Early September Migrants

Four twitch for various reported male Yellow-rumped Flycatchers ended in extreme frustration, I missed the bird by mere an hour in both locations I went to. I tried Ho Man Tin three times and ended up with more females...The best bird I managed was a Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher, which I found sitting on a branch motionlessly at first, it was later chased off by the local Oriental Magpie Robins, luckily I managed a few decent photos before it flew into deep cover.

An Amur Paradise Flycatcher was not quite enough to make up for the losses of the male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, but it was nice to see one up close. This species is usually the earliest migrant to come through and is one of our staple migrant seen in Hong Kong.

Also present were numerous Asian Brown Flycatchers and Hainan Blue Flycatchers, both regular migrants at Ho Man Tin. There were also a few Arctic Warblers and Pale-legged Leaf Warblers around, although none provided any good chance for photographs.

On my final try at Ho Man Tin I gave up by mid morning (proved the right decision as no male Yellow-rumped Flycatchers were seen since), I ended up taking a stroll along Kowloon Hill Fitness Trail, a site I rarely visit nowadays, and seems to have become not so popular amongst birders in recent years. It was already well past 11am, I almost lost all hope until I heard the call of Black-throated Bushtits, and sure enough I saw three of these tiny birds right above my head. I have seen this species at this site many years ago, so its nice to see them again here. Also present were Black-throated Laughingthrush, which is kind of a specialty at Kowloon Hill.

An early walk along trail at Tai Lam proved to be a good call, with up to three Siberian Blue Robins seen along a short stretch of forest trail. One immature male was particularly showy, feeding on the trail at times. This seems to be a great year for this species, with numerous reported almost everywhere.

A short walk a Shing Mun Reservoir also yielded some migrants, most notably a pair of Amur Paradise Flycatcher in a single bird wave. Asian Brown Flycatchers were also noted.

Nothing hugely exciting yet, but good number of birds passing through at the moment, still hopeful for a rarity or two...