Even though we are coming to the end of November, temperature is still relatively warm, the cooler weather did not last very long, and we were back to 26 - 27°C temperature. Despite the lack of cold fronts, there's been a steady stream of wintering birds arriving. Even though the 50 odd Oriental Storks did not all stay in Hong Kong, a few did linger on, I caught up with 4 of them at Mai Po the other day, which gave brilliant views! It is always such a privilege to see this endangered species in Hong Kong.
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| Oriental Storks - Wonderful visitors to Mai Po |
Other wintering birds now arriving at Mai Po includes numerous gulls, such as Saunder's Gulls and Black-headed Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gull (heuglin's) and Vega Gulls. A single Pallas's Gull was also present.
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| Saunder's Gull |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gulls (heuglin's) & Vega Gulls |
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| Pallas's Gull amongst the other waterbirds |
Out at Deep Bay, hundreds of Dunlins can be seen on the mudflat, although the winter tide is usually not as high as spring tides, so most of the birds were quite far away. A few Common Redshanks were the only waders that came close to the bird hide. Black-capped Kingfisher is an 'easy' bird out in the mangroves, although without closer perch, they now perch much further away from the bird hide.
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| Dunlins |
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| Common Redshank |
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| Black-capped Kingfisher |
On the scrape, up to 7 Falcated Ducks have now arrived, mingling amongst the Eurasian Wigeons. I also had a few Purple Herons around the reserve, perhaps some are wintering individuals.
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| Falcated Ducks - male & female |
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| Purple Heron |
Eastern Buzzards are now very common, while Greater Spotted Eagles can often be seen drifting past above, here's one directly next to a Black Kite for clear size comparison.
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| Eastern Buzzard |
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| Greater Spotted Eagle & Black Kite |
Over at Tai Sang Wai, a Black-winged Kite had been showing quite well, this one was quite bold and often allowed close approach, it was also fearless against the local Collared Crows, of which I saw them harassing the Kite, but it definitely made it clear to the crows that it was not to be messed with.
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| Collared Crow & Black-winged Kite |
In the evening, Savanna Nightjars can still be seen on the road, although they are not vocal at this time of the year, they are usually not hard to find.
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| Savanna Nightjar |
At San Tin, the most notable bird being a Daurian Jackdaw that's been frequenting the fish ponds near the MTR wetlands, however, this individual had a ring on its right leg, and not one that bird ringers uses, more like a metal ring for captive birds. So, it is highly likely that this was an ex-captive bird that ended up in suitable habitat.
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| Daurian Jackdaw |
Other various winter visitors there being numerous Red-rumped Swallows, Red-throated Pipits, Red-billed Starlings, Oriental Turtle Doves and Eurasian Skylark.
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| Red-rumped Swallow |
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| Red-throated Pipit - female |
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| Red-billed Starling |
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| Oriental Turtle Dove |
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| Eurasian Skylark |
Near home, a pair of White-bellied Sea-Eagles been very vocal and often seen patrolling the area, this pair had been nesting here for a long time, although I haven't really seen them with any offspring in the last few years. I counted at least 17 Kentish and 2 Greater Sand Plovers wintering at Ting Kok, but only the single Grey Plover was approachable for photos.
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| White-bellied Sea-Eagle |
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| Grey Plover |
Over at Wu Kau Tang, things are generally quiet with no sign of Common Rosefinches anywhere. Asian Stubtails are now frequently heard and sometimes seen along the forest path. Orange-bellied Leafbirds seems to be relatively easy there. The best birds I manage were a few Eastern Crowned Warblers and a single Radde's Warbler. I did find a Fluffy Tit there, a rare butterfly species that was first reported in Hong Kong in 2021, now relatively widespread but still rare.
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| Orange-bellied Leafbird - male |
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| Eastern Crowned Warbler |
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| Radde's Warbler |
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| Fluffy Tit |
