[MKinHK]

Before I start reporting a quick introduction to my local patch.

I am blessed with a wonderful local patch. It comprises an area of very high quality subtropical forest habitat - Ng Tung Chai Special Area - which starts at the back edge of my village, and the area around the village, which is surrounded by farmland principally given over to flower cultivation, interspersed with copses of mature feng shui trees, and a fast flowing boulder stream, which comes out of the forest. The village is on a NE facing slope at the top of a valley, with views of the first line of hills in China about 10 miles away (whern the haze allows).

The area is superb for Eastern Palearctic migrants, with a good supporting cast of SE China forest and farmland residents. I'm the only birder to do this site regularly as the path into the forest is pretty steep and pampered Honkies love their escalators! With a touch of true birder selfishness this means that I consider all the birds there as mine, and I find the vast majority of good birds that occur here. Other birder do visit, but often in groups that are too big for the narrow confines of forest birding

I also compete directly with Hong Kong's biggest and best-covered forest site - Tai Po Kau - which has the benefit of a much bigger area, a large network of paths and mostly a dedicated team who work it pretty much every day of the year (including one of the Park staff).

I am not so dedicated and pack in for the hot birdless summer; usually some time in early-mid may and start again in late August /early September, when the autumn migrants start arriving and post-breeding moult is finished. I do still record birds from home - a third floor flat in a village house with wonderful views down the valley and views from the roof of the surrounding grassy and wooded slopes.

I don't keep a strict patch list as the boundaries are not particularly well defined, but know in my head when I add a new one. I've lived here for four years and moved here becuase I used to visit to go birding, starting in 1994.

Its always been a magical place for me because on my first visit - a grim Boxing day afternoon - I trudged up to through an apparently birdless, dark and very steep valley to discover a temple with an ornate garden like something out of a James Bond movie, and three waterfalls I didn't know were there! The third waterfall is 20m high and you have no idea its there until you're right in front of it - quite breathtaking!

As I sat down to catch my breath (in both senses) in front of the waterfall I looked up and noticed a movement in the branches above me - Hong Kong's 15th Fujian Niltava and a cracking male! It helpfully stayed around and allowed great views. Then a few minutes ino my descent Hong's Kong's 7th Japanese Robin - another cracking male -hopped onto the path and stared at me for a good minute or so - just fantastic and never to be forgotten!

Actually today was pretty quiet on the way up - there has been some wind damage froma couple of typhoons over the summer, but that may help to open up some areas which were becoing too overgrown, and open some new views across the valley. I have great views of Mountain Tailorbird - one of our recent colonists (NTC is its stronghold in HK) - and heard the distinctive "High - low" whistle of Pygmy Wren Babbler - which has also become established in the last couple of years.

On the way down the resident pair of Besra were circling overhead, a Crested Serpent Eagle, also resident, but passage of birds from China should start soon, and a group of Greater Necklaced Laughing Thrushes were a nice surprise - I only see them 4-5 times a year.

No migrants, but a full 7-8 months of birding to look forward to!

[Mark Bruce]

Looking forward to hearing more !

[MKinHK]

Meant to get up and go into the forest this morning, but overslept.

Someone was smiling on me today as a female Black-winged Cuckooshrike flew out and around the valley as I was walking out of the village - my first passerine migrant!

3 weeks earlier than my previous earliest date.

One minute later a pair of Grey Treepies looped over the path. They're a resident species, but appear afer a long silent summer at Ng Tung Chai in Sept/Oct.

Four days earlier than previous, but NB for both - this is ony the fourth year of residence here.

[Mark Bruce]

The Black-winged Cuckooshrike is a great spot. One from my wanted list. We only get them as vagrants.

[MKinHK]

Originally Posted by Mark Bruce

The Black-winged Cuckooshrike is a great spot. One from my wanted list. We only get them as vagrants.

Its a regular pasage and winter bird in HK, often found with mixed flocks in good forest in winter. Last winter a pair hung around the village from September until April.

I frequently saw them from my flat in a tree that attracts lots of good stuff; a Chinese Pond Heron, a Japanese White-eye and a couple of Spotted Munias there at present. There'a also a Long-tailed Shrike competing to see who can make the most noise with a car alarm in the village car park.

