David and Sarah Blair Tour of Taiwan 5 th -19 th June 2017

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1 David and Sarah Blair Tour of Taiwan 5 th -19 th June 2017 Taiwan not only has great avifauna but also a host of other winning points that make it a wonderful destination for a comfortable birding trip. With around 32 endemics (depending on authority), and many endemic subspecies that could be split in the next 10 years there was a load to look forward to. Taiwan is located 100 km east of the coast of China, south of Japan and Korea, and north of the Philippines. Less than 400 km long and 150 km wide, with rugged central mountains and deep valleys, it boasts a very high biodiversity in a very manageable package. We focused on the endemics and other East Asian specialities in Taiwan s well- protected forests. A lot of our time was spent in the mountains but we did have to make some changes to plans due to road closures after some recent very heavy rains and had some heavy rain (Plum rains) in the last 5 days. We also allowed some time in the lowlands and at the coast, looking out for wetland birds before taking the ferry to Orchid Island (Lanyu) we only spend one night there as some of the attractive and interesting birds we had seen on recent trips to Japan and the Philippines. In the last couple of days we left time to chase any rarities. We found the Taiwanese are a very friendly and welcoming people. They have blended the best parts of unspoiled, traditional Chinese culture with the influence of colonial Japan, along with the native Austronesian culture. Taiwan is free and democratic, has good infrastructure, and felt very safe. We used the Birds of East Asia by Mark Brazil but Richard had other guide including Chinese language guide to Birds of Taiwan (names are in English) We decided to do this as a guided tour with Richard Foster (generally recognised as the best guy in Taiwan) after meeting him at the UK Birdfair and deciding that with our time of travel and with adverse weather likely to be an issue a Chinese speaker and someone who knows the country would be really helpful. Having birded Japan and parts of the Philippines on our own a self-guided tour is certainly possible but we would have missed a few birds and wouldn t have been able to respond to road closures and lack of access to accommodation and reserves as readily as we did. We also found Richard extremely friendly and good company. Unfortunately Richard wasn t available for our complete trip so we had a local guy Chuck as driver / guide for the last few days he knows the birds but we missed Richard s bonhommie. Arrived 5 th June picked up by Richard and overnight local town of Longtan. Richard got us into birding pretty much immediately with a drive around the fields near to Taoyuan with best birds being Greater Painted Snipe, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Plain Prinia, Oriental Pratincol, Pacific Golden Plover, Black-shouldered Kite, Golden-headed Cisticola, Pale-vented Bulbul, Black Drongo and a Crested Myna. On arrival at our hotel we could hear but not see Savanna Nightjar. There was quite a bit of mud and water around as it had rained for the last 10 days but fortunately the weather now looked to be set fair for the next few days. Day 2. June 6th Taiwan lowlands After a not too early breakfast we set off around for Shimen Reservoir, Richard hadn t been here for a while but what a great place to start. We had heard that good views of Blue Magpie could be tricky but from the first minute we arrived in the car park to our return hours later we had good views, including a family group of 5 birds. So first endemic bird seen was Taiwan Blue Magpie and shortly behind was the colourful Taiwan Barbet, there was then more familiar lowland species, such as Light-vented (Chinese) Bulbul, Red Turtle (Red Collared) Dove, Spotted Dove, Long-tailed Shrike, Black Drongo, Yellowbellied Prinia, Japanese White-eye, before we saw a White-rumped Blue Magpie Shama, we actually saw a few of these over the trip and then we heard a Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler this was a notorious skulker that Richard said could be really tricky to see well but within 10 minutes we had great views of a young bird and glimpses of an adult flitting around, and better still as I was trying to photograph the bird a couple of Taiwan Bamboo Partridge wandered across the path and I even got a record shot of him too, so two tricky endemics ticked without any problem on the first morning.

2 Wandering around the trails we saw quite a few good birds like Grey Treepie, Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, White-bellied Epornis, Bronze Drongo, Black Bulbul before getting great views of a singing Taiwan Whistling Thrush. Heading down towards a small river we added Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, more Taiwan Barbets before adding the much easier to see Scimitar Babbler the Taiwan Scimitar Babbler. Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler Having seen most of the target birds of this area we headed via Lunch to the coast for any late passage waders and added Great Knot, Sanderling, Avocet, Kentish Plover, Turnstone and Gull-billed and Little Tern. We then headed down to Dongshih for access to Dasyushan (aka Anmashan) for the next few days. As per most nights we ate in a very good local restaurant a nice variety of Chinese style food. Low to mid elevation Dasyueshan National Forest Recreation Area Plan was to spend 3 days at various elevations in the renowned Dasyueshan National Forest near to the town, moving from subtropical lowlands to coniferous temperate mountains at over 2,000 meters, possibly staying in the comfortable cabins at Anmashan after the first couple of days. We knew that the road above 43KM was closed for roadworks. Off nice and early after a Richard prepared breakfast in the hotel in Dongshih (although it is now not an official hotel hence they can t provide breakfast but can still provide rooms). We started at the low elevation where amongst the Black and Pale-naped Bulbuls we added a lifer in the impressive Collared Finchbill and then the first endemic of the day a Taiwan Hawamei after we had good looks to ensure no white around the eye and possibility of a Chinese or Hybrid bird. Other lowland birds included Striated Swallow, Striated and Yellow-bellied Prinia, Japanese White-eye and Common Kingfisher. We then climbed to the 21KM viewing point via the police station which we found out provides access to hot and cold water and toilets for anyone. They also provide information on the road conditions on the road above Phone (042) We heard the sound of a flock of Laughing Thrushes and quickly found a group of Rusty Laughing Thrush, there was also White-browed Sibia and Taiwan Yuhina around so a good trio of target birds but no sign of the Swinhoe s Pheasant or Hill Partridge that often frequent the area below the viewing platform where people ignore the no feeding sign and toss some food down. A forest ranger approached Richard and took some photos of us alongside the various signs and with information leaflets, he was telling Richard that the road above was closed and that we were unlikely to get beyond the entrance gate. Whilst this was happening a female Swinhoe s Pheasant appeared nice tick but not a stunning male. We made our way slowly up seeing some stunning butterfly s, dragon flies, lizards and bugs before the next birds some Grey-chinned Minivets and a stunning Taiwan (Vivid) Niltava we then tried for ages to see a Dusky Fulvetta but despite being almost on top of it Sarah couldn t get more than a partial view, it was about 10 days later despite lots of calling birds before she finally saw one really well. As if the Fulvetta wasn t tricky enough we then tried to coax out into view a Taiwan Wren Babbler Richard went well beyond the call of duty getting well into the really stingy nettles to place his speaker to finally get the bird to hop across an almost clear area. We both saw the bird a number of times but it wasn t the sort of view we could salivate over, so Vivid Niltava just as well an Indian Black Eagle grabbed our attention before a White-tailed Robin showed well for Sarah and Richard and I was the one struggling to get the angle right to see it. The last bird before we reached the visitor centre and gate was a lovely Steere s Liocichla a beautiful bird but one that took me ages to get a decent photograph of, it was almost as though it was teasing me for the next few days.

