Birding In Taiwan - Birding Tours

Scheduled Tours

Trip Reports

Trip Report:

BIRDING IN TAIWAN October 8–12, 2007

Trip Report: BIRDING IN TAIWAN, May (7)8–20, 2007

ANNOTATED SPECIES LIST, May (7)8–20, 2007

Trip Report: BIRDING IN TAIWAN, November (6)7–19, 2006

ANNOTATED SPECIES LIST, November (6)7–19, 2006

Trip Report: BIRDING IN TAIWAN, May. 1-14, 2006

ANNOTATED SPECIES LIST, Taiwan, MAY. 1-14, 2006

Trip Report:

BIRDING IN TAIWAN, Jan 29–Feb. 3, 2006

Trip Report: BIRDING IN TAIWAN, FEB.24-26, 2006

Trip Report: BIRDING IN TAIWAN, NOV.28-Dec.2, 2005

ANNOTATED SPECIES LIST, Taiwan, NOV.28-Dec.2, 2005

Trip Report: BIRDING IN TAIWAN, NOV. 7-16, 2005

ANNOTATED SPECIES LIST, Taiwan, NOV. 7-16, 2005

Trip Report: BIRDING IN TAIWAN, MAY. 2-11, 2005

ANNOTATED SPECIES LIST, Taiwan, MAY. 2-11, 2005

Trip Report: BIRDING IN TAIWAN, MAY. 21-24, 2005

ANNOTATED SPECIES LIST, Taiwan, MAY. 21-24, 2005

Trip Report: BIRDING IN TAIWAN, NOV. 8–17, 2004

ANNOTATED SPECIES LIST, Taiwan, NOV. 8–17, 2004

Taiwan Trip Report, March 21 – 28, 2003

ANNOTATED SPECIES LIST, Taiwan, March 21 – 28, 2003

Taiwan Trip Report, November 11-19, 2003

ANNOTATED SPECIES LIST, Taiwan, November 11–19, 2003

BirdingASIA -Birdwatching in Taiwan

Pacific Seabird Group, Special International Meeting

Trip Report, Five-day Field Trip, October 8–12, 2007

Jo Ann MacKenzie

Following the Special International meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group, Leader Hotel, Lugang, Taiwan, October 4–7, 2007, there was a 5-day field trip, October 8–12, to look for endemic bird species. Typhoon “Krosa”, which ravaged Taiwan for three days, was over and winds were dying down. However, mudslides on some mountain roads necessitated some altered strategy.

Oct. 8: The first birding destination for our group of nine people was Huisun Forest Station. We noted many typhoon-uprooted and broken trees in various places about the area. A Malayan Night-Heron foraged on the lawn opposite the College of Agriculture and National Research & Education Center. A Swinhoe’s Pheasant and Yellow Tit were seen along the road above the Atayal Resort.

Oct. 9: The next morning, the night-heron was again on the lawn, and Formosan Magpie and Taiwan Yuhina congregated near the Gift Shop. We continued to Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area, and found both Little Forktail and Plumbeous Redstart in Naoliao Creek. Two Silver-backed Needletails circled overhead. Owling took place after supper; a Northern Boobook (Brown Hawk-Owl) was seen, but Mountain Scops-Owl was only heard.

Dr. Verena Gill and “Krosa” the abandoned puppy taken into care, met a snake, a Pointed-scaled Pit Viper, Protobothrops mucrosquamatus, late at night, as it entered the Green Resort building beneath the front screen door. Unaware that the snake is highly venomous, Dr. Beth Flint cornered it with a broom and swept it back out the door. Fortunately, no harm was done to people, dog or snake.

Oct. 10: Brownish-flanked Bush-Warblers foraged beneath the shrubbery in the early morning, while Swinhoe’s Frogs called loudly in the pond beyond the Visitors’ Area. Two Little Forktails were again found in Naoliao Creek. Unseen Taiwan Partridge called from across the valley. After breakfast, we continued on to Chingjing where we had eye-level views of Black-throated Tit at the edge of the Mist Plaza.

Oct. 11: Other than a Collared Bush-Robin and a White-whiskered Laughingthrush, birdlife along Blue Gate Trail #1 was curiously absent, so we moved on. A “short cut” south to Alishan proved to be more of a “long cut” because of typhoon-damaged roads. One section of road had been deeply covered with mud, which four days after the storm, was still being cleared. The delay meant that we traveled the last of the journey at dusk and after dark. In the failing light, a male Mikado Pheasant walked along the road, barely visible. Several kilometers farther on, a Tawny Owl flew in front of the bus and perched in a tree illuminated by the bus’ headlights.

Oct. 12: Early-morning birding around the Alishan Youth Activity Center was productive, with Taiwan Barwing, Steere’s Liocichla, White-eared Sibia, Pygmy Wren-Babbler, White-browed Shortwing, Vinaceous Rosefinch, Brown and Gray-headed Bullfinches being seen. Flamecrest was heard.

We returned to Taipei, and the tour concluded, with 100 species (12 endemics) seen.