How is the rebuttal to the Govt claptrap on the dam/reservoir going?

[Mark Bruce]

We have the Large Cuckooshrike as a rare resident but the Black-winged Cuckooshrike is a real vagrant for us. Guess I need to make a Hong Kong trip. Our Grey Treepie are very noisy. Summer, winter they shout. I've posted an update on the dam in the Hushan thread.

[Icemano]

Seems like you are having some great birding up in Hong Kong, I only wish our large, Vietnamese cities could offer such magnificence birding, now you have to go to some of the remote place to get decent birding here.

Looking forward to hearing more

[MKinHK]

Originally Posted by Icemano

Seems like you are having some great birding up in Hong Kong, I only wish our large, Vietnamese cities could offer such magnificence birding, now you have to go to some of the remote place to get decent birding here.

Looking forward to hearing more

Hi Icemano: Nobody shoots birds here - either with rifles or catapaults. I remember being shocked to see a guy with an air rifle shooting bulbuls in a park in Hanoi, From my visits Vietnam seems a bit like China - you need to get into the reserves to see birds in any numbers - I've had superb visits to Cuc Phuong and Cat Tien - and next to nothing from the trian in between.

[MKinHK]

Originally Posted by Mark Bruce

We have the Large Cuckooshrike as a rare resident but the Black-winged Cuckooshrike is a real vagrant for us. Guess I need to make a Hong Kong trip. Our Grey Treepie are very noisy. Summer, winter they shout. I've posted an update on the dam in the Hushan thread.

Lareg Cuckooshrike has been claimed but never accepted in HK and is a rare bird in neighbouring Guangdong province. Most of my treepie are done on call as well, although yesterday's birds birds were strangely silent.

I find the differences in Taiwan/HK migrants and winterers very interesting, and would love to do more birding in Taiwan. I just had bits of a couple of days during a BirdLife conference in 2003 and it really whetted my appetite - especially the central mountains. I covet both your pheasants especially and would love to see more Fairy Pittas - I fluked a migrant in highly unsuitable habitat a few years ago.

[Mark Bruce]

Our Large Cuckooshrike are very rare but there is a pair in the Sun Moon Lake area that is being seen fairly regularly at present.

Give me a shout if you want to go chasing Fairy Pittas. There are some Swinhoe's Pheasant in the same area and those central mountains are pretty close too.

[MKinHK]

Originally Posted by Mark Bruce

Our Large Cuckooshrike are very rare but there is a pair in the Sun Moon Lake area that is being seen fairly regularly at present.

Give me a shout if you want to go chasing Fairy Pittas. There are some Swinhoe's Pheasant in the same area and those central mountains are pretty close too.

Hi Mark

I'll be sure to get in touch if I come to Taiwan. Likewise if you're coming down to HK do let me know.

Just saw your local patch thread for the first time and am intrigued by the similarities and differences and totlly seduced by the pix of Fairy Pitta - even the pik in the hand immedisately made me think - I want one of those - and I want it in Ng Tung Chai. We have no pheasants, and Fairy Pitta is basically a very scarce Setember migrant - about one every 3-5 years.

Malayan Night Heron has a toehold in HK - bred 2 years ago and odd birds pop u here and there - another one that belongs in a well forested ravine with a good stream!

No Maroon Orioles either, but a passage Silver Oriole, although never recorded in HK, would not be beyond the realms of possibility - just thinking of it freaks me out!

[MKinHK]

Dragged myself up for yet another late start at 8:30 (but only 3 hours after going to be, to be fair!) and a cracking morning of early autumn forest birding!

After Wednesday's migrant-free walk I had low expectations, and the first 20 minutes did nothing to dispel this - the forest was just about silent, until I got to what I call "don't dip dell" - its a vile name, but I've never been able to get it out of my head, and its spot on for accuracy!

Today was no exception.

I found a flycatcher sp. hunting from a tree stump newly created by the typhoon. Irritatingly it was just too far away to see any useful features, but my best guess is Dark-sided Flycatcher . I thought about going home to get my scope, as one of my big HK target birds is Brown Chested Jungle Flycatcher . . . and now is the time. But further views of it hunting showed that it did not have a reddish tail and it looked if anythink slimmer and smaller than Asian Brown Fly - while BCJF should be bigger, dumpier and have a reddish tail.