3 The bad news was that we were not even allowed to walk beyond the gate to access trails as they had repair crews assessing the damage with fears that further rain could mean months of closure. Richard was disappointed but pretty relaxed that we could find the key high-elevation targets in Alishan and Mount Heheun but we would change our itinerary slightly. You can still get water and access to the toilets at the visitor centre but even Richard who is friendly with the staff couldn t talk his way in to do the trails below the landslide. So we had a lunch from the back of Richard s mini-van and then birded the area near the entrance. There were some good birds about we got a family of Rufous-crowned Laughing Thrush, and then a superb Taiwan Barwing, then candidates for future splits a White-backed Woodpecker (Owstoni) and Scaly Thrush (Taiwan taxa), we then caught up with some more Rusty Laughing Thrushes finding the nest before a lovely group of Black-throated Tits, Green-backed Tits and Yuhina seemingly covered every branch of some nearby bushes. We also had fleeting glimpses of Grey-headed (Grey-faced) Woodpecker, more heard than seen and a Rufous-capped Babbler before getting back down to the viewing area. What had been a bright sunny day had clouded so we decided to get back to the pheasant spot, but when we emerged from the tunnel lower down it was pouring. It soon stopped and we were OK to continue. We had noticed a guy with a camera surreptitiously putting seed down earlier in the day and visited that area first but a local lady started waving to me and we quickly got over to where a male Swinhoe s Pheasant was showing well. I even managed a few high ISO shots but light was fading but before it did a couple of Taiwan Hill Partridge appeared at the bottom of the dip both Richard and I saw the birds but Sarah couldn t see them it was only when she swapped her bins with me that she could make out the birds (Zeiss 1-0 Swarovski for low light performance). Further down at the river we added Plumbeous Redstart, Ferruginous Flycatcher and Brown Dipper before heading back for the night. Another day at Mid and Low Elevations We decided that we would do the day around the same areas but would then set off early tomorrow for Guguan, Washe and possibly Mount Heheun while the weather forecast was good and with not a lot more to see at Dasyushan. The first big target bird of the day was Yellow Tit but despite hearing one calling we just couldn t get on it. However we did get a male Swinhoe s Pheasant cross the road right in front of us and then got reacquainted with White-browed Sibia, Green-backed Tit, Taiwan Yuhina and Rusty Laughing Thrush before when stopping to photograph a Blue-tailed Skink I saw the Yellow Tit fly in to a roadside tree. I think everyone saw it but fortunately it decide to be friendly and came right down to the roadside, the only problem was that he kept positioning himself with sun all wrong but we were happy to have seen the bird well and I grabbed a few decent record shots of this little cracker. That was pretty much it for the morning session apart from a Formosan Striped Squirrel and a Pallas (red-bellied) Squirrel and the first Formosan Macaques of the trip. After our picnic lunch we tried unsuccessfully for better views of a calling Wren Babbler and caught up with the White-backed Woodpecker. Richard knew a spot for Bush Warbler this surprised me as I thought they were a high elevation bird and we could only get to around 2000M but sure enough Richard heard the bird calling at a nice viewpoint and we were able to look down on Taiwan Bush Warbler. Only other birds we added above the tunnel were Black-

