Date: 28 April 2016 (Thursday)
After 6 days of solid training and
practice, we were ready for the race with full confidence.
We went up to Dasyueshan one day earlier
before the actual race began. To us, it was an advantage to get ourselves
familiarized with the environment there, which includes the condition of roads
and tracks, the boundaries for race zone A, B and C, as well as weather
condition etc.
After checking into the rooms arranged
by the organizer, we immediately did a mock practice. This was proved to be a very
wise move, it made us more familiar with Dasyueshan species. We also manage to
locate area where Mikado Pheasant used to display its charm and beauty.
Driving up and down Dasyueshan is no
joking business. The winding and narrow road condition can easily make the
passengers throw out whatever food they consumed earlier. For that matter, we
were very lucky to have Mr. Schumi Wu to drive us around. His expertise and experience in
Dasyueshan-driving had made our job much easier.
Date:
29 April 2016 (Friday)
At 9:30am, after reporting to the
secretariat and received whatever race-documents for the team, we were led to a
hall for the opening ceremony which was officiated by an officer from the
Forestry Department. Following that, the chief judge illustrated the rules and
regulations for the race, and emphasizing the safeties of the participants.
The race was officially flagged off
after a group photo was taken. We wasted no time and sped off in the vehicle
driven by Schumi Wu.
The secretariat was set up at the Dasyueshan
Visitors Centre, which is also situated at the half way of Zone C. We ignored the upper part of Zone C, and went
downhill towards Zone B. Many stops were made to record species of birds seen
and heard. We also disciplined ourselves for not wasting time in taking bird
photo. We need to move fast in order to clock in more birds. Lunch was settled
a simple way – the smelly bean curd, at a road-side stall.
Towards the late afternoon, we suddenly
realized that we did not have one of the most common species, i.e. the Rock
Pigeon. Scouting around the area, we finally spotted many pigeons, but
unfortunately they were all caged, so we cannot include them in our list.
Desperate and depressed, we continue our search, then finally saw 1 standing on
a roof top, then another 2 appeared, so at the end of it, we had 3 of them.
After a quick dinner, we drove towards
zone B and C. On the way, we tried our luck on nocturnal species. It was not
bad after all. Luck was with us. We added 1 species of nightjar and 2 species
of owl into our list.
We reached home almost midnight.
Appointment for the next morning activities was at 5:00am. Tired plus body
aches, we went to bed.
Date:
30 April 2016 (Saturday)
Today is the final day of the race. We
need to submit our records by 10:30am.
At 4:00am, we sacrificed the comfort of
the warm beds. Having a quick shower and a cup of instant noodles for breakfast,
we rushed out to the car park, where Mr. Wu was already waiting. We went
straight up to the upper most of the zone C at 50 Km. Over there, we clocked in
many more species like Taiwanese Rosefinch, Gray-headed Bullfinch etc. These
birds were really beautiful and attractive.
We decided to go down to zone A for a
last attempt of the Brown Dipper. We tried very hard for this species the day
before, but failed to locate it. At the entrance to the river, a lady stood
guard to prevent vehicles from entering the area. Not sure of her intention,
but Mr. Wu exercised his super capability of human relationship and gained us
an entry into the area without any problem. I’m wondering whether he possess a
degree in Psychology, but certainly he deserved a PhD for that.
After a short wait of less than half an
hour, the Brown Dipper finally made an appearance at the far end downstream,
making our list at the 102 mark. So this is the last bird for us to be
submitted.
As mentioned earlier, the completed bird
list had to be submitted to the Secretariat by 10:30am. We were running out of time. We need to do
some rushing work.
Thanks to Schumi Wu. He displayed his
driving skill so perfectly that we manage to arrive at the centre in time.
All of us felt a big relief after the
submission of our bird list. We went
back to our respective room to pack our luggage, ready to depart after the closing
ceremony. Before that, our President Mr. Andy Lee gave a talk and slide show on
“Birding in Malaysia”, but unfortunately, he had to cut short the talk to give
way to the closing ceremony. After the talk, Mr. Andy Lee presented a book
entitled “winged wonder Malaysia” to the President of the Chinese Wild Bird
Federation.
Finally came to the moment of prize
giving. We emerged as the runner-up for the ‘Friendship’ section.
The race was over, and our
task/objective for the Taiwan birding trip accomplished. Off we go again. This time, to the Taoyuan airport. On the
way, we stopped over at Hsinchu to taste the very popular vermicelli for
dinner.
