2019 Birding Review - Top 10

This annual birding review was late due to our Australia trip, but it is one that must be done! Especially that 2019 was a very very good year for birds. There were a lot of really memorable species and some long awaited rarities. Here are ten of the best species I saw in 2019. My year list was 320 species, my highest year count in the last couple of years. I do look forward to more exciting new and rare birds in 2020.

1. Glossy Ibis

No Ibis had been recorded in Hong Kong since late 90s, since the Oriental White Ibis is now practically extinct in the region, the chances for another ibis in Hong Kong seemed slimmer than ever. Unexpectedly, a pair of these beautiful Glossy Ibis paid us a visit and decided to stay in town for a while for everyone to enjoy! The duo first landed at Mai Po briefly but later relocated at Long Valley, finally settling at Tai Sang Wai. This was no doubt the most exciting and most twitched bird in Hong Kong this year.

2. Fire-capped Tit

Always expect the unexpected in birding, and a Fire-capped Tit which turned up at Kadorie Farm in January last year was probably one of the least expected vagrant in Hong Kong. This little guy found a nice plum blossom and fed on the buds for a few days, allowing most birders to tick this incredible bird off their Hong Kong list. Let's hope we get a male next time!

3. Wood Warbler

This dainty warbler was found on Po Toi island during spring migration, a mega rarity that is way out of its usual range, with very few records from southern China, this Wood Warbler somehow found itself on the most southerly island in Hong Kong!

4. Japanese Night Heron

Around the end of November a Japanese Night Heron was found feeding on the lawns at a barbecue site at Sai Kung. They are not only rare in Hong Kong, but is a rare and elusive species throughout its range, including Japan where they breed. We are very blessed to be one of the very few places where this species do passage through. This young bird showed exceedingly well for prolonged period of time throughout December.

5. Sooty Tern

A very long awaited bird on my Hong Kong list, this rare tern turned up at the tern colony and stayed there just long enough for interested birders to check this off their list. We had wonderful views of this bird up close as well as a cast of various terns around the colony which made it an especially great day out!

6. Black Stork

One of those birding stories that you will remember for the rest of your life, especially great I got to share this great bird with good friend John Hansford from the UK who visited in December. We knew a Black Stork had been spotted the day before, but we saw no bird on site when we arrived, waited a while and nothing happened, just as we were about to leave I suddenly saw this bird just standing there in front of us, turns out it was just hiding in the tall grass!

7. Japanese Robin

Tai Lam Country Park became one of my favourite birding spot late last year, and this was one of those species that totally blew my mind! A very very long awaited lifer and one of my boogie bird, seeing a male in full view for over a minute was not an everyday thing! Having not seen any for many years, I saw over three individuals within a month!

8. Red-backed Shrike

Another one of those really long awaited lifers, having missed the last few records in Hong Kong, I have been waiting for one to turn up somewhere. In late September one finally dropped into Long Valley! It showed exceedingly well and wasn't shy at all.

9. Collared Owlet

We have anticipated this species to spread to Hong Kong, and I was lucky enough to find this very vocal individual at Tai Po Kau being mobbed by other birds. This newest addition to our local owls was exciting news that our forest continues to mature and more welcoming for these long lost species.

10. Brown Wood Owl

Last but not least, one of the most heart stopping moment in 2019, when I came face to face with this Brown Wood Owl at close range at Tai Lam Country Park. It turns out there were more than one bird there and other birders soon found another one, making them a likely breeding pair! I hope they continue to do well there in years to come.

Late January Mega Rarity - Fire-capped Tit

The first 'twitchable' bird of the year came in form of a Fire-capped Tit seen at Kadorie Farm and Botanical Garden. News came from the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society forum, where a photo was uploaded to the 'Bird Identification' section, it was later confirmed to be a female Fire-capped Tit. I've seen this species before in Sichuan Emeishan, but this species had never been recorded in Guangdong, let alone Hong Kong! According to Richard Lewthwaite, the closest record for this species is one trapped in West Guangxi in 2013. This species is known for their seasonal migration from high to lower altitude during winter, where birds breeding at the foothills of the Himalayas can migrate all the way to North-Central India and northern Thailand. Therefore, for vagrants to turn up in Hong Kong is not impossible. Also, a dull looking female or juvenile is less likely to be a target of bird trade. Whether this bird gets accepted remains to be seen...If it does it will be a 1st for Hong Kong!

