Some other winterers in the capital

HANOI (10th -> 17th December) - Last week, I bumped into a small flock of migrant Red-rumped Swallows hawking insects over the channel of the Red River. They were flying low and straightish over the water. I snapped more than one hundred of shots but got only... 1 decent one!

Striated Swallows are very similar to Red-rumped, and differ from them in having heavier streaks on the underparts and rump, less red on the ear coverts and a dark rather than rufous nape.

In this flock I photographed individuals with almost complete nuchal collar but also some with solid dark nape (shot above). The amount of fine streaking was also variable. But I assume they were all Red-rumped.

According to David Bakewell, an experienced birder based in Malaysia (http://digdeep1962.wordpress.com), "in any case, the nape colour is not an altogether reliable indicator. Many migratory Red-rumped in Malaysia show a dark nape and no paler nuchal collar (such as this bird, initially identifed by me as Striated) seen in northern Peninsular Malaysia in March".

Last Saturday's better weather inspired me to try to "improve" on the Swallow shots I'd taken a few days earlier. No Swallows any more but some Swiflets were zipping around, which posed me some identification problems. Germain's and Himalayan look very alike and are not easy to tell apart in the field - for me at least.

According to Robson (2005), Himalayan has darker underparts, deeper notched tail and browner rump than Germain's. But I'd be a bit careful about trying to clinch any ID on my pictures (the colouration of a photo is not always the exact colour of the actual bird).

Upon searching on the net, I discovered that 1/ the depth of the tail notch is not a reliable feature - Germain's tail can also appear very forked ; 2/ Himalayan can show light underneath on throat and belly.
So this has given me more doubt. I could only state that based on the images captured (in particular the pale rump), these Swiftlets displayed pro-Germain's characteristics. Any help of experienced birders would be much appreciated!

A very worn individual

Spotted also 3 Riparia which turned out to be Grey-throated Martins (R. chinensis) : no breast-band, throated and breast greyish.

A smart Citrine Wagtail was also hanging around and I could not resist to snap it...

 picking something at the water surface...

1st winter Eastern Marsh Harrier

female Daurian Redstart - already a handful of sightings this season at Hanoi (this is not so bad). Found in open or bushy wooded areas or along the margins of agricultural fields.

Quite a few activity in the city parks last week, best stuff was :

Crested Goshawk

male Eyebrowed Thrush - my 8th species of turdid in the city this season (after Scaly, Japanese, Grey-backed, Orange-headed Thrushes, Chinese Blackbird, Blue Whistling Thrush, White-throated Rock Thrush). I am now waiting for some "VIP guests" (Black-breasted T. would be the icing on the cake!).

Chinese Blackbird

This species is significantly larger-looking and powerful than the European Blackbird. It shows also a light patch behind the eye, the tail appears longer. The calls are also very different from those of Turdus merula.

This obliging female Fujian Niltava seems to have taken up winter residence at the Botanical Gardens. She likes particularly to perch on the statues. Week after week I see her becoming more and more confident. Flush distance actually : 5 meters. Will she perch on my shoulder in March ?

a female type Red-flanked (or Hymalayan?) Bluetail.

Is it possible to tell the females Red-flanked and Hymalayan apart ? 

female type Mugimaki Flycatcher - a late migrant

catching a caterpillar on the ground

A ghastly shot but an interesting bird (for the city) : male Fire-breasted Flowerpecker.

This species is assumed to be a sub-montane and montane forest resident, although there is evidence that some short-distance movements take place in some areas (in the north of its range only?) during the non-breeding season. This is not the first time I have seen this little fellow in winter at the Botanical Gardens. Frequent the tops of trees, not easy to photograph - its tiny size does not help. Fortunately it's very vocal so easily detected.

At the Botanical Gardens, the Large-billed Crow appeared one month ago is still hanging around, high in the canopy. It has become the Public Enemy Number 1 for the park staff after it added to its menu some young unfledged domestic pigeons - captured directly in the nest box! For the moment, all attempts to eliminate it have failed.

Pallas's Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus), also known as the Red-bellied Tree Squirrel, is the other species highly protected by the park staff. All the other creatures can be captured or killed without encountering opposition from anyone!.. except from me sometimes, but soft opposition - my self-defense skills are very limited ;)

Leopard Cats at lunchtime

Some lunchtime photo strolls this week (12^th ->17^th November) around Hanoi produced a good selection of migrants/winter visitors. Pride of place must go to a male Snowy-browed Flycatcher which was chasing insects above a garbage dump inside a hedge of scrubs surrounded by banana plantations! I also picked up 1 male Fujian Niltava, 1 Chestnut-flanked White-eye (in a flock of Japanese White-eyes), 2 females Daurian Redstarts, some Citrine Wagtails and a great mammal : the Leopard Cat.

Snowy-browed Flycatcher. A scarce passage migrant at Hanoi. My 2nd sighting in two years (the first one the 3th November 2010).

Fujian Niltava (lychee orchard - Vinh Thuy).

Uncommon but regular winter visitor at Hanoi

Imm Eastern Marsh Harrier with a very... curious left wing. We could call this "moult with the help of a gun" - or at least, that’s how it seemed to me. I can see no other explanation to that crap...

Temminck's Stints

1st winter Eastern Yellow Wagtail

Citrine Wagtail. At Hanoi we are very lucky with this species : regular as autumn and spring passage migrant. A dozen seen at Vinh Thuy the 16th.

A very cropped image of a Female Daurian Redstart : an uncommon winter visitor/passage migrant in the Hanoi area (5-6 sightings the last 2 years, my second one this autumn).

Yellow-browed Warbler - everywhere now

Another one, which foraged 10 minutes on the ground like a Pipit !

