Second stop: Changsha

Changsha is my hometown and our second stop. We spent over a week there, but mostly with friends and family. We did take a few short trips in the city, most noticeably to Yanghu Wetland Park where I photographed the most new birds.

(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)

But my first birding "destination" is my parents' house/apartment. This being the first time I was in my hometown after picking up bird photography, I was amazed to see quite a few wild birds in the city. Birding and bird photography really opens one's eyes as they make one more observant and appreciative of wildlife and nature. Through the windows of their apartment, I easily score two new birds (the Hwamei and the warbler) and took good pictures of another (the bulbul, which I saw in Beijing already so it was not a "new" bird anymore).


Chinese Hwamei(画眉)


Yellow-browed Warbler(黄眉柳莺)


Light-vented Bulbul(白頭鵯)


Light-vented Bulbul(白頭鵯)


Light-vented Bulbul(白頭鵯)

In the yard I also picked up another bird, though not a new one for me (I had seen it in Spain).


Eurasian Blackbird(烏鶇)

Yanghu Wetland Park (洋湖湿地公园) is indeed a very nice place, situated by the Xiang Jiang River (湘江). I only wish I had brought my big telephoto lens with me!


Yanghu Wetland Park


Yanghu Wetland Park

There were many birds in the trees, on the water and in the sky. At times it was hard to choose where to look. It was here that I photographed the most number of new birds.


Chinese Pond Heron (池鹭)


Little Egret (小鹭)


Crested Myna (八哥)


Long-tailed Shrike (棕背伯劳)


Yellow-billed Grosbeak (黑尾蜡嘴雀)


Little Grebe (小鷿鷈)


Little Grebe (小鷿鷈)


Little Grebe (小鷿鷈)


Plain Prinia (褐头鹪莺)


Plain Prinia (褐头鹪莺)

Finally, I also got a Common Moorhen, which used to be lumped as the same species as our Common Gallinule, but now split into a new species. I was just glad to "get" a new bird.


Common Moorhen (黑水鸡)

Besides the birds, the waterlilies were blooming beautifually in the park as well.


Waterlily

Other pictures from the streets of Changsha. The following ones are from Xichangjie (西长街), a stretch of granite-lined street that has been converted to a historical district.


Xichangjie


Street Vendors


Little Performers

The following are from a market.


Market


Market

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