However, compensation was close at hand - I picked up a young and very foolish Asian Paradise Flycatcher (well it must have been to come all the way in in response to my pishing), a Hainan Blue Flycatcher (HK's only breeding flycatcher), and an Eastern Crowned Warbler. A moulting Chestnut Bulbul kept pretending to be the Asian Para, but convinced no-one. I watched this little group for bout 30 minutes - this is what Ng Tung Chai in autumn is all about!

I then had another go at the mystery flycatcher on the stump, and as I did another flycatcher zipped through my bins, flashing a patch of yellow - and perched just above the stump - as if checking out the quality of the other flycatcher's perch. A Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, and on the same day as I had it in 2004. I've never seen more than 2 in a year - so a good one to nail down.

Living by my birding maxim "always be greedy" I carried on up the path and added nothing at all until my usual turning point at the lower waterfall.
I decided to make a conscious effort to go slow on the way back, and got distracted by a pair of singing Mountain Tailorbirds - bright yellow belly, grey breast, chestnut cap, a strong cream supercilium and a jauntily-cocked tail.

It was definitely a day of dopey birds - my pishing worked a treat again and they emerged to give terrific views. Better still out from behind them came two more Eastern Crowned Warblers - and another Asian Para!

One of the toughest things about NTC is working out how many individuals of a given species you see - I was only about 300m away from don't dip dell. In the end it didn't matter as I found 2 Asian Paras together (which again gave wonderful close views) with a couple of Eastern Crowneds and an Arctic Warbler!

I also had a cracking view of a Lesser Shortwing (not a common phrase if you don't use tape playback!). This is a recent colonist of woodland habitats in HK and is notoriously skulking. There is one male on a particular bend of the path that gets arsey if anyone hangs about on what is obviously "his bend". The song is made up of clear, loud musical notes, with the third the loudest. Its gven very much as if a parkie sneaked up behind a bunch of kids and shouted "what the BLOODY hell are you lot doing on my grass!"

I sat on the path and pished and waited. It sang again. after a minute a small brown shape appeared in a tangle of dead branches on the slope above the path. A scruffy male in post breeding moult (showing a very long bill and only one white supercilium) carefully checked me out, and just like a parkie realising that nobody's broken any rules, he grudgingly retreated. Fantastic!

On the way out I foud a bright green 2 ft long snake on the path. These require careful checking as White-lipped Pit Viper (usually referred to as Bamboo Ssnake is pretty common in HK. They're not really dangerous - as long as you see them - as they're as sluggish as a sluggardly slug with a limp. But this was a harmless and beautiful young Greater Green Snake - just my second ever in HK (the other was at NTC too). These lack the squat tirangular "viper" head, and are all green - the viper has a reddish tail and yellow belly.

While enjoying the snake I heard a possible Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, but it was far down the bank and close to the noise of the river - one for another day.

[Mark Bruce]

Sounds like a good morning. Some nice sightings!

[MKinHK]

Originally Posted by Mark Bruce

Sounds like a good morning. Some nice sightings!

Quieter this morning - just one Asian Para, a Pale-legged Leaf/Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, and a juvenile Mountain Tailorbird - proof of breeding two years in a row now for this recent colonist.

Also glad I didn't try to twitch a Brown Chested Jungle Flycatcher found on an off island yesterday. A good thing as I would have had to blow out my church, my hockey team and my girlfriend, for a bird that went overnight!

I'd far rather find my own in NTC - and this is the week! More ealy starts ahead.

[Mark Bruce]

Best of luck spotting a Brown Chested Jungle Flycatcher in NTC.

[MKinHK]

Originally Posted by Mark Bruce

Best of luck spotting a Brown Chested Jungle Flycatcher in NTC.

Thanks Mark

No luck today, but any day you see an Asian Para is pretty good in my book! That's a good thing because there wasn't much else today except a flock of around 50 Grey-chinned Minivets. Not special in themselves, but often act as carriers for other goodies as the autumn/winter progresses.

I did see one Hong Kong Cascade Frog - a very dark-colored HK endemic which is common here, but excellent at cryptic camouflage. However, this is not much use if it sits on a bright green banana leaf!

