thirudevaram
Trapped in mist ***s
Luck of the draw! Any plans to extend your bus journey everyday? Cheers Mike. Waiting for the Grey nightjars to show up.
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Exploring Lantau (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter MKinHK
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MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
No plans whatsoever to extend the bus journey Dev!
And this morning, at long last, I got back to Tai O for the first time in nearly a month. I had high hopes as a Blue-and White Flycatcher had been found at Ng Tung Chai the previous day and migrant thrushes were popping up all over the place.
In the end all the species I saw were those I'd picked up already this winter, but even that was pretty good going considering this was obviously grave sweeping weekend with well over 100 people visiting the valley to clear up their ancestors' graves, ensuring a constant stream of disturbance in what is normally a pretty secluded an peaceful spot.
What was different were the groups of ten or so Barn Swallows feeding on an obvious hatching event above a couple of different banyan trees and the fact that all the Pallas' Leaf Warblers were in full song in celebration of the beautiful sunny day.
The garden just next to the gate to the Shaolin Centre came up trumps again this morning as first a male Japanese Thrush, then a Chinese Blackbird then a female Gray-backed Thrush and then a first winter male Grey-backed Thrush all popped up and showed well in just a few minutes - and even sat still long enough to be photographed.
There were four or five White-rumped Munias also lounging in the bamboo that marks one edge of the garden, including the dude below - not bad considering it was the only shot I took of this species. A bit further in a very approachable adult male Grey-backed Thrush was again turning leaf litter on a bank just above the path, but never sat still for quite long enough to be immortalised on this thread.
Frustration of the day was seeing and hearing two different Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warblers. As these are indistinguishable in the field and I've never definitively identified either I tried playback of the songs of both species to see if either of them would sing and give me a tick. One bird did get very excited when I tried the song of Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, while ignoring the song of Sakhalin, but I'm not sure that's really enough , and I'll hope for a singing male in the next week or two.
I also thoroughly enjoyed hearing the Dabchick-like trilling of a Rufous-tailed Robin that stayed resolutely in cover and refused to show until a sneaked off the path and away from the crowds. Other birds here included a juvenile Besra with an indignant entourage of resident passerines, a couple of Black-faced Buntings and a flyover Red-billed Blue Magpie.
Pushed out by the crowds I tried a small orchard a little further along and the area around the Heritage Hotel. The best bird at each site were single White's Thrushes , one of which perched for a few seconds and one of which zipped past and flashed its pale underwing bar. I also had brief views of a Brown-flanked Bush Warbler by the hotel, two Chinese White Dolphins loitering by a fishing boat a little way offshore and a typically regal Changeable Lizard on the sea-wall.
And this morning, at long last, I got back to Tai O for the first time in nearly a month. I had high hopes as a Blue-and White Flycatcher had been found at Ng Tung Chai the previous day and migrant thrushes were popping up all over the place.
In the end all the species I saw were those I'd picked up already this winter, but even that was pretty good going considering this was obviously grave sweeping weekend with well over 100 people visiting the valley to clear up their ancestors' graves, ensuring a constant stream of disturbance in what is normally a pretty secluded an peaceful spot.
What was different were the groups of ten or so Barn Swallows feeding on an obvious hatching event above a couple of different banyan trees and the fact that all the Pallas' Leaf Warblers were in full song in celebration of the beautiful sunny day.
The garden just next to the gate to the Shaolin Centre came up trumps again this morning as first a male Japanese Thrush, then a Chinese Blackbird then a female Gray-backed Thrush and then a first winter male Grey-backed Thrush all popped up and showed well in just a few minutes - and even sat still long enough to be photographed.
There were four or five White-rumped Munias also lounging in the bamboo that marks one edge of the garden, including the dude below - not bad considering it was the only shot I took of this species. A bit further in a very approachable adult male Grey-backed Thrush was again turning leaf litter on a bank just above the path, but never sat still for quite long enough to be immortalised on this thread.
