The Magic Roundabout (1 Viewer)

[MKinHK]

Very well put James.

Here's a map outlining the additional area of the patch. I'll limited the expanded area to where the road joins Chek Lap Kok island so that the airport theme is maintained.

The other good news is that it also allows me to formally include Dusky Thrush onto the patch list.

 

[thirudevaram]

Thanks a lot for the mammal update Mike. After October i will definitely update you with any one or all of these, Panthera pardus fusca, Panthera tigris tigris, Cuon alpinus.

The adequate presence of grass around the roundabout kept telling me you would get a Pacific Golden Plover anytime. My guess was right about the habitat. The fact about Long-toed Stints, i have seldom seen them in flocks, always solitary or away from flock.

 

[MKinHK]

No chance of any of those on the Magic Roundabout Dev! Its sounds like you have a great trip coming up!

No real chance to get out today, so I had to content myself with an airborne Oriental Pratincole and an unidentified larger wader (possibly Whimbrel) from the bus on the way in, and a couple of Common Sandpipers and four Richard's Pipits on the golf course.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

A dark morph Long-tailed Shrike was on the near corner of the golf course at lunchtime and two Yellow-browed Warblers, and the apparently long-staying Asian Brown Flycatcher and female Blue-and-white Flycatcher were on the core area and the western tangle respectively.

Cheers
Mike

 

[McMadd]

A dark morph Long-tailed Shrike was on the near corner of the golf course at lunchtime

They're ace :t:

M

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Agree with McMadd. A very neat looking bird.

 

[MKinHK]

Overnight rain and a fog this morning had me hopeful of finding some fresh migrants, but there were none on the grass extension on the way in, or on the golf course at lunch.

There was however a pair of Sooty-headed Bulbuls loitering around the carpark looking for all the world like they knew exactly what they were about. This is surprising as they are very much a farmland bird elsewhere in HK and I've never previously seen them in such a developed environment.

Birds of the day were two slender-winged Pacific Swifts that had obviously stopped off for a quick feed, and adding themselves to the patch list, before zooming off on the next leg of their migration.

A lurking male Grey-backed Thrush was just too curious to evade identification on the Northern Edge and the female Blue-and-white Flycatcher remained faithful the Western Tangle, where she caught and ate a good-sized butterfly.

the final birds of the day were a flock of eight or ten White-shouldered Starlings in the same tree with yellow flowers on the Grassy Verge.

Cheers
Mike

 

[thirudevaram]

Seems like thrushes are still hanging around in HK. The list of roundabout grows everyday. Had my first Sooty-headed Bulbuls in Yunnan two weeks back ;-)

 

[MKinHK]

There are a few thrushes about Dev - another Grey-backed Thrush - this time a female flew right at me from the Northern Edge today - and a female Japanese Sparrowhawk - today's tick - flipping from perch to perch, explained why.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

In Phuket for work, so I figured I'd post n the birds here rather than start a new thread on the trip report page.

My conference is in the Hilton Arcadia, which is set in very nice grounds built around a set of lakes and canals.

It all started well as within one minute of stepping onto the balcony of my room a flying lizard entered horizontally stage right and stuck itself onto the turnk of a coconut palm!

Since then I've been racking up quite a list with highlights including Indian Roller being chased by what I thnk are Black Drongos, while the visible water has already played host to Pygmy Cormorant, Openbill Stork, Striated Heron and a family of White-breasted Waterhen.

Other birds I haven't seen for a while include Zebra Dove, Little Green Pigeon, Vinous-breatsed Starling, Coppersmith Barbet (heard only so far), and an unidentified oriole, while the never silent Common Myna, Koel and Greater Cocual provide the mood music.

Migrants have included a couple of Yellow Wagtails and a couple of unidentified locustaccros which popped up when I had no bins and promptly disappeared again.

Cheers
Mike

 

[johnallcock]

Mike, don't do that to me.
I just opened this thread and scanned the last post to see what migrants had turned up at the airport. A moment of real panic when the first words I saw were 'Pygmy Cormorant, Openbill Stork,...' What?!? At the airport?!? That roundabout really is magic!!!
This was followed by 'Striated Heron and a family of White-breasted Waterhen' just to make the setting sound like Hong Kong (although I was surprised that you were so calm that you put the cormorant and stork on the same billing as the heron and waterhen).

Fortunately I have now read the whole post properly and my heart rate has returned to normal.

 

[thirudevaram]

The roundabout extends to Phuket ;-)

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

The roundabout extends to Phuket ;-)

Better not miss your turn. It'll take 15 hours to go around again!

 

[MKinHK]

Four days and counting Jeff . . .

