Lianghua National Forest Park - December 2018

Lianghua National Forest Park located near Huidong had became one of my favourite weekend birding destination in southern Guangdong ever since I first visited in October last year. The site forms a large patch of forested area east of Huidong along with the better known Gutian Natural Reserves. This site is just shy of 90km from HK, making it a perfect weekend getaway. Over the last few visits good birds such as Red-headed Trogon, Collared Owlet, Silver Pheasant, Small Niltava, Hill Prinia and Brown-breasted Flycatchers had kept our interest high.

The site is a popular tourist attraction during plum blossom season, otherwise it is fairly undisturbed throughout the year. Captain initially wanted to visit Dinghu Shan, but news of the site being closed off had us changing plans, and the thought of visiting Lianghua before the touristy season begin was tempting. So, Captain, Kei and I decided to give the site another try. We met on Friday evening and drove up to Huidong where we stayed a night before driving to the forest park early in the morning.

We woke up at 5:45am, bought breakfast at a 24 hours KFC next door and off we went. We arrived at the forest park before 7am. Cool morning breeze felt very 'autumny', and the red leaves looked the part as well. A flock of Black Bulbuls made an appearance near the main entrance, a few of them had handsome white heads, while a few were still in transition.

Views of Lianghua National Forest Park

Black Bulbul

A large bird wave went past, with Huet's Fulvetta being the predominant species, Scarlet Minivets were also frequently encountered throughout the day. Streak-breasted Scimitar Babblers were also found amongst the flock, although in much lower density.

Huet's Fulvetta

Scarlet Minivet - male

Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler

A single Verditer Flycatcher was seen, this seems to be quite a regular species here, we saw a juvenile during our summer visit which indicates the possibility of breeding at this site. A Speckled Piculet was seen in the bird wave, we encountered up to 7 birds throughout the day, a clear demonstration of how common it is at Lianghua.

Verditer Flycatcher - male

Speckled Piculet

A few Buntings along the roadside made it tough for us, with a bit of patience we were able to get good views of one bird which turned out to be a Black-faced Bunting. Not quite what we were hoping for, but still not a bad record.

Black-faced Bunting - female

Things quietened down around mid-morning, but a flock of Black-throated Tits certainly kept it entertaining for us. We've not recorded this species at this site before, making this a nice addition to our site list. Orange-bellied Leafbirds were quite active throughout the day, making weird calls that confused us time after time...

Black-throated Tit - a new species to this site

Orange-bellied Leafbird - male

Small Niltava was recorded on our previous visit, so it wasn't a surprise when I heard several along the forest track. A male showed particularly well, posing front and back. This species is currently a rare winter visitor to Hong Kong, but seeing that it's status here at Lianghua is likely to be a fairly common resident, it seems logical that this species may colonise Hong Kong in the near future.

Small Niltava - male

We had an early lunch at a nearby restaurant and rested. After lunch, I suggested that we visit the area where we first saw a pair of Red-headed Trogons last year. Everything was quiet, but I noticed a previously hidden trail that goes up the river valley which looked promising. The trail went through some good habitat along the stream, looking like perfect Trogon territory!

Trogon territory...

Sure enough, Captain noticed a Trogon like bird in the distance. The bird later called which confirmed his suspicion, however it remained out of view. A burst of playback brought it closer, and with a little patience the bird finally showed! A female Red-headed Trogon gave nice perched views, although it was very shy, fluttering off in the slightest movements. We've recorded this species on nearly every trip, which indicates a healthy population at this site.

Red-headed Trogon - female

We drove further uphill, but things were generally quiet. Kei was feeling slightly drowsy so Captain and I strolled along the main road as he napped. As we were walking along I noticed two white birds upslope, it was pretty clear what they were, Silver Pheasants! I grabbed my camera and began taking photographs, Captain soon realised what I was looking at and soon joined in. There were at least 3 males and 4 females in that flock, all obscured by branches. Suddenly, an adult male hopped up onto a rock and looked at us! It's silvery white tail cascade down the rock, we were both in awe. The flock soon scuttered upslope. Just as they disappeared behind the thick foliages, Kei appeared in the car, as Captain and I laughed our heads off...Kei was not at all pleased that he dipped on this encounter.

Silver Pheasant - one of the stunning looking male

The drive back to Shenzhen was not particularly eventful, it took longer than expected as we hit some weekend traffic. With a list of some high quality birds, Lianghua always seems to deliver. There was some construction works being done along the lower sections of the park, whether that quiet status of this park will change in the near future remains to be seen. At the mean time, I can't wait until I return again!

Day Trip Surprises - Lianghua National Forest Park, Huidong

Some of our assorted surprises of the day

I visited Lianghua National Forest Park near Gutian with Captain in October last year, this forested site is near Huidong, a mere two hours drive from the Futian border crossing in Shenzhen. After our discovery that Red-headed Trogons are present at this site, Captain and the gang had returned a few more times, although I was unable to join them on those trips. So, when Captain suggested we visit again, I was more than happy to tag along. He also invited Mr. Kwok and his son James, along with brother Kei, the five of us met over the border early morning for a quick breakfast before the drive towards Lianghua.

We hit a little bit of traffic outside of Shenzhen but made up in good time, arriving at the park gate at just around 11:00am. Since it was a bit early for lunch we decided to do some birding first. We drove along the country road 008 and made a slight detour on foot just after the warden's dorms to explore a stretch of road we never birded before. A few Streak-breasted Scimitar Babblers caught our attention, but Captain saw a bluish bird, to our surprise it turned out to be a juvenile Verditer Flycatcher, clearly this species breeds here. Further along the track we added a pair of Crested Goshawks which circled fairly low. Another interesting find was a rather large orchid that should be Robiquetia succisa, it was flowering which certainly caught my attention! It wasn't until it started pouring down that we had to turn around to head back to the car.

