peak of rocks. The birds flying around this cliff face are Grffon Vulture

Flocks of Wood Pigeon are always an impressive site

Here are the links to the other days of the trip:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 4