Happy New Year !

A Huben Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha): photo courtesy of Richard Yu.


Happy New Year and all the best for 2011 !


"Because every green measure, every conservation effort and all the little economies we could make in our daily lives, may look insignificant if we choose to look at the big picture. On the other hand, if we view that big picture as millions of little choices made by people just like us, that's how we can come to understand why it's our own choices that are so important."
A comment posted on Birdforum by James Owen.

Taiwan Bush Warbler: Another New Bird for the Huben-Hushan IBA Bird List

The past few weeks have seen the addition of two new birds to the Huban-Hushan IBA list. On Saturday 6 December bird banders captured an endemic Taiwan Bush Warbler Bradypterus alishanensis in the IBA. The Taiwan Bush Warbler is generally regarded as a bird of the the higher mid altitudes (1700-2600m) but can be found from 1200-3600m. It is unusual to find them in areas such as Huben with an altitude of around 100-200m. Taiwan Bush Warblers are known to descend to lower altitudes during cold periods but that is usually above 1000m.

See the OBC Imagebase for photos of Taiwan Bush Warbler.

Asian Stubtail: New Bird for the Huben-Hushan IBA Bird List

On Saturday 27th November bird banders captured an Asian Stubtail Urosphena squameiceps while doing banding work in the Huben-Hushan Important Bird Area (IBA). This is the first confirmed record of the species in the Huben-Hushan IBA. Earlier in the week a researcher who is familiar with the species believed he had heard a Stubtail calling. However, the bird could not be located.

See the OBC Imagebase for photos of Asian Stubtail.