4 Whistling Thrush throated Tit, Vivid Niltava and Taiwan Barbet. We tried again at KM21 view point for the Partridges but only added Yuhina, Black Bulbul, Whistling Thrush and a female Swinhoe s Pheasant. Back at the hotel we crossed the road to try to see Malay Night Heron poor views and heard but couldn t find the Savanna Nightjar above the local restaurants. Guguan and Mount Heheun / Toroko NP Off nice and early and we arrive in central park in Guguan before it officially opens. We hear the target bird almost immediately and quickly spot an adult and a juvenile Chestnut-fronted (split from Varied)Tit. There were also a couple of Malaysian Night Heron showing really well as they fed on worms on the lawns, we took a short walk across the swing bridge adding Crested Serpent Eagle another split candidate?, Taiwan Blue Magpie, Collared Finchbill, White Wagtail and Japanese White-eye. Richard suggested that as weather was forecast to be very good at the top and we had found the key birds before we should head immediately up to the high mountains. So it was that we stopped just before Mount Heheun to add White-whiskered Laughing Thrush and Collared (Johnstone s) Bush Robin before 10.00am. Next stop was the car park just as you enter Taroko Gorge National Park. I went chasing an Alpine Accentor (Fennelli) surely a candidate for the next split it certainly looks and sounds very different and is a little cracker, Sarah and Richard had got out the other side of the vehicle and were closing in on a beautiful Taiwan Rosefinch, fortunately although both birds were mobile we easily picked up both and got a few nice photos. After a short spell at the viewpoint we walked done to a nearby copse where we got good views of Coal Tit (crested), a few female Rosefinch before a decent view of male and female Collared Bush Robin, we could hear Flamecrest but it took us a while to finally pick out another cracking endemic. There were also a few Taiwan Yuhina and then the next new birds with its Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler distinctive song (Taiwan)Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler. It was time for a coffee break and toilet stop at the main visitor centre and by the car park was a very confiding White-whiskered Laughing Thrush. From the little viewing area above the toilets we were looking down on another Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler and a Winter Wren. We walked along the track to one of the easiest monroe s (here they are over 3000M and there are 300 or so of them) so great walking. I thought I saw a Shortwing but Richard said behaviour and habitat was wrong but on investigation we were delighted to find Whitebrowed (Taiwan) Robin. What an excellent morning. We had lunch near to the native bird research centre and after lunch went into the bamboo trails near to where the researchers were ringing. After the brilliant morning with so many target birds found it was a little slower this afternoon with birds like Flamecrest, Collared Bush Robin, Rosefinch and Yuhina being by now slightly less exciting than they were, so it was that as we went down a little lower that Taiwan Fulvetta provided a highlight of the afternoon along with some point blank views of Taiwan Rosefinch. We headed back to Washe staying at a guest house with extensive grounds where we tried for but didn t even hear Collared or Mountain Scops owls. Flamecrest

5 Washe, Quinjing and road to Tainan Leisurely start today breakfast at as area we are going near Quinjing is in shade until later and birds are not active early in the morning. We stop at a pretty nondescript patch of spare ground about 10 minutes above the sheep shearing place (New Zealand guy sheers only sheep on Taiwan with fun commentary but amazingly the crowds all come to see it). We were looking for and finding pretty easily the Brownflanked (Strong-footed) Bush Warbler which showed prey well in the morning sunshine. Taiwan Bush Warbler It was the off to what is either called the Blue Gate or Pipeline trail near QuinJing and a river. It was still really shady and wet and muddy when we arrived, there is parking for just a few cars and the sign says you need a permit but we didn t have one and some other people we met didn t either. First bird here was White-tailed Robin, then we added Ashy Woodpigeon, Rufous-faced Warbler and then a mixed flock had Grey-chinned Minivet, Rufous-capped babbler, Taiwan Yuhina, Black-throated Tit and Green-backed Tit. We then heard and finally got on a Taiwan Shortwing that eventually broke from cover and flew across the path no chance of photographing that one, pretty much the same result for Taiwan Wren Babbler which Richard said occasional shows on top of the plastic water pipes not for us - just the usual brief views even through there seemed to be 4 or 5 birds calling and responding to each other. Having crossed the road to the other side of the trail we added Taiwan Scimitar Babbler, Rusty Laughing Thrush, Steere s Liocichla, and Taiwan Whistling Thrush. We then drove to the other entrance where there is a water treatment building that you can climb on; from the top of the building we added Black Taiwan Scimitar Babbler Bulbul, Yellow Tit and Crested Goshawk. That was almost it for the day as we had do drive south to Tainan but on the way we stopped at a Temple in Pulai which had a famous resident, a local Collared Scops Owl. We stayed the night in Tainan at a very nice central hotel called Ta Lee going out for a nice meal at an unusual Cowboy bar and restaurant whilst Richard went home to spend the evening with his family and we would meet up at tomorrow. Black-faced Spoonbill and Pheasant tailed Jacana reserves near Tainan Standard breakfast at the hotel and ready to leave as Richard arrives. It is a glorious sunny morning, it turns out to be the hottest day so far. We head to the Black-faced Spoonbill reserve, there are usually a few Spoonbills that spend the summer in Taiwan but they seem to be down the coast at Budai. So we make do with Grey Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Yellow Bittern, Black-shouldered Kite and Oriental Pratincol before heading inland to the Pheasant tailed Jacana reserve. Just before turning for the reserve Sarah and I spotted some out of place birds, I said was that something like Saffron Finch, Sarah said no looks more like weavers if we were in Africa, turns out that they were two Golden Palm Weavers they are in Chinese version of Taiwan field guide as escapees don t know if there is a sustainable population but Richard had never heard of them occurring around here but put the location on e-bird if anyone is interested in finding them.