Verditer Flycatcher - juvenile

Crested Goshawk

Robiquetia succisa

It cleared up after the brief shower, although things were pretty quiet during mid-day, so we decided to head for lunch. At the restaurant there were plenty of butterflies to keep me entertained before the food was served. An Asian Comma landed on brother Kei and came in and out of the restaurant, this is a rather rare species in Hong Kong. There were other species such as Common Jestor, Angled Castor and the Common Rose which I am more familiar with.

Friendly Asian Comma with brother Kei

Asian Comma

Common Jestor

Angled Castor

Common Rose

A Dragonfly species I don't recognised circled outside the window. There were also a lot of Brown Forest Skinks basking in the sun after the rain. The only bird I found outside the restaurant was a single juvenile Hainan Blue Flycatcher.

Dragonfly sp.

Brown Forest Skink

Hainan Blue Flycatcher - juvenile

After lunch and a little rest we headed towards the upper plum plantations, Chinese Barbets called constantly although none wanted to show. I also heard a Speckled Piculet here, but again it did not make an appearance. The only bird that gave us some excitement were up to three Hill Prinias which hopped out briefly after a burst of playback. This species was unrecorded here until Captain and the guys saw one singing during spring, it seems that there's a fairly healthy population here. Lianghua's birds are now the closest known population to Hong Kong.

Hill Prinia

Other butterflies found here includes the Yellow Coster which is quite rare in Hong Kong, Common Evening Brown and a Magpie Flat. A huge robber fly of the genus Microstylum was found perched in the middle of the road, perhaps to dry itself from the rain. An Indian Forest Skink was also spotted, although it got some rather unusual side markings which I have never seen in any individuals in Hong Kong.

Yellow Coster

Common Evening Brown

Magpie Flat

Microstylum sp.

Indian Forest Skink

We caught sight of a Collared Finchbill further up, although it was too quick for a photo. A wet patch next to the road had a lot of butterflies puddling, including a very nice looking Glassy Bluebottle, which is rare in Hong Kong, a beautiful Chinese Peacock was also present, while a White Dragontail made quick stops each time which made photographing it a real challenge, a common yet beautiful Purple Sapphire allowed very close views.

Glassy Bluebottle

Chinese Peacock

White Dragontail

Purple Sapphire

I was very surprised when the high-pitched song of the Small Niltava was heard through the trees, we soon saw up to three individuals; two males and one female. They were lightning quick, darting around in the shades of the trees, luckily the male perched long enough for me to grab a record shot. This is a new record for this site and certainly an interesting summer record, Small Niltava is often considered a winter visitor this far south, so perhaps it is possible that this species may breed in Hong Kong in the near future.

Small Niltava - male

We also heard a Red-headed Trogon calling nearby, however it never showed itself. A Mandarinia regalis was spotted, it had not been recorded in Hong Kong before, a butterfly species that have a high potential to make it onto our list in the future. A Leucauge sp. with beautiful green belly as well as a Chiasmia monticolaria provided a great macro opportunities.

Mandarinia regalis

Leucauge sp.

Chiasmia monticolaria

We got to the barracks which was as far as we could get to the summit, the view overlooking the valley was quite spectacular, it really gives you a sense how vast this mountain system actually is. On the way down Captain suggested we try the stretch of road that branch out from the temple, it is quite well paved but obviously not as often used as plants were evidently slightly overgrown. Here, we spotted two Brown-breasted Flycatchers, one of which was a juvenile, this was our forth Flycatcher species of the day! A few Orange-headed Thrushes made an appearance, at least one of which was a  recently fledged juvenile.

Brown-breasted Flycatcher - juvenile

Orange-headed Thrush - juvenile

Late afternoon is a good time for pheasants or partridges, as they are often active before dusk. Sure enough, I spotted a Silver Pheasant on the right side of the road! Brother Kei stopped the car just in time as the nice looking male stopped briefly to look at us before disappearing down the slope. Silver Pheasants are known to occur at Luo Fu Shan as well as many other forest reserves, although seeing them well is another matter. It is almost certain that this beautiful species once roamed the forests of Hong Kong before the extensive deforestation. It is certainly a very charismatic species of Guangdong's forests!

Silver Pheasant - male

After dinner we stayed on a little longer hoping to find some owls, we got none calling, although Brown Wood Owls, Collared Owlets as well as Mountain Scops Owls had all been heard here before. We were also hoping for some herps, disappointingly we only spotted a Many-banded Krait which slithered away before I can even get a proper look, as well as a Brown Wood Frog, a more interesting find is a single Hong Kong Cascade Frog, which was previously thought to be endemic to Hong Kong, although herpetologists later found a population here at Gutian.

Brown Wood Frog

Hong Kong Cascade Frog

As Mr. Kwok and James decided to stay on for the night, brother Kei, Captain and I dropped them off at in town and drove back to Hong Kong. It was already 11:30pm when we got to the border, but we managed to pull off a true day trip. Overall I would say it was a day pretty well spent, considering the half day birding itinerary, we picked up quite a few local specialities plus a few unexpected species in July including the Verditer Flycatcher and Small Niltava. Lianghua Gutian had continued to deliver great birds and surprised us every time, who knows, perhaps we will get a Silver Oriole here next time!