Look for Cuckoos, got a Coucal.

Got news from Captain about a Drongo Cuckoo he heard last week near Lam Tsuen, but I haven't had time to investigate into his finding, which will be the first summer record in HK if accepted! 1st of July is a public holiday to "celebrate" the establishment of HKSAR, a day which many Hong Kong citizens put on their calendar as protest and demonstration day. The 1st of July demonstration don't start until the afternoon, so the morning is perfect for me try for the Cuckoo.

Me and my parents arrived at She Shan road at 8pm, and it took us a while to locate the road heading into the hill side. There weren't a lot of birds and we didn't hear anything that remotely resembles the Drongo Cuckoo call. The weather was way too hot to do any serious walking. We got to a stretch of nice river, but no birds to be found.

Stretch of small river near She Shan

On our way out I finally caught up with something a little less ordinary in the form of a Lesser Coucal. This species is a localised resident in Hong Kong, not as widespread or common as the Greater Coucal. It is substantially smaller and less brightly coloured, the pale markings on the wings is a good feature to look for if you get a good look. Though I have seen and heard this bird many times, I have never taken a photo of it, so here is my first one. The bird was quite far away but it did gave great views perched on top of some tall grass.

Lesser Coucal (taken with Canon 7D + 400mm f/4 DO)

I also tried using the Canon SX60 HS with it's super tele abilities, however given the distance of the bird the photo came out pretty blurry. Good as a record shot none the less.

Lesser Coucal (taken with Canon SX60 HS)