Birds Mooching from Fishermen

     Only a few years ago, birds were quite shy of humans.  Then Shuangshi Creek Park was developed, and birds gradually overcame their fear of people.  As time went on, birds and fishermen developed a sort of relationship.  In the photos below, a black-crowned night heron and a little egret wait for a fisherman to throw them a fish that's too small to take home.

     In the photo below, you can see that there were two birds.  The heron and the egret watched until a fisherman threw a fish to them.  Each raced to get it before the other could.  The night heron got it.  The birds then resumed their patient wait for the next fish to be thrown their way.

     For more photos of black-crowned night herons, click here.  For more photos of little egrets, click here.  For more photos of birds keeping company with fishermen, click here.

Gray Heron

      It has been more than a little difficult to get close enough to a gray heron to get a clear photo of one.  I've seen them in rice paddies, mangrove swamps, and along mudflats.
     The one on this page was going for a stroll near along mudflats near the Guandu ferry.

     Here are two more photos of a gray heron.  The first is a zoom of the second.  I photographed that bird near Shuang Shi Creek, about a half mile west of the place that the creek empties into the Danshui River.

     I finally got a clear photo of a gray heron on February 2, 2012.  Along the biking trail, about a mile or two from Danshui, I came across an irrigation pond that sometimes plays host to black-crowned night herons, egrets, and an occasional gray heron.  

     For more information on gray herons, click here.

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Dusky Thrush

     I had mistaken the bird on this page for a streak-breasted scimitar babbler, which is a brush and field bird. A reader was kind enough to inform me that it was a dusky thrush. I saw this bird well beyond the Guandu Bridge, just before you get to Danshui.

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For more information on the dusky thrush, click here.

River Kingfisher

     In the eighteen years I've been in Taiwan, I've seen only three river kingfishers and then only on a total of four occasions.  Most recently was today: July 31, 2010, and I was fortunate enough to have my camera on me. 
    I had never seen a river kingfisher in Taipei County before and wasn't expecting one then.  I was stalking an unidentified heron when, through the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a flash of turquoise fly past me.  After determining the direction in which it had flown, I crept up to that spot. Upon spotting the bird I alternately took pictures and slid my feet sideways, inches at a time, to move closer.

     With the small digital camera I use, it's hard to get a clear photo of a small bird.  These pictures, which I took at Shuangxi Creek (Shuangxi Riverside Park) will have to do.

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Chinese Bulbul

      The Chinese bulbul, also known as the white-vented bulbul, has been called one of the "three treasures of the city.  The city in question is Taipei City.  The two other treasures are the Eurasian tree sparrow and the Japanese white eye.

     Since the Chinese bulbul is a fairly small bird, if you're using an inexpensive camera, you have to get within ten meters of the bird to get a somewhat clear shot.  That's extremely difficult.  Most have been a greater distance from me and flew away before I could get close.  Some others perched within five meters of me but flew away before I could get my camera ready.

          The Chinese bulbul in these pictures was very helpful. Little by little, I got closer and closer.  I took many pictures, figuring that most of them would be blurry.  None of these pictures is as clear as I'd like, but, after all, the Chinese bulbul is a small bird.  Without professional equipment and training, a clearer picture of a Chinese bulbul may be beyond my capabilities.

     Below are some pictures I took of Chinese bulbuls while I was riding along that same trail.  I don't remember where I saw them. 

For more information on Chinese bulbuls, click here.

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White-vented Myna

     The white-vented myna is one of the most common birds in Taipei City, but it has been very hard to get close enough to one to take a very clear picture.  I took the above picture while on a bicycle ride about five hundred yards before the Keelung River bicycle trail turns into an area flanked by wetlands on both sides.
     If you look closely, you can see the white rump (vent) and the white wing flashes.  Only when the white-vented myna is in flight can you see that the white on its wings are all along the tips of the wing feathers.  In one of the photos below you can see the white tail flash.

      In the above-left photo, we see another shot of the bird seen at the top of the page.  The white-vented myna at right is in the little park under the MRT line near the Zhishan Station.  I had thought that the moving vehicle would have startled him to flight, but, no, he just stood there and watched the car go by.  You can see the white tail flash in that photo.

      Above, you can see the same white-vented myna that watched the car a moment or so later. Again, if you click to enlarge the photo, you can see the white tail flash.

     A few years ago, I found an injured white-vented myna in that same park and took it to a veterinarian who does that kind of work for the Taipei Wild Bird Society.  I used a disposable camera to take several photos of it.   I believe I had the photos scanned.  If I did, and I can find them, I'll post them to this page.
     I took the photo below near Hsuang Shi Creek.  Dozens of white-vented mynas roost in a tree at twilight.

     For more information on the white-vented myna (unfortunately, not much more) click here.