Still no major rarity yet this autumn, the best birds I managed lately was a juvenile Rosy Starling at Tai Sang Wai, Yuen saw an adult male a few days ago, making it the second bird this month. Among the same flock of starlings was a single Daurian Starling, which seems to be in no short supply this year! I am not complaining, as they are quite good looking birds. They were feeding on the Chinaberry trees, which often attracts lots of starlings.
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| Rosy Starling - juvenile |
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| Daurian Starling - nice looking adult |
The fish ponds around San Tin and Tai Sang Wai are always worth a look during passage, I was hoping for Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, but was disappointed to find the overhead wires empty. A distant Black-winged Kite was probably the best bird I managed other than the starlings. A few extremely confiding Little Ringed Plovers provided plenty of photo opportunity, while a few returning dabbling ducks was a pleasant sight, I saw both Eurasian Wigeons and Northern Shovelers swimming around the fish ponds.
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| Black-winged Kite |
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| Little Ringed Plover |
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| Eurasian Wigeon |
Mai Po was a little bit quiet, although two Eastern Marsh Harriers gave quite a wonderful show in front of hide 3. Both birds were juvenile, but one showed conspicuous white rump.
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| Eastern Marsh Harrier |
The other bird with barely any white rump. For some reason, most wintering birds in Hong Kong are of juveniles, adult male or female are rather uncommon. A Pied Harrier been seen lately, but didn't show up while I was there.
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| Eastern Marsh Harrier |
The only other bird of interest on the scrape was a single Ruff that was very far away. Wader numbers now in higher numbers, although mostly just common species, such as numerous Eurasian Curlews, I scanned for Far Eastern Curlew with no luck. I found a flock of Pacific Golden Plovers along the fenced road, now in their modest looking winter plumage.
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| Ruff - amongst other common waders |
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| Eurasian Curlew |
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| Pacific Golden Plover |
A Fairy Pitta was reported at Ho Man Tin on 6th, I managed to go there after work in the afternoon, managed a good look of this incredible species, despite this individual being very shy. It is always a thrill to see this spectacular looking bird, and even more incredible to think that they come through urban areas every year!
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| Fairy Pitta |
Hide 3 has been good these past few weeks, hasn’t it ? Fairy Pitta is an excellent bird anywhere...
ReplyDeleteFairy Pitta is a bird we are never going grow tired of!
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