National Moth Week & Other Wildlife

We were able to join in one mothing session of the National Moth Week evening organised by Dr. Roger Kendrick in the past week, we were very fortunate to be able to moth around Tai Po Kau Headland, it is such a beautiful area for moths and wildlife. Summer generally is not that great for moths, but we had a surprisingly good session.

Barsine striata

Cleora alienaria

Parotis punctiferalis

Asota heliconia

Psilalcis galsworthyi

Ericeia subcinerea

Laspeyria ruficeps

Casminola johannstumpfi

Chrysocraspeda tristicula

Metaemene atrigutta

Macroglossum divergens

Mabra eryxalis

Hypenagonia angulata

Ecpyrrhorrhoe celatalis

Biston suppressaria

Ramila acciusalis

Ataboruza lauta

Catada vagalis

Artona hainana

Asota caricae

Adrapsa quadrilinealis

Plecoptera recta

Paracrama angulata

Prooedema inscisalis

Edulicodes inoueella

Choris

Sympis rufibasis

Asota plaginota

Erechthias atririvis

Arctornis l-nigrum

Caloptilia leucolitha

Atteva wallengreni

Pexicopia melitolicna

Giaura multipunctata

Isocentris filalis

Euthrix isocyma

Other interesting insects that evening included a very big Formosan Giant Mantis which terrorised the moth trap and successfully got a nice meal out of it. Two interesting looking Ornebius fuscicerci, a species of cricket. And, a rather small female Stag beetle that was Prosopocoilus oweni melli.

Titanodula formosana

Ornebius fuscicerci

Prosopocoilus oweni melli

I have not been out birding much due to the weather, its been either extremely hot or very wet. While out doing surveys I do see a few, including this Yellow Bittern, they are a fairly common sight around fish ponds and wetlands during the summer months.

Yellow Bittern

Waders are some of our earliest autumn migrants, and we are already getting many non-breeding birds returning. Plovers are plentiful, with Greater Sand Plover and Siberian Sand Plovers showig up. The best of the bunch was a single White-faced Plover, which are most likely often overlooked as a species in Hong Kong.

Greater Sand Plover

Siberian Sand Plover

White-faced Plover

Not many exciting herps for me, firstly I haven't really been out that much, secondly I have not really had much luck with snakes other than the more common species. A few Reeve's Tokay Gecko is about the best I could manage in the reptile department. 

Reeve's Tokay Gecko

There are two species of frogs which I always feels are rather special to Hong Kong, that being the Short-legged Toad, or the Peak Spadefoot Toad, this species was first discovered in Hong Kong, although later it was found outside of Hong Kong as well, it is certainly a species best seen here. The other species being the Romer's Tree Frog, the only true endemic frog species in Hong Kong, this tiny species are rather unobtrusive and can be hard to locate on the forest floor, lucky that this one just hopped straight out onto the footpath for me to see!

Short-legged Toad

Romer's Tree Frog

August is just around the corner, meaning the low season for birds is nearing its end! We are all anticipating for the arrival of some proper autumn migrants...