Breeding Birds & Migrants

May usually signify the end of spring migration, we still get a few migrants but numbers are definitely past the peak. At Nam Chung, the Chestnut-winged Cuckoos are back, but they are nowhere as friendly as they were last two years, I managed a record shot of one of them as it landed on a distant tree. Grey-streaked Flycatchers are passing through at the moment and you will most often find them perched somewhere conspicuous. Brown Shrikes are also passing through in good numbers.

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo

Grey-streaked Flycatcher

Brown Shrike

Over at Mai Po, there are still some migrating waders around, but most were too far on the scrape for me to photograph. Greater Painted Snipes are now paring up and often seen skulking around the grass together, though a pair were found bathing together right out in the open.

Greater Painted Snipe

Nothing exceptional at Tai Po Kau, I was hoping that slight drizzle last week would bring in some migrants but I was disappointed to find very few migrants around. A Crested Goshawk was found drying itself after the rain. 

Crested Goshawk

Many local residents are now breeding, this Blue-winged Minla was found gathering nesting materials, while numerous Red-billed Leiothrix were found in song higher up near Brown Walk.

Blue-winged Minla

Red-billed Leiothrix

A very vocal Orange-headed Thrush took me a while to locate, turns out it was perched quite high up in a tree, their beautiful song is not too often heard, I think it sounds like a mixture of Oriental Magpie Robin with Chinese Hwamei. Hainan Blue Flycatchers are in no short supply everywhere, occasionally you find a friendly one like this one.

Orange-headed Thrush - male

Hainan Blue Flycatcher - male

A pair of Great Barbets near the AFCD warden buildings been frequenting a dead tree nearby. Being a usually shy bird, this naturally attracted a lot of photographers. While a fairly common species in mature forests in Hong Kong, they are not always easy to see well.

Great Barbet

Despite not seeing the Chinese Grassbird on a visit to Tai Mo Shan, good appearances of our common resident species were welcoming. A friendly Brown-flanked Bush Warbler came right out in the open, though a common species I don't always see them this well! Our local Vinous-throated Parrotbills are notoriously difficult to photograph well, I was quite happy to find a few of them hopping out into the open briefly, they are restless birds and very rarely perch for more than a few seconds.

Brown-flanked Bush Warbler

Vinous-throated Parrotbill

The craze about the Spot-breasted Parrotbill is now passed, and this peculiar bird is now left in peace. Although with a quick burst of playback it still jump right out into the open, hoping to look for its non-existence mate...

Spot-breasted Parrotbill

A friendly Mountain Bulbul was found lower down, not quite sure what it was doing on its own but it came within 1m to me on a few occasion, I ended up with a good photo of this much underated species, only in the right light and angle can you truly appreciate the lovely olive green wings and tail.

Mountain Bulbul

Japanese Paradise Flycatcher - Look at That Tail!

Of the many amazing looking spring migrants in Hong Kong, nothing quite compares to the Japanese Paradise Flycatcher in breeding plumage. Their long tail that cascades down their back gives them a very distinctive look when they hawk for insects in the forest, it is even harder to imagine this magnificent creature flying over oceans during migration from the Philippines back towards Japan! These incredible looking birds don't usually stay long, I was lucky to be tipped by Captain about one at Tai Po Kau late last month, fortunately enough for me the bad weather must have grounded the bird and it stayed long enough for me to relocate it within a bird wave.

Japanese Paradise Flycatcher - male

I have not seen one of these beautiful males since April 2007, so I was very please to see this one so well! It didn't stay long for me, I only had the bird in view for two minutes before it fluttered off back into the depth of the forest. The Japanese Paradise Flycatcher is now listed as Near Threatened due to habitat loss throughout much of its wintering range.

Japanese Paradise Flycatcher - male

Grey-streaked Flycatchers were still in good numbers near the end of April, but saw a decrease in numbers once the weather improved. There must have been over a dozen individuals along the Tai Mei Tuk Catchment. A Chestnut-winged Cuckoo have been frequenting the catchment, although being very shy as usual, despite much effort I ended up with only a record shot through the leaves.

Grey-streaked Flycatcher

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo

At Tai Tong, I encountered a very confiding female Chinese Goshawk, it remained perched even when I walked right up to it, they are a species I very much enjoy seeing every time. Around the reservoir I spotted a juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle, which gave good flyby views before perching on a tall tree further away.

