thirudevaram
Trapped in mist ***s
Congrats on completing your "Century" mark Mike. The raptors are tempting.:t:
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Ng Tung Chai, Hong Kong (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter MKinHK
- Start date
Congrats on completing your "Century" mark Mike. The raptors are tempting.:t:
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Thanks Dev.
These two, plus Crested Goshawk - one was displaying today after the rain - and Black Kite are the resident species in the valley
Two more Dollarbirds today, but not much else birdwise on a hot afternoon.
However a very funky skink and a cobra (I'm leaning towards King based on the size of the head) hunting in a newly prepared cress bed made for a wonderful couple of hours this afternoon.
Cheers
Mike
These two, plus Crested Goshawk - one was displaying today after the rain - and Black Kite are the resident species in the valley
Two more Dollarbirds today, but not much else birdwise on a hot afternoon.
However a very funky skink and a cobra (I'm leaning towards King based on the size of the head) hunting in a newly prepared cress bed made for a wonderful couple of hours this afternoon.
Cheers
Mike
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Mike I meant to comment on how I liked your cobra pic - really the angles on both the herps is great - nice to see them at eye level more or less. (though didn't quite see the funky aspect of the skink)
Things seem to be going well on your patch with the dollarbirds, a nice total patch number and a thriving heronry!
Things seem to be going well on your patch with the dollarbirds, a nice total patch number and a thriving heronry!
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
The herp experts both think this is a very large Chinese Cobra - "as big a Chinese Cobra as you're ever likely to see" being one quote.
Maybe funkiness is too subjective a concept for skinks - I'll post another pic later to strengthen my case.
There were also three more Dollarbirds this morning, and Dylan again heard the Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo.
Cheers
Mike
Maybe funkiness is too subjective a concept for skinks - I'll post another pic later to strengthen my case.
There were also three more Dollarbirds this morning, and Dylan again heard the Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo.
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Its certainly good to have a multi-faceted patch, especially in a rather quiet winter and spring.
The HK herp experts I asked both think the cobra is Chinese - albeit "as big a Chinese Cobra as you're ever likely to see". It certainly had the confidence of a mature adult.
I'll post another pic to strengthen the case for funkiness in skinks!
Cheers
Mike
The HK herp experts I asked both think the cobra is Chinese - albeit "as big a Chinese Cobra as you're ever likely to see". It certainly had the confidence of a mature adult.
I'll post another pic to strengthen the case for funkiness in skinks!
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
OK one more skink pic - but first, since this a birding thread . . .
There were three more Dollarbirds this morning. These three make 42 birds so far this spring. Could this spring challenge for the single season record of 55 set from 18 September to 24 October in autumn 2007?
There are 24 more days until my previous latest spring record, which was 29 May in 2011.
For those of who you don't share my slightly OCD-like focus on Dollarbird passage here's a good old-fashioned stinker of an ID challenge. A photographer posted a picture of a cuckoo sp from 1st May on which I would welcome any thoughts.
There is just one record of Eurasian Cuckoo from Hong Kong and Oriental Cuckoo has been split into Horsfield's and Himalayan Cuckoos, which are a) extremely similar to Eurasian Cuckoo and b) only separable on call (as far as I know). Go on . . . give it a go!
Cheers
Mike
There were three more Dollarbirds this morning. These three make 42 birds so far this spring. Could this spring challenge for the single season record of 55 set from 18 September to 24 October in autumn 2007?
There are 24 more days until my previous latest spring record, which was 29 May in 2011.
For those of who you don't share my slightly OCD-like focus on Dollarbird passage here's a good old-fashioned stinker of an ID challenge. A photographer posted a picture of a cuckoo sp from 1st May on which I would welcome any thoughts.
There is just one record of Eurasian Cuckoo from Hong Kong and Oriental Cuckoo has been split into Horsfield's and Himalayan Cuckoos, which are a) extremely similar to Eurasian Cuckoo and b) only separable on call (as far as I know). Go on . . . give it a go!
