[MKinHK]

Hi Gretchen

The chats seem not to be in earnest, but probably compete a little for preferred perches.

A morning walk up to Tai Om Shan delivered a fine flock of 20-odd Pallas' Leaf Warblers, which was my biggest for a very long time here, plus a single Tristram's Bunting, three Grey-backed Thrushes, and unseen Siberian Rubythroat and Russet Bush Warblers.

Much more showy was a flock containing both Grey-chinned and Scarlet Minivets, a couple of Black-winged Cuckooshrikes, and a Yellow-cheeked Tit .

The real highlights were a flock of nine Greater Necklaced Laughingthrushes gliding across the path, and best of all a Hair-crested Drongo in full song with hairs and neck hackles raised in fabulous display and very much intoxicated with the splendour of his magnificence, surrounded by three others giving the dd appreciative whistle - a quality performance!

In the afternoon I had a walk from Tai Mo Shan to Leadmine Pass and, as dusk fell, into Tai Po Kau. None of the three Blue Rock Thrushes were inside the patch and nor were any of the three Grey-backed Thrushes, the White's Thrush or five Red-flanked Bluetails, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

Best wishes to everyone for a bird-rich and wonderful New Year

Cheers
Mike

[MKinHK]

No posting last weekend - although I did get out and even had some birds. The reason is that to our shame Dylan and I managed one of those horrible cock-ups ups that have the excellent effect of keeping us humble. We have long wanted to find a Red-breasted Flycatcher among the much more common Taiga Flycatchers, and since its been a good year for them a flycatcher with a pale base to the lower mandible and showing white in the outer tail looked like a pretty good bet.

Somehow, even on the screen of my camera it looked OK, but reality eventually sunk in that no Red-breasted shows that little contrast between the tail and uppertail coverts (i.e. none!) nor that wide and pale-based a lower mandible. The pix below clearly show an Asian Brown Flycatcher . It be showing a little less contrast on the head that most birds do, but there's really no doubt. So that last word on the subject is "Doh!"

Moving on . . .

That apart it was a pretty good morning - we had brief views of a male Hainan Blue Flycatcher behind Lung A Pai. This is a rare bird in winter in HK, despite breeding in the valley in good numbers. A male Verditer posed long enough for a record shot showing scalloped undertail coverts. There was a also a Siberian Rubythroat lurking about in the undergrowth below the ABF's favourite flowering tree and a rather tame Grey-backed Thrush.

In the middle of the week a female Eurasian Kestrel was perched in the lone tree in the (increasingly shrubby) grassland, having ungraciously avoided the patch for the whole of 2012!

Cheers
Mike

[AndrewHeath]

Are you really taking those lovely shots of such small birds with a Nikon CoolPix P6000 as the exif data shows? That boggles my mind.

[MKinHK]

Yes indeed Andrew, but I hand-hold it to a 85mm Zeiss Diascope with a 20-50x zoom that is getting on for ten years old!

I was to tired to get out today, but yesterday I spent the morning up at Kadoorie Farm hoping to see if Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush was wintering again this year. I had no luck there, but the Farm was full of thrushes and I was able to confirm five different Pale Thrushes and three Grey-backed Thrushes, plus the usual assortment of tantalising calls.

I also had a fine count of eight Red-flanked Bluetails and a couple each of Daurian Redstart and Rufous-tailed Robin, but really not too much else birdwise.

On the way down the stee path I'd seen the Small Niltava on last month I was watching the second Rufous-tailed Robin, when I heard a scuffling in the leaves below me. As I turned round I was astonished to see the back end of a Leopard Cat, (identified from a domestic cat, by the white spots on the back of each ear and a nice fat tail), walking slowly out of view behind a tree.

I was even more amazed when it stopped and looked at me from cover about 20 yards away, allowing me to get some pictures with the trusty Coolpix - and sadly no scope as it's all forest birding at the Farm - now those would have been killers!


Cheers
Mike

[Gretchen]

Wow! That is jackpot in my book. It was certainly staying out of sight a bit, but must have had that curiosity so dangerous to cats.... Have you seen one before? Are they seen at the farm once and a while?

[MKinHK]

Thanks Gretchen

I've seen Leopard Cat a couple of times in the last twenty years but never in the valley, so its a wonderful way to draw my time living here to a close.

They are seen from time to time but its usually a flash before they disappear - its the prolonged views that make this sighting so unusual.