6 On arriving at the reserve there was a young Black-naped Oriole which is a good bird for the island. On the lakes there are lots of breeding Pheasant-tailed Jacana, a few Oriental Skylarks, Japanese White-eye, Scaly-breasted Munia, Red Turtle Dove, Oriental Turtle Dove and a flyover Cinnamon Bittern. On the pools by the raod we add Whiskered and White-winged Black Tern. We had the long drive down towards Kenting for some birding tomorrow and to be local for our ferry to Lanyu from Henghuan but on route we were stopping at a campsite for a special target bird. On arrival at the empty camp-site, I think being Sunday afternoon everyone had packed Black-naped Oriole up and left, we quickly added Grey Treepie, Taiwan Barbet and Black-eared Kite before we heard the Maroon Oriole, Richard went over to one side of the camping field forest to look for the birds but Sarah and I were the lucky ones and I found three stunning Maroon Oriole in the area next to us. The birds were reasonably confiding and I managed a couple of shots which I think do the birds justice result! A walk around the other section of the site added Chinese Pond Heron, Kingfisher, Striated Swallow and Spotted Dove, whilst a pond held Golden Marginated Turtle and we also saw Grass Tree Frog. Barred Buttonquail Weather was looking a little iffy for our crossing to Lanyu tomorrow, with a Typhoon/Tropical Strom heading for nearby Hong Kong, Maroon (Red) Oriole we asked Richard to stop at a local Pharmacy to get some travel sickness pills - before arriving at the town of Fenggang (we got the pills 10 for 100NT$ about 3 and very effective too), on the way we trawled up and down some newly planted fields and got ourselves the last bird of the day which was a lifer a Barred Buttonquail. The town of Fenggang where we stayed is famous for three things, Brown Shrike (signs everywhere and it used to be the famous local cookery dish but they have now stopped hunting them and instead serve things like squid in the shape of Shrike, secondly the Prime Minister comes from the area and is friends with the hotel owner we are staying with and lastly some good seafood which we thoroughly enjoyed with a few beers. Morning and early afternoon in Kenting NP Styan's Bulbul We headed to the Shedding area of the National Park to be honest there wasn t a lot of bird targets just the endemic bulbul, which we found pretty quickly so Styan s Bulbul seen and photographed and then just a few old favourites like Grey Treepie, Black Bulbul, Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker and Japanese White-eye. We then visited a new wetland site and added Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Tufted Duck, Little Egret and Coot. However we had good views of Taiwan Japalura (lizard), Golden Birdwing Butterfly and Formosan Macaques. We got to the ferry for our crossing and good news it was a bigger and more stable boat with a good outside area for sea watching. It was quite choppy but we all took our tablets and we all felt remarkably good, so much so that Richard went in and bought a supply for future trips on our return as although normally OK himself it can spoil the rest of the day if a group are badly impacted by sea-sickness. The actual crossing was very quiet bird wise with just a Bulwer s Petrel, Little Tern and Caspian Tern and no sign of our hoped for Streaked Shearwater, we did see a few flying fish though.

7 Orchid Island (Lanyu) With an indigenous culture that is closer to that of the Philippines and the Pacific, Lanyu is a nice contrast to mainland Taiwan. We dropped our bags at the hotel in Badai Bay, a partly underground hotel in native style and had a few hours of daylight to try for some target birds and Richard knew what we wanted most. We drove a few miles round the island road and just before the bridge where you can access the forest we had a Taiwan Whistling Green Pigeon, and from the bridge we quickly added a few pacific specials in Brown-eared Bulbul and Lowland White-eye before getting Philippine Cuckoo Dove as we entered the forest trail, that only left two main targets and we didn t take too long finding a female Japanese Paradise Flycatcher. After a brief walk and with light in the forest fading we then heard an owl calling, Richard tried calling it and we both saw it fly into a tree back up by the roadside it took what seemed an age but eventually we found the bird perched on a branch above the road. Although the sun hadn t yet set it was in darkness but with a little bit of spotlight I got a couple of shots of Lanyu (Elegant) Scops Owl that I m pretty happy with. We even had time to cross the road and walk up the hill at Greenfield Pasture to see the sunset over the ocean and even added Lesser Coucal and Pacific Swift on the way. A lovely sunset and then a barbecue and beer on the beach next to our hotel to finish a great day. Getting back from Lanyu Some very bad weather was forecast and Richard was keeping a close eye on the Ferry operations, there would only be one sailing today and it was scheduled to leave around but if the weather was to change it may leave early. They had already cancelled ferries for the two subsequent days so you can see how people get stranded on the island or miss out on coming over at all. So we were really glad we had booked just one night and had pretty much cleaned up. Plan for the day was originally to do some birding in the morning and then snorkel for a couple of hours but the wind and waves had pretty much ruled snorkelling out but with no morning ferry we could keep our room until it was time to leave for the ferry and have a shower before we go. I should probably have mentioned transport on Lanyu, you can bring over a motorbike but not a car and any hire car may not be in very good condition as we were told that this is where cars go to die. Richard said we were lucky this time getting a car with most things working. We decided to do the forest we did yesterday, then try the other side of the island and stop off at the weather station. We quickly saw most of what we saw yesterday, with Brown-eared Bulbul, and Lowland White-eye by the bridge, then unbelievably we spotted the Elegant Scops Owl in broad day light we actually saw 5 of these in the two forests today so looks like a good breeding season for the owls, then I Japanese Paradise Flycatcher managed a poor photograph of Japanese Paradise Flycatcher, added Philippine Cuckoo Dove and then headed around the coast and entered the forest near Dongging Bay, there was a pond here with Grey Heron, Moorhen and a White-breasted Waterhen, we were trying here for Northern Boobook and did eventually get a glimpse of one flying but couldn t pick it out twice finding Elegant Scops Owl perched where we hoped the Boobook would be, it would have been nice to have seen the Boobook well just in case it is split because we certainly wouldn t tick it off as lifer on the view we had. Last bird in the forest was Whistling Green Pigeon Whistling Green Pigeon

