[Gretchen]

Originally Posted by Neil

... Is the light any better than this from December?
Neil.

Ah, this photo is related to the question I have. I've never been to Mai Po (and won't be for a few more years probably), so I wonder what the site is actually like. I guess there's a boardwalk which people are restricted to (perhaps a fence), as I never hear about flushing of birds there as I read about at other sites. And from this photo, I take it there's a hide?

If anyone wants to put up another photo or two of the site for the uninitiated like me, it would be great.

[johnallcock]

Especially for Gretchen, a few pictures of the reserve. Firstly, the view from our tower hide overlooking one of the freshwater ponds, with the large reedbed behind (this is where we carrying out our regular ringing). Secondly, the main shorebird roosting site (still too grassy at the moment, but hopefully this will die back by spring). And finally one of the gei wai (shrimp ponds) which we are currently draining - note the Black-faced Spoonbills on this picture. These are all around the reserve itself, in addition we have a boardwalk through the mangroves leading to four hides overlooking the intertidal mudflats. I'll try to get some pictures to post soon.

Mike, I prefer not to think of it as slacking but pacing myself. I don't want to peak too early! Actually the main problem is that I've been having really bad luck with tides - it seems the good tides are always on the days I can't make it out to the boardwalk hides.
I did try yesterday lunchtime - again the usual problem of a lower tide, but I did manage to pick out a single Red Knot (#128) and at least three Bar-tailed Godwits (#129). Hopefully I will go again today, fingers crossed for a better tide...

Jos, I will try for 300 but realistically I don't hold out much hope.

[Gretchen]

Thanks for the views John - I guess many people have been there, but it is nice for those of us that haven't yet. Looking forward to that day.

(In addition to the spoonbills, a Grey Heron, perhaps?)

[johnallcock]

Yes, Gretchen, a Grey Heron. Also Little Egret and a couple of Northern Shoveler in the background.

My bad luck with tides continued today. Sooner or later, I hope I will catch up with some of the more unusual gulls... Today I had to make do with a flock of 5 Temminck's Stints (#130) to boost the year list.

I spent most of the afternoon out and about on site doing some habitat surveys. This yielded a Garganey (#131) on the main scrape, a species I had expected to have found by now. Better was to come when I visited a part of the reserve that is not generally accessible to the public. First up a pair of Gadwall (#132) - the first record of this species on the reserve this winter. And then a female Baer's Pochard (#133) rounding off a nice trio of ducks onto the year list. This Baer's has been around for several weeks now and may be the returning bird from last winter, but she's not very predictable.

[johnallcock]

On the ponds just outside my office window we regularly feed ducks to attract them in for visitors (mostly Eurasian Wigeon). The food also attracts in lots of doves. To be honest I don't check these regularly enough, but today I did decide to scan through the flock, and turned up the species I was hoping for - Red Turtle Dove (#134).

The big news of the day though was that I finally managed to get a decent tide. There were still not huge numbers of large gulls, but I did find a first winter Slaty-backed Gull (#135). There were big numbers of Grey Plover and Eurasian Curlew close to the hide, plus a few Pacific Golden Plover and a flock of smaller waders. Scanning through the small waders (mostly Dunlin and Kentish Plover) I also managed to pick out a single Red-necked Stint (#136) and at least five Lesser Sand Plovers (#137). Some of these were starting to get some breeding colour, including a couple with the first hints of black on the forehead showing them to be one of the atrifrons subspecies.

I also had an ocularis White Wagtail this morning. I think maybe I should count this as a 'half-tick' to take the total to 137.5 - exactly half-way to Mike's target of 275, and it's still only 18th January!

[johnallcock]

I've never been particularly good with gulls, so double-checked the Slaty-backed I claimed on Friday. Just as well I did, because it actually seems to fit better for Vega Gull, so I need to correct that one. Slaty-backed should be out there somewhere...

I was working with a volunteer group all day yesterday, so not much time for birding but it did mean I was outside all day rather than in the office. Highlights were a Crested Serpent Eagle (#138) high over the site and a singing Barn Swallow (#139), perhaps a bird returning to breed nearby (we can get them nesting here from February).

