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Exploring Lantau (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter MKinHK
- Start date
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Dear cwpbirder
Tide table is here:
http://www.hko.gov.hk/tide/eTBTtide.htm.
May 2 looks good for a morning tide.
Suggest you start early as possible and go to the right hand hide and then follow the tide back to the middle hide as the tide comes in. 2.3-2.4 metres covers the mud, so you could check the scrape at the high tide, but if the tide is low it may be worth simply waiting for the outgoing tide.
BFS and plenty of waders should still be around, along with plenty of other waterbirds. Styan's Grasshopper has also been heard singing in the mangroves a few mornings this week.
Check HKBWS website forum for highlights - check out the weekly Mai Po update for waders and Birdline tel no. is 2667 4537.
Cheers
Mike
Tide table is here:
http://www.hko.gov.hk/tide/eTBTtide.htm.
May 2 looks good for a morning tide.
Suggest you start early as possible and go to the right hand hide and then follow the tide back to the middle hide as the tide comes in. 2.3-2.4 metres covers the mud, so you could check the scrape at the high tide, but if the tide is low it may be worth simply waiting for the outgoing tide.
BFS and plenty of waders should still be around, along with plenty of other waterbirds. Styan's Grasshopper has also been heard singing in the mangroves a few mornings this week.
Check HKBWS website forum for highlights - check out the weekly Mai Po update for waders and Birdline tel no. is 2667 4537.
Cheers
Mike
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MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Pui O started well as a Grey-faced Buzzard lifted out of it's overnight roost in the woods above the buffalo fields, circled once over the village, and drifted away north.
As I was watching it a bunting started ticking. First one and eventually three Little Buntings emerged from the weedy wet patch next to a couple of veggie fields. There were also a couple of Chinese Pond Herons - the rarest of the common ardeids at Pui O - which then showed they were migrants as a further half dozen showed up when there had been none about all winter.
14 Yellow Wagtails - 13 simillimas and a single taivana were on the dryer pasture on other side of the road along with a pair of White-cheeked Starlings. A Grey-streaked Flycatcher - just my second flycatcher of the whole spring on Lantau - was hunting in the trees nearby, and a newly arrived Brown Shrike was bouncing about the creek close to the Private Parts gate.
Other good birds included a fine adult Striated Heron flying downriver at the other end of the patch, where three Common Sandpipers loafed near the egret roost while a Grey Heron and a Great Egret patrolled the shallows. the other ardeids making up the total of eight on the day included four Intermediate Egrets among the Little and Cattle Egrets with the Water Buffalos and a Reef Egret on the shark net.
Cheers
Mike
As I was watching it a bunting started ticking. First one and eventually three Little Buntings emerged from the weedy wet patch next to a couple of veggie fields. There were also a couple of Chinese Pond Herons - the rarest of the common ardeids at Pui O - which then showed they were migrants as a further half dozen showed up when there had been none about all winter.
14 Yellow Wagtails - 13 simillimas and a single taivana were on the dryer pasture on other side of the road along with a pair of White-cheeked Starlings. A Grey-streaked Flycatcher - just my second flycatcher of the whole spring on Lantau - was hunting in the trees nearby, and a newly arrived Brown Shrike was bouncing about the creek close to the Private Parts gate.
Other good birds included a fine adult Striated Heron flying downriver at the other end of the patch, where three Common Sandpipers loafed near the egret roost while a Grey Heron and a Great Egret patrolled the shallows. the other ardeids making up the total of eight on the day included four Intermediate Egrets among the Little and Cattle Egrets with the Water Buffalos and a Reef Egret on the shark net.
Cheers
Mike
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MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
best wishes for a great visit cwpbirder - let me know how you get on.
After the nice fall of Brown Shrikes at the airport on Wednesday I was hopeful of picking up a few bits and pieces on the Labour Day holiday as the conditions continued to look promising for arriving migrants.
As spring draws to a close the potential for variety drops, and with one exception - a fine Black Bulbul perched on the ridge above the southern marsh - the birds were typical late spring migrants. The Black Bulbul was a bit special for being my first (and possibly the first ever) on Lantau and because there are very few records as late as May.
The more typical birds were half a dozen Brown Shrikes, four each of Chinese Goshawk, Grey-streaked Flycatcher and Little Bunting, while breeding birds in full song included five Chinese Francolins and two Lesser Coucals from the surrounding hills, plus Plaintive, Large Hawk, and Indian Cuckoos and Koel.
