Ng Tung Chai, Hong Kong (1 Viewer)

MKinHK · May 21, 2010

Thanks Tom

Actually it was a pretty cool spider. Not only did he somehow nail this dragonfly several times his size, but he was perfectly happy running across the surface of the water, and his mate was watching proceedings from the back of another gently proceeding water snail!

Today the dragonflies got their revenge - the black and yellow Common Flangetail caught and ate a bee and gave terrific scope views. This and the Asian Pintail were just two of at least 15 species of dragonflies I saw in less than three hours.

Back to birds a couple of Black Drongos and three Cattle Egrets seen from the bus were the only sign of migration, but I did enjoy seeing the Hair-crested Drongo well set on its nest, and the Chinese Pond Heron posed exceptionally well. Not too much else on a hot and sticky morning, but I did enjoy seeing four Crested Serpent Eagles in the air together, including one young bird that was lacking the broad white subterminal band on the wing.

Any advice on the flowering tree would be most welcome. Its planted as a crop of some kind, but I have no idea what is harvested.

Cheers
Mike

MKinHK · May 23, 2010

Not many birds yesterday but the main target was more dragonflies. However I was not out for long before I got nailed by torrential rain and had to give up. I did have a single White-cheeked Laughingthrush.

The Chinese Pond Heron colony is busy - at least one nest has nestlings that are big enough to be clambering around the nest - while both today and yesterday I saw adult birds carrying nesting material.

I added two additional species to the damselfies I saw yesterday - three Yellow-Featherlegs, one of which perched perfectly, and an Orange-tailed Midget that the camera refused to focus on.

However I did catch a pair of Orange-tailed Sprites hard at it laying eggs in the duckweed on a pool where morning glory had been newly planted.

Cheers
Mike

Dong Bei · May 23, 2010

Mike, where do you get the names of the insects in China? I have a large folder of butterflies , spiders, and dragonflies that I would love to ID. Saw 2-3 gigantic butterflies yesterday that I had never seen before.

MKinHK · May 24, 2010

HK produces its own books for its local biodiversity and has created vernacular names for various groups including dragonflies and butterflies.

You could also try joining the HKWildlife forum which is much broader than birds www.hkwildlife.net. You need to register, but it is free.

I'd also be interested to see pix of the other biodiversity on your thread - and work out how many of the species are the same.

Cheers
Mike

Gretchen · May 24, 2010

MKinHK said:
The Chinese Pond Heron colony is busy - at least one nest has nestlings that are big enough to be clambering around the nest - while both today and yesterday I saw adult birds carrying nesting material.

I had been going to ask how things were going with the pond herons this year. Good to hear they're having a better year than last year. Do you have an estimate of how many nests there are more or less?

I'm not very good at insects and plants in any language, but I seem to recall "duckweed" turning up in quite a few Chinese poems... now I should take note (above) of what it looks like.

cheers!

MKinHK · May 29, 2010

So far so good Gretchen - although a squall whipped through the valley just before dusk, so I'll have a check for displaced chicks below the egretry tomorrow morning.

Not much happening on-patch right now, with the highlight being a Savanna Nightjar flying right over the house on Thursday night and calling loudly - but not visibly.

Dylan also heard a three note owl call last night, and I'm beginning to wonder about Chinese Tawny Owl . . . which is as yet unrecorded in HK!

Any interested in the birding at Mai Po this morning can find out more HERE

Cheers
Mike

MKinHK · May 30, 2010

Again no real action on the patch today although I'm happy to say there were no signs of baby birds lost out of the nests in the Chinese Pond Heron colony from the strong squall that hit the valley yesterday evening.

However the big news was unblocking Blue-throated Bee-eater this morning off patch. A great climax to a rather quiet spring.

Cheers
Mike

MKinHK · Jun 1, 2010

Just when I'd completely given up on them I saw a pair of Chinese Starlings near the bus stop yesterday lunchtime. After feeding in a longan tree (the local version of lychee) they flew away high across the road, so I still have no idea of where the nest is or even if they are actually breeding or just summering here.

Cheers
Mike

MKinHK · Jun 11, 2010

Hadn't realised it was so long since I posted, but at least today there is good news - I saw 4 Chinese Starlings while waiting for the bus this morning. Although I had no bins with me it seems likely this was a family group, and I'll try to confirm over the weekend. If they have bred they've done a great job of concealing the location!

Now I think of it I also saw one in the bamboos the Chinese Pond Herons are nesting in yesterday morning.

Cheers
Mike

PS Sunday last week I stumbled about in sweaty overgrown Tai Om Shan, and although the birding was distinctly thin, there was some other interest. The damselfly is a Chinese Yellowface. The wasp, bracken, and ant lion I have no idea, but the birds are, of course Barn Swallows.

