The Magic Roundabout (5 Viewers)

[MKinHK]

Too much work has kept me off the Roundabout for two of the most productive weeks of the year, but a swift 45 minutes at lunchtime today was magnificently rewarded with a loosely intermingled flock of 16 Oriental Pratincoles and five Oriental Plovers!

Having decided to have a look over the golf course from the footbridge I was very pleased to find a couple of pratincoles hawking along the line of the long pond, despite the ongoing construction works on the APM. BTW I love the idea of APM being a mover of automated people John!

A scan over the fairway then showed a few more pratincoles standing very upright on the ground and a pale-headed bird amongst them that was clearly not a pratincole. . . I was pretty sure it could only be an Oriental Plover but the range was pretty distant and I somehow couldn't find the bird in the first fuzzy digipic I fired off. A closer look at the pic when I downloaded them onto the laptop actually revealed two birds!

Skirting around the edge of the construction works I was able to get substantially closer and after a careful approach had much better views form across the long pond of both birds amongst the pratincoles, along with a couple of Common Sandpipers that were also feeding on the fairway.The bird that first caught my attention was a superb pale-headed male with a rich orange breast band, separated from the white belly by a broad black border - see my second pic, which has more than a hint of a BB record shot circa 1976!

After a while they flipped back over the ridge as I was distracted by the first of eight White-shouldered Starlings and a singleton Silky Starling in the coral trees.
I walked round the far end of the pond hoping to relocate them, picking up five Red-throated Pipits, a Little Egret, and a Grey Heron on the way. Peering over the ridge I was blown away to find not two birds, but three, and eventually two more, to make five Magnificent Oriental Plovers!

They were clearly curious. As I propped the camera against a floodlight pole three different birds stop-started their way towards me over the course of the next 20 minutes, with the closest not more than 25 metres away - a wonderful wonderful moment! The remaining pix speak for themselves as to just how good this was and it was with great reluctance I tore myself away to attend the opening of the airport's almost as magnificent new Midfield Concourse.

A couple of Magpies, a lingering Chinese Blackbird and two more Silky Starlings enlivened the walk back on one of the very best short sessions on the Roundabout.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Gretchen]

Great outing! I think the pratincoles do look quite upright, as though their chinstraps were pulling them up. I've never seen an oriental plover in breeding colors - very smart!

I've been wondering about, but haven't looked into the silky starling mystery: ours have disappeared in the last month. I don't know if they are off quietly breeding, or if they've headed north. Where we had huge flocks, I don't think I've seen one in 4 weeks (admittedly, I haven't been out watching a lot).

 

[MKinHK]

More pratincoles for you Gretchen. . .from another great outing! I expect your silky Starlings have left the city to move to their breeding sites

Another hour at lunchtime on Friday revealed that just one Oriental Plover had remained on the golf course along with the Oriental Pratincoles. These were the stars of the day as several birds allowed close approach and my shots were pretty good - even if I do say so myself!

It was a good day for waders - as two Common Sandpipers remained from yesterday, a Green Sandpiper dropped onto the Long Pond and two Swintail Snipe flushed from code to the fence just as I was leaving.

Other good birds included a calling Chestnut Bulbul, the pandoo Blue Rock Thrush, a taivana Yellow Wagtail, 15 or so Scaly-breasted Munias and an Intermediate Egret compete with black bill and aigrettes extending beyond the tail. The Red-throated and Richard's Pipits were again present, as were the Silky and White-shouldered Starlings as was a fine male Red Turtle Dove that I forgot to add in to yesterday's report.

Heading over to the Roundabout proper a Rufous-tailed Robin and an unexpected Asian Stubtail were on the Western Tangle, along with a few thrushes that refused to show until a male Grey-backed Thrush sat up briefly on the Eastern Tangle and an immature male Japanese Thrush and another Grey-backed Thrush both showed briefly on the Core Area to close a very productive first session in the new quarter.

Cheers
Mike

 

[JWN Andrewes]

and my shots were pretty good - even if I do say so myself!

Entirely justifiably; splendid portrait of a splendid bird.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Love the second pratincole, Mike. And Oriental Plover! I guess they DO exist!