Fire-capped Tit : First Mega Rarity in 2019

Kenneth and I decided to go for the bird after another group of birders relocated it on a plum blossom tree along the main road of Kadorie Farm on the 28th. We met up and arrived at the gate at 9am to find a long queue of hikers and birders. There is a shuttle bus service that goes all the way to the top of the hill, but seats are limited, therefore people try to get there early to get a seat. We were obviously not early enough...So, we took the option to walk 20 minutes uphill. We were joined by James Kwok, Eric and Dephne Wong on our ascend. All the birders were standing around when we arrived, a clear sign that the target had yet to arrive. We waited for 10 minutes and all of a sudden a small bird appeared in the plum tree, pecking at the flower buds, the sound of camera shutters filled the valley...

'Twitchers' in Action

Fire-capped Tit - feeding in the blossoming plum tree

The Fire-capped Tit showed exceptionally well for the next hour or so, feeding constantly. This bird was just as how I remembered it from Sichuan, being quite bold and active. It was seemingly oblivious to the huge crowed congregating below the tree. This species was previously assigned to the family of Penduline Tits, but it's nesting habit in tree holes was most untypical, therefore it is now placed in with the Tits, but under a monotypic genus of Cephalopyrus.

Fire-capped Tit

While we waited around for the Fire-capped Tit, a few birds of prey drifted past, including a pair of very vocal Crested Serpent Eagles. I was hoping for an Oriental Honey Buzzard but only yielded an Eastern Buzzard.

Crested Serpent Eagle

Eastern Buzzard

The blossoming plum and cherry trees also attracted hundreds of Redbase Jezebels, they are probably one of the commonest butterflies in Hong Kong, but it's still a wonderful sight to see so many.

Redbase Jezebel

After we've had satisfactory views of the Fire-capped Tit, we ventured up to the T.S Woo Memorial Pavilion to look for a recently reported Mrs. Gould's Sunbird that's been feeding in the blossoming cherry trees. We were greeted by a lot of Japanese White-eyes also enjoying the abundance of nectar.

Cherry Blossoms

Japanese White-eye - active and everywhere!

It wasn't long until the rather scruffy looking immature male came into view, light was very harsh and and terrible for photography, but it was still nice to catch up with this rare winter visitor. The bird only showed briefly and never returned for another look.

Mrs. Gould's Sunbird - immature male

Elsewhere this January, many expected species had returned to known locations, including a few Common Rosefinches returning to Shek Kong Airfield, I managed to get a few record shot of this rather shy male feeding in the thick vegetation. Chinese Grosbeaks are however much more friendly and gave eye-level views.

Common Rosefinch - male

Chinese Grosbeak - female

A Rook had been reported at Lut Chau yet again, I finally took the time to have a look at it and confirmed it to be a different bird to the one I saw at Long Valley, this was a juvenile while the bird I found was an adult. This is the 3rd bird in two years, really quite incredible when you think that we only had our first ever one last year.

Rook and Collared Crow

At Wa Shan Tsuen in Sheung Shui, some birders had found a rather tamed Red-breasted Flycatcher and a male Grey Bush Chat. The flycatcher was very obliging, not surprising as it was receiving a generous amount of meal worms offered by the photographers. The Grey Bush Chat was however minding it's own business, foraging in the nearby fields. Two female Daurian Redstarts were also present, quite often chasing away the Red-breasted Flycatcher.

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Grey Bush Chat - male

Daurian Redstart - female

Finally, Kenneth and I were putting in the effort of finding a photographable Bright-capped Cisticola near Ma Tso Lung, the Cisticolas were not very cooperative, only showed briefly from afar, but this male Plaintive Cuckoo was more than happy to show, allowing a fairly decent shot.

Plaintive Cuckoo - male

It's really warming up, I heard the first Koel calling just the other day, spring seems to be just around the corner now.