Autumn Migration on Po Toi

Before Ho Man Tin, Po Toi was probably the most well known migrant watching site in Hong Kong, its potential peaked in the mid 2000s, with numerous Hong Kong first recorded on the island. While it receives slightly less attention than it did a decade ago simply because it is not the most easily accessible birding site in Hong Kong, it is still considered one of the prime site for migrants in both spring and autumn. Its been a while since we received any visiting birders, and not often do I get a request to guide a day trip to Po Toi. Richard Patient, a very experienced birder from the UK joined me at Aberdeen Pier at 8am and we boarded the ferry to Po Toi, we were hoping for some migrating flycatchers. Things started off slowly, with birds being difficult and shy. The first better migrant of the day came in form of a pair of Ashy Minivets, while a fairly common migrant in Hong Kong, views of this species is by no means guarantee.

Ashy Minivet - female

Other than a large influx of Arctic Warblers, Asian Brown Flycatchers were in no short supply, we counted up to ten individuals throughout the island, there seemed to be one on every large tree on the island. There was only one single Dark-sided Flycatcher located behind the public toilet.

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Dark-sided Flycatcher - juvenile

We added a few more common migrants including numerous Two-barred Warblers, Yellow-browed Warblers, Dusky Warblers, Black-naped Oriole, Blue Rock Thrush...But most were either too quick or too far for photos. Black Drongos were in good numbers, while we only saw one single Hair-crested Drongo. A single Pale-legged Leaf Warbler type bird was seen, since Sakhalin Leaf Warbler was a target for Richard, we waited for the warbler to call, but it remained silent despite having tried the playback of both species! It is tough, but these two species are simply inseparable without the call.

Hair-crested Drongo

Finally, we had a female Blue-and-White Flycatcher at the helipad, this was one of the target species of Richard, so I am glad we connected with at least one of his targets on the island. It was a shame this was not a male, but the female showed well and perched at eye-levels for a few minutes before flying into the mangroves and not to be seen again!

Blue-and-White Flycatcher - female

Though Po Toi was not absolutely terrible, it wasn't producing anything interesting enough for us to stay, adding to the fact that it was 33°C and very humid (felt more like a spring day), we decided to cut our loses and take the 3pm ferry back to Stanley, from there we headed towards Telford Garden where we hope to get the long staying Styan's Grasshopper Warbler as Richard went the day before on his own but couldn't connect with it. We arrived to the rooftop gardens to a dozen of birders and photographers. The warbler showed immediately and gave several rounds of excellent views! This warbler is a different Styan's from my previous visits, located in the other end of the gardens, the original one was still present but now prefer the upper levels which is out of bounds to visitors. Luckily, this one decided to stay at one of the busiest part of the garden and provide excellent views for everyone. This individual looked less scruffy than the other, and seems to be less shy.

Styan's Grasshopper Warbler - star bird at Telford Garden

Other than the Styan's, we got a few Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers as well as a single Lanceolated Warbler, this was the first Lanceolated Warbler that I have seen at Telford Garden this season! I have somehow missed all the previous ones. Getting three species of Grasshopper Warblers in a matter of an hour is quite simply mind boggling, and I am certain Telford Garden is one of the very few places in the world where you can have such good views of these usually elusive warblers on passage. All in all it was an excellent day and a good sample of migrants that you may find during passage migration in Hong Kong.

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler

Lanceolated Warbler

Closer to home at Ting Kok, nothing majorly exciting has turned up just yet, along the coast only a single Greater Sand Plover and a Kentish Plover returned, I was hoping for a few more passage waders, but perhaps it is still a little bit early. A Striated Heron along the coast was a nice find locally, I haven't seen a lot of these around. The only other notable migrant were two Black-naped Orioles at a distant.