Apologies for the heart stress John, but none of these will count for the official patch list Dev.

Anyway there have been a few more birds in between my four presentations and receiving Asia Pacific's highest level carbon accreditation for the airport.

Late migrant quality has come in the form of Black-browed Reed and Oriental Reed Warblers, while a pair of Yellow Bitterns and an adult Striated Heron were not altogether a surprise. Little and Intermediate Egrets are also around evry day, along with Pacific Swallow and some swiftlet or other.

The pond herons are coming out of winter plumage, with fastest moulter being a Chinese Pond Heron, while There were a coupleof candidates for Javan Pond heron still emerging from winter plumage.

Other additions include a family group of Asian Glossy Starlings several Brown-throated Sunbird, an adult Brahminy Kite flying over the pool and better views of Black-naped Oriole.

One sad addition is the highly frustrated Indian Peafowl which struts about the gardens displaying away. Sadly the female ignores him , so looking for love in all the wrong places he harrasses the White-breasted Waterhen and even, on occasion the Common Mynas.

Large-billed Crows, A brood of Magpie Robins and the odd Common Tailoribird also remind me how close we are to Hong Kong.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

A few more birds to add to the list from Phuket . . .

The best were confirming Javan Pond Heron, finding a pair of Red-wattled Lapwings on the football pitch and, with much better views, realising that it is Pink-necked Green Pigeon rather than Little that I've been seeing.

Less exciting were a Moorhen, a couple of calling Yellow-browed Warblers and several Grey-eyed Bulbuls, all of which were hanging around a pond next to the football pitch.

I also managed to see Coppersmith Barbets on a couple of mornings and enjoyed watching an Indian Roller belly flop into the pond outside my room before perching on a low palm leaf to preen and dry off.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

A Dollarbird (76) perched on a bare branch close to the cable car turning station on Friday morning was a nice welcome back to the airport.

Back on the Roundabout proper at lunch this afternoon . . . but before getting there two Chinese Pond Herons were on another roundabout on the other side of Terminal 2 on my way in, a Barn Swallow zipped off east and a male White Wagtail puttered along the 7th floor balcony outside the boardroom while I was waiting to present a paper to the bosses.

After a quick bite a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron flew overhead as I was walking along the elevated walkway towards the golf course viewpoint, a juvenile White Wagtail was on the lawn by the AsiaWorld Expo bus stop and a couple of Crested Mynas were disgracing themselves by rooting about in the grotty back of a rubbish truck.

The only bird on the Northern Edge was a male Magpie Robin, but a calling wagtail that dropped onto the Core Area out to be my old friend the leucopsis x alboides White Wagtail.

Saving the best for last a Grey-streaked Flycatcher (77) and a fine lucionensis Brown Shrike were in the rather bare-looking tall trees.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

My first opportunity for a week to get onto the roundabout was well rewarded as I was able to add three new species. First up was an Oriental Reed Warbler (78) that chose the perfect moment to fly into one of the trees on the edge of the golf course. This was followed by a major surprise as I flushed a Crested Serpent Eagle (79) from the Western Tangle, that helpfully circled once before disappearing and a male Chinese Goshawk(80) (judging by the dark eye) that was zipping between the trees in the core area.

Other birds included a round half dozen Brown Shrikes, a couple of Black-necked Starlings, two leucopsis White Wagtails, the usual Crested Mynas and Trees Sparrows and a couple of Crested Bulbuls.

The day before I saw three Brown Shrikes along the approach road and another lurking on the short spik plants on the actual roundabout.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

Monday was a hot, clear day and with migration drawing to a close I had limited expectations of my lunchtime loop of the roundabout.

I did better than expected, starting with a Pacific Swift that had stopped for a quick feed, and also picking up a couple of Brown Shrikes, a Chinese Pond Heron and a couple of Black-crowned Night Herons. I also saw a brown belly on the northern edge that I think belonged to an Oriental Reed Warbler, but I was not able to confirm.

I did however both see and hear a very late Dusky Warbler in the core area, and among the residents I saw Crested Myna, Black-necked Starling, Japanese White Eye, leucopsis White Wagtail, Chinese and Crested Bulbuls, 20-odd Tree Sparrows, and Eastern Great Tit.

A Reef Egret on the bus this morning was another good addition to the list for Q2 2013.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

A Great Egret seen from the train perching on the floats of one of the silt curtains in the bay as I headed into town for a meeting on Wednesday afternoon was species no 81.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

and another egret for species #82 - four Cattle Egrets were on the grass close to the eastern end of the south Runway as I came past on the bus this morning.

I'm surprised its taken so long for this to turn up. Now it has, my total for ardeids is up to seven species and the list for Q2 is up to 56.