Due to heavy reconstruction of this webpage, this blog is temporary suspended to renew in this summer, it will be updated again after late-autumn, thank you for your visits in these 9 years.

25 March 2017

Birds of Georgia

1,0L : Little Bustard (小鴇) ; 0,6L : Caucasian Black Grouse (高加索黑琴雞)
0,4L : Grey Partridge (灰山鶉)
Gambia (2011)

29th July, 2016. Akhaltsikhe

Georgia is located at the edge of Asia and Europe. Georgia is a country of exceptional beauty: diverse in nature, with rich and ancient history. The country is mostly complex and mountainous. The highest peak is 5201m (peak Shkhara) above sea level. Due to Georgia's specific geographic location, on a relatively small territory (69,700 square km.) there are extremely diverse ecosystems from Alpine meadows to semi-deserts, wetlands, costal landscape, numerous lakes and rivers, caves, magnificent mountain-chains and peaks covered with eternal snow.

In Georgia there are several spectacular birdwatching locations, with very different characteristics. Each of them is interesting in terms of species composition. On a relatively small territory there is a multitude of diverse ecosystems. This is very favorable for bird watching, as in a short period of time and in area very close to each other it is possible to see birds from totally different habitats.

Birders tend to target the 'big five' species: Caucasian Snowcock, Caucasian Black Grouse, Great Rosefinch, Güldenstädt’s Redstart and Caucasian Chiffchaff but other regional specialties including: Twite (interior Asian form - a potential split), Red-fronted Serin, Wallcreeper, Citrine Wagtail, White-winged Snowfinch, Red-billed and Alpine Choughs, Chukar, Horned Lark, Water Pipit, Greenish Warbler, Barred Warbler, Alpine Accentor, Common Rosefinch and dozens of other species.

18 March 2017

The New Zwin

Common Shelduck (翹鼻麻鴨) ; Common Tern (普通燕鷗) ; Barn Swallow (家燕)
Pied Avocet (反嘴鷸) ; Eurasian Spoonbill (白琵鷺)
Belgium (2016)
16th June, 2016. Roesela

The new Zwin is the international migratory bird airport. It is a unique and varied top attraction where you experience nature to the full. The new Zwin has something in store for everyone.

The Zwin Nature Park is an interactive nature experience park for the entire family. It is a place where you can discover the special Zwin nature in an attractive and stimulating manner.

Apart from the Zwin Nature Park, the Zwin is accessible free of charge: the Zwin Bistro, the Zwin Shop, the Zwin Region Information Centre and no less than 220ha of Zwin dunes and polders which guide you to the Zwin Nature Park on foot or by bike from Knokke Het Zoute.

11 March 2017

Birds of Cameroon

Top : Mount Kupe Bushshrike (庫山叢伯勞) ; Martial Eagle (猛雕) ; Purple Heron (紫鷺)
Bottom : European Robin (知更鳥) ; Black-casqued Hornbill (黑盔犀鳥)
Cameroun (1983, 1985, 1991)
12th July, 2016. Yaounde

Cameroon offers some of the best and most exciting birding in West and Central Africa. Cameroon boasts of more than 900 species of birds and a lot of them being endemic and near endemic. Cameroon bird habitats in Cameroon are mountain forests, savanna plateaus in the Mid North, Sahel in the Extreme North, the numerous forests and lakes.

In the far north, large concentrations of waterbirds such as White-faced Whistling Duck and Long-tailed Cormorant can be found along with a great variety of raptors. Further south are the transition zones of the Adamawa plateau in the Mbam Djerem National Park and the lowland evergreen forests. In the western part of the country is the Cameroon Mountain Arc with the Afro-tropical mountain vegetation type. This is where the endemic species such as Mount Cameroon Francolin, Mount Kupé Bush-Shrike and Bannerman’s Turaco can be found. There are also several freshwater systems such as River Sanaga and Nyong and a few lakes e.g. Lake Magba and Lake Maga where waterbirds such as cormorants, darters, storks and herons can be seen. The south-west of the country has a 350 km coastline with a marine ecosystem that provides a roosting ground for a host of migratory species.

4 March 2017

Great Frigatebird

Great Frigatebird (小軍艦鳥)
Nauru (2008)

21st April, 2016. Nauru

Great Frigatebird is a large seabird in the frigatebird family. Major nesting populations are found in the Pacific (including the Galapagos Islands) and Indian Oceans, as well as a population in the South Atlantic.

It is a lightly built, large seabird up to 105cm long with predominantly black plumage. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism; the female is larger than the adult male and has a white throat and breast, and the male's scapular feathers have a purple-green sheen. In the breeding season, the male is able to distend its striking red gular sac. The species feeds on fish taken in flight from the ocean's surface (mostly flying fish), and indulges in kleptoparasitism less frequently than other frigatebirds. They feed in pelagic waters within 80km of their breeding colony or roosting areas.