Frustration of the day was seeing and hearing two different Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warblers. As these are indistinguishable in the field and I've never definitively identified either I tried playback of the songs of both species to see if either of them would sing and give me a tick. One bird did get very excited when I tried the song of Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, while ignoring the song of Sakhalin, but I'm not sure that's really enough , and I'll hope for a singing male in the next week or two.
I also thoroughly enjoyed hearing the Dabchick-like trilling of a Rufous-tailed Robin that stayed resolutely in cover and refused to show until a sneaked off the path and away from the crowds. Other birds here included a juvenile Besra with an indignant entourage of resident passerines, a couple of Black-faced Buntings and a flyover Red-billed Blue Magpie.
Pushed out by the crowds I tried a small orchard a little further along and the area around the Heritage Hotel. The best bird at each site were single White's Thrushes , one of which perched for a few seconds and one of which zipped past and flashed its pale underwing bar. I also had brief views of a Brown-flanked Bush Warbler by the hotel, two Chinese White Dolphins loitering by a fishing boat a little way offshore and a typically regal Changeable Lizard on the sea-wall.
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MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Today was one of those days which lets you know the good ones are good. Spring migration is arriving very slowly this year and a morning at Tai O which ought to have delivered a welter of rain-downed migrants basically delivered a welter of rain - and more grave tenders filling the valley with disturbance.
In four hours the best I could manage were a single Pacific Swift , two White-shouldered Starlings, a dozen Oriental Turtle Doves and a solitary female Grey-backed Thrush. There was a bit more quality in the shape of an adult White-bellied Sea Eagle and a singing White-throated Kingfisher , but the real highlight was watching three Chinese White Dolphins from the ridge above the valley.
Thankfully Pui O was birdier, and I enjoyed the flock of 25 Silky Starlings feeding on the buffalo marsh along with Swintail and Common Snipe, an Intermediate Egret and eight Cattle Egrets, three of which were coming into their handsome orange-buff breeding plumage.
A pit of Black-winged Cuckooshrikes flew past at treetop height, darkly silhouetted against the threateningly grey skies, but the rain never got serious as it had at Tai O.
A bit of digging along the dye of the buffalo fields unearthed a decent total of five Dusky Warblers, a Yellow-browed Warbler, and a female White-shouldered Starling, plus a Pale Martin that was hunting with the Barn Swallows, while two Reef Egrets lurked on the top of the shark net.
Very much hoping to begin tomorrow's report with "what a difference a day makes!"
Stay tuned.
Cheers
Mike
In four hours the best I could manage were a single Pacific Swift , two White-shouldered Starlings, a dozen Oriental Turtle Doves and a solitary female Grey-backed Thrush. There was a bit more quality in the shape of an adult White-bellied Sea Eagle and a singing White-throated Kingfisher , but the real highlight was watching three Chinese White Dolphins from the ridge above the valley.
Thankfully Pui O was birdier, and I enjoyed the flock of 25 Silky Starlings feeding on the buffalo marsh along with Swintail and Common Snipe, an Intermediate Egret and eight Cattle Egrets, three of which were coming into their handsome orange-buff breeding plumage.
A pit of Black-winged Cuckooshrikes flew past at treetop height, darkly silhouetted against the threateningly grey skies, but the rain never got serious as it had at Tai O.
A bit of digging along the dye of the buffalo fields unearthed a decent total of five Dusky Warblers, a Yellow-browed Warbler, and a female White-shouldered Starling, plus a Pale Martin that was hunting with the Barn Swallows, while two Reef Egrets lurked on the top of the shark net.
Very much hoping to begin tomorrow's report with "what a difference a day makes!"
Stay tuned.
Cheers
Mike
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oooh yes!
Surely the birds will pick up soon - though I guess its natural to hope that they do it on the weekend. Sounds like there are definite spring signs there. (Even in northern Minn. with snow still on the ground, the local birds are singing.)
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Thanks Tom - it was great to enjoy watching the dolphins for over an hour - the birds really were few and far between.
So how much difference did a day make?