8 We then drove around the various scenic look-outs like Warship Rock, Dragons Head, Twin Lions and Hen Rock the only birds we added were Pacific Reef Egret, Little Egret and Philippine Rock Thrush. The weather centre presented an interesting glimpse of history and a good viewpoint but only seabird seen was a Little Tern. We did though add Lanyu Japalura Lizard, Magallenic Birdwing, and 2 different Swallowtail Butterflies. The ferry trip although a bit rough passed uneventfully although with no further ferries scheduled it was pretty packed with lots of Chinese students smoking on the outside deck; so we didn t do much sea watching from outside and from inside we only saw Caspian Tern. Richard immediately headed to the pharmacist where we both stocked up on future supplies of travel sickness tablets (I think they are a similar formula to those in Kaikoura Crackers the ones that New Zealand captains hand out before their pelagic trips on rough days). Certainly keeping Sarah from even feeling queezy is an achievement. We were back at the same hotel and went to the same fish restaurant; I think it is the only fish restaurant in town. Over dinner we decided with the poor weather we should try to just head straight up to Alishan before any flooding or road closures might kick in. Up until now we had been pretty lucky with the weather while birding. Alishan National Scenic Area and Yushan, So off at first light with just a stop for some coffee and snacks at a 7-11 did I mention that there are 7-11 s everywhere, Taiwan has the most per capita of any country in the world and it was certainly convenient to stop for drinks and a comfort break almost every where. Richard made excellent time on the drive and we even kept good time as the torrential rain arrived. When we got to KM100 Richard advised us to keep a look out for Pheasants and just as we reached KM103 Richard slowed when he spotted some by the roadside, it was a female Mikado Pheasant with 2 Juveniles nearby, excellent but where was the male? We stopped in the layby between 103 and 104 (a few KM below Tatajia) and there was a cracking male Mikado Pheasant on the edge of the grass. Light was poor but we were delighted to get one of our top targets for the trip. As it turned it although Richard hadn t seen Pheasant s at this spot before, we saw birds every time we stopped here (5 stops over Mikado Pheasant the 2 days we came up). Richard had said they like mist and rain so that may have helped our cause. We drove a few Kilometres further up and stopped when we saw a Spotted Nutcracker (macrohynchos) another possible split. It was still torrential rain Spotted Nutcracker but we had a few birds still to find so on with the water-proofs and under umbrellas we head-up the restricted road towards the start of the Tatajia trailhead. We quickly found White-tailed Robin and Coal Tit, but then Richard got excited when he heard a Bullfinch calling and then right in front of us were 3 Grey-Headed (owstoni) Bullfinch, these we were told were very tricky and by no means certain birds so well pleased, even though seen in the torrential rain, I had left my camera behind in the minibus and so missed some point blank shots, the next target was much harder as we tried to call Parrotbills, for about 2 hours but not a trace we did through add Taiwan Rosefinch, Flamecrest and Whitewhiskered Laughing Thrush but then when we were about to give up we heard a little flock and there were at least 6 Golden Parrotbills flitting around, one of the birds emerged from the bamboo and perched briefly on a branch; what a stunner, I described him as like a Bearded Tit dipped in green and gold paint but although we all saw it; it turned out Sarah had not been able to get it in her binoculars as focusing with one hand under the umbrella was beyond her. We did try to get on the flock again but they had obviously moved on. White-whiskered Laughing Thrush It was now after 2 o clock and we were all cold and wet; the trails were running like a river and even our waterproof boots were completely full of water and we were also a bit

9 hungry. Richard rang the visitor centre to see If they were open, they were but with limited staff; as advice was for people not to come up to the mountains due to the weather it also turned out that a hiker had died up at the cabin on the trek up Jade Mountain 3952M, so people were pretty busy responding to that. Anyway short version of tale was they did some delicious, soup with Pork and noodles, they sold socks in a gift shop by the upstairs canteen, so we could get our boots off and let then dry a bit before putting on nice dry newly purchased socks. It probably looked like a Chinese (Taiwanese) Laundry with socks, trouser bottoms, Jackets, hats, etc. all drying over chairs. After a slow lunch, no hurry as we were the only visitors in that day they then put on a special showing of the information film for us but unfortunately halfway through the showing some flooding nearby caused a power cut, so we had to give up on that and go Crested Serpent Eagle out into the rain again. We decided to head back down the hill and at the same area we saw another male and female Mikado Pheasant and a Whistling Thrush quite high for the thrush we thought. Only other bird we saw on the way down to Firefly Guest House (aka Star Resort) was a very soggy Crested Serpent Eagle. Firefly Guest House have some local Owls and Flying Squirrels to look for as well as luminous mushrooms but the weather just didn t ease off so we had a quiet night indoors. Another day in the mountains Good news was that just before first light the rain had eased so we would go up to the hide in the owners little blue van. You have to arrive at the hide before dawn and then hopefully a little bit of patience would pay off. First things to show were Squirrels, Pallas s Red Bellied and Long Nosed, then we had a nice male Swinhoe s Pheasant, before the stars of the show a group of Taiwan (Taiwan Hill) Partridge came out and displayed, although we had brief sightings in the dark at Dasyushan this was a much better experience. Only other birds seen were White-bellied Green Pigeon and Green-backed Tit. Then it was time to get back down to the guest house for breakfast. The guest house is Japanese Style so you leave your shoes at the door and use the various slippers inside, so our boots were left outside all be it under shelter and were still a little wet from yesterday before we did any walking today. Over breakfast we discussed what we should do, we didn t want to get stranded up the mountain but the weather lower down if Taiwan Partridge anything looked worse so we decided to go back up to the high mountains. This time we were prepared with spare socks and change of shirts etc. On way up we stopped at KM103 and saw the male Mikado Pheasant, there were a couple of Formosan Macaques also here. We did the same walk as yesterday and looked at all the new waterfalls to try to find Little Forktail (but this was to be one of the targets that we missed from not getting to the known territory in Dasyushan), we saw Black-throated Bushtit, Ferruginous Flycatcher, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Bush warbler, White-whiskered Laughing Thrush, Steere s Liocichla and Collared Bush Robin but no sign of the Parrotbills today. We had the same routine as yesterday with lunch and changed clothes in the Tatajia Visitor centre and then today we got to watch the film completely through while we dried off. This was our last day with Richard and we were meeting Chuck in the town near FireFly at 6pm. On way down we added a few more Mikado Pheasants all in roughly the same area and a White-tailed Robin. Collared Bush Robin Amazingly as we arrive in town the rain eased off and we added Silver-backed Needletail before having dinner. Richard came back up the hill with us before heading home and we tried for a few owls, we got a