Cheers
Mike

[Jynx]

Originally Posted by MKinHK

Thanks Gretchen

I've seen Leopard Cat a couple of times in the last twenty years but never in the valley, so its a wonderful way to draw my time living here to a close.

They are seen from time to time but its usually a flash before they disappear - its the prolonged views that make this sighting so unusual.

Cheers
Mike

Great sighting Mike, I'm hoping to be as lucky with Jaguar in Belize this summer.

[Frogfish]

Great to get that mammal tick Mike - and a special one at that !

*goes off to paint white spots on the neighbours cat's ears*

[thirudevaram]

Originally Posted by Frogfish

Great to get that mammal tick Mike - and a special one at that !

*goes off to paint white spots on the neighbours cat's ears*

Let's paint it grey n black to make it the "Snow Devil", those 300 milestone HK birders will never get to see anywhere close to them.


Mike, i would definitely say, you were on a lucky run. First it was a boar n now a leopard cat.

Come to my hometown to see some "Real" big cats.

[MKinHK]

No questions that Snow Leopard's the ultimate big cat Dev . . . and I saw another Wild Boar, plus the Grey Bushchat passing the three month mark for its winter visit from home this morning!

Best of luck with your Jaguar hunt Mike - and best of luck with your self-delusion Kevin!

Cheers
Mike

[Jeff hopkins]

Leopard Cat! I guess they really do exist!

Nice work, Mike.

[MKinHK]

Ten wonderful years in Lam Tsuen came to a close last Saturday when Carrie and I got in a big yellow truck with all our worldlies for a 22nd-floor flat in Discovery Bay on Lantau Island.

I'll open a new thread to report on my explorations of Lantau in due course, but with no apologies whatsoever for being maudlin and sentimental the end of a fabulous old patch deserves an obituary.

A few stats and milestones:

First visited Lam Tsuen: Early seventies as a child
First birded Lam Tsuen: Boxing Day 1994
Moved into Ng Tung Chai: March 2002
Moved down the valley to Ping Long: January 2007
Left Lam Tsuen: January 2013

Species recorded: 220
Top year list : 153 (2012)

Honour roll: self-found in bold (rarest first)

Less than ten HK records on first discovery:

Red-headed Bunting (third)
Hawfinch
Speckled Piculet (third)
Brown Wood Owl(third+ )
Thick-billed Pigeon
Rufous-gorgetted Flycatcher(fourth+)
Slaty-backed Forktail (sixth)(first breeding record)
Asian Lesser Cuckoo (seventh & eighth)
Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush (seventh)
Japanese Robin[/b] (eighth +)
Bianchi's Warbler
White-spectacled Warbler

Less than 20 records on first discovery

Chestnut-crowned Warbler
White-throated Rock Thrush
Sulphur-breasted Warbler
Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo
Fujian Niltava
Black-headed Bunting (two)
Yellow-browed Bunting
Japanese Grosbeak
Brown Bush Warbler

Non description species, but quality birds

Thick-billed Warbler
Dusky Thrush
Orange-headed Thrush
Siberian Thrush (several)
Northern Skylark (several)

Globally threatened species:

Chinese Grassbird
Japanese Paradise Flycatcher

Major dips:

Rufous-faced Warbler
Manchurian Reed Warbler
Hume's Leaf Warbler
Crested Bunting

Top bogey bird:

Wood Sandpiper

Exotica:

Red Lory
Monk Parakeet
White-browed Fantail
Streaked Spiderhunter
Riverchat

Wetland surprises:

Great Cormorant
Eurasian Teal
Pintail
Watercock
Water Rail
Oriental Pratincole
Black-winged Kite
Imperial Eagle
Spotted Eagle
White-bellied Sea Eagle

I'll write more in due course, but this is a wonderful reminder that there was good reason to step out the door and go birding just about every day of the year (ok - except June-August, and even then I had Lesser Cuckoo and the Wood Owl from home!)

Cheers
Mike

[Gretchen]

What a great run! What a history!

No one knows what the future holds - you may be back sometime ... but it's hard just as a reader not to feel a loss.

Of course, considering what you can find in a roundabout, I'm sure you'll enjoy a new home patch - looking forward to hearing about it of course.

[Jeff hopkins]

Amazing list, Mike. Sad to see it end, but you'll find all sorts of new stuff on Lantau.

I look forward to reading the new thread.