Well . . . spring continues to mooch grumpily in like a teenager after an all-night gaming session, giving out a migrant here and there with the same resentful infrequency as a sixteen year old mumbling monosyllabic answers to an anxious parent. In short lots of effort and little to show for it!
I did at least finally hear my first cuckoo of the year - two different Large Hawk Cuckoos were "Brain fe-ver"-ing away in the woods behind Pui O for most of the morning, but other highlights were more along the lines of minor upgrades than a wholesale rebooting of the circle of life.
White-shouldered Starlings increased from a solitary bedraggled female to five birds that included a couple of nice males, one of which had a curious yellow stain across the underparts. We see a few birds that look as if they have been dyed pink, yellow or orange in most springs and would love to hear if anyone knows how this happens.
Common Sandpipers had increased to five, while two Yellow Wagtails and a fine Red-throated Pipit were both new amongst the OBPs on the buffalo fields. Other bits and pieces included a couple of high-flying Pacific Swifts, five more Dusky Warblers. And that was really about it.
The other news of this week was the decline of the Discovery Bay Islet gull roost down to nine birds on Tuesday and no more after that, but I enjoyed their month-long stay, both from the flat and every time I went past on the ferry.
Here's hoping the rainy weather will provide a few migrants in what should be the peak week of the spring.
Cheers
Mike
So how much difference did a day make?
Well . . . spring continues to mooch grumpily in like a teenager after an all-night gaming session, giving out a migrant here and there with the same resentful infrequency as a sixteen year old mumbling monosyllabic answers to an anxious parent. In short lots of effort and little to show for it!
I did at least finally hear my first cuckoo of the year - two different Large Hawk Cuckoos were "Brain fe-ver"-ing away in the woods behind Pui O for most of the morning, but other highlights were more along the lines of minor upgrades than a wholesale rebooting of the circle of life.
White-shouldered Starlings increased from a solitary bedraggled female to five birds that included a couple of nice males, one of which had a curious yellow stain across the underparts. We see a few birds that look as if they have been dyed pink, yellow or orange in most springs and would love to hear if anyone knows how this happens.
Common Sandpipers had increased to five, while two Yellow Wagtails and a fine Red-throated Pipit were both new amongst the OBPs on the buffalo fields. Other bits and pieces included a couple of high-flying Pacific Swifts, five more Dusky Warblers. And that was really about it.
The other news of this week was the decline of the Discovery Bay Islet gull roost down to nine birds on Tuesday and no more after that, but I enjoyed their month-long stay, both from the flat and every time I went past on the ferry.
Here's hoping the rainy weather will provide a few migrants in what should be the peak week of the spring.
Cheers
Mike
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DavidJStanton
Member
Hi Mike
It would seem these birds are dyed in the bird markets to simply make them more attractive to buyers. There is evidence of it happending in Vietnam (which explains the unusually coloured WSS we see in HK in Spring) where birds with extenisve white-parts are favoured. Also we've seen pictures of Red-billed Starlings from bird markets in Xi'an which have been dyed, which may account for the winter records of birds that occasionally turn up in HK. Lots of other species are dyed for this reason throughout Asia. These birds subsequently escape or are released and follow their normal migation patterns it would appear.
It is strange when you see these, certainly for the first time, when you're out in the field. Certainly makes you look twice!
Dave
thirudevaram
Trapped in mist ***s
Tai o never fails to produce the Dolphin magic. Sadly Ringo wasn't anymore, a good old dolphin for the HK waters. Good set of pics Mike, especially the Water Buffalo's.
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Thanks for the explanation Dave - and Dev - the Pui O buffalos are always fun!
Today I decided to put in the extra effort to hike to Fan Lau at the SW tip of Lantau. This weekend last year John Alcock had a stunning day, and I hoped that lightning mike strike twice. This time I walked from the dam at Shek Pik rather than Tai O as even at 0830 the queue for the Tai O bus snaked into infinity and beyond.
