Anma Mountain 鞍馬山

3/31

Philip and Paul accompany Dan taking visiting friend Buford to Dasyueshan National Forest Recreational Area 大雪山國家森林遊樂區

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east on highway 4, into Taichung county, 1PM
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Dan and Paul ordering lunch in Houli 后里, 1:30PM
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Paul and Dan head back to the truck
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Buford stepping out of our lunch spot
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chickens on the road
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pear cultivation in Zhongkeng 中坑 on the Dasyueshan forest road 大雪山林道
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Dasyueshan National Forest Recreational Area 大雪山國家森林遊樂區

Dasyueshan (Great Snow Mountain) National Forest Recreational Area 大雪山國家森林遊樂區 in Hoping township 和平鄉 of Taichung County 台中縣, 43 kilometers from Dong-shi 東勢鎮, is reached via Dasyueshan Forest Road 200. One of Taiwan's 16 forest recreational areas, ths 3963-hectare area ranges from 1000 to 2996 meters above sea level. The recreation area includes Xiao Xue Mountain 小雪山 and An Ma Mountain 鞍馬山. The climate ranges from humid and cool with an annual mean temperature of 12C.

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km 23 on the Dasyueshan forest road 大雪山林道
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male Swinhoe's Pheasant 藍腹鷳 Lophura swinhoii
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male Swinhoe's Pheasant 藍腹鷳 Lophura swinhoii
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male Swinhoe's Pheasant 藍腹鷳 Lophura swinhoii

Swinhoe's Pheasant 藍腹鷳 (lán fù xián) Lophura swinhoii is endemic to the mountains of Taiwan, living in damp primary broadleaved forest and mature secondary forest from 200 to 2,300m. It was sometimes referred to as the unofficial national bird of Taiwan, but the Formosan Blue Magpie was voted the national bird in 2007. The male has glossy blue-purple chest, belly and rump, brown shoulders, red facial wattles and bright white feathers on the tail, back of the neck and crest. The female is a dark brown. The pheasant was named after the British ornithologist Robert Swinhoe, who first described the species in 1862. Swinhoe's pheasants mainly eat seeds and fruits, as well as insects. The female lays 2-6 eggs which are incubated for 25–28 days. The young can leave the nest after 2–3 days. The total population is estimated to exceed 10,000 birds.

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Syueshan bridge 雪山橋
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old Syueshan bridge 雪山舊橋
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looking south

Situated at the end of the Snow Mountain range 雪山山脈, where it joins Shiaoshui Mountain 小雪山 at 2,997m, Anma Mountain 鞍馬山 at 2,666m, Boat-shaped Mountain 船型山 at 2,274m and Shaolai Mountain 稍來山 at 2,307m, the area provides views of Yushan (Jade Mountain) 玉山.

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Anma Shan cabins 鞍馬山莊

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Buford, Paul and Dan - checked into our cabin
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Dasyueshan National Forest Recreational Area map
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Area trees include Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana 台灣扁柏, juniper 紅檜 Chamaecyparis formosensis, hemlock 鐵杉 Tsuga formosana, and pines 松; grasses include: the endemic dwarf bamboo Yushania niitakayamensis 箭竹, Miscanthus transmorrisonensis 高山芒, and Abies awakamii 台灣冷杉.

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Dasyueshan National Forest Recreational Area Anma Shan cabins 大雪山國家森林遊樂區 鞍馬山莊
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facilities of the center workers
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gardens
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cafeteria where we eat all our meals
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retired logging equipment
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Dan and Paul in our cabin
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inside the cabins

4/1

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Taiwan Yuhina 褐頭鳳鶥 Yuhina brunneiceps
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Taiwan Yuhina 褐頭鳳鶥 (hè tóu fèng méi) Yuhina brunneiceps
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Taiwan Yuhina 褐頭鳳鶥 Yuhina brunneiceps

The Taiwan Yuhina 褐頭鳳鶥 (hè tóu fèng méi) Yuhina brunneiceps is a small songbird endemic to the temperate mountain forests of Taiwan from 1000 to 3300m in altitude, especially abundant from 1500m to 2500m. About thirteen cm long with a deep brown chestnut-colored crest and a black beard stripe descending from its beak, the bird's back, wings and tail are olive brown, and its lower breast is lighter in color. Gregarious, active and quite tame, it keeps to the lower forest where it often joins other species, especially tits in mixed flocks, making a constant soft chatter as they look for nectar, berries, flowers and small insects. Breeding season for the Taiwan Yuhina is from May to June.

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Gray-headed Bullfinch 灰頭灰雀 Pyrrhula erythaca owstoni

Shaolai to Siaosyue Mountain trail 稍來小雪山步道

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Shaolai Siaosyue Mtn trail head at 35.2k 稍來小雪山步道登山口
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Taiwan Sibia 白耳畫眉 Heterophasia auricularis
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Taiwan Stranvaesia 玉山假沙梨 Photinia niitakayamensis Hayata
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Buford and Dan
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Dan
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Paul
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the length of the trail is generously staired with repurposed railway ties
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Dan
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trying to make sense of the park maps, pavilion at 5k
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Paul heads down on his own
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we part ways
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Buford pushes on

The forest includes cypresses, hemlocks and broadleaf Fagaceae species; flowering plants include the Yushan Azalea, Taiwanese Cherry, Japanese Knoweed, Formosan Lily, and Digitalis.

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back out to the Forest Rd after a steep descent the last 2k
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Dan and Buford on the road
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Anma cabins visitor center 鞍馬山莊
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4/2

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foxglove 毛地黃屬 Digitalis
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pheasant crossing sign
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Steere's Liocichla 黃痣藪鶥 Liocichla steerii
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Steere's Liocichla 黃痣藪鶥 (huáng zhì sǒu méi) Liocichla steerii

Steere's Liocichla 黃痣藪鶥 (huáng zhì sǒu méi) Liocichla steerii is a species Timaliidae endemic to Taiwan.

We drive toward the end of the road to Tianchi 天池 before leaving the Da-Sueh Shan National Forest Recreation Area 大雪山國家森林遊樂區 in the morning.

Tianchi 天池

Tianchi 天池 is a natural alpine lake at 2,600 meters above sea level at the 49-kilometer mark on Forest Road 100. The lake is surrounded by Taiwanese Red Pines.

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Steere's Liocichla 黃痣藪鶥 Liocichla steerii
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Nutcracker 星鴉 Nucifraga caryocatactes preening
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Nutcracker 星鴉 Nucifraga caryocatactes

Nutcracker 星鴉 Nucifraga caryocatactes

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Dan looing over Tianchi 天池
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turtle and fish in Tianchi 天池
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female Vinaceous Rosefinch 酒紅朱雀 Carpodacus vinaceus

The Vinaceous Rosefinch 酒紅朱雀台灣亞種 Carpodacus vinaceus taiwanensis is a species of finch found in temperate forests and subtropical or tropical dry forests.

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Steere's Liocichla 黃痣藪鶥 Liocichla steerii
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female Vinaceous Rosefinch 酒紅朱雀 Carpodacus vinaceus
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Dan walking around Tianchi 天池
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Large-billed Crow 大嘴烏鴉 Corvus macrorhynchos
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look out for bears
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high-voltage drongo
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Dasyueshan National Forest Recreational Area 大雪山國家森林遊樂區
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Fengyuan train station 豐原火車站
Keywords: bird, map, plant
Locations: Dongshi, 東勢, Taichung, 台中
Dates: 2011:03:31 - 2011:04:02