Brown Wood Owl - a magnificent creature
I think it is safe to say that ALL birders like owls, I personally love owls and to see one while out birding; even the commonest species will brighten up any birder's day. My day started off with a Collared Scops Owl at home just past mid-night, I've heard it calling for a few nights. They've bred here in the past but in recent years seem to have abandoned the site, therefore it was lovely to see one taking up residence at my local patch.
Collared Scops Owl - hello neighbour!
After working all morning, reports of White-throated Rock Thrush near Kap Lung Forest Trail tempted me to go for a few hours. This is an area I seldom explore, and it certainly seemed I've been missing out, as not long after I hit the trail I encountered a huge bird wave, immediately I spotted an immature Japanese Paradise Flycatcher, which posed nicely for a nice photograph.
Japanese Paradise Flycatcher - immature
I scanned through the smaller birds, yielding a good range of warblers, including Yellow-browed Warblers, Eastern Crowned Warblers, Goodson's Leaf Warbler and Two-barred Warblers which I couldn't get a photo of. The best warbler was no doubt a single Sulphur-breasted Warbler which showed well.
Yellow-browed Warbler - a rather dark billed individual...
Eastern Crowned Warbler
Sulphur-breasted Warbler - best of the bunch
Other birds within the bird wave includes numerous Scarlet and Grey-chinned Minivet, Blue-winged Minla, Swinhoe's White-eye, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Silver-eared Mesia, Mountain Tailorbird, Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler and Black-throated Laughingthrush...A single Speckled Piculet was heard but stayed high up and out of sight.
Grey-chinned Minivet - male & female
Up to three Verditer Flycatchers were within the flock, including one great looking male. A male Fire-breasted Flowerpecker also made an appearance.
Verditer Flycatcher - male
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker - male
I got to the supposed location for White-throated Rock Thrush but came up empty handed, this species had eluded me since my first sighting at Tai Po Kau many years ago, therefore I am still without a photo for this handsome looking species. On my way back I was rewarded with a confiding female Orange-headed Thrush, and soon followed by a White's Thrush on the footpath!
Orange-headed Thrush - female
White's Thrush
It was getting darker by that time, loud rustling in the bushes revealed two Red Muntjacs, a beautiful species that is usually very shy, one stayed long enough for me to grab a few photos before running downhill out of sight.
Red Muntjac
While I was watching the Mutjac, a Brown Wood Owl gave a call. It was still quite bright but it is not unusual for them to call before dark. The owl didn't sound particularly close-by, so I thought I could try and call it in. I played a burst of playback and all of a sudden a massive bird flew out from literally 4m from my feet! I guess it must have been roosting somewhere below the footpath. Before I knew it, I was staring straight into the face of a magnificent Brown Wood Owl.
Brown Wood Owl is a relatively new coloniser in Hong Kong, but they have since found a niche within the ecosystem and is now a scarce but widespread species in Hong Kong. They require mature woodland with large tree cavity for nesting, therefore their recolonisation indicates the secondary forest is regenerating well and is capable of supporting a healthy population. Nowadays they are commonly heard at places like Tai Po Kau and Lam Tsuen, but seeing them is usually extremely difficult.
The owl perched there for a few minutes before flying a little higher up and started calling, the low 'hoo hoo-hoo-Hoo' call resonated throughout the valley. Such close encounter with a large wild owl is awl-inspiring, and no doubt will remain one of my most memorable birding experience in Hong Kong. I left the owl to continue with it's usual routine and walked back to the car, all the while shaking from all the adrenaline pumping through my body! I even encountered a Eurasian Woodcock on the way which was the cherry on top. In birding it is always the unexpected that makes everything more special.
Brown Wood Owl - Heart stopping moment!
Aaah the Brown Wood Owl is wonderful, lovely Mathew. A Scottish lass up at Kadoorie told me it was the "Brown Fishing Owl" anyway with your lovely detailed shot of it I will try and find the Latin. We have them in our garden and they certainly do do (pun intended) a fair amount of fishing. One sits like a garden gnome at the far end of our large pond at night and swoops in on any goldfish that break the surface. Once I was walking up along our road early morning as a tree had fallen across it in a storm so i couldn't drive. Anyway these large fluffy things caught my eye and I looked up into a tree to find three huge fat fluffy chicks, bigger than any adult I've seen. Thought I was dreaming. They looked down on me without blinking. Looks like it was their tree that had fallen. They hung around for a few weeks then vanished, somewhere safer than on the road I hoped. So they are breeding in our forest which is fantastic. I have stopped PCCW digging up our road to lay cables through the country park where i live to avoid disturbance and pleaded with the AFD not to fell any dead looking trees so they have more nesting sights. I did though catch them felling a very large tree well away from the road and the Wilson Trail where it posed no danger to anyone. I noticed they took away the wood in a van so I guess it had some value. I ask myself though if these magnificent birds are not more valuable to us than wood? Interestingly we never hear owls calling in summer but both species you mention we hear in winter almost every evening. The huge and entertaining Coucals the exact opposite, all summer but dead silent in winter.
ReplyDeleteThere are both Brown Wood Owl and Brown Fish Owl in Hong Kong, I believe the one you saw will be Brown Fish Owl, they are scarce but widespread breeding species in Hong Kong. Great to hear about your encounter with them, they are amazing birds to see in the wild. They often start pairing up in winter months and often go silent mid summer as they are in the middle of their breeding season or just finish breeding.
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