In the evening I cycled around the reserve. One of the freshwater ponds obviously had a hatching of flies (presumably chironomids, which are starting to appear in various spots now) and there was a flock of ducks actively feeding on these as they emerged. Teal and Wigeon weren't too surprising, but seeing the two Baer's Pochards and a few Tufted Ducks chasing down flies on the surface was a bit more unusual!

Also today a rather impressive Burmese Python. This one has been around for a couple of weeks apparently, but I missed it when I was first told about it last week. It's an impressive animal - probably at least 3m long, maybe more. I'll try to get a photo to post here in the next few days if it's still around.

[ChinaBirds]

Hi John,
May well pop down to Mai Po again this weekend, was there Saturday for a short while, saw the Oriental Stork but not the Baer's Pochards . You can never get enough of Mai Po

Cheers
Nick

[thirudevaram]

Great to hear about the Baer's John.

[Neil]

John,
I haven't been to MP in the pm for a while so I'm going to pop over to Pond 11 this afternoon and hope that some birds come in there with the high tide. If not I'll photograph cormorants for a couple of hours.
Neil.

[johnallcock]

After a busy week at work and something happening most evenings, I haven't had time to post for a week now. I've only added two new birds for the year list this week. I've now seen Eurasian Spoonbills (#140) a couple of times among the main flock of Black-faced. I was actually surprised it took so long to track these down this year. The other new species was a Japanese Quail (#141) which I flushed from one of the bunds on Friday morning.

I did also see at least three Mongolian Sand Plovers on the mudflats. Unfortunately I can't really count these because they're still lumped into Lesser Sand Plover. I don't really understand why personally - seeing one of them next to a Lesser just highlighted to me the differences! For now I'll just have to bank these in the hope that a split is accepted before the end of the year, or so I can accept another taxonomy and use them as a trump card if I'm struggling to reach my target!

I also had a slightly intriguing bunting on Thursday, which gave an unfamiliar call, but dived off the path into the mangroves, never to be seen again.

The long-staying Red-breasted Flycatcher is still around. I haven't seen the Oriental Stork all week, but I know others have done so it's still there somewhere.

Hope you were successful on Pond #11, Neil. The curlews have been roosting there most evenings this week.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by johnallcock

After a busy week at work and something happening most evenings, I haven't had time to post for a week now. I've only added two new birds for the year list this week. I've now seen Eurasian Spoonbills (#140) a couple of times among the main flock of Black-faced. I was actually surprised it took so long to track these down this year. The other new species was a Japanese Quail (#141) which I flushed from one of the bunds on Friday morning.

I did also see at least three Mongolian Sand Plovers on the mudflats. Unfortunately I can't really count these because they're still lumped into Lesser Sand Plover. I don't really understand why personally - seeing one of them next to a Lesser just highlighted to me the differences! For now I'll just have to bank these in the hope that a split is accepted before the end of the year, or so I can accept another taxonomy and use them as a trump card if I'm struggling to reach my target!

I also had a slightly intriguing bunting on Thursday, which gave an unfamiliar call, but dived off the path into the mangroves, never to be seen again.

The long-staying Red-breasted Flycatcher is still around. I haven't seen the Oriental Stork all week, but I know others have done so it's still there somewhere.

Hope you were successful on Pond #11, Neil. The curlews have been roosting there most evenings this week.

I had just packed up my kit at around 5.30 pm when they flew in. The light was dropping fast so I didn't bother to get it out again.

[johnallcock]

Another very busy week last week left little time for birding.

Saturday 2nd was the day of our annual Big Bird Race, timed to coincide with World Wetlands Day. This is the major fundraiser for the reserve and finances a lot of the habitat and infrastructure we will be doing this summer (including improved access to the mudflat hides and enhancement work on some degraded reedbed). Our Mai Po team didn't do great compared to some of the other teams, but still it was a good day. For me probably the highlight was an adult Imperial Eagle gliding past at close range in southern Mai Po, giving some of the best views I've ever had of this species.