I did also have brief views of an Oriental-type cuckoo flying away showing not much more than a silhouette and a flash of a pale bar on the underwing.
Other bits and pieces included half-a-dozen Grey Wagtails, a couple of Black-faced Buntings two Dusky Warblers and a Slaty-breasted Rail in the mangroves.
Cheers
Mike
After the nice fall of Brown Shrikes at the airport on Wednesday I was hopeful of picking up a few bits and pieces on the Labour Day holiday as the conditions continued to look promising for arriving migrants.
As spring draws to a close the potential for variety drops, and with one exception - a fine Black Bulbul perched on the ridge above the southern marsh - the birds were typical late spring migrants. The Black Bulbul was a bit special for being my first (and possibly the first ever) on Lantau and because there are very few records as late as May.
The more typical birds were half a dozen Brown Shrikes, four each of Chinese Goshawk, Grey-streaked Flycatcher and Little Bunting, while breeding birds in full song included five Chinese Francolins and two Lesser Coucals from the surrounding hills, plus Plaintive, Large Hawk, and Indian Cuckoos and Koel.
I did also have brief views of an Oriental-type cuckoo flying away showing not much more than a silhouette and a flash of a pale bar on the underwing.
Other bits and pieces included half-a-dozen Grey Wagtails, a couple of Black-faced Buntings two Dusky Warblers and a Slaty-breasted Rail in the mangroves.
Cheers
Mike
I guess the brown shrikes must be traveling together? It's interesting to see good sized groups several times. I've noticed that during breeding season they can be a bit thicker on the ground than I would expect, which I suppose means that there's a good bit of food available even in a small territory.
Hi Mike,
Your PM mail-box here on BF has exceeded it's limit !
We are coming down to HK tomorrow for a wedding on Friday and so my wife has kindly given me the Saturday to go birding. However if I remember correctly you are still in Sabah right ? Hope it's being kind to you.
That being the case I will probably give Tai Po Kau a go !
Cheers
Kevin
Your PM mail-box here on BF has exceeded it's limit !
We are coming down to HK tomorrow for a wedding on Friday and so my wife has kindly given me the Saturday to go birding. However if I remember correctly you are still in Sabah right ? Hope it's being kind to you.
That being the case I will probably give Tai Po Kau a go !
Cheers
Kevin
Chlidonias
Well-known member
yup, he is still in Sabah....
wyldwatson
Registered User
Dear MKinHK I lived on Lantau at the fishing village of Dao in the 1980's before the airport and Buddah were built. There are some great hikes out to the south of Dao into the woods and to some small off lying islands where there where lots of seabirds. Maybe the airport has changed the whole environment!!
Take the sampan into the village and then turn left its the back of the island
Regards
Wyldwatson
Take the sampan into the village and then turn left its the back of the island
Regards
Wyldwatson
Cheers Israel.
Unfortunately heavy rain every day since we arrived and heavy thunderstorms forecast for tomorrow
No Tai Po Kau for me on this trip. Back to Shangers on Sunday.
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Dear Wyldwatson
Great to hear from you and welcome to BirdForum.
Am I right in thinking that Dao is the same as Tai O - on western end of Lantau? If so, living so far out was unusual indeed! I'd be really interested in any pictures you may have of Hong Kong and especially Lantau from that time.
Do you recall what sort of birds were living on the offshore islands nearby?nterested in any pictures you may have of Hong Kong and especially Lantau from that time.
The airport and the highway made for big changes to the north side of Lantau, but the southern side is still very much as it was and a great escape from the city.
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
A very few bits and pieces around Discovery Bay as summer has well and truly taken hold here. I haven't been much further afield as the acquisition of a dog, the heat and the general absence of birds this spring have all conspired to make the couch and the aircon a wonderfully attractive alternative.
Summer breeders include the pair of White-throated Kingfishers that like to call from the tower tops, a pair of Black Drongos, two or three pairs of House Swifts and Chinese Francolins calling from the hills behind.
Other bits and pieces include the Tree Sparrows, Black-necked Starlings, Crested Mynas, Oriental Magpie Robins and Blue Whistling Thrushes feeding new-fledged chicks around the gardens and a up to five Black-crowned Night Herons which roost in the trees by the waterfall in the park.
Among these there have been a couple of highlights:
Here's hoping for a few more bits and pieces to tide me over until the autumn.
Cheers
Mike
Summer breeders include the pair of White-throated Kingfishers that like to call from the tower tops, a pair of Black Drongos, two or three pairs of House Swifts and Chinese Francolins calling from the hills behind.
