Bee-Eaters at Pak Nai, Hong Kong
Blue-tailed Bee-eater - Merops philippinus Once a month there is a Waterfowl Count in the Deep Bay area of northwest Hong Kong, centred on the Nature Reserve at Mai Po. The Waterfowl Count is part...
View ArticleFranklin's Gulls at Mai Po - 19th April 2016
Franklin's Gulls - Leucophaeus pipixcan Yes, you read that correctly. With only a handful of China records, and Hong Kong's first bird around various places in Deep Bay for four months or so, another...
View ArticleSouthwest Guangxi - home of the Nonggang Babbler
Nonggang Babbler - Stachyris Nonggangensis The Nonggang Babbler was first described to science in 2008. Like many other birders, we were keen to see a species that had evaded formal ornithology until...
View ArticleMai Po boardwalk hides - first week of May 2016
There always seem to be a lot of factors to consider when trying to judge the timing and height of the tides at the boardwalk at Mai Po. Generally, I'll look at the predicted tides for Tsim Bei Tsui...
View ArticleA migrant bird transit lounge - Po Toi Island, Hong Kong.
I've been out to Po Toi only three times this spring. Twice on HKBWS boat trips, and once on the public ferry. Here's a shot of the ferry, passing through some choppy water at the entrance to the...
View ArticleVictorian Little Stint - Mai Po, 2nd May 2016
Little Stint - Calidris minutus Every spring I try to note as many migrant wader leg flags as possible, and either write the letters/numbers down or get a photo. Then I'll report them on the...
View ArticleBreeding Terns
Bridled Tern - Onychoprion anaethetus Hong Kong’s two commonest breeding terns are Bridled Tern and Black-naped Tern. At this time of the year, both can be found on remote, rocky outcrops in HK...
View ArticleOn a beach with Chinese Crested Tern
The Critically Endangered Chinese Crested Tern (Thalasseus bernsteini) “CCT” - has had some recent publicity involving a second successful full season of breeding on Tiedun Dao, among the Jiushan...
View ArticleFrom the Tap Mun Ferry - Sooty Tern and local breeders.
Sooty Tern - Sterna fuscata Typhoon "Nida" swept into Hong Kong on the afternoon of August 1st, and swept out again early on the 2nd. Gusty winds and heavy showers meant that most shops and...
View ArticleA Little Curlew at Mai Po
There are usually only one or two records per year of this species - today was one of those days, obviously ! Little Curlew - Numenius minutus Little Curlew is a vagrant that is often found on open...
View ArticleGreater White-fronted Geese
Here in HK we are generally too far south for geese. There can be thousands of them 800 km north of here, along the Yangtse River at sites like Dongting and Poyang Lake. So it’s always a thrill to...
View ArticleSomething in the Air - mostly at Mai Po
This post has nothing to do with the late, lamented "Thunderclap" Newman. No, the title is about trying to establish a common theme for this post's photos... Black Kite - trying to look like a "real"...
View ArticleLast breaths of Autumn ?
Amur Falcon - Falco amurensis A few days ago I found a couple of Amur Falcons at Tsim Bei Tsui. I was confident that these two birds would presage regular sightings over the following couple of...
View ArticleAsian and Northern House Martins - Tai Sang Wai
Northern House Martin - Delichon urbicum Tai Sang Wai, Hong Kong A cold front, some unseasonal rain, and hirundines were low over the commercial fishponds at Tai Sang Wai today. There were about two...
View ArticleJohn and Roger’s Most Excellent Tidal Adventure
mostly Eurasian Wigeon Yesterday, November 14th, the rising tide did exactly what it was predicted to do, and stopped at the “old” boardwalk hides at the appointed hour - about 10:00hrs. Eastern...
View ArticleA three-bird post
Amur Falcon - Falco amurensis Despite what I said in an earlier post, I DID come across Amur Falcons again once or twice in the autumn. Here are a few shots of one of these. Amur Falcon - Falco...
View ArticleSiberian Cranes at Mai Po
Siberian Crane - Grus leucogeranus Found by David Diskin at Mai Po’s boardwalk hides on the morning of Dec 2nd. An adult and a juvenile Siberian Crane were among the birds on the tideline in Deep...
View ArticleWinter visitors
Siberian Crane - Grus leucogeranus Siberian Crane - Grus leucogeranus As of this morning, the adult Siberian Crane has been here for two weeks, mostly findable by birders and photographers after a...
View ArticleBuff-breasted Sandpiper (Hong Kong's 2nd record)
HK’s second Buff-breasted Sandpiper was found this morning by a Birdwatching Society surveyor (whose name I don’t yet know), while monitoring a drained pond in San Tin. Buff-breasted Sandpiper -...
View ArticleMind your step - and some mid-winter birding, Deep Bay, Hong Kong
I'm grateful to Thomas Chan for spotting this Burmese Python on the southern boundary of Mai Po Nature Reserve. Snakes are usually more frightened of people than we are of them, but still....that's a...
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