We arrived at the Taoyuan International
Airport rather early. The check-in counter was not open for service, but a long
queue had already formed. The flight we travelled in, i.e.Air Asia D7377, took
off according to schedule and arrived at KLIA2 around 4:30am.
Prizes for Runner Up |
Appreciation
There were 2 persons in particular that
we wish to extend our heartiest appreciation. Without them, we would not have
enjoyed this fruitful birding tour.
1.
Patrick Li Sheng Yun
We met him during the Kuala Tahan Bird
Race 2015. He is a very responsible
young man. Currently, he is doing his
Master programme in National Pintung University of Science and Technology. He helped us to arrange the
accommodation, transportation, food and birding areas throughout our trip in
Taiwan. He also helped us to liaise with the Dasyueshan Bird race organizer for
our registration as competition team in ‘Friendship’ section. Besides, he also
worked out the budget for us prior to our departure from Kuala Lumpur.
He was rather active. In order to get us
the Fairy Pitta, he ran up and down the slopes, ventured into thick bushes, but
unfortunately, luck was not with us. Being a kind-hearted young man, he always
help us voluntarily by carrying our heavy luggage.
2.
Schumi Wu
A middle aged man with a serious face
was the first impression he gave us, but after getting along with him for a
short while, we realized that he was such a humorous person and extremely
friendly. He took very good care of us by fulfilling our needs like providing
coffee drink, took us to his friend’s tea factory, took us for a taste of
wasabi bean curd, and even bought a birthday cake to celebrate Andy’s birthday.
His knowledge in bird watching industry
was beyond doubt. He was a good coach and teacher. During our trip before the
race, he aggressively and patiently trained us in recognizing the Taiwan birds
and their names in Chinese. We can boldly say that without his coaching, we
might not have done so well in the race.
Bird
list for the Dasyunshan Bird Race 2016
Date: From 29 April 2016 at 10:30am to 30 April 2016
at 10:30am
No.
|
Name of species
|
Amount
|
1
|
Eastern Spot-billed Duck 花嘴鸭
|
4
|
2
|
Taiwan
Partridge 台湾山鹧鸪
|
2
|
3
|
Chinese
Bamboo Partridge竹鸡
|
1
|
4
|
Swinhoe’s Pheasant籃腹鷴
|
2
|
5
|
Mikado Pheasant黒长尾雉
|
1
|
6
|
Little Egret小白鹭
|
12
|
7
|
Cattle Egret黄头鹭
|
1
|
8
|
Black-crowned Night-Heron夜鹭
|
8
|
9
|
Malayan Night-heron黒冠森鹭
|
2
|
10
|
Crested Serpant-Eagle大冠鹫
|
1
|
11
|
Mountain
Hawk-Eagle熊鹰
|
1
|
12
|
Black eagle林鵰
|
1
|
13
|
White-breasted Waterhen白腹秧鸡
|
1
|
14
|
Common Moorhen红冠水鸡
|
1
|
15
|
Little Ringed Plover小環頸鸻
|
1
|
16
|
Common Sandpiper磯鹝
|
3
|
17
|
Green Sandpiper白腰草鹬
|
2
|
18
|
Rock Pigeon野鸽
|
3
|
19
|
Ashy Wood-Pigeon灰林鸽
|
1
|
20
|
Oriental Turtle-Dove金背鸠
|
1
|
21
|
Red
Collard-Dove红鸠
|
4
|
22
|
Spotted Dove珠頸斑鸠
|
4
|
23
|
Emerald Dove翠翼鸠
