Jonathmartinez

I've visited today a beach between Dayawan and Heju (Huiyang county  about 50 kms from Shenzhen. I saw there 6 Swinhoe's Plover on a small estuary (about 20 meters wide) at the end of the beach.
They are building a hugge hotel complex, and the beach has been totally devasted, they've built a road just on the beach and a small bridge that cross the small estuary. On google map, the image is old enough to have a rough idea of how beautiful this place must have been.
So difficult to said if these birds have bred there, but it is a possibility. The birds was not on the beach, 2 of them was on a small sandy islet in the middle of the estuary very close to the see and 4 others were on a muddflat about 500 meters from the sea along the river. They appears to be all adults, but I've got only my bins with me, so difficult to check properly.
This place is exactly 38 kms far away (by air) from the nearest island from HK, Tung Ping Chau. August is probably the best month to find them outside of their breeding place. They can be found in very small beaches, and they especially like small esturay, even very very small river. All the east side of HK, exposed to the see, is probably the best place to find them, even it seems there is very few available habitat from what can be seen on google earth, anyway it's worth to have a try.

Appart of this 6 plovers was some wonderfull ricefield and paddyfield behind the beach, looks like a small Long Valley. Theres is a nice egretery, with about 400 birds that could be seen around 18:00 and more was coming. Definitly a nice small patch that have to be followed regulary. Below is the today species list :
Black-crowned Night Heron 20
Chinese Pond Heron        15+
Eastern Cattle Egret        250
Intermediate Egret        1
Little Egret        80
Black-winged Kite        1
Black Kite        1
White-breasted Waterhen                1
Little Ringed Plover        3
Kentish Plover Dealbatus        6
Greater Sand Plover        1
Pintail Snipe or Swinhoes        3
Common Greenshank        2
Green Sandpiper        3
Wood Sandpiper        45
Common Sandpiper        5
Spotted Dove        5
Pacific Swift        1
Little Swift        13
White-throated Kingfisher        2
Common Kingfisher        3
Long-tailed Shrike        7
Black Drongo        3
Light-vented Bulbul Sinensis        17
Sooty-headed Bulbul        7
Barn Swallow        6
Red-rumped Swallow        1
Zitting Cisticola        2
Golden-headed Cisticola        1
Plain Prinia        8
Common Tailorbird        2
Crested Myna        14
Black-collared Starling        3
Scaly-breasted Munia2        10+
White Wagtail leucopsis        2


Jonathan

John Holmes

Looks like a good place !   

Only a matter of time before a "dealbatus" turns up in HK, Jonathan,  -

perhaps with your leg-flags on it ?  

John

Jonathmartinez

Hi John,

Yes, definitly a good place, as family can enjoy the very nice beach and me the paddyfield with my bins...so perfect place to mix family trip and birdwatching. But probably not for long as development is allready well advanced there.

All the best,

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

I've paid a visit again this morning to Dayawan a lovely little coastal farmland about 50 km East of Shenzhen. Hightlight was a Thick-billed Warbler, in the same bush as a female Asian Paradise Flycatcher and 2 Arctic Warbler,2 Grasshoper Warbler flushed in the rice field an Eurasian Collared Dove that could have been well on migration also, a Male Von Shrenck's Bittern, 8 Oriental Pratincol. Full list and a few pictures below.

Von Schrenck's Bittern                1
Cinnamon Bittern                1
Black-crowned Night Heron        4
Chinese Pond Heron                6
Eastern Cattle Egret                46
Little Egret                         1
Black-winged Kite                1
Slaty-breasted Rail                1
White-breasted Waterhen                1
Little Ringed Plover                1
Greater Painted Snipe                1
Pintail Snipe or Swinhoe's        2
Whimbrel                        1
Common Redshank                        1
Common Greenshank                1
Common Sandpiper                2
Oriental Pratincole                8
Eurasian Collared Dove                1
Spotted Dove        Guangdong        10
White-throated Kingfisher        2
Common Kingfisher                2
Long-tailed Shrike                3
Black Drongo                        8
Asian Paradise-flycatcher        1
Light-vented Bulbul Sinensis        6
Sooty-headed Bulbul                9
Barn Swallow                        30+
Red-rumped Swallow                32
Arctic Warbler                         2
Oriental Reed Warbler                4
Thick-billed Warbler                1
Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler        2
Zitting Cisticola                19
Yellow-bellied Prinia                1
Plain Prinia                        7
Common Tailorbird                4
Masked Laughingthrush                2
Crested Myna                        30+
Black-collared Starling                28
White-shouldered Starling        34
Oriental Magpie Robin                1
Eurasian Tree Sparrow                93
Scaly-breasted Munia                8
Eastern Yellow Wagtail                23
White Wagtail leucopsis                2
Richard’s Pipit                        5
Grey-capped Greenfinch                13