Gretchen · Jun 13, 2010

Yes, it has gotten a bit quite here in the China subforum lately - some (like me!) too busy and some with fewer interesting birds maybe?

Hope that you find out some good news about your Chinese starlings this week. Are your herons fledging now? (I'm trying to figure out the age of the night heron I saw today.)

MKinHK · Jun 14, 2010

well for an early morning in June it was definitely a happy Monday!

First up as I staggered onto the roof for a casual look around at 6:20 a Black-throated Laughingthrush was calling loudly and eventually flew into the lychee tree above the shop. This is just the second time I've seen this species from the house in 8 years in the valley.

As I was bout to head inside I spotted all four birds of the Chinese Starling family in the cotton tree next to the car park, and to cap it all a Hobby (pretty rare in HK in summer) zipped through the Barn Swallow flock as I headed down to the bus stop.

Cheers
Mike

Mark Bruce · Jun 20, 2010

MKinHK said:
well for an early morning in June it was definitely a happy Monday!

First up as I staggered onto the roof for a casual look around at 6:20 a Black-throated Laughingthrush was calling loudly and eventually flew into the lychee tree above the shop. This is just the second time I've seen this species from the house in 8 years in the valley.

As I was bout to head inside I spotted all four birds of the Chinese Starling family in the cotton tree next to the car park, and to cap it all a Hobby (pretty rare in HK in summer) zipped through the Barn Swallow flock as I headed down to the bus stop.

Cheers
Mike

Hobby ! Very nice :t: ! Hobbies are few and far between here too, Mike. Still need one for my Taiwan list.

MKinHK · Jul 5, 2010

Now deep in the summer doldrums there' very little to report on-patch - but I did see the male Chinese Starling and a juvenile from the bus stop yesterday and what I think was the disappearing tail of a juvenile Chestnut-winged Cuckoo.

However the silence has also been because I've been away in Japan. I've started a new thread here .

Cheers
Mike

MKinHK · Jul 11, 2010

A few birds this weekend:

A Black Drongo being chased off the veggie patch by the resident Magpie Robins on Friday morning was probably a post-breeding disperser from elsewhere in Hong Kong. They don't breed in the valley as far as I know.

Today I decided to brave the heat and a short walk in the woodland opposite my house produced a rather tame pair of Hainan Blue Flycatchers, and very confiding family of White-bellied Yuhinas (or Erpornises if you prefer - I don't) gave me my best ever views of this thinly distributed species.

It was good to see juvenile Chinese and Chestnut Bulbuls and a handsome female Scarlet Minivet, and a compact male Besra upset the Barn Swallows a little later in the afternoon.

It seems that all the Chinese Pond Herons are off the nest. However there are not many around, and I wonder if the poor weather while we were in Japan was too much too soon for some of them.

The weather has been so good I was able to get some shots of the remnants of the tea terraces high on Tai Mo Shan - Hong Kong's highest mountain looms over us from the SW. Strictly speaking the terraces (which are just below and to the right of the summit) are just outside the catchment and therefore just outside my patch.

However, similar habitat a couple of hundred metres left does holds Upland Pipit and whatever Large Grass Warbler (now a babbler) is going to be renamed, and if I was ever to scope an Eagle Owl perched on one of the rocks . . . I'd have it!

Cheers
Mike

Apologies the computer's being arsey about uploading pix - I'll do it when I can.

MKinHK · Jul 12, 2010

Here's the pix from Sunday

Cheers
Mike

MKinHK · Jul 20, 2010

One of the home-grown juvenile Chinese Starlings showed up in the veggie patch on Sunday.

A Plaintive Cuckoo and a Lesser Coucal have been calling over the last couple of days while all the others have been long silent.

Cheers
Mike

china guy · Jul 20, 2010

Mike you haven't by any chance got a call of Lesser Coucal - I can't seem to find one on the net!!!!!!!

MKinHK · Jul 21, 2010

I don't make recordings Sid, but I'll ask around, as I have mates who do.

Cheers
Mike

Gretchen · Jul 22, 2010

MKinHK said:
One of the home-grown juvenile Chinese Starlings showed up in the veggie patch on Sunday.

I don't know these starlings very well, but just wondering - is there something that says "juvie" in the colors? (no yellow gape I see)

MKinHK · Jul 23, 2010

Hi Gretchen.

There was nothing specific in the plumage I can put my finger, but it was scruffy, clumsy and gave every impression of being prime cannon fodder for a Crested Goshawk - adults birds have never given me this impression.

Working at home this afternoon, it was nice to see a family party of White-ruped Munias visiting the veggie patch, and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Scarlet Minivet have both called as they flew over.

Cheers
Mike

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