Taiwan 2019 Part 2 – Southern Taiwan, Lanyu Island & Fairy Pitta

Fairy Pitta

After our productive visit to the mountains of Dasyueshan, we moved on to the hot springs resort town of Guguan for a two-night stay on April 19. Across the suspension bridge from Hotspring Park I quickly found the local key endemic – Chestnut-bellied Tit. In the park itself, more common fare included Bronzed Drongo, Grey-chinned Minivet and Grey Treepie.

Bronzed Drongo

Chestnut-bellied Tit

Grey-chinned Minivet

Malayan Night-Heron was feeding on the lawns and one bird was sitting on a nest. This species is usually difficult but for some reason is a common sight in the parks of Taiwan. I had brief views of a pair of Taiwan Blue-Magpies as we walked around the town.

Malayan Night-Heron

Guguan

We drove south of Nantou along Route 21, seeing Taiwan Bamboo-Partridge and Taiwan Hwamei roadside just before Shihkangken, north of Puli. We called in to the Dizang Temple where the distinctive endemic race of Maroon Oriole was seen. We headed along the main road east that crosses Taiwan, stopping briefly at the famed Blue Gates Trail, a birding hotspot. I'd seen all the species occurring there but Taiwan Shortwing was again spotted briefly before rain set in.

Buddhist cemetery at Dizang

Continuing east we stopped at several places at Hehuanshan, the highest road in Taiwan, in cold and misty conditions. Taiwan Rosefinch and Taiwan Bush-Warbler showed nicely in spite of the mist, while the endemic races of Alpine Accenter and Winter Wren were seen. We stayed overnight in Tienshsiang, admiring the splendid Taroko Gorge the next morning.

Taiwan Bush-Warbler

Taiwan Rosefinch

Taroko Gorge

We headed south, stopping at the Danongdafu Forest Park at Guangfu. Styan's Bulbul was abundant, if one of the less exciting Taiwan endemics. The endemic race of Ring-necked Pheasant was common and Taiwan Bamboo-Partridge was seen again – my fourth sighting of this normally cryptic species. We had a two-night stay in the pleasant coastal town of Taitung.

Ring-necked Pheasant

Styan's Bulbul

From there we took the early morning ferry to Lanyu Island for a two-night stay. The first afternoon I headed a short distance east to the Flycatcher Creek area, where all the island's special birds can be found. I ventured up the main creek bed, finding a co-operative pair of Ryukyu Scops-Owls which sometimes calls during the day; I was to hear quite a few and had brief views of others.

Ryukyu Scops-Owl

I saw a fine male Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher and a few Whistling Green-Pigeons after hearing their eerie call. The island endemic races of Brown-eared Bulbul and Lowland White-eye were plentiful.

Brown-eared Bulbul

Whistling Green-Pigeon

Lowland White-eye

That evening I returned to the area and tracked down a lovely Northern Boobook.

Northern Boobook

We had a hire car and drove around the island the next day, taking in the fine coastal scenery. A Bulwer's Petrel on the way back was of interest. We then had a third night relaxing in Taitung.

Lanyu Island

Bulwer's Petrel

We drove north to the town of Douliou for a two-night stay in search of the Fairy Pitta. It was April 26, two days before the first migrant pitta turned up last year, so I had reservations. I headed out in the afternoon to Linnei Park outside Huben. Although it was 2pm and hot, Fairy Pitta was the first bird I heard and I tracked down a nicely co-operative bird. A second bird was calling nearby and possibly a third further up the forest trail.

Fairy Pitta

The next day we had a leisurely drive around the area and were shown a roosting Collared Scops-Owl in a temple in Zushen. Very early the next morning I headed back to the pitta site to try my luck with Mountain Scops-Owl, a species I'd missed on numerous overseas visits. A bird was calling in the same spot where I saw the pitta; an unusual rufous morph owl offered fine views. A pair of Collared Scops-Owls were also calling and I saw another Collared Scops-Owl as the sun rose in a park behind a temple nearby.

Mountain Scops-Owl

Collared Scops-Owl

After leaving Douliou to head north to Taoyuan on the last leg of this trip, I followed a tip from Patrick Lee and called in at the Bade Pond Ecological Park. Here was a male Mandarin Duck in breeding plumage and another in eclipse plumage. Local birders are adamant these are wild birds as they leave the site annually to nest in mountains inland. As elsewhere, Black-crowned Night-Heron was common.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Mandarin Duck

We visited Palau for a week and returned to Taipei for a few days of sight-seeing. I photographed a Taiwan Blue-Magpie in Nangang Park, near where we were staying in Songshan.

Taiwan Blue-Magpie