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Birding in Hong kong? (1 Viewer)

M

Mattias Ullman

Member
Hi!
Any birders from Hong kong here? Me and a friend will go to Hong kong for bird watching in early April. Main interest is waders (and Mai Po), but also possible Siberian passerines etc. For photography (and the light), is Mai Po generally best in the morning or in the afternoon? Are most of the hides facing the same direction? Will I find both calidris waders and the more long-legged waders from the same hide, or from different hides? (We will check the time tables for the tide of course)

Is Hong kong wetland park Worth a visit? (We will be staying very close to this site, thats why I am asking). Or is it better to concentrate on Mai Po, Long valley, Po Toi Island?
Main interests are: waders, shrikes, warblers, pipits, buntings and oriental honey buzzard.

Greatful for any help!
/ Mattias, Sweden
 
Hi Mattias,
there are a few HK birders here but wanted to make you aware that you can't just turn up at Mai Po or at least you couldn't. When I went about ten years ago, You have / had to apply and show membership of a conservation group, I used my, membership of the Oriental Bird Club which was accepted.
 
andyadcock said:
Hi Mattias,
there are a few HK birders here but wanted to make you aware that you can't just turn up at Mai Po or at least you couldn't. When I went about ten years ago, You have / had to apply and show membership of a conservation group, I used my, membership of the Oriental Bird Club which was accepted.
Click to expand...

Thx Andy!
Our permits etc have been arranged at Mai Po. We will go there at least 3-4 Days I guess (depending on how many other good sites there are in the area).
 
I was pretty lucky during my visit, I had an Eastern Imperial Eagle soaring overhead and a Bonelli's Eagle perched in a bush at the same time, couldn't decide which way to look as both were ticks at the time.
 
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Mattis

The best location for waders is the boardwalk which is tide dependant. You need at least a 1.9m high tide to get good views. Make sure your permits cover access to the boardwalk. It takes about 30mins to walk from the reception centre to the gate and then another 10mins to get to the hides. There are three hides the best one in the morning is the "New hide" which is the one furthest from the gate and is also closest to the shoreline so a 1.9m tide is just about right.
The other two are closer to the mangroves and a tide of over 2m is required. The light is better in the afternoon for these hides.
Birding the boardwalk is good on both the rising and falling tides

The hides are often full of photographers and so I would advise getting to them a couple of hours before the high tide.
If the tide is above 2.3m then the mudflats are completely covered with water and the birds move onto the reserve. There are a number of hides on the reserve.

As for other sites its been a very warm winter and Thrushes and Chats have been scarce. TPK can be good and is easy to get to. Po Toi is an offshore island and its a little harder to get to as the ferries are very limited. Its mainly a migration hotspot.
Long Valley is close to Mai Po and access is easy

Check out Dave's site for access details

https://www.birdinghongkong.com/

Regards

Graham
 
Thank you Graham! Some very useful information here! I have visited (thoroughly!) the birdinghongkong-site and found lots of useful information there as well!

The site TPK (that you mention), is this the same as: TAI PO KAU ?

When planning a trip to Po Toi, which weather is usually associated with the most birds there? Rain or fog during night, southerly winds? Or is it just very hard to predict a good day there?

Thanks again for the information on the light at the hides/ morning and afternoon! We will visit Mai Po a few times for sure!
/ Mattias
 
Mattis

The Hong Kong Observatory web side is best for the tides check the tide for Tsim Bei Tsui see link. It has predicted and real time.


https://www.hko.gov.hk/tide/predtide.htm?s=TBT

With regards Po Toi easterly winds are best its a bit unpredictable. You can go and see nothing or you can go and have a good day.
Yes TPK is Tai Po Kau it can be good for spring Flycatchers but is a large area of woodland so there is a lot to cover

Depending on where your staying a recent site is Ho Man Tin which is an area of trees on a hill in the centre of Kowloon. It has a very good record recently for good passage migrates and is much easier to cover.


I have a map of the best areas I will try and find it.

What dates are you in HK

Graham
 
A totally different question! Is there a good camera store in Hong kong who sells a lot of Canon cameras and Canon lenses? And if so, how are the prices compared to the European market?
 
If anyone else is interested in camera stores in HK, here´s some useful information that I received from a kind man:

With regards cameras there are a number of reputable ones in SIM City in Mong Kok Kowloon. Its a three storey building with a number of camera shops, camera accessories and second hand camera shops. I have used Tin Chung shop before.
Just up the road a 5 min walk away is a big camera shop Wing Shing Photos Supplies 55 Sai Yeung Choi Street Mong Kok

I have purchase cameras and equipment from both.
Re price I tend to find prices are quite a bit cheaper than the UK as there is no sales tax.
 
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