[MKinHK]

A pic of Ng Tung Chai Village. The forest is up to the left, but starts right at the edge of the village.

This close patch held an asian Para and a Mugimaki Flyactcher this morning.

The Mugi is early by 5-6 weeks!

also this morning a female Hainan Bue Fly, an Arctic Warbler and an Eastern Crowned Warbler.

[Mark Bruce]

All great sightings. Wouldn't mind seeing all those flycatchers on a morning in my local patch. A flock of around 50 Grey-chinned Minivets is also a really beautiful sight.

[MKinHK]

Originally Posted by Mark Bruce

Best of luck spotting a Brown Chested Jungle Flycatcher in NTC.

WEll I did see one today - a major HK tick for me .. . but it was not in Ng Tung Chai, but at Kap Lung - a site on another slope of the same mountain!

Feel slightly that I've missed out on the chance of a HK tick on my patch list,but decided this is too rare a bird ( less than ten records, several of which ar still pending) to be ignored for being 5km in the wrong direction!

However, I did do NTC this morning and saw a juvenile Crested Goshawk bumbling ineffectively about not catching anything, and wonderful views of the male Hainan Blue Flycatcher again.

No migrants at all today, but there has been rain, and more forecast overnight, so hopefully tomorrow will bring a new influx - I'm targetting Sibe Blue Robin, Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (both annual here), Forest Wagtail (big hole in the list) and from the "beyond my wildest dreams" file, Mountain Hawk Eagle!

[Mark Bruce]

Well done ! A very nice tick.

[MKinHK]

Originally Posted by MKinHK

However, I did do NTC this morning and saw a juvenile Crested Goshawk bumbling ineffectively about not catching anything, and wonderful views of the male Hainan Blue Flycatcher again.

No migrants at all today, but there has been rain, and more forecast overnight, so hopefully tomorrow will bring a new influx - I'm targetting Sibe Blue Robin, Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (both annual here), Forest Wagtail (big hole in the list) and from the "beyond my wildest dreams" file, Mountain Hawk Eagle!

A first winter Siberian Blue Robin duly turned up this morning - my second of the year (after a cracking adult male in April). Its hard not to like birds that like feeding on paths - I flushed this guy off without getting properly onto it, but he just dropped onto some steps 10 yards ahead, and gave great views for a couple of minutes.

It always feels great when you call them before you find them (it just doesn't happen very often!)

I also heard a Pale-legged Leaf/ Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, and had Velvet -fronted Nuthatch for the fourth day in a row - equalling my total number of records from this site in four years of residence!

Cheers
Mike

PS thanks Mark - its still sinking in - and ever hopeful of nailing my own here before the month is out!

What do you have in the way of passage in the Fairy woodland? It would be interesting to compare passage dates.

[Mark Bruce]

More good birds. Sadly, Huben is a little too far inland to be a good site for passage migrants. It does get fair numbers of raptors passing through in late September to mid October and fair numbers of Chinese Sparrowhawk, Grey-faced Buzzard, and some Oriental Honey-buzzard can be seen. In early May there are always a few sightings of Ruddy Kingfisher and last September we had our first Dollarbirds. I think that places like Chigu and Beigang would be better for comparing notes, as being on the coast, they get fair numbers of passage migrants moving through. Hopefully I'll get to them soon and we can compare notes on what's passing through.

[MKinHK]

Originally Posted by Mark Bruce

More good birds. Sadly, Huben is a little too far inland to be a good site for passage migrants. It does get fair numbers of raptors passing through in late September to mid October and fair numbers of Chinese Sparrowhawk, Grey-faced Buzzard, and some Oriental Honey-buzzard can be seen. In early May there are always a few sightings of Ruddy Kingfisher and last September we had our first Dollarbirds. I think that places like Chigu and Beigang would be better for comparing notes, as being on the coast, they get fair numbers of passage migrants moving through. Hopefully I'll get to them soon and we can compare notes on what's passing through.

I had a couple of Chinese Sparrowhawks one day last spring. They are a common spring migrant in Hong Kong, but don't appear at all in autumn, and Grey-faced Buzzards are the same, but come through in smaller numbers. I've had two different birds landing on telegraph poles in the village in foggy weather.