Cheers
Mike
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Nice additional view of the skink! He's in quite an interesting position there.
I decided in the last few years that skinks may be my favorite reptile family (I still know little about reptiles, through the reptile subforum I have seen some variety). Skinks are so slinkly, graceful (for a reptile) and smooth (probably thereby reminding me of frogs) - and some of ours in the US have nice racing stripes!
So anyway, I won't be bothered by the non-feathered entries! Hope you had a good weekend.
I decided in the last few years that skinks may be my favorite reptile family (I still know little about reptiles, through the reptile subforum I have seen some variety). Skinks are so slinkly, graceful (for a reptile) and smooth (probably thereby reminding me of frogs) - and some of ours in the US have nice racing stripes!
So anyway, I won't be bothered by the non-feathered entries! Hope you had a good weekend.
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Thanks Gretchen, I did have a good weekend, but with the exception of some more Dollarbirds scoped from home (one on Sunday, four on Monday and two on Tuesday brings the score to 49) my birding was off-patch.
I was again at Mai Po and will post on the HK Birding thread in due course.
Its now hot, clear and sunny here, and with the exception of the Dollarbirds, possibly a Brown Shrike and the off-chance of a bittern, migration is pretty well done for this spring.
Cheers
Mike
I was again at Mai Po and will post on the HK Birding thread in due course.
Its now hot, clear and sunny here, and with the exception of the Dollarbirds, possibly a Brown Shrike and the off-chance of a bittern, migration is pretty well done for this spring.
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Two more Dollarbirds today. One was on the line of trees between the grassland the the ginger marsh (but sneakily invisible from home), plus one on wires close to Kau Liu Ha at the northern end of the valley at dusk - now 51 birds this spring.
Other birds today included a Pacific Swift (101) this morning over Ping Long Fa Yuen, 18 Cattle Egrets and a Great Egret (102) flying SW down the valley this morning at about 8am. A Black-crowned Night Heron and a Little Egret this evening added to the Chinese Pond Herons hunting in the veggie patch and various other places to make five species of ardeid in the valley today. The Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo was singing as loud as I have ever heard behind Ha Tin Liu Ha village.
Other signs of spring were a couple of fledged Long-tailed Shrikes, a White-browed Laughingthrush carrying food and four newly fledged Barn Swallows taking break on one of the aircon units of the flat below mine.
The Cattle Egret in the pix was skulking around the tree nursery down at She Shan, and manged to pose well both on the deck and when it took fright and retreated to a treetop.
Other wildlife included this violently pink Crimson Dropwing and a Brahminy Blind Snake wich dived down a worm hole as I lifted the plank it was under - something I do a bit more circumspectly after seeing that cobra!
Cheers
Mike
Other birds today included a Pacific Swift (101) this morning over Ping Long Fa Yuen, 18 Cattle Egrets and a Great Egret (102) flying SW down the valley this morning at about 8am. A Black-crowned Night Heron and a Little Egret this evening added to the Chinese Pond Herons hunting in the veggie patch and various other places to make five species of ardeid in the valley today. The Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo was singing as loud as I have ever heard behind Ha Tin Liu Ha village.
Other signs of spring were a couple of fledged Long-tailed Shrikes, a White-browed Laughingthrush carrying food and four newly fledged Barn Swallows taking break on one of the aircon units of the flat below mine.
The Cattle Egret in the pix was skulking around the tree nursery down at She Shan, and manged to pose well both on the deck and when it took fright and retreated to a treetop.
Other wildlife included this violently pink Crimson Dropwing and a Brahminy Blind Snake wich dived down a worm hole as I lifted the plank it was under - something I do a bit more circumspectly after seeing that cobra!
Cheers
Mike
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thirudevaram
Trapped in mist ***s
Girls will love the Crimson Dropwing.
Be careful with the snakes Mike! I came across few snakes in Yangkou, they were too afraid to stick out their necks. May be they dont want to end up as a meal for someone!