Other bits and pieces include the Tree Sparrows, Black-necked Starlings, Crested Mynas, Oriental Magpie Robins and Blue Whistling Thrushes feeding new-fledged chicks around the gardens and a up to five Black-crowned Night Herons which roost in the trees by the waterfall in the park.
Among these there have been a couple of highlights:
- On 31st May a tiny blob on the rocky outcrop in the bay held a brown bird with a flash of white here and there, including most of the head. Fortunately enough a Black Kite drifted in looking for a perch and knocked it up into the sky, where it showed enough to dismiss any doubts that it was an Osprey.
- Last Sunday a walk with the dog down by the sea came up trumps when an adult Striated Heron flew across the bay and landed in the mangroves in the little marsh in front of the school.
Here's hoping for a few more bits and pieces to tide me over until the autumn.
Cheers
Mike
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Good luck Mike. Nice little piece and video in response to a question here :
http://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/aug/20/2
http://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/aug/20/2
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Still haven't made it up the hill to look for francolins - Chinese Grassbird and Upland Pipit should be there too - but I did decide to get off my sofa-softened, air-conditioned butt and spend a couple of hours at Pui O this morning.
Much to the dog's consternation I left him behind as I headed out just in time to miss the 0630 bus and finally got to Pui O just before 0800 on a hot sunny morning. The buffalo were spread out the graze across the dryer patches along with an attending crowd of Crested Mynas and the odd Magpie Robin, but there was not an egret in sights throughout the entire visit.
However as I walked across to the southern edge A medium-sized brown passerine revealed itself to be a White-cheeked Starling, which by rights should be breeding in Central China. Having said that there have been a few summering at Mai Po in the last couple of years, but I'm pretty sure this is the first july record for Lantau, making this bird the star of my morning.
Other bits and pieces included singles of White-throated Kingfisher, Black Drongo, Greater Coucal and an interesting-looking white Wagtail, which disappeared behind a bush and presumably into a pan-dimensional wormhole as it never reappeared. I had hoped to pick up an early-returning wader, perhaps a Swintail Snipe or Wood Sandpiper - thereby justifying an announcement that summer was over and autumn had started - but I had no such luck.
As is usual in the quieter months I padded out the shortage of birds with a few other bits and pieces. These were headed by a splendid Asian Painted Frog which had obviously been over-indulging on the frozen margaritas because instead of hiding in a drain and booming cheerfully away, it was hopping lugubriously and slowly along a sandy track under the bright sunshine. Having got some pix I relocated him to a cooler and damper slope with some handy bolt-holes in the shade of the s big trees.
Good deed done I headed into the wood to look for fish owls and night herons. Lightning continued not to strike twice, but I did get close to this fine fat-bodied dragonfly. Anyone know what it is? The wood also held lots of Large Woodland Spiders, and I was pleased to find this pair with the small reddish male playing very close attention to its substantially larger mate.
On the way out I found a pair of juvenile Crested Mynas that had retained only a single tuft of white feathers behind each eye. They allowed close approach before dropping off the branch to join their sibling in harassing a parent for a feed.
And that was about it, although I did have 22 Little Egrets and two Pacific Reef Egrets on the rocks out in the bay, where my second Osprey of the summer happily devoured a fish yesterday afternoon.
Cheers
Mike
Much to the dog's consternation I left him behind as I headed out just in time to miss the 0630 bus and finally got to Pui O just before 0800 on a hot sunny morning. The buffalo were spread out the graze across the dryer patches along with an attending crowd of Crested Mynas and the odd Magpie Robin, but there was not an egret in sights throughout the entire visit.
However as I walked across to the southern edge A medium-sized brown passerine revealed itself to be a White-cheeked Starling, which by rights should be breeding in Central China. Having said that there have been a few summering at Mai Po in the last couple of years, but I'm pretty sure this is the first july record for Lantau, making this bird the star of my morning.
Other bits and pieces included singles of White-throated Kingfisher, Black Drongo, Greater Coucal and an interesting-looking white Wagtail, which disappeared behind a bush and presumably into a pan-dimensional wormhole as it never reappeared. I had hoped to pick up an early-returning wader, perhaps a Swintail Snipe or Wood Sandpiper - thereby justifying an announcement that summer was over and autumn had started - but I had no such luck.
As is usual in the quieter months I padded out the shortage of birds with a few other bits and pieces. These were headed by a splendid Asian Painted Frog which had obviously been over-indulging on the frozen margaritas because instead of hiding in a drain and booming cheerfully away, it was hopping lugubriously and slowly along a sandy track under the bright sunshine. Having got some pix I relocated him to a cooler and damper slope with some handy bolt-holes in the shade of the s big trees.