Things started well - even before leaving Discovery Bay I had a pair of Eurasian Kestrels uniting over the hills behind my block as I waited for the bus, and as I to off the bus at Shek Pik the first birds I had were a fine Crested Goshawk and then a magnificent pair of Bonelli's Eagles taking the first thermals of the day.
The catchment trail continued to deliver - first a male Blue-and-white Flycatcher which I saw only briefly in flight, and then a pair of Grey-faced Buzzards, which I suspect had arrived last night and were just getting ready to push on northwards. I also had the first three of five Yellow-browed Warblers.
Fan Lau itself seemed pretty quiet on my first pass, with only an Oriental Turtle Dove, a female Grey Wagtail, two Olive-backed Pipits and a third Grey-faced Buzzard adding to the score. However the birds obviously appreciated me stopping for lunch, as a Little Bunting flew into the big tree right by the store just as I was tucking into a bowl of noodles.
My big score here came when a Sakhalin/Pale-legged Leaf Warbler pinked a couple of times in the woods towards the southeastern beach. It got quite excited but didn't quite burst into song and steadfastly refused to show on my first pass. 20 minted later I came back along the same trail and I heard it singing away before it appeared close by the path, allowing me at long last to add a proper - and self-found -Pale-legged Leaf Warbler to my Hong Kong, China, and Life lists!
On a roll now I made a speculative attempt to whistle in a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, which immediately responded and came swooping in for a look. Sadly it didn't perch in view, but did scold me from cover and gave a couple of reasonable flyby views. Other birds here included a quartet of White-shouldered Starlings and a Little Bunting, which fed among the fallen fruit from an old and overloaded banyan tree.
And that was about it. I had literally no noteworthy birds on the entire walk back to Tai O except for a flock of six or eight Little Buntings at Yi O. But on a day with a self-found lifer- albeit a slightly odd one - as I've almost certainly seen loads before, I shan't be complaining too loudly!
Cheers
Mike
Today I decided to put in the extra effort to hike to Fan Lau at the SW tip of Lantau. This weekend last year John Alcock had a stunning day, and I hoped that lightning mike strike twice. This time I walked from the dam at Shek Pik rather than Tai O as even at 0830 the queue for the Tai O bus snaked into infinity and beyond.
Things started well - even before leaving Discovery Bay I had a pair of Eurasian Kestrels uniting over the hills behind my block as I waited for the bus, and as I to off the bus at Shek Pik the first birds I had were a fine Crested Goshawk and then a magnificent pair of Bonelli's Eagles taking the first thermals of the day.
The catchment trail continued to deliver - first a male Blue-and-white Flycatcher which I saw only briefly in flight, and then a pair of Grey-faced Buzzards, which I suspect had arrived last night and were just getting ready to push on northwards. I also had the first three of five Yellow-browed Warblers.
Fan Lau itself seemed pretty quiet on my first pass, with only an Oriental Turtle Dove, a female Grey Wagtail, two Olive-backed Pipits and a third Grey-faced Buzzard adding to the score. However the birds obviously appreciated me stopping for lunch, as a Little Bunting flew into the big tree right by the store just as I was tucking into a bowl of noodles.
My big score here came when a Sakhalin/Pale-legged Leaf Warbler pinked a couple of times in the woods towards the southeastern beach. It got quite excited but didn't quite burst into song and steadfastly refused to show on my first pass. 20 minted later I came back along the same trail and I heard it singing away before it appeared close by the path, allowing me at long last to add a proper - and self-found -Pale-legged Leaf Warbler to my Hong Kong, China, and Life lists!
On a roll now I made a speculative attempt to whistle in a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, which immediately responded and came swooping in for a look. Sadly it didn't perch in view, but did scold me from cover and gave a couple of reasonable flyby views. Other birds here included a quartet of White-shouldered Starlings and a Little Bunting, which fed among the fallen fruit from an old and overloaded banyan tree.
And that was about it. I had literally no noteworthy birds on the entire walk back to Tai O except for a flock of six or eight Little Buntings at Yi O. But on a day with a self-found lifer- albeit a slightly odd one - as I've almost certainly seen loads before, I shan't be complaining too loudly!
