Typhoon Ragasa was one of the strongest typhoon of the year, it ripped through Luzon and Taiwan before heading straight towards Hong Kong and southern coast of Guangdong, it was fortunate that it didn't cause as much damage as predicted in Hong Kong, but we experienced intense winds on the 24th, with gusts upwards of 200km/h in some locations! The typhoon did brought in many migrants, including flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes, many ended up at Long Valley. These small pelagic waders are known to be quite fearless around people, and they were all feeding around the ponds just a few feet away from me. While they are not in their colourful breeding plumage, it was still lovely to see them up close.
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| Red-necked Phalarope |
Nearby, some hirundines flew around feeding on the flying insects, other than the common Barn Swallows, there were a few Eastern Red-rumped Swallows and a single Sand Martin.
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| Eastern Red-rumped Swallow |
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| Sand Martin |
A Von Schrenck's Bittern have been seen around Long Valley, although it's been very secretive, only flying out occasionally around the paddies. Yellow Bitterns are far more friendly and can be seen around various ponds.
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| Von Schrenck's Bittern - juvenile |
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| Yellow Bittern - juvenile |
Two juvenile Ruffs turned up before the typhoon, but they were only there for one day. Got lucky that morning when I bumped into Akki who informed me of their presence. Ruff is now a rather scarce migrant in Hong Kong, so getting two at Long Valley was rather surprising, it was also the first time I have seen this species at this site.
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| Ruff - a rarity at Long Valley! |
Many Snipes are present at Long Valley, most goes unidentified as 'Swintail' Snipes, but of the few I managed to photograph there were definitely some Swinhoe's and Pin-tailed Snipes around, more Common Snipes are now arriving as well.
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| Swinhoe's Snipe |
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| Pin-tailed Snipe |
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| Common Snipe |
I had a relatively early Yellow-breasted Bunting, most don't arrive until October. This one was found feeding in the paddies with hundreds of Munias, it later flew up to a tree where I managed a record shot. A feral population of Alexandrine Parakeets can be found around New Territories, and many find their way to Long Valley, feeding on various crops, including one of their favourite; sugarcane!
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| Yellow-breasted Bunting - relatively early individual |
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| Alexandrine Parakeet |
Over at San Tin, a Eurasian Hoopoe was the only relatively good bird I got there, it was however quite skittish and didn't allow me to get close, but they are always fun to see.
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| Eurasian Hoopoe - a very skittish individual |
Whiskered Terns filled the fish ponds, I scanned for White-winged or Little Terns but with little luck. At one of the drained pond, numerous waders were present, including many Red-necked, Long-toed and Temminck's Stints.
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| Whiskered Tern |
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| Temminck's, Red-necked and Long-toed Stints |
Red-billed Starlings are now returning, a few were seen feeding around the bread. Black Kites are a regular feature in the fish ponds, but I rarely see one so close like this one. Richard's Pipit are also returning, first of the many we will see throughout the winter months.
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| Red-billed Starling |
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| Black Kite |
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| Richard's Pipit |
The House Sparrows are still showing well at the airport, I counted no less than seven, but there were likely more out of sight somewhere.
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| House Sparrow - female |
Finally, return of some of our wintering raptors, a male Eastern Marsh Harrier came as a bit of a surprise for me, as I rarely see adult males in Hong Kong, this is only my second ever adult male in Hong Kong. Eurasian Kestrels are now returning, these will likely stay in Hong Kong throughout the winter months.
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| Eastern Marsh Harrier - male |
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| Eurasian Kestrel |
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