Greater Sand Plover

Kentish Plover

Striated Heron

Black-naped Oriole

Over at Tai Lam again nothing hugely exciting, but a male Japanese Paradise Flycatcher was definitely a nice find. I usually see juveniles or females during autumn migration, so I don't see males without their long tail that often. Other than the numerous Eastern Crowned Warblers as well as a very shy Siberian Blue Robin that did not allow for any usable photos, a Dark-sided Flycatcher was the only other notable migrant that I managed to photograph. 

Japanese Paradise Flycatcher - male

Dark-sided Flycatcher

Temperature supposedly dropping further north, so hopefully some new birds will arrive with the change of weather very soon!

Slight Improvement - Late September Urban Migrants

Having stayed mainly in the 'countryside' for most of autumn migration and not having much luck, I finally decided to visit some of our urban birding hotspots. First being the now famous Telford Gardens, its became a bit of a regular birding spot to look for Grasshopper Warblers. I was not disappointed while I was there, on the two days I visited I had at least two Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, a single Lanceolated Warbler plus a Black-browed Reed Warbler. All of which were extremely elusive and terribly photo shy, maybe another week before they get used to people. Here are two horrible record shots I took, that being said it is still a wonderful experience to see these migrants in action, I was lucky enough to actually see this Lanceolated Warbler coming down from above and landing right into the flowerbed.

Lanceolated Warbler

Black-browed Reed Warbler

I felt luck haven't been on my side lately, turning up very little interesting birds despite some effort. Luckily for me, I struck some luck on my first visit to Ho Man Tin this year with this Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher. It was actively foraging in the dense thickets of what we call the 'Pitta spot', named after the two appearances of Fairy Pittas in the past. The Flycatcher 'performed' fairly well for me while I was there, although it wasn't particularly photogenic, it was still a very nice bird to see. This species is now listed as vulnerable due to ongoing habitat loss throughout its range.

Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher

In the same area were two female Hainan Blue Flycatchers, which seemed to be getting along with the Jungle Flycatcher, these were evidently migrating through and decidedly to stop in this urban oasis. Another species that we regularly see at Ho Man Tin during passage is the Orange-headed Thrush, this one was not particularly photogenic but showed a few times while I was there.

Hainan Blue Flycatcher - female

Orange-headed Thrush - male

There were plenty of Arctic Warblers present, although none were photographable. A vocal Sakhalin Leaf Warbler was however a little more cooperative. This species and the closely related Pale-legged Leaf Warbler are almost unidentifiable in the field, the only way to confidently identify them is by their call, where Sakhalin's pitch is lower than that of Pale-legged Leaf Warblers.

Sakhalin Leaf Warbler

It's not quite the end of autumn migration yet, still plenty of room for improvement!

Deja Vu - Rosy Pipit...Again!

Rosy Pipit - Again!

It was a typical afternoon at Long Valley, November is always a good time to visit as you usually can end up with quite a good range of species, including various Buntings etc. Upon arrival I immediately picked up several Yellow-breasted Buntings feeding in the paddies. I later saw a single female Rustic Bunting as well, although it did not stay still for a photo, while the long staying Black-headed Bunting is still around. One of the more interesting bird I saw was a male House Sparrow, they are still considered a rarity in Hong Kong, this species is likely expanding its range from the west, and they are now regularly recorded during the winter months.

Yellow-breasted Bunting

House Sparrow - male

I met Benjamin who saw a Buff-bellied Pipit in another field, so I decided to head over to take a look, along with fellow birders Mike Leven and Sam Baxter-Bray. As we were approaching the field, I explained to Sam that this was the exact same field I found a Rosy Pipit in 2017. We scanned for pipits in the field and soon picked up a pair, one was clearly a Buff-bellied Pipit, with typical dark coloured mantle that is faintly streaked.

Buff-bellied Pipit

The other bird however caught my attention, it was very well marked with streaked mantle, finer streakings on the breast compared with the Buff-bellied, plus a much more pronounce eyebrow. At that point various possibilities ran through my head, and this bird felt strangely familiar to me, on closer inspection I noticed the olive coloured edges to the primaries and tertiaries, and it clicked. A Rosy Pipit! This was surely a Deja Vu, what were the chances that I found yet another Rosy on the exact same field!? I asked Mike for a confirmation on this, and after a few minutes of observation, we both agreed this should be a Rosy Pipit in non-breeding plumage.