Cheers
Mike
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MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
A truly dreadful day at Tai O was rescued today by the discovery of a large black tortoise sp. among the graves in the Shaolin Valley.
Before going into that the birds (which won't take long) - a White-cheeked Starling in the large Cotton Tree in front of the Shaolin Centre, an Osprey which drifted over the valley , and a Dollarbird in the Keung Shan valley from the taxi on the way home. Other than that the White-throated Kingfisher was again vociferously claiming ownership of the valley, my high count of Large-billed Crows increased to eight and a pair of Long-tailed Shrikes were up to some sort of hanky panky.
The tortoise, which was a good 18 inches long, and completely black was wandering around among the graves and on seeing me let out a hissing before retreating into its shell. Seeing as it looked pretty parched I put it into the moat on the front of one of the larger graves (where I'd watched Japanese Thrush, Chinese Grosbeak and Chestnut Bulbuls drinking during the winter) and worked out what to do about it.
It was clearly not a native species and had no business being there. I called my former colleagues at Kadoorie Farm who have long expertise in tortoise and turtle rescue. The Head of Fauna told me it was most likely to have been released for religious reasons (releasing captive/market animals back to the wild to gain spiritual merit is common especially among Buddhists in HK). In the end I found a bag and took it into Tung Chung, where it was collected by the SPCA (the "Royal" was lost after the Handover in 1997). It is likely to end up at Kadoorie Farm.
Can anyone shed any light on the ID?
Cheers
Mike
Before going into that the birds (which won't take long) - a White-cheeked Starling in the large Cotton Tree in front of the Shaolin Centre, an Osprey which drifted over the valley , and a Dollarbird in the Keung Shan valley from the taxi on the way home. Other than that the White-throated Kingfisher was again vociferously claiming ownership of the valley, my high count of Large-billed Crows increased to eight and a pair of Long-tailed Shrikes were up to some sort of hanky panky.
The tortoise, which was a good 18 inches long, and completely black was wandering around among the graves and on seeing me let out a hissing before retreating into its shell. Seeing as it looked pretty parched I put it into the moat on the front of one of the larger graves (where I'd watched Japanese Thrush, Chinese Grosbeak and Chestnut Bulbuls drinking during the winter) and worked out what to do about it.
It was clearly not a native species and had no business being there. I called my former colleagues at Kadoorie Farm who have long expertise in tortoise and turtle rescue. The Head of Fauna told me it was most likely to have been released for religious reasons (releasing captive/market animals back to the wild to gain spiritual merit is common especially among Buddhists in HK). In the end I found a bag and took it into Tung Chung, where it was collected by the SPCA (the "Royal" was lost after the Handover in 1997). It is likely to end up at Kadoorie Farm.
Can anyone shed any light on the ID?
Cheers
Mike
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I don't know much about turtles and tortoises (so can't help), but how could you tell it was interested in water? (For my reference when I come across one.) 18 inches is pretty big - it must have been heavy!
Nice work on the rescue. It would be great to get some journalist on how this kind of release is not "merit" but cruelty.
Nice work on the rescue. It would be great to get some journalist on how this kind of release is not "merit" but cruelty.
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Gretchen
When I worked at Kadoorie Farm I worked with a colleague to develop a leaflet that was distributed to various Buddhist associations to explain how religious release condemns thousands of birds to death.
Because the birds released tend to be low value species such a white-eyes and munias they are generally treated very poorly and a huge proportion die either in captivity or shortly after release.
Once this was explained some of the organisations agreed to withdraw their support from this activity, but old baits die hard among the rank and file . . .
I guessed the turtle was about 8kg- not small at all!
Cheers
Mike
When I worked at Kadoorie Farm I worked with a colleague to develop a leaflet that was distributed to various Buddhist associations to explain how religious release condemns thousands of birds to death.
