Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Chinese Penduline Tits at Hanoi


Today (31th  December) was one of those days that makes me grateful to be a regular patchworker. There is always something new to see, something new to learn, and sometimes a great surprise around the corner.
 
This morning I headed to the Red River, more exactly to the place called “Bai Da Song Hong”, only few kilometers from the city center. This area is a mix of shrubs, woodland, grassland, reedbeds, sandbars and open water, crossed by small tracks. This is the most popular place in Hanoi for... wedding photos. A scenic place, good birds, beautiful brides..... A great spot!

I parked my bike and headed out onto the trails. After a few minutes walk, a small bird perched on a reed attracted my attention. I hurriedly put my bins to my eyes and was more than happy to discover a Chinese Penduline Tit, part of a small party (less than 5 birds) exploring reedbeds.

Below a heavily-cropped (photographer speak for crap) record shot taken with a... 100mm macro lens (a great lens for butterflies and dragonflies but not for birds!). The worse photo ever published on this blog for sure, sorry for that. Should have my 400mm next week, fingers crossed.



Apparently there are very few records of Chinese Penduline Tit from Vietnam (1 or 2 according to Lê Manh Hung), although of course the lack of people checking suitable habitat in winter is certainly a factor.
This species is recorded in Robson for East Tonkin, as vagrant. 

Happy New Year!
May you see wonderful birds in 2015!

Sébastien
Source : vietnambirdnews[dot]blogspot[dot]com
post from sitemap

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