Daxueshan revisited
When: December 2019 Weather: 8-18C
Nikon P900. Leica M10P 35mm Summilux
Last year when I was here, we did a day trip from Taipei and whilst we did see a reasonable number of birds, the weather had been a bit wet and it was a bit of a rush. This year, we decided to stay at the Government rest houses at 43km and we were blessed with brilliant hot sunshine….the birds were however more challenging!
We set off from Taipei at 530am on a Monday morning with an initial target location of Ba Hsien Shan or Eight Fairy mountain at the foot of Daxueshan… things looked hopeful when we stopped at a station along the way….
Black drongo
Long tailed shrike
Light vented bulbul
A little detour brought us to Basianshan or eight fairy mountain
The nicest bird we saw here and on the whole excursion was the chestnut bellied tit, a Taiwan endemic
chestnut bellied tit
the mountain had many poinsettias in bloom
Down near the river, a female plumbeous redstart
Female plumbeous redstart
then the very smart male plumbeous redstart showed
male plumbeous redstart
grey wagtail
a colourful Daurian redstart presented itself
Daurian redstart
Black bulbul
It was a bit of a disappointing detour to Ba Hsien Shan as far as bird yield was concerned and we soon went up Daxueshan to look for the pheasants etc… we stopped at various locations on the way up…
A collared finch
Collared finch
Grey cheeked fulvetta
A large crested serpent eagle eyed us from afar
And at the usual place by the side of the road where we had been last year, this appeared
the female Swinhoe’s pheasant
whilst the male Swinhoe’s gets the attention, I think the pattern on the female is stunning
female swinhoe’s pheasant feather detail
Here a shot taken with my Leica M10P and a 75mm summilux lens…not your usual birding setup
female swinhoe’s by Leica M10P
the much more colourful male Swinhoe’s pheasant
Male Swinhoe’s pheasant
totally different looking male and female Swinhoe’s pheasants….one the sought after birds in Daxueshan
This charming fellow then showed….a Taiwan blue whistling thrush
Taiwan blue whistling thrush
By late afternoon, the scenery got more spectacular as the sun got lower.. the sea of clouds
Setting sun
magnificent scenery
Taiwan Yuhinia
Taiwan Yuhinia
Ashy Wood Pigeon
as the sun got even lower, the light got warmer
and the view from our hotel got more romantic
the government resthouses at 41km mark
Eurasian or spotted nutcracker
and final bird of the day was this female red flanked blue tail….a hint of blue can be seen in the tail….another lifer!
a beautiful location to spend the night…cold though!
a night ramble reveled this red and white giant squirrel
Sunrise the next day….we headed up the mountain to 50km to seek the Mikado
our actual lodge in the hills
there are many tunnels on the road
the Mikado did not show but this white whiskered laughing thrush did…apparently the Mikado is now rarely seen….so I’m glad I shot him last year
white whiskered laughing thrush
female rosefinch
Another interesting mammal the muntjac or barking deer
Muntjac
a few photographers were gathered around a tree trying to shoot this shy fellow
I’m told it was a flamecrest but it was really difficult to see and shoot
so we descended the mountain..
and revelled in the warm sunlight
last bird of the trip was this splendid vivid niltava
Vivid niltava
close up vivid niltava
yellows, reds and greens… colours of daxueshan in winter
apart from the birding, the scenery is stunning
and the red leaves bade us farewell
An overnight stay on Daxueshan was ultimately much more relaxed than our previous day trip…it’s cold though so bring lots of warm clothing and a towel…they don’t provide towels here! Recommended.
The Natural Traveller 