[Jeff hopkins]

God Save the King!

Great find, Mike.

[MKinHK]

Many thanks Jeff

It seems there are quite a few closet monarchists in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Motherland these days!

Cheers
Mike

[rockfowl]

A proper belter Mike, congrats!

[thirudevaram]

A well deserved bird for holidays. Don't forget your worktime Mike!!!
Wish you many more additions to your newly found and interesting patch in the new year.

[MKinHK]

Many thanks Dev and Mark

Some sad news - on Sunday the Naumann's Thrush was found dead with a Long-tailed Shrike standing over it. It seems extraordinary for a Long-tailed Shrike to take such a large bird that appeared to be in good health the day before, so any insight would be most welcome.

On a happier note my last session of the year at lunchtime today was also productive, if not to the same dramatic scale. (Dev: the Roundabout is such a small patch that lunchtime is more than plenty -but don't go putting ideas into my head!)

The pick of the bunch was a fine Black Bulbul - with a nice white head that was after the fruit in one of the meelia trees, closely followed by a welcome return from the leucopis x alboides White Wagtail.

I also had singles of Grey-backed, Japanese and Pale Thrushes, plus the regular Daurian Redstart (2), Stejneger's Stonechat and Asian Brown Flycatcher on the grass verge. I also heard a Yellow-browed Warbler.

So the final score for the first quarter is 42 species.

Best wishes to everyone for the New Year!

Cheers
Mike

[thirudevaram]

That's a sad end to the famous Naumann's which attracted lot of attention, yesterday i saw a failed attempt of long-tailed shrike trying to snatch a pale thrush. I guess the shrike at your place had a run of luck, all part of the food chain.

Happy new year Mike!

[MKinHK]

It definitely went out in a blaze of glory Dev!

First day of a new quarter - and a pretty good start with an impressive 19 species, including two new birds - Eurasian Kestrel and four Scaly-breasted Munias.

Regular attendees included the first winter male Grey-backed Thrush, female Japanese Thrush and a rather dull Chinese Blackbird. Chinese and Red-whiskered Bulbuls, leucopsis White Wagtail, four OBPs, Pallas's and Dusky Warblers, ten Crested Mynas, and the usual two Daurian Redstarts, Stejneger's Stonechat , and Asian Brown Flycatcher were on the grassy verge.

A Common Buzzard made a brief flyover.

There was less excitement in finding single figure flocks of Tree Sparrow and Japanese White-eye , and a Magpie Robin. If we count remains both Watercock and Naumann's Thrush would again be on the list. On balance I think not.

Cheers
Mike

[MKinHK]

Yesterday was another species-rich day - with some 20 species being the new record day count. The additions to yesterday's list were a Black Kite characteristically twisting its forked tail as it drifted over, a couple of Yellow-browed Warblersperched high, a Pale Thrush that zipped across the clearing and aCommon Tailorbird rootling along the line of trees edging the roundabout just above ground level.

My personal highlight was the female Japanese Thrush emerging from among the palms onto the lawn where 9 Chinese Bulbuls were foraging happily.

I didn't get out today but a glimpse of a flock of ardeids out of the office window turned out to be 42 Black-crowned Night Herons that circled around before dropping down onto the Magic Roundabout, adding another bird to the patch list. I'm guessing they'd been disturbed from roosting somewhere else nearby.

Cheers
Mike

[MKinHK]

It won't be part of the official record of the patch, but as its connected to my airport work I'll post here on my visit to our off-site air quality monitoring control station on Sha Chau.

This is a couple of small islands a couple of kilometres to the north of the airport and right on the border with Guangdong.

The highlights were a fine count of a dozen Pacific Reef Egrets on the rocks and jetty and 15 Great Cormorants, which I searched carefully for the slightest hint of a Pelagic. I had no such luck, but I'll keep looking on future winter visits.

I also watched a juvenile Peregrine swoop unsuccessfully on a newly arriving Oriental Turtle Dove, before drifting off across the summit of the island, where it was hassled by a couple of Large-billed Crows, who had in turn been chased off by five Collared Crows.

