There weren’t many birds around today, but with views and weather like this, who cares?

After a relaxing 10 days in England, I returned to the heat, humidity and slow birding of the Taiwanese summer. The rainy season is upon us, but the forecast for Dragon Boat Day was dry – even in the mountains – so after a late start I drove up to Tengjhih National Forest.

In the middle of the day in early June, I wasn’t expecting to see much. The forest trail from Km 18 to the old Tengjhih National Forest HQ was very quiet, with only small numbers of the commonest species (Steere’s Liocichla, Taiwan Sibia, Rufous-faced Warbler, Taiwan Yuhina). A Striated Prinia sang intermittently at the landslide at Km 18, and Striated and Pacific Swallows and House Swifts circled overhead.

However, the lack of birds was compensated for by the lovely clear, sunny weather, and as usual for this site, rather few visitors despite it being a national holiday today.