Rosy Pipit - pronounce eyebrow, streaked mantle and olive edges on primaries and tertiaries

We had great views of the bird for the next thirty minutes or so, before it flew off to another field. To my knowledge it was seen again the next morning, but a photo of a cat with a pipit had everyone believing the Rosy may have met its demise...Although some believe it was a Red-throated and not the Rosy, either way, feral cats is a huge problem for migratory birds.

Rosy Pipit

 At one of the overgrown ponds, an Eastern Water Rail had been fairly regularly making an appearance, I had a quick look before dark and saw it strutting along the edge. A Slaty-breasted Rail is also supposed to be present, although I didn't get to see it. A few Greater Painted Snipes were also at the same pond, coming out into the open at dusk.

Eastern Water Rail

Greater Painted Snipe - female

It had became a habit of mine to check in on Telford Gardens every so often in between jobs. While the long staying Middendorff's Gropper is still present, I was lucky enough to see this extremely confiding Lanceolated Warbler on my last visit, it was the most cooperative one I have ever seen, strolling along the flowerbed looking for food. I have always had a soft spot for this species, being quite a dainty bird compared with other grasshopper warblers, I find their streaking to be quite beautiful.

Lanceolated Warbler - so very friendly!

Locustella Heaven - Telford Garden

For all warbler fanatics out there, Locustella warblers are always some of the trickiest to see. In Hong Kong you will often find these skulkers in fields, near fish ponds or mangroves, on passage they can literally turn up anywhere, and one of the most peculiar places to find these skulkers is the garden area just outside of Telford Garden mall, an area no bigger than two basketball court, I call it the magic flowerbeds. After the incredible Baikal Bush Warbler back in 2017, Telford have been consistently producing several Locustella each year, usually Pallas's or Lanceolated Warblers. This year, a Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler turned up, this is only the 9th record for Hong Kong and 3rd field observation record! It is also a lifer for me.

Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler

On the first day I only managed to see the bird and grabbed a few record shots, it was relatively shy and wasn't easy to see. The bird settled in after a few days and became more and more friendly. On my 3rd visit the bird finally showed well, walking along the edge of the flower beds foraging for food.

Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler - showing well

With most birders having no or very little field experience with Middendorff's Grasshopper Warblers, the bird caused a little bit of confusion at first. But most features points more Middendorff's than Pallas's, such as no dark streaking on the throat or breast, streaking on mantle also rather faint. This bird also lacks any prominent contrasty markings on the crown, which you will often find on Pallas's. The yellowish tone on the underside of this individual suggests this as a 1st winter bird.

Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler - a good look at all its key features

For our convenience, at least one or two Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler were always present nearby, occasionally chasing one another. In comparison to the Middendorff's, the Pallas's mantle and crown is heavily streaked, with a more rusty coloured rump, streakings on throat and breast also visible. In the field the Middendorff's looked very slightly chunkier than the Pallas's present, although this may not be particularly useful when seen elsewhere.

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler

The final Locustella warbler present was a Lanceolated, it showed briefly and skulked within the taller grass, I have always found them to be the most attractive of the bunch, you can see here the more dark olive tone and fine streaking on both flank and breast. Other warblers present was a single Black-browed Reed Warbler, although it didn't allow me to take a photo.

Lanceolated Warbler

The garden is of course filled with many Eurasian Tree Sparrows, of which the warblers often mixed with, being similar sized and colour many photographers get confused...although their behaviour is very much different, whereas the sparrow jumps, the Locustella warblers walks along the ground much like pipits. The most surprising bird there was perhaps a Ruddy-breasted Crake, skulking around in the flower bed, migrating individuals really can turn up anywhere...

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Ruddy-breasted Crake - no doubt the strangest bird to turn up there so far...