lrichard

Hi Jonathan

Some great records! As far as I know, these are the first East Guangdong records of Eurasian Collared Dove, Thick-billed Warbler, Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler and Grey-capped Greenfinch.

Just to clarify - you found no magpies or crows, right?

Jonathmartinez

Hi Richard,

Thanks for these informations, I would'nt have expected so much East Guangdong first, especially for the Greenfinch.
Yes as you've noticed, no magpie and no crow, but I was quite surprised of the quantity of Black-collared Starling that I usually never meet in such numbers in Guangdong, more often in pair but this is presumably post-breeding grouping.
I haven't been to the estuary to check wether the Swinhoe's Plover still there or not, but it was hight tide and the farmalnd was so birdy that I've prefered keep concentrated on it.

Could somebody help me, I would like to change the name of this thread by : Huiyang County, Dayawan

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

A short mixed family/birding visit this afternoon to this lovely place, that will probably not longer be so lovely according to the development that is going on actually. They allready filled up with soil some of the fishponds bordering the beach and allready start to build on it.
Hightligth was a Pied Kingfisher, that as far as I remember is only the second one I find along the Guangdong coast. A Swinhoe's Plover female (presumably) was present along the beach, she's got quite a hard life there, alterning between the beach and the small estuary trying to avoid the tourists was there.The farmland was again very birdy, but I haven't got enough time to cover them, good birds includ a Lanceolated Warbler that was showing well, 6 Japanese Quail, my first Eastern Buzzard of the autumn...full list below and a pics of the Swinhoe's Plover.

Chinese Francolin 1
Japanese Quail        6
Black-crowned Night Heron 2
Chinese Pond Heron 6
Little Egret 130
Black-winged Kite 1
Eastern Buzzard        Guangdong 1
Kentish Plover Dealbatus 1
Common Snipe 1
Common Greenshank 5
Green Sandpiper        1
Common Sandpiper 4
Oriental Turtle Dove 1
Spotted Dove 2
Greater Coucal        2
Common Kingfisher 3
Pied Kingfisher        1
Long-tailed Shrike 3
Light-vented Bulbul Sinensis 50+
Barn Swallow 12
Red-rumped Swallow 20+
Dusky Warbler 11
Oriental Reed Warbler 2
Lanceolated Warbler 1
Zitting Cisticola 1
Golden-headed Cisticola        1
Plain Prinia 4
Masked Laughingthrush 2
Black-throated Laughingthrush 1
Crested Myna 2
Oriental Magpie Robin 3
Common Stonechat 6
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 13
Scaly-breasted Munia 4
White Wagtail leucopsis 3
Richard’s Pipit        Guangdong 16
Olive-backed Pipit 1
Red-throated Pipit 2
Chestnut-eared Bunting 6
Little Bunting        Guangdong 2

Jonathmartinez

Dear All,

Below is my trip list to Dayawan of this morning.It was very windy but very birdy also and I spend quite a lot of time searching the pipit and probably missed some other good species, but highlight, appart of the Blyth's Pipit mentionned in an other thread, was a female Russet Sparrow in very good condition and wich show no cage dammage (will post the pictures later. I was thinking that it will be very interesting to compare the Long Valley data with this place as it is a very similar habitat and with no big city around so the chance that cage bird appears there is much more slim than in Long Valley. So I was'nt abble to find any Rustic Bunting today or Rosy Pipit, but this do not means that the HK ones are cage birds:-)
But it will be very interesting to see if I can find any Black-headed Bunting or other suspicious species from Long valley as the Rustic Bunting and others rarities...
An other intresting species, that is quite rare at long valley was 3 Oriental Skylark (pics to be sent later).
I've got a nice group of 25 Chinese Penduline Tit, 5 Greater Painted Snipe, my first Buff-bellied Pipits... for others see below.
Unfortunatly I don't know how long the place will stay so good as the construction are going well there, a new road is on construction, more the size of an Hightway than the acces road that there is actually, and they start to build something along the beach and has cutted some of the trees bordering the farmland...

