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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

The Magic Roundabout (1 Viewer)

If only it were Jos!

You are more than welcome to come and see for yourself whenever you choose. I'll even chuck in a guided tour for free!

Cheers
Mike
 
A couple more visits last month have confirmed this as the quietest mid-winter ever for thrushes and chats - a solitary female Daurian Retstart and one male and one female Grey-backed Thrush are a far cry from past glories.

Ona more positive note the Red-breasted Flycatcher continues in residence along with an Asian Brown Flycatcher and a couple each of Dusk,y Yellow-browed and Pallas's Leaf Warblers, and an Eastern Buzzard has been suffering from the attentions of the resident Large-billed Crows.

Other bits and pieces include a female Fork-tailed Sunbird, a small gang of Scaly-breasted Munias and the odd Grey Heron on the landing lights jetty.

Cheers
Mike
 
At long last I have finally added Great Cormorant (181) to my patch list when I saw several hundred birds in tightly-packed feeding flock inside the silt curtain for the new bridge to Macau as I was coming in on the bus yesterday morning. Other birds included ten or so Silky Starlings and a male White-shouldered Starling, and this morning a Yellow Wagtail, also from the bus.

I also had the first Barn Swallow of the year fly past a meeting room window on Monday morning.

Cheers
Mike
 
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After another long gap I got onto the roundabout a couple of times this week, and was pleased to pick up a first spring record of Chestnut Bulbul on the Core Area and two Oriental Pratincoles on what remains of the golf course on Wednesday, followed by a female Black-necked Monarch and a superb male Narcissus Flycatcher on the Eastern Tangle , plus three Oriental Pratincoles on the golf course on Friday.

Cheers
Mike
 
Those Narcissus Flycatchers are clear sign of major spring move. I guess, i will have some of them by weekend :)
I narrowly missed the Monarch Flycatcher couple of times but got gaping views in India this time but it was not a Black-necked.
 
More flycatchers today Dev - actually an excellent four species - a wonderful male Blue-and-white Flycatcher which started up high and then came down low for a look at me, a very confiding female Mugimaki Flycatcher whose curiosity allowed wonderful views, plus a very brown and white female Narcissus Flycatcher and the same female Black-naped monarch that has been around for several months now.

Other migrants included an Oriental Reed Warbler a Dusky Warbler and three very vocal Yellow-browed Warblers that didn't know if they wanted to sing or call.

For the second outing in a row a Large-billed Crow followed me the whole time, breaking off and dropping bits of foliage the whole time. Anyone come across such behaviour before?

Cheers
Mike
 
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More migrants on the patch today following a cracking thunderstorm late afternoon yesterday. . .

My friend the Large-billed Crow again came and dropped twigs and branches as a Hair-crested Drongo flew in and at least two and possibly four Eye-browed Thrushes touched down briefly among the pale violet flowers in the top of a meelia.

The big excitement was looking for a Brown Boobook found this morning by Graham Talbot. Sadly I didn't find it, although I did again see the female Black-naped Monarch and two different female Blue-and-White Flycatchers.

Cheers
Mike
 

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For the second outing in a row a Large-billed Crow followed me the whole time, breaking off and dropping bits of foliage the whole time. Anyone come across such behaviour before?

Cheers
Mike

Not in particular, Mike, but I have had Corvids in general show particular interest in my activities and had Azure-winged Magpie both commonly follow me and perch overhead and drop various items, leaves, twigs, seed balls, etc. Considering some alternative 'droppings' I wouldn't complain! ;) Long ago back in Pennsylvania I know that it wasn't unheard of for Crows to discover you in a deer stand and delight in loudly announcing your presence to everything else anywhere nearby in the woods. They are smart enough to be curious and even to have a sense of humor.
 
Some interesting insight Owen - I was indeed careful not to stand directly underneath for fear of a less welcome bouquet!

I've attached a couple of shots of the female Blue-and-white Flycatcher. I was interested to see a hint of orange on the throat.

Cheers
Mike
 

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Last week an after-work visit reopened my birding at the Magic Roundabout. It has been hammered by the twin typhoons, with various trees uprooted or snapped, and more and more areas are being lost to the construction of the third runway, but there is still enough habitat to hold some migrants.

This first visit produced an Asian Brown Flycatcher and - always a pleasure - an Amur Paradise Flycatcher on the core area as the light faded.

I did even better this week - on Monday the nicely overgrown grass on the Core Area held a Lanceolated Warbler and one or possibly two Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers, and other birds included two Arctic Warblers, a couple of Asian Brown Flycatchers, a Brown Shrike and a probable Red Turtle Dove.

I followed these up on Wednesday lunchtime with another couple of Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers, another Arctic Warbler and a nice friendly Wryneck. Wrynecks are always special, and they seem to like the Roundabout, often staying for the whole winter. I hope this one does.


Cheers
Mike
 
With migrants appearing all over the place in HK I found time for a visit to what's left of the Roundabout. The Eastern Tangle has now been cleared and there were lots of construction vehicles in the core Area so I focused on the Northern Edge and Western Tangle.

First up on the Western Tangle was an Asian Brown Flycatcher, followed by a female Mugimaki Flycatcher in the treetops , a lurking Taiga Flycatcher with a hint of red on the chin, a female Daurian Redstart and a Two-Barred Greenish Warbler that eventually descended from the treetops to check me out.

The Northern Edge produced an eventually confiding Hair-crested Drongo, then a very vocal Wryneck, and finally a drab but hyperactive female Black-naped Monarch that bounced around with its tail spread the whole time I watched it. As I walked out a female Stejneger's Stonechat was on the sea wall and i heard a Common Sandpiper calling from below.

Cheers
Mike
 
A similar haul of birds from lunchtime today. The Mugi, the redstart and the stonechat had gone, but five Dusky Warblers and at least two and possibly three more Taiga Flycatchers had arrived, while the Hair-crested Drongo, Wryneck, Two-barred Greenish Warbler and Black-naped Monarch were all still present.

Cheers
Mike
 
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