Deja Vu - Rosy Pipit...Again!

Rosy Pipit - Again!

It was a typical afternoon at Long Valley, November is always a good time to visit as you usually can end up with quite a good range of species, including various Buntings etc. Upon arrival I immediately picked up several Yellow-breasted Buntings feeding in the paddies. I later saw a single female Rustic Bunting as well, although it did not stay still for a photo, while the long staying Black-headed Bunting is still around. One of the more interesting bird I saw was a male House Sparrow, they are still considered a rarity in Hong Kong, this species is likely expanding its range from the west, and they are now regularly recorded during the winter months.

Yellow-breasted Bunting

House Sparrow - male

I met Benjamin who saw a Buff-bellied Pipit in another field, so I decided to head over to take a look, along with fellow birders Mike Leven and Sam Baxter-Bray. As we were approaching the field, I explained to Sam that this was the exact same field I found a Rosy Pipit in 2017. We scanned for pipits in the field and soon picked up a pair, one was clearly a Buff-bellied Pipit, with typical dark coloured mantle that is faintly streaked.

Buff-bellied Pipit

The other bird however caught my attention, it was very well marked with streaked mantle, finer streakings on the breast compared with the Buff-bellied, plus a much more pronounce eyebrow. At that point various possibilities ran through my head, and this bird felt strangely familiar to me, on closer inspection I noticed the olive coloured edges to the primaries and tertiaries, and it clicked. A Rosy Pipit! This was surely a Deja Vu, what were the chances that I found yet another Rosy on the exact same field!? I asked Mike for a confirmation on this, and after a few minutes of observation, we both agreed this should be a Rosy Pipit in non-breeding plumage.

Rosy Pipit - pronounce eyebrow, streaked mantle and olive edges on primaries and tertiaries

We had great views of the bird for the next thirty minutes or so, before it flew off to another field. To my knowledge it was seen again the next morning, but a photo of a cat with a pipit had everyone believing the Rosy may have met its demise...Although some believe it was a Red-throated and not the Rosy, either way, feral cats is a huge problem for migratory birds.

Rosy Pipit

 At one of the overgrown ponds, an Eastern Water Rail had been fairly regularly making an appearance, I had a quick look before dark and saw it strutting along the edge. A Slaty-breasted Rail is also supposed to be present, although I didn't get to see it. A few Greater Painted Snipes were also at the same pond, coming out into the open at dusk.

Eastern Water Rail

Greater Painted Snipe - female

It had became a habit of mine to check in on Telford Gardens every so often in between jobs. While the long staying Middendorff's Gropper is still present, I was lucky enough to see this extremely confiding Lanceolated Warbler on my last visit, it was the most cooperative one I have ever seen, strolling along the flowerbed looking for food. I have always had a soft spot for this species, being quite a dainty bird compared with other grasshopper warblers, I find their streaking to be quite beautiful.

Lanceolated Warbler - so very friendly!