First Time Birding in the Desert

June 28th, 2024, Birding @ Wutong Creek Part 1

Birding at Wutong Creek is my first birding experience in the desert. I arrived at Wutong Creek at about 8 PM, and the sky was still bright. At 9 PM, the sun began to set, and the night came. Gradually, my path became darker, and I had to turn on my headlights to keep track of the road.

Before the sun set, I saw a nest of the Shikra, and a male Shikra was staring at me fiercely from the nest, protecting its family. Our birding guide told me that with the Shikra here, the bird I wanted to find--Pallid Scops Owl--would not be near. Hence, we had to enlarge our area of search.

As I walked, a hooting sound like a machine gun sounded across the sky. It is the hooting of a Eurasian Nightjar, and it flew away to the far away canopies.

Shadow of an Eurasian Nighjar

A bit past midnight, I clearly saw a Pallid Scops Owl land on a tree near us. Sadly, the branch was too soft for him to rest; thus, he flew away soundlessly. I waited again for an hour, but there was no sound of the Owl, so I headed back.