Once feared extinct, and with fewer than 50 mature
individuals in the world, the
critically endangered Chinese Crested Tern is one
of the rarest birds in the world. They breed on islands in the Strait of Taiwan
and visit the Minjiang Estuary on Fujian’s
coast typically in May – June. It is therefore hard to describe the emotion I
felt when two of these magnificent birds flew in and landed at the estuary on
April 5
th (one of the earliest records ever) – I think I am still in
a state of shock!
曾经我们担心中华凤头燕鸥已经灭绝了, 现在知道在整个世界有少于50只 !
中华凤头燕鸥筑巢在台湾海峡的一些小岛, 5月,6月到闽江口. 因此, 4月5日在闽江口看到两只飞过来上滩, 我很难交待我那一刻的情感. 我还不敢相信!
The following night, I came across 4 Long-eared Owls (Asio otus) displaying in a clearing in a
jack pine stand. The owls sometimes glided and sometimes zig-zagged over the
clearing and would periodically clap their wings below them producing an
audible “snap” noise (such aerial display also seen in other Asio species such
as Short-eared Owl). Both sexes were involved as I heard both male and female
voices, although I can’t be sure who was clapping. I took a little time in between
survey routes to try to photograph this behaviour but was unsuccessful,
although I got these shots of a calling bird (presumed male based on voice) at
the edge of the clearing. I couldn’t stay long because I had to go on and do
other surveys but it was sure hard to tear myself away from the performance.