 

[Dong Bei]

Wow Mike, two great birds in the same frame!

 

[MKinHK]

Waking up to a misty morning I fancied the chance of a flycatcher or two at the Roundabout . . . and scored with a fine male Narcissus Flycatcher on the Western Tangle. It dematerialised, but re-appeared in the trees across the street and spent a few minutes hunting at and below eye level, giving fine views of its black upper parts, white wingbar, dazzling yellow underparts , rump and super, and a glowing orange throat. Other birds here included a Dusky Warbler and a male Japanese Thrush, plus a couple of Silky Starlings on the Northern Edge.

The golf course was significantly birdier, with pride of place going to the 18 Oriental Pratincoles in a tight flock on the island in the round pond and a fine total of 27 White-shouldered Starlings which were enjoying the coral trees. I was pleased to pick up two Swintail Snipe on my way out, and to add a male philippensis Blue Rock Thrush on top of the old clubhouse to the list for the quarter.

Four Common Sandpipers were I think a new high count, while the smart Intermediate Egret in full breeding plumage continued to stalk the patches of longer grass.

Wednesday was a touch quieter and a whole lot more humid. Several thrushes proved elusive on the Tangles and there were generally lower numbers birds on the golf course.

Among them however were a subadult Black-crowned Night Heron (my first this year), two Great Egrets and Grey Herons, the Intermediate Egret, two Little Ringed Plovers, 12 Oriental Pratincoles, 3 Red Turtle Doves, 20 Red-throated Pipits, which I somehow failed to see the day before and an odd-looking female Kestrel with a distinctive grey rump. I was also pleased to record a new high of three Swintail Snipe, a Grey-backed Thrush, and just three White-shouldered Starlings.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

Friday lunchtime continued the pattern of the week - humid sunny days with little evidence of passage elsewhere in Hong Kong being reflected with a very quiet first half on the Roundabout proper. Just a single thrush sp. called and did not show, and half dozen Scaly-breasted Munias were loitering n the edge of the waterlogged ditch on the Western Tangle.

I arrived at the golf course to find all the Oriental Pratincoles in the air before drifting down to land just over the ridge on the far side of the golf course.They had actually already helped my day as a couple had distracted me from my pre-lunchtime meeting by flying past the seventh-floor room I was in. The Intermediate Egret was again patrolling the long grass and a single male White-shouldered Starling was very relaxed by my approach to his Coral Tree, allowing my my best-ever shots of this species.

The long pond held a couple of glorious taivana Yellow Wagtails, two Common Sandpipers and -big surprise - a couple of Common Redshanks. This is more significant than it sounds. there are very few records away from Deep Bay, and they were my 170th species on the Roundabout. OK, not that significant, but at least it made me happy. The birds were an interesting pair - one very well marked on the breast and generally darker, and the other a much paler and less spotted individual.

The pratincoles were all together in a a tight group where furrows had been cut from the turf. I eventually settled on a count of 19 and again enjoyed getting close to a truly beautiful bird. Also in the same area were two male Red Turtle Doves wandering about on the road, a five or six Richard's Pipits and the same flock of 20-odd Red-throated Pipits and a male philippensis Blue Rock Thrush and a Little Ringed Plover dropped into the long pond as I returned to the office.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Allen S. Moore]

Amazing photo of the pratincole!

 

[thirudevaram]

Mike, it's time to get a Ramsar status for the HK airport ;-)

 

[MKinHK]

Many thanks for the kind words about the pratincole gents.

The heavy overcast weather with a near permanent threat of rain promised a few new species today, and while I was hoping for flycatchers and bee-eaters, the core area was silent except for a couple of "pink" calls from deep in a bush that revealed a Sakhalin/Pale-legged Leaf Warbler and a few thrushes that barely gave the slightest hint of a view.

Once again it was the golf course that delivered with three or four simillima a single macronyx Yellow Wagtail, all in magnificent plumage on the edges of the Long Pond. Interestingly I didm''t see a taivana all day.