:-O
Be careful with the snakes Mike! I came across few snakes in Yangkou, they were too afraid to stick out their necks. May be they dont want to end up as a meal for someone!
:-O
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Just realised that its nearly a month since I posted on the patch. The main reason is that we are deep into the summer doldrums here and a 10-day trip to Australia combined to deliver very little of worth to report.
The big exception is the egretry next to the carpark. My mate in the egret specialist group told me that there were 12 Chinese Pond Heron nests this year. The youngsters fledged a couple of weeks ago and have been scrambling around on the spindly tops of the bamboos. Today I saw my first youngster on the deck and I expect to find them perched in odd places begging for food chasing their parents around and making their first efforts to hunt for themselves. This has been a wet couple of weeks and their are plenty of frogs for them to search out (I've heard at least 4 different species calling this evening).
The big highlight of last weekend was a new high count of . . . wait for it . . . two Common Mynas. This is marginally more exciting than it sounds. Yes they are a feral breeding species in Hong Kong and don't really count, but there are just four previous records in the valley, so they have some interest to the avid Lam Tsuen patch birder. Actually they looked pretty tight and they may be a breeding pair, which would be a first for the valley - Dylan and I are keeping a sharp look out!
Perhaps its time we named ourselves the Lam Tsuen-atics(crash course in cantonese pronunciation: "tsuen" rhymes with prune).
I've also rooted out a few pix from the last month.
Cheers
Mike
The big exception is the egretry next to the carpark. My mate in the egret specialist group told me that there were 12 Chinese Pond Heron nests this year. The youngsters fledged a couple of weeks ago and have been scrambling around on the spindly tops of the bamboos. Today I saw my first youngster on the deck and I expect to find them perched in odd places begging for food chasing their parents around and making their first efforts to hunt for themselves. This has been a wet couple of weeks and their are plenty of frogs for them to search out (I've heard at least 4 different species calling this evening).
The big highlight of last weekend was a new high count of . . . wait for it . . . two Common Mynas. This is marginally more exciting than it sounds. Yes they are a feral breeding species in Hong Kong and don't really count, but there are just four previous records in the valley, so they have some interest to the avid Lam Tsuen patch birder. Actually they looked pretty tight and they may be a breeding pair, which would be a first for the valley - Dylan and I are keeping a sharp look out!
Perhaps its time we named ourselves the Lam Tsuen-atics(crash course in cantonese pronunciation: "tsuen" rhymes with prune).
I've also rooted out a few pix from the last month.
Cheers
Mike
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johnallcock
Well-known member
Mike, I think the juv prinia is a Yellow-bellied isn't it? Greenish tones, slender bill, narrow supercilium, plain tail.
Juvenile prinias are the source of frequent confusion at our ringing site - for some reason, I have to spend a lot of time each autumn describing the differences between the two species to trainees.
Juvenile prinias are the source of frequent confusion at our ringing site - for some reason, I have to spend a lot of time each autumn describing the differences between the two species to trainees.
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Many thanks John - sounds like I should join your trainees for a bit of remedial tuition!
Anyway birding has fallen so far into oblivion that its time for another family review. I started this with thrushes at the end of last winter and will - given my newly recalibrated expertise - jump into warblers.