Good deed done I headed into the wood to look for fish owls and night herons. Lightning continued not to strike twice, but I did get close to this fine fat-bodied dragonfly. Anyone know what it is? The wood also held lots of Large Woodland Spiders, and I was pleased to find this pair with the small reddish male playing very close attention to its substantially larger mate.
On the way out I found a pair of juvenile Crested Mynas that had retained only a single tuft of white feathers behind each eye. They allowed close approach before dropping off the branch to join their sibling in harassing a parent for a feed.
And that was about it, although I did have 22 Little Egrets and two Pacific Reef Egrets on the rocks out in the bay, where my second Osprey of the summer happily devoured a fish yesterday afternoon.
Cheers
Mike
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johnallcock
Well-known member
Your dragonfly is a female Forest Chaser, which has the poetic scientific name of Lyriothemis elegantissima.
The White-cheeked Starling is a juvenile, so I wonder whether they may have bred on Lantau, or whether this bird has come from somewhere else. Flocks of juveniles have started to become a feature of summer (July/August) in Deep Bay, although I haven't been seeing many yet this year.
The White-cheeked Starling is a juvenile, so I wonder whether they may have bred on Lantau, or whether this bird has come from somewhere else. Flocks of juveniles have started to become a feature of summer (July/August) in Deep Bay, although I haven't been seeing many yet this year.
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Many thanks John
No sign of any adult White-cheeked Starlings in the couple of hours I was there, but I did see a pair back on 29th April. Probably too long ago to be certain, but it ceratinly suggests that this i something to look out for next spring/summer.
Cheers
Mike
PS agree that Forest Chaser has a terrific scientific name!
No sign of any adult White-cheeked Starlings in the couple of hours I was there, but I did see a pair back on 29th April. Probably too long ago to be certain, but it ceratinly suggests that this i something to look out for next spring/summer.
Cheers
Mike
PS agree that Forest Chaser has a terrific scientific name!
Nice to hear the news - even without the (positive?) announcement of autumn. (Goodness, we've hardly gotten to hot and sticky weather yet here - guess I'm still getting used to birders' understanding of seasons!)
Your splendid Asian Painted Frog is certainly itty-bitty head attached to very large body! Colorful if not handsome (by my frog standards).
What do you think is with the egrets? Does this mean they're busy with young or on to the next place? We saw an impressive heronry in California this summer with lots of cormorants, some Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets and Turkey Vultures (!) and a Black-crowned Night Heron.
Your splendid Asian Painted Frog is certainly itty-bitty head attached to very large body! Colorful if not handsome (by my frog standards).
What do you think is with the egrets? Does this mean they're busy with young or on to the next place? We saw an impressive heronry in California this summer with lots of cormorants, some Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets and Turkey Vultures (!) and a Black-crowned Night Heron.
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
No idea about the egrets Gretchen - I can still see them on the rocks in the bay from my house so they may simply have wandered off that day.
I did finally get a sniff of autumn passage this week, first with a couple of waders flying over the road on may way to the office on Friday afternoon and then yesterday -away from Lantau at Long Valley I had 7 Wood Sandpipers and a Green Sandpiper, plus a couple of Red-rumped Swallows.
As I haven't got out to Lantau this weekend I thought I'd post a nice video I found online about a local couple visiting the infinity pool between Tai O and Yi O which I reported on back in post 132. The causeway they walk down runs from the bus stop at Tai O across the front of the fishponds where I see the Night Herons, and along the forested path to which is good for migrants and winter visitors. I hope someday to find an Eagle Owl on the hills above the Pool or even better a Brown Fish Owl on the river itself . . .
Cheers
Mike
I did finally get a sniff of autumn passage this week, first with a couple of waders flying over the road on may way to the office on Friday afternoon and then yesterday -away from Lantau at Long Valley I had 7 Wood Sandpipers and a Green Sandpiper, plus a couple of Red-rumped Swallows.
As I haven't got out to Lantau this weekend I thought I'd post a nice video I found online about a local couple visiting the infinity pool between Tai O and Yi O which I reported on back in post 132. The causeway they walk down runs from the bus stop at Tai O across the front of the fishponds where I see the Night Herons, and along the forested path to which is good for migrants and winter visitors. I hope someday to find an Eagle Owl on the hills above the Pool or even better a Brown Fish Owl on the river itself . . .
Cheers
Mike
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