Species List: Pacific Seabird Conference, Lukang, Taiwan

Post-Conference Field Trip, October 8-12, 2007

#	Common Name	Latin Name			Oct 8	Oct 9	Oct10	Oct 11	Oct 12
1.	Gray Heron	Ardea cinerea				P		P
2.	Great Egret	Ardea alba / Egretta alba						P
3.	Intermediate Egret	Egretta intermedia				P
4.	Little Egret	Egretta garzetta				P		P
5.	Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis			P	P		P
6.	Black-crowned Night-Heron	Nycticorax nycticorax			P
7.	Malayan Night-Heron / Tiger Bittern	Gorsachius melanolophus			P	P
8.	Oriental Honey-buzzard / Honey Buzzard	Pernis ptilorhynchus / Pernis apivorus				P
9.	Crested Serpent-Eagle	Spilornis cheela				P	P	P
10.	Crested Goshawk	Accipiter trivirgatus			P		P
11.	Besra	Accipiter virgatus				P
12.	Black Eagle / Indian Black Eagle	Ictinaetus malayensis					P
13.	Mountain Hawk-Eagle / Hodgson’s Hawk Eagle	Spizaetus nipalensis					P
14.	TAIWAN PARTRIDGE / Taiwan Hill Partridge	Arborophila crudigularis			H	H	H	H
15.	Chinese Bamboo-Partridge / Bamboo Partridge	Bambusicola thoracicus						P
16.	SWINHOE'S PHEASANT	Lophura swinhoii			P
17.	MIKADO PHEASANT	Syrmaticus mikado						P
18.	Little Ringed Plover	Charadrius dubius			P	P
19.	Rock Pigeon / Rock Dove (introduced)	Columba livia			P	P			P
20.	Ashy Wood-Pigeon	Columba pulchricollis					P	P
21.	Oriental Turtle-Dove / Rufous Turtle Dove	Streptopelia orientalis						P
22.	Red Collared-Dove / Red Turtle Dove	Streptopelia tranquebarica			P		P
23.	Spotted Dove	Streptopelia chinensis			P	P		P
24.	White-bellied Pigeon / Japanese Green Pigeon	Treron sieboldii / Sphenurus sieboldi				P
25.	Large Hawk-Cuckoo	Cuculus sparverioides				P
26.	Himalayan Cuckoo	Cuculus saturatus				P
27.	Mountain Scops-Owl / Spotted Scops Owl	Otus spilocephalus				H
28.	Collared Scops-Owl	Otus lettia / Otus bakkamoena					P
29.	Tawny Owl	Strix aluco						P
30.	Northern Boobook / Brown Hawk Owl	Ninox japonica / Ninos scutulata				P
31.	Silver-backed Needletail	Hirundapus cochinchinensis				P	P
32.	Fork-tailed Swift / Northern White-rumped Swift	Apus pacificus				P	P
33.	House Swift	Apus nipalensis / Apus affinis			P	P	P	P
34.	[Taiwan] Black-browed Barbet / Muller’s Barbet	Megalaima oorti nuchalis			P	P	P
35.	Gray-capped Woodpecker / Gray-headed Pygmy Woodpecker	Dendrocopos canicapillus			P	P	P		P
36.	White-backed Woodpecker	Dendrocopos leucotos				P	P
37.	Gray-faced Woodpecker / Gray-headed green Woodpecker	Picus canus					P
38.	Plain Martin / Brown-throated Sand Martin	Riparia paludicola						P
39.	Pacific Swallow	Hirundo tahitica			P	P	P	P	P
40.	Asian Martin / House Martin	Delichon dasypus			P	P
41.	Striated Swallow / Red-rumped Swallow	Cecropis striolata / Hirundo daurica			P	P	P
42.	White Wagtail	Motacilla alba			P	P	P	P	P
43.	Yellow Wagtail	Motacilla flava			P	P	P
44.	Eastern Yellow Wagtail	Motacilla tschutschensis			P
45.	Gray Wagtail	Motacilla cinerea			P	P		P	P
46.	Gray-chinned Minivet / Yellow-throated Minivet	Pericrocotus solaris				P	P	P	P
47.	Collared Finchbill	Spizixos semitorques				P
48.	Light-vented Bulbul / Chinese Bulbul	Pycnonotus sinensis			P	P		P	P
49.	Black Bulbul	Hypsipetes leucocephalus / H. madagascariensis			P	P	P
50.	FLAMECREST / Taiwan Firecrest		Regulus goodfellowi						H
51.	Blue Rock-Thrush	Monticola solitarius			P		P
52.	White-browed Shortwing / Blue Shortwing	Brachypteryx montana						H	P
53.	Plain Prinia / Tawny-flanked Prinia	Prinia inornata / Prinia subflava						P
54.	Brownish-flanked Bush-Warbler / Strong-footed Bush Warbler	Cettia fortipes					P
