More Summer Wildlife

Hot and stuffy summer months are not the easiest to get through for birders in Hong Kong, carrying around heavy gear in the intense heat is no fun. Although it does have its charm as the forest is truly alive at this time of the year, with many insects, reptiles and all sorts of other critters you may find if you look closely. A few rare breeding birds may also be present, one of them is the Malayan Night Heron, which have been regularly breeding in Hong Kong since last decade, they are now quite a widespread breeder but is by no means common. I was lucky to encounter this one in Western New Territories, strutting along a grassy lawn, feeding on earthworms.

Malayan Night Heron - rare breeding species in Hong Kong

Most cuckoos have seized calling by now, having found their victims to deal with their troublesome young...although I found a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo still calling near Lok Ma Chau, was able to get some good looks before it flew off into the distance. They are such an attractive species that I can hardly get bored of.

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo

Most birds are still busy rearing their young in June, forest birds in particular can become quite quiet during this time. By late June most birds have reared at least one clutch and some on their second, thats when you start seeing juvenile birds following their parents around. A walk around Tai Po Kau at this time of the year will often see familiar species engaging in breeding activities such as carrying food. Here a Chestnut Bulbul carrying an insect back to its nest, while two Mountain Bulbuls eyed me closely from above, likely having a nest nearby. You may also find juvenile Velvet-fronted Nuthatch with black bills, learning how to forage.

Chestnut Bulbul

Mountain Bulbul

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch - juvenile

We don't have any flying foxes in hong Kong, but we do have the Short-nosed Fruit Bat, a species that helps disperse the seeds of our local trees. You often find them resting under the leafs of Fan Palms during the day, which shelters them from the sunlight and rain.

Short-nosed Fruitbat

As birding is slow during summer months, it is a good time to put some effort in identifying all the damselflies and dragonflies around us. Here is a collection of some beautiful damsels and dragonflies I encountered recently. Nothing really rare but they are fascinating to look at.

Ceriagrion auranticum ryukyuanum

Agriocnemis pygmaea

Onychargia atrocyana

Agriocnemis femina oryzae

Neurothemis tullia tullia

Zygonyx iris insignis

Moth of the month no doubt goes to a Clelea sapphirina, a small but extremely beautiful little gem, as its name suggests, it looks as if someone embedded many sapphire on its wings.

Clelea sapphirina

Summer is also a great time to see some impressive looking Beetles, such as the very beautiful Euselates magna, Hong Kong is not known for having too many impressive looking stag beetles, but we do have a fair share of species, such as this Prosopocoilus oweni.

Euselates magna

Prosopocoilus oweni

Spiders are my newest obsession, and summer is a great time to look for these eight legged creatures. As little as they are studied in Hong Kong, we do have a good range of species. Like many Argiope species, the Argiope vietnamensis create a white 'X' on their web, supposedly to lure in insects. The Cyrtarachne inaequalis which is also known as 'Bird Dropping Spider' mimics a bird dropping on a leaf. The very colourful Thwaitesia glabicauda is not uncommon and often found hiding under leafs. Jumping Spiders are probably the most attractive of all spiders, here we have the Harmochirus brachiatus, Carrhotus sannio and Rhene flavigera.

Argiope vietnamensis

Cyrtarachne inaequalis

Thwaitesia glabicauda

Harmochirus brachiatus

Carrhotus sannio

Rhene flavigera

Finally, we just had a solar eclipse on 21st of June, it was only a partial eclipse, but with a coverage of 90%. It would be another 50 years before we see another eclipse of this coverage in Hong Kong.

Partial Solar Eclipse