10 glimpse of Collared Scops Owl as it responded to calls but no sign of Mountain Scops Owl. As it was just drizzling when we got back we agreed to go with the owner up the trail to look for Flying Squirrels and Mountain Scops Owl. Richard left but before he did we agreed with him and Chuck we would leave for Huben / Douliu tomorrow morning as the weather tomorrow afternoon was very bad looking and we didn t want to get stuck up the mountain; a good call as had we stayed another day we would have been stuck; as the road did get closed below us the next day. The trip up the hill started promisingly with two White-fronted Giant Flying Squirrels seen and then we heard Mountain Scops Owl calling but before we could even try to call him in the heavens just opened and we tried to shelter under some massive leaves picked by the owner and then get down to the guest house, we did eventually get back me soaked on the back of the truck Sarah a bit better in the cab. How many times across various countries will Mountain Scops Owl remain heard only. Huben Today we would hopefully find the main (non-endemic) target for the trip Fairy Pitta we would hook up with Mr Pitta (I think his name is Akai, a farmer from the Huben area) who tracks the Pittas in the area and then guarantees a sighting or no guiding fee. As we were going to be here a day early we had to make a new booking with him and thankfully he was free at so we had a bit of time to kill before heading to the meeting point at the Pitta Café, anyone on their own between late April and early July can probably get a slot in a two day period - there is accommodation at the Cafe. The other bit of good news was that Mountain Scops Owl or in Taiwan it could more accurately be called Hill Scops Owl, and Mr Pitta knew a spot for it and would take us to a territory this evening. We decided just to have a walk in light drizzle before breakfast in the ground and trails around Firefly, we were trying to get good views of Dusky Fulvetta and we finally did so, we added Taiwan Scimitar Babbler, Rufous Capped Babbler and Rufous-capped Babbler White-tailed Robin before finding the endemic La-trouc Frog. On the drive down the hill we saw a couple of rare for Taiwan, Russet Sparrows and a Crested Goshawk. With time to kill we stopped at a coffee plantation and sampled the lovely coffee made using a unique filter/distillation system. We still had time to stop at a little forest(chiomi I think) where we saw the sun for the first time in days and added Taiwan Barbet, Crested (oriental) Honey Buzzard, Japanese White-eye, Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, Oriental Turtle Dove and Bronze Dongo. Just as we were getting back to Chuck s car, normal service was resumed and the rain returned for the drive down to Huben. We had a drink and snack at the Pitta Café in Huben, you can t miss the huge pitta sign outside, accommodation looked OK and toilets and showers were clean here but we were staying in a nice hotel in Douliu City about 40 minutes away. Now that we were lower down it was pretty humid but the rain was now off at least for a bit. We followed Mr Pitta as he went by motorbike on some back roads and stopped on a track near a river, he knew of two Pitta territories and showed us to a nest with chicks and then took us to a viewing point well away from the nest where the adult birds collected insects Fairy Pitta Taiwan and then perched before flying back toward the nest. Only problem was that while we waited for the birds we were being eaten, we had two sorts of insect repellent on; based on advice of girl at the café, one for the Midge type and another deet based one for the larger mosquitos. The large mosquitos were kept at bay but the midges were worse than anything in Scotland and poor Sarah was eaten all over her face. It got worse when it started to rain and we were sitting under brollies with hundreds of the blighters just eating us, fortunately one of the Pittas chose that moment to fly in, Sarah could see it but my view was obscured and it was another 10 minutes before our first Fairy Pitta came out into a clearing, then the second bird flew onto a nearby perch and showed really well and the rain went off to allow us 20 minutes just

11 XITOU or SITOU Nature Education Centre taking in the colour and beauty of these special birds. I probably say after any Pitta that was my favourite bird and it is/was for a while. Only other memorable bird was a nicely posed White-rumped Shama. We agreed to meet Mr Pitta for Owling after dinner but around the heavens opened and a local weather app showed that it was on for the night so we re-arranged for tomorrow night. Another day of rain was forecast and Xitou offered us the chance of a couple of target birds and some reasonable photo opportunities of a few birds that I hadn t yet captured shots of. It was Saturday and normally it would be very busy with campers and day visitors but the poor weather meant that the place was really quite empty. It was also a good Steere's Liocichla place to bird in the rain with lots of shelters in the forest, decent paths, and quite a few places near the main paths for snacks and drinks. The birding was pretty good too with an excellent view of White-tailed Robin to start, then quite a few Steere s Liocichla (finally got decent photos), Taiwan Barwing, Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, Black Bulbul, Oriental Turtle Dove, then just before lunch one of our last targets a Brown Bullfinch (uchaidi). After lunch we searched every new waterfall for Little Forktail but closure of the road at Dasyushan certainly cost us that one. Only other bird we were looking for was Island Thrush but there were no known territories and so we didn t get this future split. Last birds of the Taiwan Barwing afternoon were White-bellied Green Pigeon, Ferruginous Flycatcher, Taiwan Scimitar Babbler, Oriental Pratincol and Asian House Martin before we came across a photogenic Snowy-browed Flycatcher. We arranged to meet for dinner at Having just finished dinner the rains were still torrential, but forecast for a couple of hours later was better; so we contacted Mr Pitta, agreed the latest time for meeting up, and agreed to call round to his house if the weather improved. Just before the cut off time the rain had nearly stopped and we headed off to Huben to pick up our guide. We parked in a school / church yard and took a forest path for about 10 minutes we could hear the Owls calling and then we stopped and tried calling them in, I think there were two or three birds calling and flying around but the only one we managed to get in the torch light after about 20 minutes was a young but unmistakeable Mountain Scops Owl. I think we have had heard only on this bird for over 17 years so a huge relief White-browed Sibia even if the one photo I took (just took SX out in the rain) is pretty rubbish. The rain then came back on heavy and we returned to Douliou. We had heard the Savanna Nightjar on various hotel roofs a few times but hadn t seen them well enough to count but Chuck decided to try calling them in, in the light rain in the town square and unbelievably three birds came into our torch beams, it seemed really weird birding in the town centre on a busy Saturday night; but result. Last Hurrah We had two days left in Taiwan we had allowed some contingency in case of weather problems, getting to and from Lanyu (sensible but fortunately not needed) or difficulty finding a few of the trickier endemics but as we had seen all the endemics and most of the sub-species (missed Island Thrush - no known territories for this bird this year apart from closed are at Dayueshan) and got the sought after Asian birds we hadn t already