The waders have been putting on a good show on the recent high tides, especially the Dunlin flock which is very obliging this year. While checking through this flock on Sunday afternoon, I was able to find two Dunlin with leg flags from overseas - one from Yalujiang, the other from Sakhalin. I also finally managed to catch up with a Nordmann's Greenshank (#142) and a Slaty-backed Gull (#142) - confirmed this time! My bad run of luck with gulls is continuing though and I still haven't managed to see either the Black-tailed or the Kamchatka Gull that have been hanging around, even though both were seen during a survey on Monday while I was counting the curlew flock!

One more species for the list again today as well - a Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (#143) that flew over at lunchtime.

[johnjemi]

Sunday, 3rd Feb. John A. found this Nordmann's, quite close to the boardwalk hide...

And here Eastern Imperial Eagle from a couple of weeks ago...

And a wintering Dunlin with Bohai Bay leg flags...

[johnallcock]

The end to another week on the reserve, with a few more species.
A ringing session in the reedbed on Wednesday was fairly quiet, as is usual for January. Highlight was a retrap of a Bluethroat (#145) from last autumn, but also a few Chinese Penduline Tits, Siberian Rubythroat, etc. We also had a Northern Goshawk which flew passed being mobbed by a Eurasian magpie and was then perched up in a tree. Unfortunately I suspect this was the obviously ex-captive (still with leather straps on it's legs) bird which has been around for a few months, so not countable on the year list.

On Wednesday evening, during a duck survey at the end of the day, a couple of Black Drongos (#146) flew over. The Baer's Pochards were apparently also back on ponds I wasn't surveying. There also seems to have been an increase in Eurasian Teal over the course of the week - is this evidence of migrants starting to move, or are they just relocating from somewhere else in the area?

One bird I realise I forgot to mention last weekend was a hybrid male Eurasian x American Wigeon from the boardwalk hides on Sunday. These hybrids are seen fairly regularly in Hong Kong, but there still hasn't been a pure-bred American Wigeon accepted (although there was a very good candidate a couple of years ago). One day, hopefully!

[johnallcock]

First of all, Happy New Year and Kung Hei Fat Choi to all.

Although I didn't need to be on the reserve because of the New Year break, the tides have looked promising and I decided to give it a try today. It seems that it may have paid off in great style.

Initially the tide was not good - very slow to rise and birds remaining distant. Eventually, though, it did come in. I scanned through the Dunlin flock and picked up a bird with leg flags from Chongming. Searching through the Black-headed Gull flock finally turned up the Mew Gull (#147) that has been around for a few weeks, but I somehow kept missing.

But there was more to come. I picked up an odd-looking plover among the Grey Plovers - only slightly smaller than Grey and with distinct yellow fringes to the upperparts. I was clearly larger/dumpier than Pacific Golden (obvious when seen later in direct comparison), as well as seeming thicker-necked, shorter-legged and shorter-billed. With a poorly-marked head pattern. And a slightly longer primary projection than most PGP (3 or 4 primaries visible). In other words, features that seemed to point towards EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVER!

If it is one, it would be the first for Hong Kong, and a complete surprise. I'm not counting it yet, and I'm hoping someone comes along with better photos in the coming few days (no offence John H - you weren't there for the best viewing conditions). There are more details on the HKBWS website here: http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/redirect...tpost#lastpost and I would welcome any feedback about ID (I haven't seen European GP for several years, and have no experience with American). But fingers crossed on this one for now!

[johnjemi]

No offence taken, John A - FWTW here are three of the shots I took from the HKBWS hide...

And Thanks for a potential HK tick !

[johnallcock]

I was really expecting the Golden Plover to turn up again. When I saw it on Tuesday I was confident that there would be better pictures coming over the next few days. But surprisingly it hasn't been seen since - there have been people looking every day, and I have been out to the mudflat hides at some point every day from Thursday to Sunday - but with no success. It seems the plovers have been getting flushed every day by an Eastern Marsh Harrier, and so have not been showing well most days.

My visits over the last few days have added two more species for the year list: Common Shelduck (#148) and Black-tailed Gull. (#149) I've been really relieved about the Shelduck - it was starting to look like 2012/13 was going to be the first ever year with no records, but fortunately one has finally turned up (just one though!).

