Great Barbet - the bird of the weekend for me
It all started on 24th of December, I was invited by Sangwoodgoon (an excellent local organic farm https://www.facebook.com/sangwoodgoon/?fref=ts) to do a bird guiding tour for a group of fifteen after the screening of "Fly, Kite Fly", an excellent Taiwanese documentary about Black Kites by directer Chieh-te Liang.
After the screening I led the group down to Mui Shue Hang Park to look for some common birds around us. We got a nice selection of common birds along the river like Wagtails, Sandpipers and Egrets, even a Common Kingfisher decided to give everyone a great look. The finale was naturally the female Plumbeous Water Redstart that had been there for a few weeks now, the uncommon visitor was a great way to introduce them to how important Hong Kong is as a wintering ground and passage migration stop for many bird species. The photos of this confiding bird I took before the tour.
Plumbeous Water Redstart - star bird at Mui Shue Hang
Plumbeous Water Redstart - very confiding as always!
For 26th and 27th I led two separate birders for a half day and a full day respectively, Anssi a birder from Finland on the first day and Jeff a birder from the US on the second day. We started both days at Tai Po Kau, and for both days we got some quality birds from our prime forest site, and possibly one of the best mixed feeding flocks I've encountered in the last three years!
Both mornings started with a fruiting Ficus tree, the tree attracted a lot of birds, and the best of them all were no doubt a flock of seven Great Barbets on the 26th! A few turned up on 27th, and I managed some much better shots that day! Great Barbets are really not an easy species to see, being usually very high up in the canopy, but the fruits had lured them down and this was as close as I have ever been with this species in Hong Kong. For me this would be the bird of this long weekend!
Great Barbet - the fruits had made this usually camera shy species very photogenic
Quite a few other species were taking advantage of this bountiful food source. Ashy Drongos came by, a leuocogenis race with the white face. Silver-eared Mesias were amongst the first to start feeding at the tree every morning, often followed by Blue-winged Minlas and also numerous Velvet-fronted Nuthatches. Yellow-browed Warblers were easily visible, a pair of Black-winged Cuckoo-shrikes visited on the second morning, adding more excitement to this magical Ficus tree!
Ashy Drongo - leuocogenis
Silver-eared Mesia
Blue-winged Minla
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
Yellow-browed Warbler
Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike
The forest trail was fairly productive on both days, but birds behaved very differently. The first day was much warmer, so mixed flocks were quite scattered, although we still caught up with a few quality birds including Goodson's Leaf Warbler and other "commoner" Tai Po Kau residents. The best bird though was no doubt a Lesser Shortwing which showed extremely well (by Shortwing standard), giving me and Anssi quite a decent view, Jeff was less lucky but still got glimpses of this skulking species.
Lesser Shortwing - been a while since I've seen them
Both days were blessed with a range of different supporting casts, Chestnut Bulbuls were obviously one of the most numerous. Both species of Minivets were entertaining to watch as ever, they were particularly close on 27th, where a few just came to within 2 meters! Here showing a female Grey-chinned and a male Scarlet. Blue-winged Minlas were another staple for Tai Po Kau, here's one that took a large katydid for breakfast.
Chestnut Bulbul
Grey-chinned Minivet - female
Scarlet Minivet - male
Blue-winged Minla with Katydid
Although Velvet-fronted Nuthatches are common, who doesn't enjoy seeing a blue bird with red bill hanging upside down? A face as pretty as that it's difficult to say no. Huet's Fulvettas have now established a stable population in Tai Po Kau, a split of the Grey-cheeked Fulvetta meant that there are more birds for birders to tick off their world list, Jeff was happy to know that they are now considered a different species to those he saw in ! Indochinese Yuhinas are also now split with Striated Yuhinas, we got some very neat views of these handsome looking birds.
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
Huet's Fulvetta
Indochinese Yuhina
For wintering warblers we mainly get Yellow-browed and Pallas's Leaf, however there are two other species of wintering warblers that can be slightly harder to pick up. The Eastern crowned Warbler was the more unusual one, they have been wintering in Hong Kong for the last year or two, they are usually a passage migrant. A few wintering Goodson's Leaf Warblers provided quite decent views while it was preening, their nuthatch like behaviour is hard to miss once you know what you're looking for.
Eastern Crowned Warbler - first time I seen them in winter
Goodson's Leaf Warbler - one of Jeff's target bird
I have never had much luck with photographing Grey-headed Canary Flycatchers, they usually stick to the canopy. But those on the 27th were a completely different creature! One of them came to within a few meters away and provided some great photography opportunities. At one point I had to step back because I simply could not fit it into my frame! I will have to thank Jeff for providing such amazing luck!
Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher - first time for me to get so close to this species
Outside of Tai Po Kau, Anssi and I visited Long Valley briefly. There weren't a great deal around at noon time, but we found a flock of Hirundines with Red-rumped Swallows, Barn Swallows and most surprisingly a few Northern House Martins (quite rare in HK)! Also with them were a few House Swifts, and most notably a Himalayan Swiftlet (also quite rare in HK)!
Black-winged Stilts - always there to entertain you when nothing's around
Himalayan Swiftlet - bright spot for a not very exciting Long Valley
Jeff and I on the other hand gave Starling Inlet a try, however the windy weather did not help and we barely got any birds there. So, we decided to hit up Central Kwai Chung Park to try for the Emerald Dove that Jeff had on his Christmas wish list, the Doves did not really cooperate, we heard two calling to one another but simply could not locate their exact locations. The Grey-backed Thrushes however gave quite a show, slow to begin with but around a dozen birds slowly materialised and a few gave decent views. The best bird however which made this little trip to this urban park worth while was a great view of the skulking Asian Stubtail Warbler, what better way is there to end a great day of birding?
Grey-backed Thrush - one of the handsome male amongst a dozens in the park
Asian Stubtail Warbler - a great bird to end the day which provided stunning views!