55.	Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler / Verreaux’s Bush Warbler	Cettia acanthizoides						P	P
56.	Rufous-faced Warbler / White-throated Flycatcher-Warbler	Abroscopus albogularis				P	P		P
57.	Gray-streaked Flycatcher	Muscicapa griseisticta					P
58.	Snowy-browed Flycatcher / Thicket Flycatcher	Ficedula hyperythra					P
59.	Vivid Niltava	Niltava vivida					P		P
60.	COLLARED BUSH-ROBIN	Tarsiger johnstoniae / Erithacus johnstoniae						P
61.	Plumbeous Redstart / Plumbeous Water Redstart	Rhyacornis fuliginosa / Phoenicurus fuliginosus			P	P	P	P	P
62.	White-tailed Robin / White-tailed Blue Robin	Cinclidium leucurum					P	P
63.	Little Forktail	Enicurus scouleri				P	P
64.	Black-naped Monarch / Black-naped Blue Monarch	Hypothymis azurea			P	P
65.	[Taiwan] Hwamei	Garrulax canorus taewanus			P
66.	WHITE-WHISKERED LAUGHINGTHRUSH / Taiwan Laughing Thrush	Garrulax morrisonianus						P
67.	STEERE'S LIOCICHLA	Liocichla steerii				P	P	P	P
68.	Pygmy Wren-Babbler	Pnoepyga pusilla						P	P
69.	Rufous-capped Babbler / Red-headed Tree Babbler	Stachyris ruficeps			P	P			P
70.	TAIWAN BARWING	Actinodura morrisoniana							P
71.	Streak-throated Fulvetta	Alcippe cinereiceps						P
72.	Dusky Fulvetta / Gould’s Fulvetta	Alcippe brunnea			H	P
73.	Gray-cheeked Fulvetta	Alcippe morrisonia			P	P	P		P
74.	WHITE-EARED SIBIA / Taiwan Sibia	Heterophasia auricularis				P	P	P	P
75.	TAIWAN YUHINA	Yuhina brunneiceps			H	P	P	P
76.	White-bellied Yuhina	Yuhina zantholeuca			P	P	P		P
77.	Vinous-throated Parrotbill	Paradoxornis webbianus				P
78.	Black-throated Tit / Red-headed Tit	Aegithalos concinnus					P	P	P
79.	Coal Tit	Periparus ater / Parus ater							P
80.	Green-backed Tit	Parus monticolus				P	P	P	P
81.	YELLOW TIT / Taiwan *Tit*	Macholophus holsti / Parus holsti				P	P
82.	Varied Tit	Sittiparus varius / Parus varius				P	P
83.	Eurasian Nuthatch	Sitta europaea				P	P		P
84.	Fire-breasted Flowerpecker	Dicaeum ignipectum					P	P
85.	Japanese White-eye	Zosterops japonicus simplex			P	P	P	P
86.	Brown Shrike	Lanius cristatus			P	P
87.	Black Drongo	Dicrurus macrocercus			P	P
88.	Bronzed Drongo	Dicrurus aeneus			P	P		P
89.	Eurasian Jay / Jay	Garrulus glandarius					P	H	P
90.	FORMOSAN MAGPIE / Taiwan Blue Magpie	Urocissa caerulea			P	P
91.	Gray Treepie / Himalayan Tree Pie	Dendrocitta formosae			P	P
92.	Eurasian Magpie / Magpie	Pica pica							P
93.	Eurasian Nutcracker/Nutcracker	Nucifraga caryocatactes					P
94.	Large-billed Crow / Jungle Crow	Corvus macrorhynchos			P	P	P	P	P
95.	Javan Myna (introduced)	Acridotheres javanicus			P
96.	Common Myna (Introduced)	Acridotheres tristis			P
97.	Eurasian Tree Sparrow / Tree Sparrow	Passer montanus			P	P	P	P	P
98.	Nutmeg Mannikin	Lonchura punctulata			P
99.	Vinaceous Rosefinch	Carpodacus vinaceus						P	P
100.	Gray-headed Bullfinch / Beavan’s Bullfinch	Pyrrhula erythaca							P
101.	TOTAL SPECIES - 100
102.	Total endemics - 12
103.	Other wildlife observed
104.	CENTRAL FORMOSAN TOAD			Bufo bankorensis			P
105.	Moltrecht’s GREEN Tree frog			Rhacophorus moltrechti	H
106.	Swinhoe’s Frog			Rane swinhoana			P
107.	Taiwan Macaque			Macaca cyclopis		P		P
108.	Formosan Red-bellied Squirrel			Callosciurus erythraeus taiwanensis		P		P
109.	Formosan Striped Squirrel			Tamiops maritimus formosanus				P
110.	skink sp.						P
111.	butterfly			Papilio taiwanus			P	P
112.	FORMOSAN JEWELWING (dragonfly)			Matrona cyanoptera				P
113.	FORMOSAN GOSSAMERWING			Euphaea Formosa				P
114.	Pointed-scaled Pit Viper/Brown Spotted Pit Viper/Taiwan Habu Snake			Protobothrops mucrosquamatus			P

Compiled by Hue MacKenzie, October, 2007