And so, the plover. Was it or wasn't it a European GP? I've been back through the notes I took, I've done some background reading, I've taken a look at John H's photo, and I say yes, it has to be. I've been told I didn't sound confident about it before, but actually I am. So, European Golden Plover #150, and probably the top bird for 2013!

[johnallcock]

It had to happen, sooner or later - two flyover Feral Pigeons (#151) this morning. I'm quite surprised I managed to get 52 days (and 150 species) into the year without seeing any!

[johnallcock]

Today was a relatively uneventful rising and high tide. Despite good numbers of birds showing well there was relatively little unusual to be seen. Highlights were two Slaty-backed Gulls, 58 Saunders's Gulls (most looking good in their breeding plumage) and the return of the Marsh Sandpiper flock which has been inexplicably absent for the last few weeks.

But then on the falling tide I witnessed an amazing spectacle which was one of my best birding experiences. It started when almost all of the waders and gulls flushed in panic - this is usually a sign that there is a raptor about, and sure enough a Peregrine came pwering through the flock carrying a small wader (I think a Dunlin).

No sooner had the flock started to settle further away, than the ducks to my left flushed - and another Peregrine came through. This one dived on an Avocet and managed to force it into the wet mud. Being covered in mud, the avocet was unable to fly off and the Peregrine circled around and dived towards it again. It did this repeatedly for several minutes. The avocet managed to get itself close to a curlew, but the peregrine kept bombing them both until the curlew flew off. The peregrine was a first-winter bird, and judging by size was a northern female which should have been capable of taking the avocet, but it seemed to be toying with the avocet, practising it's hunting technique knowing that the avocet couldn't fly off. Eventually, though, the peregrine grabbed the avocet and flew off.

... And after 3 or 4 wingbeats dropped it! The avocet quickly ran towards a Great Egret, presumably to get the same cover it had got from the curlew. Once again the peregrine kept circling around and bombing both birds, forcing the avocet repeatedly into the mud. Eventually the egret flew off, and after a couple more dives, the peregrine again grabbed the avocet and carried it directly towards the hide I was in. As it got closer and closer, I could see it panting as it struggled to carry the extra weight.

I'm not sure what happened, but when it was within about 5m of the hide either the peregrine saw me in the hide or it couldn't handle the effort of gaining height to get onto the hide. Whatever the reason, the result was that it dropped the avocet again! The birds was now so close that the avocet actually landed only a metre or so from the hide. I heard it splat into the mud outside. There was blood on it's neck from the attack. I expected it to run for safety under the hide structure, but instead it opted to head out back into the open.

The peregrine seemed to be bored now, though. It did come back for one last look, but then started hassling birds on the tideline and made a half-hearted attempt at a Moorhen on the mangrove fringe. The avocet meanwhile was able to make it's way back out onto the mudflat to join the others. Sure, it was too muddy to fly, it was looking a mess against the other birds and it was bleeding from the neck, but somehow it had managed to get out of the ordeal alive!

[AndrewHeath]

Wow! Great retelling!

[Neil]

Originally Posted by johnallcock

Today was a relatively uneventful rising and high tide. Despite good numbers of birds showing well there was relatively little unusual to be seen. Highlights were two Slaty-backed Gulls, 58 Saunders's Gulls (most looking good in their breeding plumage) and the return of the Marsh Sandpiper flock which has been inexplicably absent for the last few weeks.

But then on the falling tide I witnessed an amazing spectacle which was one of my best birding experiences. It started when almost all of the waders and gulls flushed in panic - this is usually a sign that there is a raptor about, and sure enough a Peregrine came pwering through the flock carrying a small wader (I think a Dunlin).

No sooner had the flock started to settle further away, than the ducks to my left flushed - and another Peregrine came through. This one dived on an Avocet and managed to force it into the wet mud. Being covered in mud, the avocet was unable to fly off and the Peregrine circled around and dived towards it again. It did this repeatedly for several minutes. The avocet managed to get itself close to a curlew, but the peregrine kept bombing them both until the curlew flew off. The peregrine was a first-winter bird, and judging by size was a northern female which should have been capable of taking the avocet, but it seemed to be toying with the avocet, practising it's hunting technique knowing that the avocet couldn't fly off. Eventually, though, the peregrine grabbed the avocet and flew off.

