Wildlife in Extreme Heat

Weather's been hot the say the least, 32°C is now the norm, with many days exceeding 35°C or even higher temperatures. While there are very few interesting birds around in July, many of our residents and breeding species still shows well. Lately a pair of Brown-breasted Flycatchers were seen along the stream at Tai Po Kau with chicks, this scarce breeding species are not always easy to find as they never seem to breed at the same spot along the stream.

Brown-breasted Flycatcher - juvenile

Forest species generally are still quite active in the summer months, by July many have finished nesting, family groups are now going around foraging around the forest, and feeding flocks are starting to form again. Here is a selection of forest species around Tai Mo Shan, Tai Po Kau and Pat Sin Leng area.

Common Emerald Dove

Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler

Great Barbet

Fork-tailed Sunbird - male

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

Mountain Bulbul

Speckled Piculet

Common Tailorbird

Plain Flowerpecker

Yellow-cheeked Tit - male

Due to work I had to visit mid-levels, and the 'star bird' of the area is of course the feral population Yellow-crested Cockatoo. This critically endangered species is commonly seen around Hong Kong Island, although getting good views are not always easy. Got lucky with a few feeding on a Hackberry tree, where they came down quite low and showed very well.

Yellow-crested Cockatoo

A single White-faced Plover have been seen around my survey site, I am kind of hoping they may nest again but I haven't yet seen any indication of breeding behaviour, although annual occurrence of this species here through the summer months seems to suggest regular breeding does occur if not every year.

White-faced Plover - female

I haven't really been out much herping, but I have seen a few things during our night walks. Chinese Water Dragons are always interseting to see, especially at night whne you get to see them sleeping up close. Many-banded Kraits are common, but I still enjoy seeing them. Bamboo Pit Viper is by far our most common snake, but any encounter with them is much welcomed.

Chinese Water Dragon

Many-banded Krait

Bamboo Pit Viper

One of the more interesting insect I have seen lately is the Aphaena discolor, a rather uncommon species of Planthopper in Hong Kong. Painted Jezebels are quite plentiful lately, while Purple Sapphires are always a joy to see.

Aphaena discolor

Painted Jezebel

Purple Sapphire

Autumn Migration in Action - Plovers, Snipe and More

Autumn migration is now in full swing, having hurt my ankle I haven't been out as much as I should, but I am hoping a bit more rest will allow my ankle to heal a bit better. That being said, I have been out a few times, mainly work related. During my monthly survey up to eight Oriental Plovers turned up to my delight, this is by no means an easy bird to see in Hong Kong, so I am happy to connect with them during work. 

Oriental Plover - juvenile

Oriental Plover - non-breeding female (I think)

The breeding White-faced Plover seems to have done its job and moved on, I last saw them around late August, the chick was already capable of flying a short distance, I did not see them again on my last visit, so my guess is that they have now moved on.

White-faced Plover - female

White-faced Plover - juvenile

Other noticeable movement of birds are hundreds of Eastern Yellow Wagtails on the move, as well as increase of Wood Sandpipers. Black-winged Stilts also seems to be on the move, with some people reported them out at sea. 

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

Wood Sandpiper

Black-winged Stilt

Many 'Swintail' Snipes are passing through Hong Kong at the moment, at Long Valley I saw at least two confirmed Pin-tailed Snipes, as you can see the tail spread in the photo, but also many 'Swintail' Snipe which I was unable to nail the ID. Greater Painted Snipes were also present as always, although after a long summer they seem a bit shy at the moment.

Pin-tailed Snipe

'Swintail' Snipe

Greater Painted Snipe - male

Also present at Long Valley was a young Besra which seems to be terrorising the munias there at the moment, I managed to find it perched on the wire between it hunting. Other notable migrant there were a few Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers, all of which gave flying views only, but I managed to capture this one in flight as I flushed it.

Besra

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler

A brief visit to San Tin didn't yield much for me, although there were many Great Mynas juvenile present, a species which is yet to be on the HK official list, but is now showing signs of breeding and self sustaining population, so perhaps it is time to review their status in Hong Kong. A few Oriental Turtle Doves were also seen, the first for me this autumn.

Great Myna - juvenile (Crested Myna to the back)

Oriental Turtle Dove

Despite my injuries, I made the effort to try for the Javan Pond Heron at the Deep Bay mudflat, my 6 hours of waiting disappointingly ended in failure. It is never fun when you put extra effort in only to not be rewarded. A Striated Heron was perhaps the only remotely interesting bird out there.

Striated Heron - juvenile

A visit to Po Toi Island which was not really for birding rewarded me with my first Asian Brown and Yellow-rumped Flycatchers of the season, they stayed very high up on a large banyan tree, making it impossible to get any good photos of them.

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher - juvenile

Breeding White-faced Plover, AGAIN!

Having found breeding White-faced Plovers at my survey site two years before, I have always kept my eyes peeled for this rare wader in the area. June to July seems to be a good time to look for this species, and this is the 3rd consecutive year I have found them here during the summer months, and the second time they have been found breeding. They seem to prefer sandy substrate with some pebbles and slightly wet ground, they almost always steer clear of areas that are too well vegetated. This year I found a female with two chicks, although they were quite alert and kept a safe distance from me. 

White-faced Plover - Note the extensive white on inner primaries and the white tail

White-faced Plover - juvenile

White-faced Plover looks very similar to Kentish Plovers, females are not always easy to tell apart, they do seem to have slightly richer colour on the crown and ear covert, a slightly larger bill, and legs are pinkish instead of a darker greenish grey. Having recorded them on 3 consecutive summers, I do wonder if this species is overlooked in other suitable sites around Hong Kong.

White-faced Plover - adult female

Kentish Plover - adult female

Also in the area were a few returning Greater Sand Plovers and lots of Oriental Pratincoles, many of which are juveniles.

Greater Sand Plover - juvenile

Oriental Pratincole - juvenile

I haven't been out at night that much, an evening out with Chester and his family at Tai Po Kau yielded two young Many-banded Kraits, I have found these young kraits to look the most attractive, as this is the life stage when their bandings have the most contrast.

Many-banded Krait - juvenile

A very cooperative adult Mock Viper was also wonderful to see, even though they are a common forest species, I've always been fond of them, each of them have so much character!

A friendly Mock Viper

Other than that, it was just the normal cast of Günther's Frog and Hong Kong Whipping Frogs (known locally as Brown Tree Frogs) to fill in the gaps in between the snakes.

Günther's Frog

Hong Kong Whipping Frog