The Yellow-browed who wanted to be a Radde's...

Light-vented Bulbul.

In some cases back-lighting can create interesting effects.

I saved the best for last : Leopard Cat!

As I was searching little brown jobs in a thick scrubby area (a mix of reeds, scrubs and trees) on a slope, not far from the Red River, I bumped into 2 “wild cats”, roughly the size of the domestic cat (a big one) but with longer legs (lanky appearance) and a spotted/streaked coat. In fact, they were chasing each other (I heard them before to see them) and they saw me at the last moment. I raised the camera and got 2 quick shots, then they were gone in a flash. I thought the photos would be really bad. Thanks to my 400mm's quick focus, I was able to get acceptable shots. Sorry for the cut off head, feet etc...but I was just lucky to get anything as fast as this all happened!
I also noticed that the back of each ear was black with a white spot.

I stayed in the area one hour and got again a fleeting glimpse of an individual slipping into the reeds.

Uncropped photos :

One thing's for sure : one of these guys was a male...

A bit later I met an old hunter that I know well. He is hunting birds everyday there and knows the area like the back of his hand. After some questions about its harvest of the day, I asked him if he already saw some mèo báo (Leopard Cat) in the area – of course I didn’t told him : "Hey, I just saw 2 over there !". He answered me that he spotted one last year but none this year.

According to him, Leopard Cats can sometimes be seen around Hanoi after the flooding season which brings them downstream (?!) – later Hung phoned to a local specialist who said exactly the same thing.

With some local farmers, I also asked questions about birds (to cover a bit my tracks...), then about the cat. Two of them gave me a good description (brown fur with black spots/streaks, "like a small tiger") and did not confused it with domestic or feral cats. They also told me that it is now a rare sighting compared to 10-20 years ago (one would have suspected it!).

On the internet I learned that the Leopard Cat occurs in a broad spectrum of habitats, from tropical rainforest to temperate broadleaf and, marginally, coniferous forest, as well as shrub forest and successional grasslands. It occurs commonly in dense secondary growth, including logged areas, and has been found in agricultural and forest (rubber tree, oil palm, sugarcane) plantations. The species can live close to rural settlements – this is the case of my 2 guys.
So its presence around Hanoi does not seem to be so exceptional... I think it may go unnoticed… as long as it does not attack the poultry!

The Leopard Cat is listed as "Least Concern" by the IUCN and is the commonest of the 8 felids found in Vietnam. The 7 others are : Marbled Cat, Jungle Cat, Fishing Cat, Asian Golden Cat, Clouded Leopard, Leopard, Tiger.

Vinh Tuy Bridge/Hanoi 18-11-2011

Short end afternoon stroll along the mudflats and sandbars at the north of Vinh Tuy Bridge. Always many Kentish Plovers (100-150) and Temminck's Stints (30-40+) scattered over all the area, so difficult to count, + some skittish Common Greenshanks.
The highlight was 3 Great Knots (!) and at least 15 Citrine Wagtails along only 100 meters of mudflats. Never seen so many Citrine W. together in my life ! I spotted also 2 black-legged small Calidris foraging with the Temminck's S.; I am almost certain it was Red-necked Stints.

Probably not so many Great Knots have been observed venturing inland in Vietnam. What do you think ?

Recently, a bulldozer opened a track to access the sandbars and extract sand. Yesterday, dozens of 4x4 invaded the area. If I had a bazooka...

Cheers,

Sebastien

Red River Island - 24/25-10-2011

Hi all,

Last Monday and Tuesday morning, before work, I focused on the channel between the Red River Island and the town.

The local “ferry boat” use by local people to reach the Red River Island. The other convenient entrance is the Long Bien Bridge.

This channel present important seasonal water level fluctuations, accentuated by the hydroelectric activities upstream (the Son La dam). It is definitely a good spot for Citrine Wagtail migrants/vagrants, both in autumn and spring, and even in the middle of the winter (January 2011 for example).
Actually, the water level is low, and the exposed muddy banks are attracting waders and wagtails. In 2 or 3 months, this place will be completely dry, only suitable for Paddyfield Pipits or Little Ringed Plovers.

Citrine Wagtail adult

So, Monday and Tuesday morning I bumped into some Citrine Wagtails, three of which were 1st winter birds.
A good occasion for a beginner like me to examine closely the differences with the (Eastern) Yellow Wagtail juvenile (can be useful when back to Europe !).

In fact, I think those birds are quite easily separable in the field:
Juv. Citrine Wagtails diagnostic features:

- Upperparts pure grey (Yellow : duller grey wash greenish/olive)
- Striking double white wing-bar
- Broad white supercilium continuing down and surrounding the ear-coverts
- Pale forehead
- White undertail-coverts
- Jizz ! Citrine bulkier, with a rounded head; Yellow much slender.

For comparison, I added 2 pics of Yellow W. (taxa macronyx probably if I refer to the adults I saw around) shot last year, at the same place.

This young Citrine W. (on the right, adult on the left) shows no pale border behind the ear-coverts, but all the other diagnostic features are OK.

I also saw a Pied Kingfishers party, 3 males and 1 female (regurgitating pellet). Nice to see again those little buggers !

… and 4 Temminck’s Stints which allowed me to approach very close, thanks guys !

But maybe the best surprise were 2 Ruddy-breasted Crakes, an adult and a juvenile.

A patch tick I think.

I stayed lying 45 minutes in the muddy sand (or sandy mud...) to get those photos, and I arrived at my office in a very nha quê style :)

Below, the juvenile. The 2 birds were together, but this one was more secretive

Happy birding !

(Joe, the local buffalo, a very nice guy)

Sebastien