Chinese Goshawk - female

White-bellied Sea Eagle - juvenile

Other confiding birds at Tai Tong includes a mob of Red-billed Blue Magpies, a common species that I still love seeing up close, a few were feeding in a picnic area on the ground. A large flock of Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush were also unusually confiding, this species is not very often photogenic, but these were feeding just a few metres away from me.

Red-billed Blue Magpie

Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush

I didn't find anything new around my local patch, but a Two-barred Warbler at Tai Mei Tuk Family Walk was a nice bird to see, it however made a very Greenish like call which confused me to begin with, but overall plumage fits Two-barred more. It was seen actively feeding with a few Swinhoe's White-eyes and Rufous-capped Babblers, later it perched up to preen which allowed some decent photos to be taken. This is a fairly late individual which stayed till May, but latest date recorded in Hong Kong is 15th of May.

Two-barred Warbler

Barred Cuckoo Dove and Other Goodies

We are just past mid-way point of Spring Migration, giving us a new sets of migrants. Other than the regular migrants, I received a nice surprise one day at Tai Mei Tuk Catchment in form of an adult female Barred Cuckoo Dove, a rare species in Hong Kong recorded sporadically. This species is widespread in mainland China, I have seen them many times in places like Jiangxi. I found the bird by pure luck, as I must have startled it while it was feeding on a fruiting tree, it flew up and perched on an open branch for around 10 seconds before it flew off, just enough time for me to get a photo! They are a stunning looking species and I do hope they can establish a resident population in Hong Kong someday.

Barred Cuckoo Dove - a brief encounter

The fruiting tree was later identified as Syzygium levinei, a species belonging to the family Myrtaceae, the fruit is obviously attracts a lot of birds as few dozens of Eyebrowed Thrushes, Japanese Thrushes and a single Brown-headed Thrush continues to be recorded here, although none of them really photographable.

Syzygium levinei

Other good birds at the catchment includes Oriental Cuckoos, I believe there were more than one individual, one of which decided to let me take a few photographs. Like all cuckoos, they are usually very shy, so I was very glad this one allowed some good looks before disappearing again up the slope.

Oriental Cuckoo

Another species passing through in great numbers at the moment is the Chinese Sparrowhawk, or as most birders in Hong Kong known as the Chinese Goshawk. This attractive little accipter can be quite approachable sometimes, especially those that just landed, a few of these showed well along the catchment, while many more flew overhead. This species is highly migratory, where some winter as far south as Java and migrate all the way back to China or Korea to breed. This species is sexually dimorphic, males have completely dark eyes while females have yellow eyes, both equally attractive.

Chinese Goshawk - male

Chinese Goshawk - female

I also enjoyed prolonged views of a Crested Goshawk the other day, a common species that I can never get bored of. This species is fairly adaptive and can be found in all sorts of habitats, including urban parks.

Crested Goshawk

Two species of Flowerpeckers have been seen along the catchment, including the very common but beautiful Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, which I managed a good photo of a male the other day. The other one is the drab looking but scarce Plain Flowerpecker. Flowerpeckers are best detected by their 'tic-tic-tic' calls, but these contact calls are difficult to identify down to species, their songs however are quite distinct and is useful for identification if you don't get a good view.

Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker - male

Plain Flowerpecker

With the Ashy Minivets now gone, only Scarlet and Grey-chinned Minivets remains, both species should be breeding right about now. I also explored the Tai Mei Tuk Family Walk recently, where I found a pair of Orange-headed Thrush, a scarce resident that I hope maybe breeding in the area.

Scarlet Minivet - female

Orange-headed Thrush - female

The peak for most flycatchers ends around late April, Narcissus or Blue-and-White Flycatchers are replaced by dozens of Grey-streaked Flycatchers, I had over 7 birds in just one tree! Hainan Blue Flycatchers remain vocal and abundant, although I have yet seen any breeding pairs in the area.

Grey-streaked Flycatcher

Hainan Blue Flycatcher - male

The first brood of Collared Crow may have already fledged as I saw a juvenile bird the other day, although I couldn't get a photo of it, but I see them along the catchment quite often, I suspect they make their nests further up the slope. Grey Treepies are abundant here as always, for some reason this species is often very shy in Hong Kong, even though they are common along the catchment I don't get to see them everytime, and I am always happy if I manage a decent photo.

Collared Crow

Grey Treepie