|
2
|
24
|
White-bellied Pigeon綠鸠
|
1
|
25
|
Large Hawk Cuckoo鹰鹃
|
2
|
26
|
Oriental Cuckoo北方中杜鹃
|
2
|
27
|
Mountain Scops-Owl黄嘴角鸮
|
1
|
28
|
Collard Owlet鵂鹠
|
1
|
29
|
Savanna Nightjar台湾夜鹰
|
1
|
30
|
House Swift小雨燕
|
20
|
31
|
Common
Kingfisher翠鸟
|
5
|
32
|
Taiwan Barbet五色鸟
|
3
|
33
|
Gray-capped Woodpecker小啄木
|
1
|
34
|
White-backed Woodpecker大赤啄木
|
1
|
35
|
Gray-faced Woodpecker绿啄木
|
2
|
36
|
Gray-chinned Minivet灰喉山椒鳥
|
2
|
37
|
Brown Shrike红尾伯勞
|
2
|
38
|
Long-tailed Shrike棕背伯勞
|
1
|
39
|
White-bellied Yuhina绿畫眉
|
1
|
40
|
Black Drongo大卷尾
|
11
|
41
|
Black-naped
Monarch黒枕蓝鹟
|
1
|
42
|
Eurasian Jay松鸦
|
1
|
43
|
Gray Treepie树鹊
|
4
|
44
|
Eurasian Nutcracker星鸦
|
2
|
45
|
Large-billed Crow巨嘴鸦
|
5
|
46
|
Barn Swallow家燕
|
5
|
47
|
Pacific Swallow洋燕
|
20
|
48
|
Red-rumped Swallow金腰燕
|
2
|
49
|
Asian House-Martin東方毛脚燕
|
200
|
50
|
Coal Tit煤山雀
|
2
|
51
|
Green-backed
Tit青背山雀
|
15
|
52
|
Yellow Tit黄山雀
|
2
|
53
|
Black-throated Tit红頭山雀
|
10
|
54
|
Eurasian Nuthatch茶腹鳾
|
3
|
55
|
Eurasian Wren鹪鹩
|
1
|
56
|
Brown Dipper河烏
|
1
|
57
|
Collared Finchbill白環鹦嘴鹎
|
14
|
58
|
Light-vented Bulbul白頭翁
|
28
|
59
|
Black Bulbul红嘴黑鵯
|
12
|
60
|
Flamecrest火冠戴菊鸟
|
4
|
61
|
Rufous-faced
Warbler棕面鶯
|
1
|
62
|
Yellowish-billed Bush-Warbler深山鶯
|
4
|
63
|
Striated Prinia红纹鹪鶯
|
3
|
64
|
Yellow-bellied Prinia灰頭鹪鶯
|
1
|
65
|
Plain Prinia褐頭鹪鶯
|
1
|
66
|
Taiwan Fulvetta褐頭花翼
|
1
|
67
|
Vinous-throated Parrotbill粉红鸚嘴
|
2
|
68
|
Golden Parrotbill黄羽鸚嘴
|
2
|
69
|
Taiwan Yuhina冠羽畫眉
|
15
|
70
|
Japanese White-eye绿繡眼
|
15
|
71
|
Dusky
Fulvetta頭鳥缐
|
1
|
72
|
Gray-cheeked Fulvetta繡眼畫眉
|
6
|
73
|
Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush台湾白喉嗓眉
|
2
|
74
|
Rusty Laughingthrush棕嗓眉
|
1
|
75
|
Taiwan Hwamei台湾畫眉
|
2
|
76
|
White-whiskered Laughingthrush台湾嗓眉
|
10
|
77
|
White-eared Sibia白耳畫眉
|
8
|
78
|
Steere’s Liocichla黄胸藪眉
|
8
|
79
|
Taiwan Barwing紋翼畫眉
|
1
|
80
|
Rufous-capped Babbler山红頭
|
3
|
81
|
Black-necklaced
Scimitar Babbler大彎嘴
|
1
|
82
|
Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler小彎嘴
|
1
|
83
|
Ferruginous Flycatcher红尾鹟
|
1
|
84
|
Vivid Niltava黄腹流璃
|
3
|
85
|
White-browed Shortwing小翼鶇
|
2
|
86
|
Formosan
Whistling-Thrush台湾紫嘯鶇
|
2
|
87
|
Little Forktail小剪尾
|
1
|
88
|
White-tailed Robin白尾鴝
|
4
|
89
|
White-browed Bush-Robin白眉林鴝
|
2
|
90
|
Collared Bush-Robin栗背林鴝
|
3
|
91
|
Plumbeous
Redstart鉛色水鶇
|
5
|
92
|
Blue Rock-Thrush藍磯鶇
|
1
|
93
|
Javan Myna白尾八哥
|
7
|
94
|
Common Myna家八哥
|
5
|
95
|
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker红胸啄花
|
1
|
96
|
Gray Wagtail灰鶺鸽
|
1
|
97
|
White Wagtail白鶺鴿
|
3
|
98
|
Brown Bullfinch褐鷽
|
1
|
99
|
Gray-headed Bullfinch灰鷽
|
2
|
100
|
Vinaceous
Rosefinch 台湾朱雀
|
8
|
101
|
Eurasian Tree Sparrow麻雀
|
32
|
102
|
White-rumped Munia白腰文鳥
|
4
|
103rd bird species sighted by Team Malaysia continues in Part 3 of the Dasyueshan Bird Race 2016
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