Certain migrants will remind you of certain time of the year, and Oriental Plovers are certainly one of such. Last week a flock of five Oriental Plovers were reported along Tam Kon Chau Road, which was well worth a Sunday afternoon to try and find. My dad and I found the five fairly easily at the reported site, they were dozing off under the sun on a dried fish pond, taking little notice of the few admirers sat nearby.
Oriental Plovers
Oriental Plover's Admirers...
As with most Oriental Plovers, these were fairly confiding and are fairly relaxed even when approached, no wonder they are popular for birders! There were two adults in amongst the juveniles with a beautiful red breast band, certainly got most of my attention because I never seen adult up close before!
Oriental Plover - adult breeding plumage
Juvenile Oriental Plovers are fairly attractive in their own right, especially when you consider how we only get them during a very short period of time each year! It is always a joy to encounter them in the field and should be appreciated.
Oriental Plover - juvenile
Other than the five Oriental Plovers, Oriental Pratincoles were also passing through in good numbers, I counted no fewer than 15 around the same area where they share the same habitat. Adults in breeding plumage are more vibrant and shows more orange tint on their throat and belly.
Oriental Pratincole - breeding plumage
The pair of Glossy Ibis had stayed on and made themselves comfortable at a shallow pond at Tai Sang Wai where they have been gorging on snails and worms. The pair look very healthy and seems quite contented there, I even wonder whether they may stay the summer! I certainly hope so as I certainly enjoy having this wonderful species around!
Glossy Ibis's new favourite pond
Glossy Ibis
I've also been doing a few birding tours of late, tours during spring is always exciting as you never really know what may turn up next. As was the case for a full day tour where we had an extremely productive morning at Tai Po Kau, best bird was no doubt a Brown-breasted Flycatcher, a species I hope will be able to breed successfully this year.
Brown-breasted Flycatcher - rare summer breeder
Tai Po Kau is a good place to sample most of our forest species. Hainan Blue Flycatchers are now everywhere and extremely vocal. We had luck with a Lesser Shortwing which showed briefly, a species that even I seldom see well!
Hainan Blue Flycatcher - male
Lesser Shortwing - a rare occasion to get it in full view...
Plain Flowerpeckers had been very vocal and fairly unmissable during spring, you are almost guarantee to get great views of it. The more common Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers however don't always want to show off their most colourful feature, but males are extremely territorial and will defend their territory fiercely if another male come close.
Plain Flowerpecker
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker - male
Fork-tailed Sunbirds can be slightly tricky to get a good look without flowering trees, but occasionally you will get singing males that show off it's iridescent plumage at eye-levels!
Fork-tailed Sunbird - male
Black-throated Laughingthrushes can often seen in song during early morning, they are great mimics and can mimic anything from a Besra to Crested Serpent Eagles. Breeding season is well underway, including a pair of Blue Whistling Thrush which seems to be nesting near the stream, we even found a Huet's Fulvetta nest during one of our outings.
Black-throated Laughingthrush
Blue Whistling Thrush
Huet's Fulvetta - at nest
The egretry at Mai Po is fully occupied, with many Little Egrets either busy building their nest or tending to their chicks. There's also been plenty of Yellow Bitterns around, unlike their relative they don't make their nest in full view but rather discreetly in reed beds, so chances of finding their nest is quite slim.
Little Egret - collecting nesting materials
Yellow Bittern
Whiskered Terns had arrived in good numbers around fish ponds, its difficult not to stop and look at them as they are such graceful fliers. Black-faced Spoonbills had been fairly stable at a drained fish pond at Tai Sang Wai, but probably not for long as the fishermen is likely going to get all the remaining fish out soon and refill it with water.
Whiskered Tern
Black-faced Spoonbill
Another wonderful find during one of the bird tour were a few Chinese Penduline Tits, they are not always easy to see in the reed beds so I was delighted to first find one perched on the wire and later another perched next to the car for a better look.
Chinese Penduline Tit - female
Finally, finding two separate flocks of Blue-tailed Bee-eaters at both Long Valley and Tai Sang Wai was no doubt one of the highlight for me this week. These fairly scarce migrants can be hard to track down sometimes, a little bit of rain usually helps with grounding them on passage.
Blue-tailed Bee-eater - can brighten up any birding day!
Forecast of more rain in the next few days, not good weather to go outside but certainly weather that may bring in some interesting birds...We shall see!
