Birding In Taiwan - Taiwanese Birding Stories

An Amazing Day

Terry Wright,

Essex, Vermont, USA

I had only one day, January 15, 2008, to see some birds in the Taipei area. Wanting to make the most of my very limited time, I arranged for Simon Liao to be my guide. The day turned out to be spectacular! Simon showed me an outstanding array of birds in numerous locations.

We started the day with Formosan Magpie up close and personal in Wulai, south of Taipei City.   They are gorgeous! We also found Formosan Whistling-Thrush, minivets, fulvettas and yuhinas, among other birds, there.    On the way back and heading east to Jinshan, we saw numerous raptors, including the Black Kite, Crested Goshawk, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Common Kestrel and Eurasian Hobby! Continuing on to Jinshan, Simon showed me outstanding views of Red-crowned Cranes, considered vagrant in Taiwan!!!    From there, we went to a recreation area where Simon showed me another lifer, Hoopoe (four of them, actually; rare transients in Taiwan) along with four species of thrush, including my favorite, Scaly Thrush!!!   Next, we continued on to Guandu Nature Park where Simon had a special location for some very special birds.   In one little patch of reeds we had two species of prinia, Oriental Reed Warbler, and SIBERIAN RUBY-THROAT!!!!! (I'm wearing out the exclamation point key on my computer keyboard as I write this note.)   To end the day of birding, we stopped at the Taipei Botanical Gardens where Simon located three Malaysian Night-Herons!!! And, Dusky Warbler and Black-browed Barbet (7 !!!).   Rather than just drop me off at my hotel, Simon arranged a meal at my favorite Taipei restaurant, Din Tai Fung!    There we recounted the day’s highlights and talked about future birding trips. This was an outstanding way to end the day.

All told, my day list was 54 species, including 3-4 endemics.   It was amazing and I can't wait to come back for an extended trip!!!   For general interest, I am including my list, below...
Simon Liao is truly a world class guide. I am very glad to know him and learn of his good birding works in Taiwan and in the Caribbean region. And, I count him as a very good new friend.

Terry Wright’s Taiwan Bird List, January 15, 2008

#		Species (alternate name)	Tally	Location

1	Formosan Magpie (Formosa Blue Magpie) endemic	6	1	6	1		Wulai
2	Gray Treepie (Himalayan Tree Pie)	1	3	7
3	Large-Billed Crow (Jungle Crow)	2	1
4	Bronzed Drongo	2
5	Gray Wagtail	1	1	1	1	1
6	Little Egret	6	2	20
7	Formosan Whistling-Thrush (Taiwan Whistling Thrush) endemic	1
8	Gray-chinned Minivet (Yellow-throated Minivet)	2	4	2
9	Gray-cheeked Fulvetta	2
10	White-bellied Yuhina	2	1
11	Black Bulbul	4	26	30
12	Crested Serpent-Eagle	1	1
13	Chinese Bulbul	12
14	Japanese White-eye	50
15	Rufous-capped Babbler (Red-headed Tree Babbler)	1
16	Plumbeous Water Redstart	1
17	Rock Pigeon (Rock Dove)	2
18	Black-crowned Night Heron	1
19	Grey Heron	2
20	Black Kite	1
21	Cattle Egret	1
22	Great Egret	3
23	House Swift	1
24	Crested Goshawk	1
25	Red-crowned Crane (Japanese Crane) 3 adult, 1 juvenile. Third record in Taiwan.	4					Chin San (Gold Mountain)
26	Common Kestrel
27	Eastern Yellow Wagtail	1
28	Green-winged Teal, 4m/1f	5
	Black Kite	1
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