12 seen (tried for Little Forktail and saw all other targets) we could do what we liked. We agreed with Chuck that we would bird the Budai area today weather was forecast poor and then just spend the last day in sight-seeing mode around Taipei before our flight home. Chuck had seen the Chinese Crested Tern on a sandbar at Beimen, just before high tide last week so we would start with trying for that and then try a sight he knew for Slaty-legged Rail (we assume he meant Crake) which would also be a lifer. We didn t need to be at the Beimen coast until 9.30 so a leisurely breakfast in the hotel and then an hour and half to the coast. We got there in good time and Surprise! Surprise! it was chucking it down. So we birded under our by now falling apart umbrellas, there were a number of terns starting to come onto the sandbar, a group of Great Crested, Black-naped, Gull-billed and Little terns, then a Red-necked Phalarope, and two Chinese Egrets came in. On the marsh on the other side of the watch point a Yellow Bittern flew over but no sign of the Chinese Crested Tern just a few Caspian and a couple more Great Crested came in along with a Lesser Sand Plover and Kentish Plover. Flying over we had Oriental Pratincol, Whiskered Tern and Striated Swallow. When the tide had come completely in and the birds moved on we moved on to the main Budai reserve. The target here was Black-faced Spoonbill although we had seen these a few times before it was still a nice trip tick and we found three birds along with Black-winged Stilts, Avocets, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Little and Intermediate Egrets. We stopped for lunch at a nice fish restaurant near some coastal marshes that were completely flooded so we didn t bird there. We then headed to a spot for Slaty-legged Crake, (Xuejia Wetland) it was coastal pools with little woodland, but it turned out that Chuck meant Slaty-breasted Rail, still a good bird (new sub species) but not a lifer for me. We added a Long-tailed Shrike, Black-crowned Night Heron, Pale-vented Bulbul, Kestrel and Moorhen and then headed north staying the night near KM1 for Dasyushan. Our last day was a standard tourist one, we drove into Taipei, and went up Taipei 101 and then went to a memorial park, where we saw the changing of the guard and added the last two trips birds Asian Glossy Starling and Black-collared Starling and it was dry most of the day. We finished appropriately at the bird temple in San Xia and had some dinner before heading back to the airport. Summary All in all a great trip, we saw all the current endemics with great views of what could have been some tricky birds, people were really friendly, food was excellent and we had some good other wildlife sightings. Even the last 5 days of near constant rain didn t put us off recommending the trip to some friends although I think they will go earlier in the year to get drier weather, the winter migrants and but also to miss the Pittas you pay your money and take your choice. Eastern Cattle Egret White-browed Robin Crested Goshawk Malayan Night Heron

13 Snowy-browed Flycatcher Coal Tit (crested) Brown-flanked Bush Warbler Black-throated Bushtits Taiwan Partridge Brown Bullfinch Fem Mikado Pheasant Steere's Liocichla Black Bulbul Formosan Macaque Pallas's Squirrel Taiwan Japalura

14 Bird Where seen Life Y/N 1 Taiwan Hill Partridge Alishan & Dasyushan Y 2 Taiwan Bamboo Partridge Shimen Reservoir Y 3 Swinhoe's Pheasant Alishan & Dasyushan Y 4 Mikado Pheasant Upper Yushan road Y 5 Eastern Spot-billed Duck Various N 6 Tufted Duck Kenting N 7 Bulwer's Petrel Lanyu Ferry N 8 Black-crowned Night Heron Various N 9 Malaysian Night Heron Various Y 10 Cattle Egret Various N 11 Little Egret Various N 12 Intermediate Egret Various N 13 Chinese Egret Budai N 14 Grey Heron Lanyu N 15 Sacred Ibis Various N 16 Black-faced Spoonbill Budai N 17 Yellow Bittern Budai N 18 Cinnamon Bittern Jacana reserve N 19 Pacific Reef Egret Lanyu N 20 Kestrel Roadside N 21 Black-shouldered Kite Various N 22 Black Eared-Kite Dongshu N 23 Black eagle Dasyushan N 24 Crested Serpent Eagle Various N 25 Oriental Honey Buzzard Huben N 26 Crested Goshawk Various N 27 Besra Shimen Reservoir Y 28 White-breasted Waterhen Lanyu N 29 Moorhen Various N 30 Coot Various N 31 Slaty-breasted Rail (taiwainus) Budai N 32 Barred Buttonquail Kenting road Y 33 Blac-winged Stilt Various N 34 Avocet Various N 35 Grey Plover Taoyun N 36 Ringed Plover Various N 37 Kentish Plover Various N 38 Lesser Sand Plover Taoyun N 39 Pheasant-tailed Jacana Jacana reserve N 40 Greater Painted Snipe Taoyun N 41 Whimbrel Various N 42 Eurasian Curlew Tainan area N