Asian Stubtail Warbler - regular winter visitor
Pale-footed Bush Warbler - one record - March 2004
Japanese Bush Warbler - regular winter visitor
Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler - regular winter visitor (breeds higher up)
Baikal Bush Warbler - One suspected, but could not be confirmed 2011
Brown Bush Warbler - One Tai Om - winter 2010/11
Russet Bush Warbler - regular winter visitor
Lanceolated Warbler - two records
Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler - a few this spring
Black-browed Reed Warbler - a couple last spring
Oriental Reed Warbler - one last autumn
Zitting Cisticola - common winter visitor (grassland)
Bright-capped Cisticola - common winter visitor (grassland)
Yellow-bellied Prinia - common resident (grassland)
Plain Prinia - scarce resident
Mountain Tailorbird - abundant recent colonist (forest)
Common Tailorbird - common resident
Dusky Warbler - common winter visitor
Radde’s Warbler - five or six records in 10 years
Pallas’s Leaf Warbler - common winter visitor
Yellow-browed Warbler - common winter visitor
Hume’s Leaf Warbler - one accepted record (not seen by me)
Arctic Warbler - regular autumn & spring migrant
Greenish Warbler - annual winter visitor
Pale-legged/ Sakhalin Leaf Warbler regular spring /autumn migrant
Eastern Crowned Warbler - regular autumn migrant
Blyth's Leaf Warbler - regular winter visitor
Goodson’s Leaf Warbler - regular winter visitor
Sulphur-breasted Warbler - one record
White-spectacled Warbler - one record
Chestnut-crowned Warbler - one record
Rufous-faced Warbler - one record - horribly dipped!
That's 31 species plus the Baikal Bush Warbler for the patch! I wonder how many patches anywhere in the world could do better? (yes that is a challenge, and no "Sichuan" - which is the size of France - does not count as a local patch!)
The obvious gaps are Thick-billed Warbler and Bianchi's Warbler. Chinese Grassbird, (formerly known as Large Grass Warbler) is now officially a babbler.
Cheers
Mike
Anyway birding has fallen so far into oblivion that its time for another family review. I started this with thrushes at the end of last winter and will - given my newly recalibrated expertise - jump into warblers.
Asian Stubtail Warbler - regular winter visitor
Pale-footed Bush Warbler - one record - March 2004
Japanese Bush Warbler - regular winter visitor
Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler - regular winter visitor (breeds higher up)
Baikal Bush Warbler - One suspected, but could not be confirmed 2011
Brown Bush Warbler - One Tai Om - winter 2010/11
Russet Bush Warbler - regular winter visitor
Lanceolated Warbler - two records
Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler - a few this spring
Black-browed Reed Warbler - a couple last spring
Oriental Reed Warbler - one last autumn
Zitting Cisticola - common winter visitor (grassland)
Bright-capped Cisticola - common winter visitor (grassland)
Yellow-bellied Prinia - common resident (grassland)
Plain Prinia - scarce resident
Mountain Tailorbird - abundant recent colonist (forest)
Common Tailorbird - common resident
Dusky Warbler - common winter visitor
Radde’s Warbler - five or six records in 10 years
Pallas’s Leaf Warbler - common winter visitor
Yellow-browed Warbler - common winter visitor
Hume’s Leaf Warbler - one accepted record (not seen by me)
Arctic Warbler - regular autumn & spring migrant
Greenish Warbler - annual winter visitor
Pale-legged/ Sakhalin Leaf Warbler regular spring /autumn migrant
Eastern Crowned Warbler - regular autumn migrant
Blyth's Leaf Warbler - regular winter visitor
Goodson’s Leaf Warbler - regular winter visitor
Sulphur-breasted Warbler - one record
White-spectacled Warbler - one record
Chestnut-crowned Warbler - one record
Rufous-faced Warbler - one record - horribly dipped!
That's 31 species plus the Baikal Bush Warbler for the patch! I wonder how many patches anywhere in the world could do better? (yes that is a challenge, and no "Sichuan" - which is the size of France - does not count as a local patch!)
The obvious gaps are Thick-billed Warbler and Bianchi's Warbler. Chinese Grassbird, (formerly known as Large Grass Warbler) is now officially a babbler.
Cheers
Mike
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thirudevaram
Trapped in mist ***s
Oh Mike, i'm very much interested to jump into your patch for the coming winter. Winter here is boring and quiet except for few cranes.
thirudevaram
Trapped in mist ***s
Pale-legged spent winters in Shanghai during 2009-2010, no signs of them during 2011-2012 winter including the stubtail.
