Shanghai, China - May 5th to 18th

Seven-spotted Ladybug - Ladybugs are considered good luck in America, so I hoped this would bode well for the rest of the trip...
Land Crab - ...and hoped the bleached carcass of this crab in one of the wooded copses was not!
Pere David's Deer (plus 1) - an "Extinct in the Wild" species, re-introduced to China in 1985. Note the interloper in the upper right...possibly some kind of Kudu? but comments on its ID are welcome
Tiger Snake - the Chinese name for this snake translates as "Tiger-striped Neck Groove Snake", but our guide simply called it a "Tiger Snake"...the Latin name is Rhabdophis tigrinus...it is rear-fanged, mildly venomous, but, fortunately, not aggressive
Go Fly a Kite! - this kite caught my eye, and for a second I thought it was a real bird!
Our Translator - Liu, our first translator, was a recent college graduate who became interested in birds and ecology after attending a summer ecology camp called "Green Camp"
Photographing Terns - we stopped at a bridge on the outskirts of Dafeng to photograph Terns feeding in the river below. Photo taken by DongMing Lee
Checking the Field Guide - we carried our Field Guides with us everywhere to review the day's birds...even at dinner...
Checking the Day's List - ...and every night at the Dongtai/Dafeng area we reviewed the day's list of birds we had seen and officially recorded them
The Dafeng Mudflats - this is only a small portion of the tidal mudflats where Spoon-billed Sandpipers could be found among the thousands of other shorebirds. Photo taken by DongMing Lee
Scanning the Mudflats - Erik and Liu scan the tidal mudflats while waiting for high tide. Photo taken by DongMing Lee
Which One Did You Say It Was? - Erik and Liu scan through the multitude of shorebirds on the tidal mudflats. Photo taken by DongMing Lee
Taking a Break - Erik and Mary enjoy a snack after spending a few hours out on the tidal mudflats. Photo taken by DongMing Lee
Checking the Book - Erik and Perilla, our second translator, check the ID of a bird. Photo taken by DongMing Lee
Cuckoo ID 101 - Erik and Perilla discuss the fine points of identifying Eurasian and Oriental Cuckoos. Photo taken by DongMing Lee
Check Twice, List Once - good thing I took a picture of it, so I could study it later. Photo taken by DongMing Lee