The Redshanks had gone, but had been replaced by four lovely Long-tailed Stints, while the coral trees on the northwestern side held a first Brown Shrike for the quarter , two male Red Turtle Doves, 13 White-shouldered Starlings, and another Swintail Snipe, while a pristine male Stejneger's Stonechat and a equally fine Chinese Pond Heron in the Grassy Strip between the golf course and the road were both new for the year.

Regulars included the grey-rumped female Eurasian Kestrel, a philippensis Blue Rock Thrush, two Common Sandpipers and an LRP, a dozen Red-throated Pipits, three Richard's Pipits and two Grey Herons.

The seven new birds today, which brought the total to 56 species ensured that this would be a record second quarter (April - June) after just 12 days, but given how swiftly passage thins out as April progresses, it pretty much a question of now or never if I really want to post a big score. Thankfully more rain is forecast for the rest of the week, and hopefully this will deliver a few more migrants.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

More rain overnight and through the morning did indeed deliver a terrific fall of migrants. I started on the Core Area with my second male Narcissus Flycatcher of the spring. This one was higher up and no where near as confiding as the bird from a week ago, but that was OK as I was distracted by a couple of thrush calls and eventually cracking views of one of what turned out to be five Eye-browed Thrushes - I love curious birds!

It too - and also a male - was high in a tree, but since it sat still and even allowed me to fire off a few shots I was absolutely delighted, loving the fact that these bigger, longer-winged thrushes were here - especially after a brute of a morning in the office.

An Asian Brown Flycatcher had also shown up - after an absence spanning the whole of the last quarter. I later picked up another on the Northern Edge - along with a male Blue-and-white Flycatcher, after drawing blank on the Tangles.

I only had a few minutes on the golf course, but how glad I am I went. The closest fairways were carpeted in a fifty-strong flock of Red-throated Pipits and Yellow Wagtails - twenty-odd macronyx, three or four each of simillima and taivana and then, arriving with a slightly harsher call, an absolutely stonking male Citrine Wagtail! (171).

The great Douglas Adams once described the impact of the Pangalactic Gargleblaster - the greatest cocktail in the galaxy - as like having your brains smashed in by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick. The impact of this bird on my eyeballs and central cortex was not dissimilar - except with the extra "SCHLACK!" of lightning striking right next to me. What a bird! Grey back and rump, white edged tertials and tail, whopping white wing bars, a coal-black velvet collar across the back of the neck and that almost blindingly yellow head and breast. SCHLAACK! SCHLAACK! SCHLAAK! It's probably no bad thing for my sanity that it only hung about for a couple of minutes before flying off across the construction site and out of view, but I did grab a single photo to commemorate one of my all-time favourite birds on the Roundabout. It doesn't do it justice, but nonetheless the pic below id best viewed with protective eyewear.

I calmed down a bit after that and started dreaming about finding a Pechora Pipit in the wagtail/pipit flock and . . . nope, not a one. Distraction came in the form of four newly arrived Black Drongos, four Common Sandpipers on the lawn - the rain and filled the pond so that there was no edge for waders, the pandoo Blue Rock Thrush, and for reasons unexplained the Eye-browed Thrushes made a couple of flyovers, obviously desperate to be seen.
The final good bird was a Wood Sandpiper which dropped onto a waterlogged bunker. I also had a couple of White-shouldered Starlings, but hope springs eternal for a Daurian Starling or even better - a Chestnut-cheeked Starling!

Cheers
Mike

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Great find!

 

[Dong Bei]

Mike,

Loved your description. I've only seen 1 full out male here over the years. Glad it only stayed a few minutes and that your health remains in tact!

 

[MKinHK]

Many thanks Jeff and Tom - health remains intact although I did try to really blow my mind by going back for a second look today. It wan't there, but I'm not sure whether to be relieved or not.

With continuing murky skies the likelihood of more migrants remained high, and the Core Area - in a nice run of form - again provided an excellent start. I had brief views of at least two of the Eye-browed Thrushes on the ground, a male Narcissus Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warbler and another warbler with a yellow lower mandible that was probably, but not certainly Two-barred Warbler.