Eastern Great Egret 9               
Little Egret 12               
Common Kestrel 1               
Greater Painted Snipe 5        2F 3M       
Pintail Snipe or Swinhoes 1               
Common Snipe 1               
Common Greenshank 1               
Oriental Turtle Dove 4               
Spotted Dove 14               
Greater Coucal 1        imm       
White-throated Kingfisher 1               
Common Kingfisher 2               
Eurasian Wryneck 1               
Long-tailed Shrike 4                incl one Dusky
Chinese Penduline Tit 25               
Eurasian Skylark 7               
Oriental Skylark 3               
Light-vented Bulbul Sinensis 9               
Pale Martin 4               
Barn Swallow 4               
Red-rumped Swallow 2               
Dusky Warbler 6               
Yellow-browed Warbler 2               
Oriental Reed Warbler 3               
Zitting Cisticola 5               
Yellow-bellied Prinia 1               
Plain Prinia 5               
Common Tailorbird 2               
Crested Myna 28               
Red-billed Starling 12               
Black-collared Starling 5               
Oriental Magpie Robin 1               
Daurian Redstart 3        1M and 2F       
Common Stonechat 11               
Russet Sparrow 1        F       
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 200               
Scaly-breasted Munia 19               
Eastern Yellow Wagtail sp 3               
Eastern Yellow Wagtail macronyx         1               
Eastern Yellow Wagtail taivana 1               
Grey Wagtail 1               
White Wagtail leucopsis        3               
White wagtail ocularis 1               
Richard’s Pipit 12               
Blyth's Pipit 1       
Olive-backed Pipit 1               
Red-throated Pipit 6               
Buff-bellied Pipit 5               
Grey-capped Greenfinch 2               
Chestnut-eared Bunting 4               
Little Bunting 1               

All the best,

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

sorry forget the below species on my list.
DO ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THIS THREAD THAT IS NOT VERY APPROPRIATE?

Japanese Quail 7
Chinese Pond Heron 3
Eastern Cattle Egret 2
Grey Heron 8

All the best,

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

sorry the letters are a big bigger than my expectations:-) Anyway, thanks if anybody have the answer.

Jonathmartinez

here are the pictures of the female Russet Sparrow, one of the Oriental Skylark and a Red-throated Pipit that was showing well.

All the best,

Jonathan

HKBWS Bonnie

Please click on "Edit" at right bottom of your thread; then you may edit the title.




[quote]DO ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THIS THREAD THAT IS NOT VERY APPROPRIATE? [quote]

HKBWS Bonnie

Please click "Edit" at right bottom of your thread; then you may edit the title.




[quote]DO ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THIS THREAD THAT IS NOT VERY APPROPRIATE? [quote]

Jonathmartinez

Thanks a lot membership, you can not imagine how much time I've spent searching for this.

All the best,

Jonathan

HKBWS Bonnie

FYI...

HKBWS Forum User Guide
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/view ... &extra=page%3D1

Jonathmartinez

usefull link, thanks for this again.

Jonathmartinez

I've paid a visit again to my local patch this morning, one of the reason was to try to resight the Blyth's Pipit, the other one being I was intrigue to see wether or not I could find some of the interesting species seen in Long Valley recently.
I haven't been succesfull with the Pipit, but I found a nice male House Sparrow in a group of about 40 Tree Sparrows (see pics below). So I guess that Paul Leader's suggestion about the possibility of the birds recently seen in Long Valley and this one belonging to the migrant race "bactrianus" seems to be quite a good one... This bird seems to be the first for the Guangdong province, and I have to said that it was the first time I enjoyed so much to find and see this species:-)
This morning was some obvious migration of Chinese Bulbul, with a few group seen flying over the famrland, from a few birds up to flock of 100 birds, 3 Swinhoe's Plover was on the beach, 1 Japanese Sparrowhawk flew over the farmland...See below for the full species list seen this morning.