[Dong Bei]

Mike,

I agree with the others here. It's been a great run and I'm sure your new place will amaze as well. That is quite a list! Amazing what you discover if you watch a place for long enough. There is always more than what we see too! Always a reason to head out, even only for 15 minutes or whatever time allows. I'll be a regular skaulker of your new thread as well.

Tom

[McMadd]

I'll chime in too...was reading this thread long before any possibility of my journeying here was apparent...always good value and the perfect antidote to a grim wintery day in Finland or UK ;D

[firstreesjohn]

“They packed all their stuff in a big, yellow truck
And drove to Lantau- didn’t take that much pluck.
Their goal was a flat on a floor high above
Discovery Bay; from the window, Rock Dove ?
So, Mike Kilburn, I wish you both: THE BEST OF LUCK !”

[johnjemi]

I'm late as usual, Mike... but it's been great fun seeing what you had in Lam Tsuen over the past few years... I'm already enjoying the Lantau stuff... but it's a longer drive !!!

[MKinHK]

Many thanks to everyone for their kind comments - and to firstreesjohn for the farewell poem!

I will post from time to time when I go back ... and yesterday was the first opportunity as my bird race team team covered it in our fourth-placed finish (152 species in 12 hours from 0630 to 1830)

We picked up some good bird race birds that are Lam Tsuen stalwarts:

Ashy Drongo and Sooty-headed Bulbuls feeding on banana flowers below Dylan's place, Crested Goshawk and Crested Serpent Eagle above the ridge at She Shan, calling White-browed and Black-throated Laughingthrushes and a surprise Striated Heron were around the She Shan fishponds.

I was disappointed that the Grey Bushchat was not on the veggie patch and that neither Siberian Rubythroat, Bright-capped Cisticola nor Black-faced Bunting deigned to call from the grass, but we did have two separate Red-throated Flycatchers, Hair-crested Drongo, and a feeding flock of House Swifts.

Cheers
Mike

[norm farrell]

Hi, Mike,

I hadn't looked in on your postings for a while, and had that sudden vague feeling in my stomach this morning when I discovered that you had really left your valley.

I went down to Hong Kong late every winter for five or six years in the early '90s and "discovered" (I was alone but using others' information) the path up to the Ng Tung Chai waterfalls, that area becoming my favorite in the Territory. I was also there the day you found the Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher ( You had wandered away from the group to a grove on the other side of the stream, and came back calmly enough, much calmer that everyone else when they found out what you had to report ... ).

I have followed your discoveries and little triumphs ( and woes - the dog ) for the last several years, it all being for me a vicarious return to the Lam Tsuen Valley, and have enjoyed the thought of your being there right in the thick of it and living among the villagers. Accordingly, I am selfishly regretful for myself, but more for you, and for what you have forfeited.

I expect, though, that you will get out there away from your high rise apartments, and make us care for Lantau in its way, as you have done for Ng Tung Chai.

Best wishes,

Norm Farrell

[Neil]

I'm sure you'll enjoy the cafe lifestyle in Disco Bay Mike but you may find birds a bit light on the ground around there. But you'll be closer to Pui O and Tai O which can be interesting.
Good luck with your new digs.
Neil.

[MKinHK]

Thanks Norm.

I do remember that day - bu nothing like as well as you - and certainly not being calm over finding the flycatcher. But if that's how you remember it 'll definitely be the last person to argue!

DB is being to show signs of promise Neil - a female Blue Rock Thrush, a Grey Heron and a Common Kingfisher were around the tiny mangrove bed in front of Discovery College, there's been a Chinese Blackbird knocking about, and best of all I could hear a load of Common Toads singing away - even from 22 floors up!

Cheers
Mike

[subbuteo71]

You should get Chinese francolin up in the hills easy enough, I saw grass bird up there too. Blue Whistling Thrush seemed to be common and I saw several greater green snakes when I lived there.

Glad you can hear the toads! Lam Tsuen is still here for you when you need it!

Dylan

[MKinHK]

This posting is now moved the Exploring Lantau section

Apologies
Mike

[Jynx]

Hi Mike,
shame you've left the valley, I hope you soon find new pastures around your new home. You gave Bridgette and I a fabulous first taste of HK birding in 2009 in the valley and at Mai Po. I had over 40 new lifers that day. We couldn't quite share the enthusiasm for the Mallard you found though!
Look forward to hearing new tales from you.