More stuff around the Bot.

White-breasted Waterhen

Japanese White-eye

2 Years ago on Green Island we saw the Lowland White-eye, but here in the north they are all Japanese.

 

Monks adding color to the greens

A Moorhen family in the Taipei Botanical Gardens

Common Moorhen at the lily pond

Look at the size of those feet!

  

The birds are well equipped with bright colored bills that make feeding easy and huge feet that enable them to walk on vegetagion, such as the waterlily leaves in the pond.

 

Even the chicks are.

 

Mum leaving to find food.

 

Anxiously waiting. (Who says I'm ugly?)

お母さん帰って来た！

Some flowers I hadn't seen before. Forgot to write the name...

  

 And a reminder of what will be waiting for me in Japan:

 

SUMMER!

Around Taipei city

The botanical gardens were only a few minutes by subway and I often went there first thing in the morning.

At that early morning hour I expected it to be quiet, but what a surprise! The park was full of people, all doing some kind of exercise. They brought their music players and in groups of 6 or more they were doing Tai Chi, aerobics, ballroom dancing. I could have known.... Halfway the morning the crowd chanced and senior citizens were wheeled in by their Philippina caretakers, who would help them walk and move their limbs while chatting to each other or on the phone. You could barely hear the tree-squirrels (ever so noisy in this season) not mentioning birds... But see what we got:

Black Bulbul

    

The noisiest birds here are doubtlessly bulbuls. The Black Bulbuls out-numbered by the Chinese Bulbuls, but they have a bigger voice.

 

 Chinese Bulbul

 

joining the crowds in Tai Chi?

Another bird that is constantly heard is the Taiwan Barbet. He likes the canopy and doesn't come down much.

For better images, see Taiwan posts of February.

The biggest noisemakers of the parks. Red-bellied Tree Squirrels

Last but not least, frogs. Taiwanese people love frogs. There are many kinds in that country and we saw an endemic in Wulai: Swinhoe's Frog. But these are just green pond frogs, I think.

 

Mt. Dasyueshan, Taiwan. White-tailed Robin

White-tailed Robin

On our first day on the mountain this female came to sit on a twig right next to Patrick's shoulder. She seemed quite curious about us and stayed a whole minute

Showing off thewhite coloring on her tail as if to tell us who she was.

We got a glimpse of a male near the entrance to the park, where a line of photographers was awaiting his appearance. We quickly moved on.
The next day we got lucky, again near the gate.

 

Left young leaves, right a moth.

My fellow birders both hold degrees in entomology, so half an eye was always out on small critters.

At noon we returned to the visitor's center where we had lunch and where I could briefly catch up with old friend Cassie from Hualien, who had come for a Wild Bird Society meeting.

Wayne, Patrick and Cassie.

Mt. Dasyueshan, Taiwan. Rosefinches

Vinaceous Rosefinches

male and female Vinaceous Rosefinch

Morning fog over Anmanshan

A Rufous-faced Warbler, seen near the visitor's center