A brief pish revealed Chinese and Crested Bulbuls, Common Tailorbird and a female Daurian Redstart. A Common Sandpiper flitted along the wave washed rocks, and both Blue Rock Thrush and Long-tailed Shrike put in brief appearances. A distant large gull was most likely Heuglin's, but goes down as a sp.

And finally . . . the briefest roll of pink in the sea about 400m north of the station was a tantalisingly short view of a Chinese White Dolphin .

Cheers
Mike

[Gretchen]

Wow - 20 species in one day and 42 herons - I"ll have to look at that picture you posted again, sounds like that roundabout is bigger than I thought!

Excellent opportunity for some more looking around and nice to at least glimpse the dolphin! Lots going on there...

[Frogfish]

Excellent Mike ! The elusive and extremely rare White Dolphin !

[thirudevaram]

Wow, the isle looks great. Do you get any white-morph pacific reef egrets there Mike? Mainland din't have any Dolphin watch otherwise Yangtze river dolphin would have lasted for a while. Good luck for the pelagic cormorant ;-)

[MKinHK]

I didn't get properly onto the patch on Monday , but did get Chinese Blackbird, Stejneger's Stonechat and an adult Black-crowned Night Heron from the bus on the way into work in the morning.

Today I did get there, but had one of those days when the thrushes chose not to behave. I had at least four different birds, but only the most fleeting glimpses of two of them, neither which I could even stringily put a name to.

Additions to the list for the quarter included a Great Tit, the skulky Brown Shrike and a couple of Large-billed Crows.A new high count of a round dozen Scaly-breasted Munias was probably the highlight of the session.

I did get the three sisters (I've got bored of typing them out each time and will use this collective name for the Daurian Redstart, Stejneger's Stonechat, and Asian Brown Flycatcher were on various perches the grassy verge along with the regulation four Olive-backed Pipits and the usual two leucopsis White Wagtails.

I did also hear a Dusky Warbler, searched half-heartedly through the Japanese White-eyes for a Chestnut-flanked, and had the usual flyover Crested Myna a male Magpie Robin and the rather drab Chinese Blackbird lurking troll-like under the flyover.

And finally (well, penultimately) the munia flock had pulled in . . . wait for it . . . a couple of Tree Sparrows!

And really finally some more pix of the patch plus, long overdue, my record shots of the King

Cheers
Mike

[rockfowl]

LOL, amazing that one took so long!

[McMadd]

Pictures or it didn't happen!

When you thinking of BEP Mike...maybe we could sync?

Cheers
Mark (M not that 'fowl 'un ;D)

[Jeff hopkins]

Originally Posted by MKinHK

And really finally some more pix of the patch plus, long overdue, my record shots of the King

Funny, it doesn't look like Elvis

...Or one of his records.

[MKinHK]

More birds than ever today, largely due to a flock of 130 Tree Sparrows feeding on the grassy verge, along with 20 Japanese White-eyes, three Scaly-breasted Munias, eight Chinese Bulbuls and Crested Mynas, two leucopsis White Wagtails and a Dusky Warbler. The three sisters were also all present and correct.

It is not unusual to find birds feeding on the ground in cold weather, but it is not common to see such a mix of sizes and species, so I'm guessing some tiny chironomid fly was hatching, but really don't know what they were feeding on.

Other birds included a Yellow-browed Warbler, a noisy and flighty male Grey-backed Thrush and a Chinese Blackbird that came into the tree above my head just as the Long-tailed Shrike lurked ominously on a branch in deep cover.

Cheers
Mike

[MKinHK]

Wednesday was a quieter day, with highlights being the return of the distinctive leucopsis x alboides Whites Wagtail and brief views of the champion lurker - the overwintering Brown Shrike.

The Japanese White-eyes were again feeding down on the lawn, but the munias and Tree Sparrows were not, and the female Stejneger's Stonechat was absent for the first time in a long time.