The pick of the bunch however was a wonderful Grey Nightjar, which initially zipped of too fast to have any idea what it was. Presumably another curious bird, it re-appeared on a slender snag some 30 seconds later and gave the most wonderful views, and certainly the best I've ever had of this species.

Well happy I headed for the Tangles where I picked up a Dusky Warbler, another Eye-browed Thrush and a second male Narcissus Flycatcher. The Northern Edge also delivered - a second Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warbler and my second patch tick in two days a disappointingly flighty and elusive female Siberian Blue Robin! (172)

I got onto what I thought was a largish warbler at the top of the heavily shaded trees hard against the wall of the power station, and was surprised to see how plain it looked (including very white under tail coverts, how pale the legs and feet were and that it was frenetically dipping its tail. Not with the measured dip . dip . dip of a Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warbler but much faster and with much shorter dips.(just like in this Youtube clip). I can't have watched it for more than five seconds before it shot off never to be seen again, but I'm delighted nonetheless!

After all that the golf course somehow managed not to be an anti-climax, with a round dozen Oriental Pratincoles (I forgot to mention six the day before), a fine male Mugimaki Flycatcher and a flukey flyover Grey-headed Lapwing just as I was leaving. A couple of Black Drongos remained as did the Red-throated, Olive-backed and Richard's Pipits and a solitary Silky Starling. There was no sign of Mr Boom Schlaak-a-laak (a.k.a. Captain Lemonhead) among the significantly lower numbers of Yellow Wagtails, but the Common Sandpipers remained in residence and at least Asian Brown Flycatcher showed while another flycatcher I think was a female Blue-and-White was less co-operative as it failed to catch a moth.

Long may the dark clouds linger!

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

With barely 45 minutes today and distracted by a phone call I didn't do the Roundabout justice today, but did have my first decent views of a Pale-legged/ Sakhalin Leaf Warbler and a female Narcissus Flycatcher on the Core Area, plus a full blown male Chinese Pond Heron flushed off the grassy patch and a wonderful pale-crowned lucionensis Brown Shrike staring hard at at me on the Western Tangle.

Apart form that, a flyby of ten Silky Starlings and a Black Drongo above the Northern Edge were the best I could manage - albeit without a visit to the golf course. I also need to add an Oriental Turtle Dove that flew across the golf course yesterday.

Chris Campion visited in the morning and had 2 Fantail Snipe and a Blue Magpie, both of which would have been new for the quarter, plus the Grey-headed Lapwing, the Eye-browed Thrushes, the pratincoles (18) and some of the other
birds seen over the last few days.

It looks like there will be warmer sunnier weather over the weekend, but its been an excellent spell with three patch ticks in five days plus the Oriental Plovers and the Pratincoles on the first of April kicking off what's been a record spring quarter - with two-and-a-half months still to go!

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

The birding has been so good this week that I was back again on Saturday morning for a much less hurried visit. As expected the day was warmer, sunnier and the overnight wind had veered to the southeast.

The new-mown Grassy Patch immediately delivered - an Asian Brown Flycatcher and a female Red Turtle Dove that I believe was newly in rather than one of the long-stayers from the golf course. A small silent passerine deep in a hedge on the Core Area was more frustrating as I got nowhere near enough to even start stringing into something good and as I could hear thrushes calling across the road I headed over to the Tangles, picking up the briefest of views of an Eye-browed Thrush, and a Chinese Pond Heron lurking by the waterlogged ditch.

An interesting female narcissus-type flycatcher was also lurking about in the same area at ankle level giving occasional good views and skulking deep in cover the rest of the time. It surprised me by showing a couple of wing bars and a paler area around the eye and lores, as well as darker scalloping on the sides of the throat and upper breast. The overall colour was very washed out olive grey, but once when it sat looking straight at me the head looked even less colourless than the slightly buff-tinged throat. I have wondered about a very washed-out Mugimaki Flycatcher as the upper wingbar fits some of the pix, but the overall jizz was always better for one of the narcissus types.