Now is the time for Oriental Honey Buzzards here, and I am checking out all Crested Serpent Eagles very carefully - I had my first two last year.

Your Ruddy Kingfishers are like a knife in the gut! We had the first ever in Hong Kong this year on an off island and I twice went and dipped, but the island itself (Po Toi) gave me so many good birds this year it seems churlish to complain!

Dollarbirds should be coming through from about now - they gather on electric wires high above the valley. My high count is 14 birds together in 2004, but I usually see ones and twos in late September and early October.


and today's birds . . .

an Asian Paradise Flycatcher and a couple of Pale-legged Leaf/Sakhalin Leaf Warblers showed well, and a very briefly seen Yellow-browed Warbler would be the earliest autumn record if accepted. An Asian Brown Flycatcher also showed nicely on a broken-off branch.

Apart from that there were lots of our resident "plastics" - Silver-eared Mesia and Blue-winged Minla (Velvet-fronted Nuthatch is also one from this category), as well as the usual spread of common residents including Rufous-capped Babbler, Chinese, Chestnut & Crested Bulbul, Common and Mountain Tailorbird, Japanese White-eye, Fork-tailed Sunbird, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, and Great Tit A Crested Serpent Eagle called overhead around noon.

Cheers
Mike

[Mark Bruce]

Ruddy Kingfishers are few and far between in Huben. This year there was one spotted in the area. I didn't see it. You do get far more Flycatchers than Huben. Only Grey-streaked Flycatcher; Black-naped Blue Monarch; Ferruginous Flycatcher; and Vivid Niltava have been recorded.

[MKinHK]

My birding started dramatically when an Asian Paradise Flycatcher flew straight at me! It came to within a couple of feet before veering away. I think it was after a small yellow butterfly and was so intent on catching it that it didn't see me until the last second. The remainder of my normal walk was quiet except for another Asian Para seem briefly in a tree overhanging the river some 50 metres below.

With no pressure to go to work because it was Saturday I decided to climb higher up into the valley. And climb is the word - there is a very steep path that passes two waterfalls with only short sections of the trail being flatter and easier to bird. However, the forest here is excellent with large, mature trees and large birds-nest ferns and tree ferns, especially close the the river which flows faster between large boulders.

The only good bird was a Mountain Bulbul which sat out above the canopy for a few seconds. This is another recent colonist to Ng Tung Chai and other upland forest areas in HK, but still in small numbers. This part of the forest was very quiet so I took some time to look fo Hong Kong Cascade Frog, an endemic species that loves boulder-strewn rivers. I found over 20 of this very cryptically coloured frog.

As I pushed on up yet another steep section to the Top Falls I came across a mixed flock which contained a couple of Asian Paras, making four in total and giving me a new site record for this species, and an Eastern Crowned Warbler, as well as several Blue-winged Minlas and Japanese White-eyes. I folowed the flock for a while, trying to turn one of the Paras in Japanese Paradise Flycatcher - which look rather similar to Asian in the autumn - just hints of a maroon wash to the back and tail, but no luck.

There was a Grey Wagtail wandering around at the the impressive, 30m high Top Falls, where I stopped to drink from the river. Its a beautiful spot, but worth noting that 2 people have died from falling here within the last year, and two more had died about 15 years ago in a landslide along the path I was about to take!

As I drew level with the top of the falls I entered the clouds that had been gathering, but this did not stop me seeing my first Chestnut Bulbuls of the day - a juvenile with three adults. I also pished a phyllosc out of the fog, which never showed enough for identification, but was either Eastern Crowned or Arctic Warbler.

Arriving at the junction where the path either climbs to the top of Tai Mo Shan through good habitat for Large Grass Warbler or returns to the valley I started my descent and after coming out of the cloud found another mixed flock comprising Red-billed Leiothrix (silly name - I'll use the inaccurate old favourite Pekin Robin from now on), Blue winged Minlas, Streak-breasted Scimitar Babblers, Rufous-capped Babblers, and both Arctic and Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warblers. There was also a female Hainan Blue Flycatcher and, a scarce bird in this area, Yellow-bellied Prinia.

My last bird of the day before the rain came down was a Sooty Flycatcher, showing heavy streaks on the breast, but with too much darkness on the underparts to be Grey-streaked, which should also be coming through over the next few weeks.