... And after 3 or 4 wingbeats dropped it! The avocet quickly ran towards a Great Egret, presumably to get the same cover it had got from the curlew. Once again the peregrine kept circling around and bombing both birds, forcing the avocet repeatedly into the mud. Eventually the egret flew off, and after a couple more dives, the peregrine again grabbed the avocet and carried it directly towards the hide I was in. As it got closer and closer, I could see it panting as it struggled to carry the extra weight.

I'm not sure what happened, but when it was within about 5m of the hide either the peregrine saw me in the hide or it couldn't handle the effort of gaining height to get onto the hide. Whatever the reason, the result was that it dropped the avocet again! The birds was now so close that the avocet actually landed only a metre or so from the hide. I heard it splat into the mud outside. There was blood on it's neck from the attack. I expected it to run for safety under the hide structure, but instead it opted to head out back into the open.

The peregrine seemed to be bored now, though. It did come back for one last look, but then started hassling birds on the tideline and made a half-hearted attempt at a Moorhen on the mangrove fringe. The avocet meanwhile was able to make it's way back out onto the mudflat to join the others. Sure, it was too muddy to fly, it was looking a mess against the other birds and it was bleeding from the neck, but somehow it had managed to get out of the ordeal alive!

Wow,Wow,Wow. What excitement. I'll be out there every day next week.
Neil.

[johnallcock]

Spring is clearly setting in around the reserve at the moment. The numbers of ducks and spoonbills seems to be dropping and thrushes seem to have all gone. We have a pair of Spot-billed Ducks which I'm desperately hoping are going to settle to breed. The Yellow-browed Warblers around the car park seem to be singing a lot as well (but of course these won't breed here!).

Of course, one of the things to expect in spring is the arrival of migrants - and that seems to be underway this week. On the mudflats at high tide yesterday lunchtime was a very early Gull-billed Tern (#152) among the gull flock, and there was a foraging Oriental Pratincole (#153) over one of the buffalo enclosures yesterday evening. And then today no less than 16 Oriental Pratincoles on the rice paddy. I am sure there will be more to come in the next few weeks, but I'm starting to worry about the winter birds I've missed so far!

[MKinHK]

I was hoping (in vain) for pratincoles at Pui O this morning.

Are the spotbills harringtoni John?

Cheers
Mike

[johnallcock]

Mike, the Spotbills were zonorhyncha (Chinese). I haven't seen them for the last couple of days though. I'm sure you'll get pratincoles at Pui O eventually. Our flock is still around, and performing very well over the lily pond in the evenings.

A bit of a disaster over the weekend - a punctured bicycle tyre that resulted in me leaving late - turned to my advantage when I heard a Savanna Nightjar (#154) on the walk out of the reserve.

It seems I may have spoken to soon about the thrushes leaving - three Grey-backed and a Pale around the car park early this morning gave me hope that I may still stand a chance with some wintering birds. Out in the intertidal mangroves I had a surprise in the form of a Brown-flanked Bush Warbler (#155) - it's unusual habitat for them out there. There was also a Japanese/Manchurian Bush Warbler singing happily nearby.

The main reason for going out to the mangroves though was another warbler. I've been hearing the same call several times throughout the winter in at least three locations in the mangroves and had my suspicions about ID, so I decided to try a bit of tape-luring. After a couple of minutes with the tape I saw something scurry across under the boardwalk, back and forth a couple of times. And then it started singing back - Styan's Grasshopper Warbler (#156). I never saw it properly, but what do you expect for a Locustella? When I tried at another location, a second bird responded. This species was apparently regularly reported at Mai Po several years ago but seems to have generally slipped off the radar in the last few years. It's reassuring that they're still out there in reasonable numbers, and now that I am confident about the call I can hopefully start to record it more regularly and get a better idea of how many are out there.

[MKinHK]

Good to hear the Styan's are still wintering here John - they're not known to winter in too many other places as I recall.

Cheers
Mike