Because the birds released tend to be low value species such a white-eyes and munias they are generally treated very poorly and a huge proportion die either in captivity or shortly after release.
Once this was explained some of the organisations agreed to withdraw their support from this activity, but old baits die hard among the rank and file . . .
I guessed the turtle was about 8kg- not small at all!
Cheers
Mike
Very nice educational approach!
thirudevaram
Trapped in mist ***s
Good rescue work, Mike. Did you get an ID on the tortoise?
Nice initiative on the leaflet, will distribute among my colleagues
Nice initiative on the leaflet, will distribute among my colleagues
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
No ID on the tortoise so far Dev, but I'll let you know.
Pui O was covered in Cattle Egrets in glorious buffy-orange breeding plumage - 48 of them were spread out among the buffalo and were the birding highlight of a rather late morning. These were the first of a fine day for egrets as there were also 70+ Little Egrets, a Great Egret and a couple of Intermediates, plus a young Grey Heron, hanging around , as usual by the pond next to the big pandanus stand
Other birds included four Yellow Wagtails - a simillima and three taivana a couple of which posed for pix, the long-staying Brown Shrike and Dusky Warbler as well as a lingering female Stejneger's Stonechat and an Oriental Turtle Dove. There were also three Wood Sandpipers and the same number of snipe sp. poking about in the marsh, three Common Sandpipers and a Black Drongo near the river.
Love was clearly in the air as I caught first a pair of White-throated Kingfishers and then a pair of Asian Koels going hard at it in the tall trees surrounding the buffalo fields. They were too far away for meaningful pix. Other filled with the he joys of spring included two each of Large Hawk Cuckoo and Indian Cuckoo. The latter has been calling every morning in Discovery for the past week as well.
However the outright star was this Changeable Lizard sunning itself on a tree stump, posing magnificently. I couldn't decide if it looked like a judge, a teacher, or a preacher with its hand raised. It then climbed down the stump, perching halfway to give me another killer pic before dropping onto the ground and running along the path towards me. It stopped again for shots and I seriously wondered if t was going to star climbing me before it shot past and into the undergrowth.
The goat on rope was also a new one, but not that weird by Pui O standards!
Cheers
Mike
Pui O was covered in Cattle Egrets in glorious buffy-orange breeding plumage - 48 of them were spread out among the buffalo and were the birding highlight of a rather late morning. These were the first of a fine day for egrets as there were also 70+ Little Egrets, a Great Egret and a couple of Intermediates, plus a young Grey Heron, hanging around , as usual by the pond next to the big pandanus stand
Other birds included four Yellow Wagtails - a simillima and three taivana a couple of which posed for pix, the long-staying Brown Shrike and Dusky Warbler as well as a lingering female Stejneger's Stonechat and an Oriental Turtle Dove. There were also three Wood Sandpipers and the same number of snipe sp. poking about in the marsh, three Common Sandpipers and a Black Drongo near the river.
Love was clearly in the air as I caught first a pair of White-throated Kingfishers and then a pair of Asian Koels going hard at it in the tall trees surrounding the buffalo fields. They were too far away for meaningful pix. Other filled with the he joys of spring included two each of Large Hawk Cuckoo and Indian Cuckoo. The latter has been calling every morning in Discovery for the past week as well.
However the outright star was this Changeable Lizard sunning itself on a tree stump, posing magnificently. I couldn't decide if it looked like a judge, a teacher, or a preacher with its hand raised. It then climbed down the stump, perching halfway to give me another killer pic before dropping onto the ground and running along the path towards me. It stopped again for shots and I seriously wondered if t was going to star climbing me before it shot past and into the undergrowth.
The goat on rope was also a new one, but not that weird by Pui O standards!
Cheers
Mike
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Nice to see so many pairs of birds - its the season! All the cattle egrets sound like a lovely sight. I guess the lizard was pontificating silently... Both shots of him are nice.
Don't know if soap-on-a-rope was an item when/where you were growing up, but "goat on rope" had a sort of familiar sound. Certainly an interesting phenomenon - taking your goat for a walk seems like a hybrid of different cultures/eras....
