Autumn Migration - First sign of hope!

After a long long pause of birding, there is finally hope! I have been quite busy with work and weather's been way too hot to do any serious walking. I have been wanted to go watch the terns but simply couldn't find time and I try to avoid the weekend crowds. I saw a few Black-naped Terns from Sai Kung pier two weeks ago though, they seems to be doing well this year. There's also been a Lesser Frigate bird around Sai Kung pier lately, but again the crowds really put me off.

Yesterday, I wasn't really birding but actually out working at Pak Sha O in Sai Kung, mainly for a pre-trip with Dickson Wong, a spider expert and nature guide. He will be helping us out for our "A Living Space" book launch, guiding a nature tour around Pak Sha O.

Heading into Pak Sha O we encountered a bird wave, mainly consists of Cinerous Tits and a few White-eyes. I immediately recognize a familiar flash of rufous brown, it could only be an Asian Paradise Flycatcher. The bird only showed briefly and was too quick for me to snap any photographs, but I was very happy to see it, like an oasis in a desert! This will be one of the first bunch of autumn migrants, I usually don't see them until late August or early September. Here is a photo from a few years back, taken in September.

This can only mean more migrants will follow soon, I better dust my binoculars ready...

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Look for Cuckoos, got a Coucal.

Got news from Captain about a Drongo Cuckoo he heard last week near Lam Tsuen, but I haven't had time to investigate into his finding, which will be the first summer record in HK if accepted! 1st of July is a public holiday to "celebrate" the establishment of HKSAR, a day which many Hong Kong citizens put on their calendar as protest and demonstration day. The 1st of July demonstration don't start until the afternoon, so the morning is perfect for me try for the Cuckoo.

Me and my parents arrived at She Shan road at 8pm, and it took us a while to locate the road heading into the hill side. There weren't a lot of birds and we didn't hear anything that remotely resembles the Drongo Cuckoo call. The weather was way too hot to do any serious walking. We got to a stretch of nice river, but no birds to be found.

Stretch of small river near She Shan

On our way out I finally caught up with something a little less ordinary in the form of a Lesser Coucal. This species is a localised resident in Hong Kong, not as widespread or common as the Greater Coucal. It is substantially smaller and less brightly coloured, the pale markings on the wings is a good feature to look for if you get a good look. Though I have seen and heard this bird many times, I have never taken a photo of it, so here is my first one. The bird was quite far away but it did gave great views perched on top of some tall grass.

Lesser Coucal (taken with Canon 7D + 400mm f/4 DO)

I also tried using the Canon SX60 HS with it's super tele abilities, however given the distance of the bird the photo came out pretty blurry. Good as a record shot none the less.

Lesser Coucal (taken with Canon SX60 HS)

Escaping the Heat - Parrotbills on Tai Mo Shan

The summer heat have been quite unbearable, with temperature soaring up to 36°C these few days. The city with it's high-rise skyscrapers and concrete roads is the ideal habitat for a heat wave, only when you retreat to somewhere with more greenery can you be spared from the scorching sun and boiling tarmac.

Grassy slopes of Tai Mo Shan

Tai Mo Shan, our tallest mountain offers a slightly cooler retreat, where temperature can be 5-6°C lower then the rest of the city. My parents and I drove up there this morning for a short walk. The temperature was much more pleasant and the summit sheltered us from the morning sun. Brown-flanked Bush Warblers were calling everywhere, we found a pair of juveniles hopping about in the undergrowth, they came out into view with a little pishing but stayed quite far away.

Brown-flanked Bush Warbler juv.

I heard a few Russet Bush Warbler calling from higher up the slope, I tried calling one in with my recording but it didn't get any closer. They have a very distinctive cricket like call, going "zee-bit, zee-bit". We got to the patch of tall grass where I saw the Chinese Grassbird a few months ago but I heard none (http://matthewkwanbirding.blogspot.hk/2015/04/searching-for-chinese-grassbird.html), only a few Plain Prinia fluttered about in the grass. Chinese Francolins called constantly, at one point a male was very close to us and we caught a glimpse of it behind a tree, however the bird sneaked off as I attempt to get a better view, they are very sneaky birds...we waited for another 15 minutes but it never came back out.

On our way back I heard the call of the Vinous-throated Parrotbill, and just up ahead a flock of small birds flew out from some short bamboos. We snuck up towards the bamboos and played the recording, soon a few of these little birds came to check us out! They were a bit curious but remained well in cover, I only managed to snap a few shots before this one hopped off back into the undergrowth. The Vinous-throated Parrotbill is the only Parrotbill species in Hong Kong, where they are restricted to the summit of Tai Mo Shan. Curiously, they are not rare in Mainland China or Taiwan, where they can be seen in the lowlands, which makes you wonder why this species is restricted to one summit in Hong Kong...Though not the best photograph of this species, it's the first photo I ever got, so I am still quite pleased with this one.

Vinous-throated Parrotbill