When passing through Dongshr Town I resisted the temptation to wander up towards Dasyueshan - Fork-tailed Sunbirds have been reported at the 23.5km mark. Something else was planed.
Made
a short diversion to the Shrgang Reservoir, not for the handful of Grey
Herons, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Egrets, and Grebes but to twitch the
Scaly-sided Mergansers
present. Quite rare in Taiwan, there were 3 (1 male, 2 female) visible -
as reported on the CWBF website. From our viewpoint in the middle of
the dam wall, they were to be seen (in the scope) in the water to our
north-east. Also a single Osprey on south side.Shrgang is between the eastern end of Freeway 4 and Dongshr. To get to the dam, turn of road #3 (normal road, not freeway) just east of km mark 165.
To
end the (increasingly chilly) afternoon we went to the western end of
Freeway #4 and the much-abused Gaomei Wetlands on the south side of the Dajia Rive rivermouth. Directions: Freeway #4
blends into highway #17, just as it goes under an elevated highway
(#61) there are signs for Gaomei Wetlands. Turn right here, cross the railway tracks and immediatly turn left - under the elevated highway, and
towards the windmills. The road narrows and veres north before the
windmills. Possible to make a loop north-east-south back to #17.We generally ignored the waders on the seaward side of the embankment (could be some good stuff there) and instead had a look at the tatty plowed fields/small ponds/graves/wasteland on the landward side. Had good views of 6 Red-billed Starlings. Also 10 Black-faced Bunting, Common Snipe, 1 Kestrel, 1 Ruddy-breasted Crake.
New Birds at Shrgang Reservoir and Gaomei Wetlands:
Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Red-billed Starling Sturnus sericeus
Ruddy-breasted Crake Porzana fusca
Merganser image from http://luoxiaoyun.blshe.com/post/4858/207787