A female Daurian Redstart with almost no white wingspot had me going for a while, but never really had enough to convince me it was anything except Daurian (how I'd love to be wrong about that!)

Cheers
Mike

[MKinHK]

A swift twenty minutes both today and yesterday were not very productive - we've had settled weather for too long and its all gone a bit quiet.

New for the year list were a House Swift yesterday and a couple of Crested Bulbuls today, while I'm a bit worried that there no sign of either the Daurian Redstart or the Stejneger's Stonechat.

Bird of the day today was a Large-billed Crow that sat in the tallest Brisbane box calling way to its mate, that called back from out of sight, while the small flock four of Olive-backed Pipits were again on the grassy verge yesterday.

Today I twice had the back end of what was probably a male Japanese Thrush, a Grey-backed Thrush and a Chinese Blackbird the day before, while on both days the Long-tailed Shrike was lurking menacingly in the canopy and a single Yellow-browed Warbler was knocking about.

Yesterday a fly-by out the window of the officeBlack Kite added some interest to a meeting and some 30-odd Tree Sparrows and a dozen Japanese White-eyes were again feeding on the grass by the flyover with a half-dozen Crested Mynas and the usual couple of White Wagtails in casual attendance.

Cheers
Mike

[thirudevaram]

Was expecting some mammals in your update

Black Kites are plenty back in India, the most common raptor everywhere. Miss those raptors n corvids.

The leucopsis x alboides Whites Wagtail should be interesting anytime, i got a young lugens couple of weeks before.

[MKinHK]

One mammal for you Dev - Brown Rat!

But there were also a few birds about today, with a fine adult Oriental Turtle Dove being the first of the year and thrushes scoring well with adult and first winter male Grey-backed, an adult male Japanese, a Chinese Blackbird and A.N. Other.

The leucopis x alboides White Wagtail was again present, but beginning to lose some of the black rear eyestripe that made it look so exciting. I'm thinking of bring my scope to work and doing some digiscoping - and this will be the first target.

Cheers
Mike

[MKinHK]

A Dusky Thrush with a fine necklace of black spots was on one of the lawns on the approaches to the airport yesterday, and I think - it was back-on - again this morning.

Unfortunately it was not on the Roundabout, but its definitely worth a mention.

Cheers
Mike

[MKinHK]

On Thursday I again saw the Dusky Thrush from the bus, but also took an extended walk around the northernmost edge of the roundabout, which delivered my first, overdue, Red-flanked Bluetail, and on a very good day for thrushes and chats, an extension of the walk also revealed a fine male philippensis Blue Rock Thrush on the golf course.

The big debate is whether I should count this as part of the Magic Roundabout. In strict geographical terms its not, but in the spirit of the UK Patchwork concept its an extension of a circular walk from my office of an area of 250 x 300 metres. At one point it goes over a footbridge with a view of the golf course - hence the opportunity to add a larger area of short grass and the edge of a pond to the habitats on the route.

Monday 4th Feb

Fewer birds were seen on a walk restricted to the regular inner route. these did include the first "inner route Richard's Pipit on the Eastern Verge along with the leucopsis x alboides White Wagtail and a regular leucopsis White Wagtail.

I also pinned down the female Japanese Thrush, flushed a male Grey-backed Thrush, and had brief views of both Pallas' Leaf Warbler and Yellow-browed Warbler inside the core area. As I headed back to the office four Olive-backed Pipits and the Long-tailed Shrike were on the Grassy verge, and a Black Kite circled over the terminal building.

Tuesday 5th Feb

No visit to the Roundabout today, but the Dusky Thrush was again seen from the bus on the lawn by the end of the South Runway.


Cheers
Mike

[thirudevaram]

Those crisscross roads and the artificial parks to fill up the space are everywhere n i hate them Mike.But speaking about the results, you are pulling the best out of your small patch.

[johnjemi]

Dusky Thrush... fine "Bus Tick" !