Birding with Arjan Dwarshuis

Craining Day

Arjan Dwarshuis 29.11.2014 Bird Travel, Birding

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25/11/2014 – Poyang Lake

Today was one of those days that simply blows your mind… Where to begin?

After another short nights rest and an early breakfast near our hotel in Yong Xiu we drove towards Poyang Lake, the main reason we put together this Epic China trip.

Poyang Lake is a very large body of water fed by the Changjiang river. It is the main wintering grounds for multiple globally threatened species, most importantly the critically endangered Siberian Crane. These majestic 1.7 meter tall birds with a population of less than 3600 migrate here every winter from their breeding grounds in the Siberian Taiga. In Fact almost 90 percent (!) of the entire population winter here. They are joined by large numbers of Common Cranes and several hundred Hooded– and White–naped Cranes. As you might understand, this is an enormous spectacle that is on top of every birders wish list.

Unfortunately the lake is under a lot of pressure as it lies in a densely populated area. This means that people make use of its fertile shores to graze cattle and to grow crops. Bad news for the Cranes and a lot of other wetland species, as the shores get more and more cultivated, there is less and less place for them to go…

So everybody was tense as we drove through the pastures towards the lake; would those cranes still be there? As we arrived at the first observation-tower on the lakeshore it was a big disappointment at first, the water level was too high so we saw no cranes; in fact there were few birds around besides a lone Oriental Stork, another highly endangered species. Luckily soon afterwards we located 2 adults and a juvenile Siberian Crane standing a couple a hundred meters to the right of us. Only moments after we heard a bunting calling close by, which turned out to be the much wanted Chestnut–eared Bunting. After seeing the Siberian Cranes our main target was in the bag, but the hoped for rafts of hundreds of cranes and storks were nowhere to be found…

Siberian cranes by Garry Bakker

Again it was our guide, Menxiu, who showed us the way. We drove through a small village, parked the minivan and started walking a muddy track. We cleared a small ridge and suddenly there it was; a large shallow lake filled with birds. Most striking were numerous white birds on the far side of the lake. We first thought that it was a group of the common Bewick’s Swan, but after a close inspection with the telescope the white spots turned into a huge flock of Siberian Cranes, Oriental Storks, several White–naped Cranes and Eurasian Spoonbills. Among them were numerous Bewick’s Swans, Swan-, Eastern Greylag–, Middendorf’s Bean-, Tundra Bean– and Greater white–fronted Geese and thousands of waders. As we walked through the wet grassland and reeds across the lakeshore towards this spectacle we tried to role the tape for Marsh Grassbird and within moments we got a response. Soon we all enjoyed fantastic views of this often difficult species while an immature male Pied Harrier glided past in the background…As anyone who has ever taken an interest in birds might understand we were as happy as Snoop Doggy Dog in an Amsterdam coffeeshop!

We counted 650 Siberian Cranes in total, a significant percentage of the world population. Unfortunately there were only 27 juveniles, so only 4 percent. A very low number, which indicates a low breeding success…

After finishing our worse lunch of the trip so far – we could not care less after the amazing spectacle we’d just witnessed – we drove to the other side of the lake. Here we found several rafts of Falcated Duck and a group of 20 Lesser White-fronted Geese among the Greater white-fronts.

Hooded cranes by Garry Bakker

However we were still missing one crane, the smaller sized Hooded. Just before we arrived at the far side of the lake we spotted a large group of cranes foraging in a corn field. It turned out to be a group of several hundred Common Cranes joined by about a hundred Hooded and several White-naped Cranes. All the possible cranes at Poyang lake were in the bag! Fantastic!

What a day!

Siberian cranes by Garry Bakker

Bean geese by Garry Bakker

Species list day 6 (underlined are LIFERS)

Japanese Quail 1
Common Pheasant
Swan Goose max 75
Tundra Bean Goose
Taiga Bean Goose (Middendorffii)
Greylag Goose (Rubirostris)
Greater White-fronted Goose (Frontalis)
Lesser White-fronted Goose 20
Bewick’s Swan
Falcated Duck 100+
Eurasian Wigeon
Mallard
Eastern spot-billed Duck
Northern Pintail 1
Eurasian Teal
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Oriental Stork 150+
Eurasian Spoonbill 500+
Eurasian Bittern 1 (Garry)
Grey Heron
Little Egret
Great Cormorant
Eurasian Kestrel
Peregrine 2
Black-shouldered Kite 2
Eastern Marsh Harrier 5
Pied Harrier 1 1stY male 1 female
Eastern Buzzard 1
Brown Crake 1
Common Moorhen
Siberian Crane 870(!!!)
White-naped Crane 30+
Common Crane 400+
Hooded Crane 150+
Avocet
Northern Lapwing
Kentish Plover
Common Snipe
(Eastern) Black-Tailed Godwit 30
Spotted Redshank
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Mongolian Gull 1
Black-headed Gull
Spotted Dove
Oriental Turtle Dove
White-Throated Kingfisher
Common Kingfisher
Long-tailed Shrike
Oriental Skylark
Zitting Cisticola
Plain Prinia
Plain-breasted Bulbul
Marsh Grassbird 5
Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
Crested Myna
Black-collared Starling
Red-billed Starling
White-cheeked Starling
Eastern Blackbird
Oriental Magpie Robin
Daurian Redstart
Stejneger’s Stonechat 2
Tree Sparrow
Scaly-breasted Munia
White Wagtail (Leucopsis)
Ridchard’s Pipit
Buff-bellied Pipit
Red-throated Pipit 10
Oriental Greenfinch
Chinese Grosbeak
Chestnut-eared Bunting 2
Black-faced Bunting

26/11/2014 – Poyang Lake

All the targets were already in the pocket except the near impossible Swinhoe’s Rail, so we decided to spend the whole morning looking for this endangered bird…

The reason that this 13 cm small bird is so difficult to find, is because it winters in very low densities in wet grasslands around Poyang Lake and only flies when you nearly step on it. Moreover it is rapidly declining and reliable records are getting rare. Needless to say, it is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Still we gave it a go and walked for nearly 4 hours in formation through soaking wet knee high grass in the hope to flush one; a little different from hanging around a swimming pool at the Mediterranean coast all day don’t you think? 😉 But then again we are birders and birders don’t go on holidays, we go on a mission…..

Our efforts were – like many birders before us – fruitless. Because we already expected this while planning this mission, we could deal with the pain; especially ‘cause there were about 300 White-naped Cranes and several Siberian-, Hooded– and Common- Cranes standing in the grassland surrounding us.

We flushed no rail but our guide Menxiu was quite pleased with 4 Short-eared Owls, a new species for him. Other goodies were a female Hen Harrier, 2 Japanese Quails and 3 Marsh Grassbirds.

Chestnut-eared bunting by Garry Bakker

Marsh grassbird by Garry Bakker

On the way back we spotted a large group of Rooks foraging on a nearby paddy and we were thrilled to find an adult and 6 juvenile Daurian Jackdaws among them. Another new bird to all of us was a Chinese Grey Shrike.

After lunch in Yong Xiu – and after throwing all the water out of our boots – we hit the road again. Our next destination is Wuyuan city, where we will arrive after dark. Tomorrow one of the finest ducks on the planet is on the hit-list…

Species list day 7 (underlined are LIFERS)