kmike 4/01/2013 22:18
Sha Chau - 2 Jan 2013
Sha Chau is a small island a couple of kilometres to the north of the airport and right on the border with Guangdong.
The highlights were a fine count of a dozen [b]Pacific Reef Egrets[/b] on the rocks and jetty and 15 [b]Great Cormorants[/b], which I searched carefully for the slightest hint of a Pelagic. I had no such luck, but I'll keep looking on future winter visits.
I also watched a juvenile [b]Peregrine[/b] swoop unsuccessfully on a newly arriving [b]Oriental Turtle Dove[/b], before drifting off across the summit of the island, where it was hassled by a couple of [b]Large-billed Crows[/b], who had in turn been chased off by five [b]Collared Crows[/b].
A brief pish revealed [b]Chinese and Crested Bulbuls, Common Tailorbird[/b] and a female [b]Daurian Redstart[/b]. A Common Sandpiper flitted along the wave washed rocks, and both [b]Blue Rock Thrush[/b] and [b]Long-tailed Shrike[/b] put in brief appearances. A distant large gull was most likely Heuglin's, but goes down as a sp.
And finally . . . the briefest roll of pink in the sea about 400m north of the station was my first tantalisingly short view of a [b][i]Chinese White Dolphin[/i][/b].
Cheers
Mike K