Don't know if soap-on-a-rope was an item when/where you were growing up, but "goat on rope" had a sort of familiar sound. Certainly an interesting phenomenon - taking your goat for a walk seems like a hybrid of different cultures/eras....
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Soap on a rope and the Good Morning Vietnam joke by Robin Williams - Pope on a rope were very much in my mind Gretchen! And Pui O has a strong sense of the hippy era about it at times.
There were a few more new arrivals at Tai O on Saturday morning - with both Black and Hair-crested Drongos making their first appearances of the year, and a pair of Pacific Swifts that joined the House Swifts swirling above the hilltops while the winter's lingerers were represented by five Oriental Turtle Doves.
The most striking aspect of the visit were the large and noisy group of Large-billed Crows, who never showed together enough for me to count them, and a nest-building pair of Red-billed Blue Magpies.
This was a quick visit and since it was quiet I was on the bus and away by 11:00.
Cheers
Mike
There were a few more new arrivals at Tai O on Saturday morning - with both Black and Hair-crested Drongos making their first appearances of the year, and a pair of Pacific Swifts that joined the House Swifts swirling above the hilltops while the winter's lingerers were represented by five Oriental Turtle Doves.
The most striking aspect of the visit were the large and noisy group of Large-billed Crows, who never showed together enough for me to count them, and a nest-building pair of Red-billed Blue Magpies.
This was a quick visit and since it was quiet I was on the bus and away by 11:00.
Cheers
Mike
thirudevaram
Trapped in mist ***s
With all the election heat going now in India, the lizard totally looks like an "Indian Politician" who change their skin after the election ;-)
Generally, foreigners are weird for the native ppl and vice versa but that goat totally made my day. If you say that's not weird as per Pui O standards, i really like to see the standard there. Next trip is to Pui o ;-)
Generally, foreigners are weird for the native ppl and vice versa but that goat totally made my day. If you say that's not weird as per Pui O standards, i really like to see the standard there. Next trip is to Pui o ;-)
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
A fresh easterly wind and low cloud looked like a promising combination for morning passage at Tai O.
As at the Magic Roundabout this week the star bird (and a Lantau tick) was a male Chestnut Bunting that was foraging around the well in the orchard between the Shaolin Valley and the Heritage Hotel. This one was still moulting into full breeding plumage but once again was not at all shy and allowed good close views.
The "Attention-seeker-in-chief" award went to a Peregrine that spent the whole morning zipping over the island without appearing to achieve anything more productive than annoy the Black Kites and Large-billed Crows. At one stage a Marsh Sandpiper that had clearly just arrived hung in the air next to and I was sure the Peregrine would make a run at it. Instead it zoomed off in the opposite direction.
Other birds in and over the valley included two Pacific Swifts, a nest building Black Drongo - at least three pairs have now arrived - and again five rather late Oriental Turtle Doves.
At Discovery Bay there had also been an arrival of Black Drongos - four were seen in various places during a late afternoon shopping with the Home Minister.
Cheers
Mike
As at the Magic Roundabout this week the star bird (and a Lantau tick) was a male Chestnut Bunting that was foraging around the well in the orchard between the Shaolin Valley and the Heritage Hotel. This one was still moulting into full breeding plumage but once again was not at all shy and allowed good close views.
The "Attention-seeker-in-chief" award went to a Peregrine that spent the whole morning zipping over the island without appearing to achieve anything more productive than annoy the Black Kites and Large-billed Crows. At one stage a Marsh Sandpiper that had clearly just arrived hung in the air next to and I was sure the Peregrine would make a run at it. Instead it zoomed off in the opposite direction.
Other birds in and over the valley included two Pacific Swifts, a nest building Black Drongo - at least three pairs have now arrived - and again five rather late Oriental Turtle Doves.
At Discovery Bay there had also been an arrival of Black Drongos - four were seen in various places during a late afternoon shopping with the Home Minister.
Cheers
Mike
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