15 43 Greenshank Tainan area N 44 Marsh Sandpiper Budai N 45 great Knot Taoyun N 46 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Taoyun N 47 Oriental Pratincol Tainan area Y 48 Caspian Tern Various N 49 Greater Crested Tern Budai N 50 Little Tern Various N 51 Gull-billed Tern Various N 52 Whiskered Tern Various N 53 White-winged Black Tern Various N 54 Ashy Woodpigeon Dasyushan Y 55 Oiental Turtle Dove Various N 56 Red Turtle Dove Various N 57 Spotted Dove Various N 58 Philippine Cuckoo Dove Lanyu N 59 Asian Emerald Dove Lanyu N 60 White-bellied Green Pigeon Various N 61 Taiwan Green (whistling) Pigeon Lanyu Y 62 Lesser Coucal Lanyu N 63 Mountain Scops Owl Huben Y 64 Eastern Collared Scops Owl Temple Y 65 Elegant (lanyu) Scops Owl Lanyu Y 66 Savanna Nightjar Doulie Y 67 Silver-backed Needletail Alishan lower Y 68 Pacific Swift Lanyu N 69 House Swift Various N 70 Common Kingfisher Various N 71 Taiwan Barbet Various Y 72 Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker Shimen Reservoir N 73 White-backed Woodpecker Dasyushan N 74 Fairy Pitta Huben Y 75 Grey-chinned Minivet Various N 76 Long-tailed Shrike Shedding N 77 Maroon Oriole Dongshan Y 78 Black-naped Oriole Jacana reserve N 79 Bronzed Drongo Various N 80 Black Drongo Various N 81 Black-naped Monarch Various N 82 Japanese Paradise Flycatcher Lanyu N 83 Eurasian Jay Dasyushan N 84 Taiwan Blue Magpie Shimen Reservoir Y 85 Grey Treepie Various N 86 Common Magpie Various N 87 Spotted Nutcracker (owstoni) Yashun N

16 88 Large-billed Crow Various N 89 Green-backed Tit Dasyushan N 90 Coal Tit (ptilosus) Mount Heheun N 91 Chestnut-fronted Tit Gugan Y 92 Yellow Tit Dasyushan Y 93 Black-throated Tit Various Y 94 Asian House Martin Various N 95 Barn Swallow Various N 96 Striated Swallow Various N 97 Pacific Swallow Various N 98 Grey-throated Martin Gugan N 99 Oriental Skylark Taoyuan N 100 Golden-headed Cisticola(volitans) Dasyushan N 101 Stiated Prinia Various Y 102 Yellow-bellied Prinia Various N 103 Plain Prinia Various N 104 Collared Finchbill Dasyushan Y 105 Chinese Bulbul (formosae) Various N 106 Taiwan (Styan's) Bulbul Kenting Y 107 Brown-eared Bulbul(harterti) Lanyu N 108 Himalayan Black Bulbul Various N Brown-flanked Bush Warbler 109 (strong footed) Washe - pipe trail Y 110 Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler Mount Heheun Y 111 Taiwan Bush Warbler Dasyushan Y 112 Rufous-faced Warbler Dasyushan N 113 Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler Shimen Reservoir Y 114 Taiwan Scimitar Babbler Various Y 115 Taiwan Wren Babbler Dasyushan Y 116 Rufous-capped Babbler Various N 117 Rufous-crowned Laughing Thrush Dasyushan Y 118 Rusty Laughing Thrush Dasyushan Y 119 Taiwan Hwamei Dasyushan Y 120 White-whiskered Laughing Thrush Various Y 121 Steere's Liocichla Various Y 122 Taiwan Barwing Xitou & Dasyuashan Y 123 Taiwan Fulvetta Xitou & Dasyuashan Y 124 Dusky Fulvetta Various Y 125 Grey-cheeked Fulvetta Various Y 126 White-eared (Taiwan) Sibia Various Y 127 Taiwan Yuhina Various Y 128 White-bellied Epornis Dasyushan Y 129 Golden Parrotbill (morrisonus) Yushan upper area Y 130 Japanese White-eye Various N 131 Lowland White-eye Lanyu N

17 132 Flamecrest Mount Heheun Y 133 Winter Wren Mount Heheun N 134 Eurasian Nuthatch Various N 135 Asian Glossy Starling Taipei N 136 Crested Myna Taoyuan N 137 Javan Myna Various N 138 Common Myna Various N 139 Black-collared Starling Taipei N 140 Taiwan Whistling Thrush Various Y 141 Scaly Thrush (Dauma taiwanus) Dasyushan N 142 Taiwan Shortwing Washe - pipe trail Y 143 White-browed Robin (Taiwan) Mount Heheun Y 144 Collared Bush Robin Various Y 145 White-rumped Shama Heben & Shimem Y 146 Plumbeous Redstart Dasyushan N 147 White-tailed Robin (montium) Various N 148 Philippine Blue Rock Thrush Lanyu N 149 Ferruginous Flycatcher Various N 150 Snowy-browed Flycatcher Xitou & Dasyuashan N 151 Taiwan (Vivid) Niltava Dasyushan Y 152 Brown Dipper Dasyushan N 153 Fire-breasted Flowerpecker Various N 154 Tree Sparrow Various N 155 Russet Sparrow Alishan lower N 156 Scaly-breasted Munia Various N 157 Alpine Accentor (fennelli) Mount Heheun N 158 White-wagtail Various N 159 Eastern Yellow Wagtail Taoyuan N 160 Taiwan Rosefinch Mount Heheun Y 161 Brown Bullfinch Xitou Y 162 Grey-headed (Owston's) Bullfinch Yushan upper area Y Birds seen 162 Life birds 50 (plus 10 possible future splits) Other Wildlife Fomosan Macaque Pallas's Squirrel Formosan Striped Squirrel Blue-tailed Skink Lanya Skink Magellan Birdwing Latrouc Frog Formosan Grass Lizard Long-nosed Squirrel Shield Moth Red Percher Dargonfly Formosan black-eared Toad Golden marginated Turtle Taiwan tree Frog Golden Birdwing Lanyu Swallowtail Formosan Japalora Mud Skipper

18 Mount Heuhan and other peak sign Rain stopped at Alishan Transport to hide at Firefly Taipei 101 Having a Laugh at Election chaos with Richard