Sun Moon Lake: Lalu Hotel Birding

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When: June 2025 Weather: Hot 25-32C

Nikon P900, P950, Leica Q, Leica M11 35 summilux

We arrived at the beautiful Lalu Hotel on the northern peninsula of the Sun Moon Lake; so called because part of the lake looks like the crescent moon and part of it looks like the sun….maybe with the eye of faith. As it was already late, we waited till the next morning to start exploring the trails around the hotel. The Sun Moon Lake is far too large to walk around so we just explored the trail around the hotel, starting from the staircase down to the public path just behind the swimming pool.

sunrise over the sun moon lake
we started at 630am…..it gets light before 5am at this time of year
walking to the pool we get this stunning view of the SML
first bird of the morning was the splendid Taiwan Scimitar Babbler
The endemic Taiwan Scimitar Babbler…very responsive indeed
light vented bulbul
then this beauty alighted right on the railing next to us!
the beautiful taiwan white rumped shama
he posed willingly for us
The female white rumped shama also showed up
female white rumped shama
the very pretty but elusive black naped monarch…pic by NTan
turtle dove in the trees
as the sun came up, the sun moon lake shimmered
Swinhoe’s white eye…without a white eye…likely a juvenile
here the three juveniles with the parents in the foreground…the Swinhoe’s white eye
Juveniles crying out for food….
the next morning we headed out again on the same trail heading east this time towards the sunrise
I spotted a dark bird in the trees and thought it was just a black bulbul but when the morning sun burst through into the trees, it exploded into a brilliant red colour….
an absolutely gorgeous maroon oriole..much prettier than the ones I shot in Bhutan a few months ago
The Maroon Oriole
A few small things buzzed us…..a rufous capped babbler
rufous capped babbler
this is the trail between the hotel and the water’s edge
sunrise over the lake
amazing view of the black crowned night heron with its breakfast…pic courtesy of N Tan
and down the hatch it went
a contented black crowned night heron
a white wagtail at the water’s edge
interesting bug…
and caterpillar
we heard the call of the gray treepie and there it was…
Gray treepie
black bulbul with a juicy caterpillar breakfast
another black bulbul with a berry this time
black bulbul in flight
along the way there are interesting pavilions with sculptures and artefacts like this bronze page with the SML in the background
along the trail we also heard and then saw the Taiwan bamboo partridge but it was way too dark and blocked to shoot…
the Lalu Hotel is the low building in the foreground and we birded the forest trail between the hotel and the lake….

So our two nights at the Sun Moon Lake yielded a fair number of delightful sightings…..highly recommended.

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