The Northern Edge was silent except for a solitary Silky Starling but the Golf Course was simply wonderful. As second Grey-headed Lapwing had joined Thursday's bird (which had also been seen on Friday). They looked fabulous stalking around in the meadow before walking carefully over the brow of the slope. Just as they did a Common Myna (173) flew up from the grass and perched in one of the fairway coral trees. It's hardly the most exciting addition to the patch list, but it is the fifth this month!

Skirting round the Oriental Pratincoles hunkered down in the turf furrows I edged round the Long Pond, picking up a very approach pair of Little Buntings on the edge of a bunker along with a simillima Yellow Wagtail and the usual scattering of Richards's and Red-throated Pipits, many of the latter looking sharp in their brick-pink breeding plumage. I was again able to come very close to a couple of other Oriental Pratincoles, and took full advantage with a few more pix, before leaving them to check the line of coral trees on the northeastern boundary.

These typically hold Red Turtle Doves and White-shouldered Starling and duly delivered five and twenty five of each respectively, but the big bonus was flushing my second Siberian Blue Robin of the week - a first summer male which stopped briefly to bob on a low branch before slipping into the invisible gloom. The question is: would the attached shot pass be enough for a records committee if it had been found on Scilly or Shetland or Attu?

Wandering back past the still-too-full pond I was pleased to pick up a lone White-cheeked Starling, which has somehow eluded me all winter, then flushed a rather pale Swintail Snipe. I re-found the Common Myna in a tree above the pump house along with my first Oriental Reed Warbler of the spring. The same row of trees held more Eye-browed Thrushes, a solitary Black Drongo, an Asian Brown Flycatcher and as I was leaving an adult male Siberian Blue Robin in full breeding plumage flushed up from the grassy corridor, but gave only the briefest of views before disappearing. other bits and pieces in a day which delivered 43 species -a new spring record - included a flock of 30-odd Scaly-breasted Munias, Dusky, Yellow-browed and Sakhalin/Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, a Barn Swallow that zipped through heading northeast and an unusually high count of three Black Kites.

Cheers
Mike

 

[thirudevaram]

Despite losing the golf course, roundabout is doing very well. Lovely Shots Mike.

 

[MKinHK]

Having missed most of the week for a conference in Australia my return to the Roundabout today continued just where I left off last week with two long-staying Eye-browed Thrushes and a Wryneck on the Core Area, plus a super bright male Narcissus Flycatcher on the Western Tangle.

I got gently rained on while surveying the golf course, but my persistence despite the weather delivered half-a-dozen Cattle Egrets, a patch-first Common Greenshank (174) lurking on the edges of the pond and just my second ever Chinese Goshawk here. I also enjoyed being dive-bombed by eight Oriental Pratincoles whipping in right over my head in a tightly formed squadron to sit out the rain.

Other lingering migrants included eight or ten Red-throated Pipits, and a Red Turtle Dove.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

A couple of very similar days on the Roundabout this week.

First off the Eye-browed Thrushes and Oriental Pratincoles have finally moved on. Both gave wonderful performances over their extended stays and the roundabout feels a less exciting place without them.

So what was about? My star bird was a terrific Pacific Golden Plover in full breeding plumage that had taken over the furrows from the Pratincoles. Other new arrivals included no less than 45 Yellow Wagtails - 3/4 of which were simillima and the rest taivana, six Cattle Egrets, a male Yellow-breasted Bunting coming into breeding plumage, a hepatic Plaintive Cuckoo, and after a gap of a couple of weeks four White-shouldered Starlings just as I was leaving today.

Lingerers included the Common Greenshank, which I finally got a reasonable shot of today, two Swintail Snipe, four Common Sandpipers, at least five Red-Turtle Doves - the males magnificent in their grey and maroon breeding plumage, a couple of Red-throated Pipits, ten Richard's Pipits and a briefly-seen Blue Rock Thrush which I think was philippensis.

Other birds and pieces included House Swifts seen over the Scenic Hill from the bus, as well as an accipiter which was probably besra, but just to far away to confirm.

There was noting of note on the Roundabout proper except an intriguing small dark passerine the came up from a ditch on the Eastern Tangle, but always sat so I couldn't see a single bit of detail.

Cheers
Mike