May 11: Paul Holt is finally back in the field! A few images from Taiwan
Taiwan Barbet, arguably one of the island’s smartest, was the first of the endemics we saw. Equally vociferous Black-necklaced and Taiwan Scimitar Babblers the second and third, some almost touchable Taiwan Blue Magpies the fourth, the recently split Striped Prinia the fifth and Taiwan Bamboo Partridge the sixth. And that was only our first day! By the end of the tour we’d seen 32 of the island’s 33 endemics with only the ever elusive Island Thrush eluding us. We’d had great looks at all the island’s gamebirds with Taiwan Partridge seen with young, Mikado Pheasants on two dates and the magnificent ‘bird of the tour’ winning Swinhoe’s Pheasant on three. Other goodies included (eventually) stunning looks at both Taiwan Cupwing and Taiwan Shortwing and a Taiwan Bullfinch that everyone saw. What’s more we’d enjoyed them, and a myriad of endemic subspecies such as the distinctive ardens form of Maroon Oriole, multiple diminutive Golden Parrotbills and the soon to be split island endemic formosanus White-browed Bush Robin amidst some stunning scenery and in great company. We’d explored a large proportion of the Beautiful Island (Isla Formosa), had some fabulous mammal encounters and eaten some delicious food. Every last one of us had been smitten…
Taiwan Scimitar Babbler (Shun-Zhang Chen)
Taiwan Fulvetta (photo Shun-Zhang Chen)
Taiwan Barbet (photo Shun-Zhang Chen)
Taiwan 2023 group photo (photo Yenhui Hsu)
Group photo (with guide and his assistants) at the Yami aboriginal village on Lanyu (photo Yenhui Hsu)
Posted: May 11, 2023