Japanese Quail 11
Black-crowned Night Heron 14
Chinese Pond Heron 4
Grey Heron 4
Eastern Great Egret 1
Little Egret 34
Japanese Sparrowhawk 1
White-breasted Waterhen 1
Kentish Plover Dealbatus 3
Common Greenshank 4
Green Sandpiper 1
Common Sandpiper 2
Spotted Dove 11
Greater Coucal 2
White-throated Kingfisher 2
Common Kingfisher 3
Eurasian Wryneck 1
Long-tailed Shrike 4
Cinereous Tit ssp cinereus 1
Chinese Penduline Tit heard
Eurasian Skylark 1
Oriental Skylark 2
Red-whiskered Bulbul 2
Light-vented Bulbul Sinensis 301
Sooty-headed Bulbul ssp chrysorrhoides 4
Red-rumped Swallow 7
Dusky Warbler 16
Yellow-browed Warbler 1
Oriental Reed Warbler 1
Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler 1
Zitting Cisticola 5
Golden-headed Cisticola 2
Plain Prinia 17
Common Tailorbird 1
Masked Laughingthrush 3
Japanese White-eye 20+
Crested Myna 39
Red-billed Starling 2
Black-collared Starling 24
Common Blackbird 5
Siberian Rubythroat 2
Oriental Magpie Robin 5
Daurian Redstart 3
Common Stonechat 15
House Sparrow 1
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 184
Scaly-breasted Munia 55
Eastern Yellow Wagtail sp 1
White Wagtail leucopsis 6
Richard’s Pipit 11
Olive-backed Pipit 12
Red-throated Pipit 3
Chestnut-eared Bunting 8
Little Bunting 2
Yellow-breasted Bunting 2
Black-faced Bunting 3

All the best,

Jonathan

[ Last edited by Jonathmartinez at 10/11/2012 01:04 ]

gary

Interesting House Sparrow,
Just 50km further south would be the first record for HK.

The Russet Sparrow is of interest. All Russet Sparrow in HK are now considered as from escaped population; but it worths to re-assess if it proves a wild population not far from HK.

brendank

I am rather struck on this House Sparrow and also on the male that has been in Long Valley how pale the bill is. Most male House Sparrows I have seen in United States have all black bills. I wonder if that is a feature of bactrianus.

Jonathmartinez

About Russet Saprrow, In Guangxi or in Hunan, I often found very isolated population even in lowland, they are often in farmland not near habitation, especially near ricefield, where Tree Sparrow are exclusively near habitation. So it is very likely that some isolated population exist somewhere in Guangdong where people do not go often birding. It is also probably the case for the Crested Bunting as well, they should very likely breed somewhere in Guangdong, in Guangxi both species clearly have some post-breeding movment, mainly searching for places with food and in winter I often only see them near ricefield.

About the House Sparrow, bactrianus is given breeding in Xinjiang, I think the arrival of this birds at the same time of the Red-backed Shrike make quite sense.

All the best,

Jonathan

ajohn

The pale bill is a feature of winter House Sparrows. I don't think it has any taxonomic significance (as far as I am aware).
Looking at photos online, the Long Valley bird looks to me more like a domesticus-type, this one looks more like an indicus/bactrianus. Make of that what you will.

Jonathan, are you claiming the Collared Dove as wild as well? So you have recorded three species that are currently treated as escapes in HK, is that correct?

brendank

John, what feature allow for separation between domesticus-type and bactrianus? I haven't found much literature on this.

Jonathmartinez

the only things I found is that House Sparrow is separate in two main group domesticus and indicus, bactrianus belong to indicus group. Birds from the indicus should be whiter cheeks. Bactrianus is said to be larger and more pale than others from the same group.
There is also parkini subspecies from western Himalaya that is migrant, but should show a more extensive black on the bib.

There is two things that struck me on the bird from Dayawan, it is the fine black line bordered the upper cheeks and the very pale grey on crown and nape. But I wasn't abble to find anymore about bactrianus description. Size is difficult to judge since it is not given in many places to compare tree and house Sparrow in the same flock, but I would like to say that this bird looks paler than the House Sparrow I have in my garden in France...Agree with John, that the pale bill refer to bird in winter.

About this 3 species often threated as escapee in HK, well one of the advantage of Dayawan is that it is quite far from any big cities, and this is quite a small area, for the moment I still haven't been abble to resight any of this birds a second time. It means these birds are very likely on movment.
I allready give my opinion about Russet Sparrow, I don't know what is the nearest known population, but I wont be surprised there is some unknown isolated population somewhere not very far from here.
About the Eurasian Turtle Dove, well it is a bird known to extent its range, the bird I saw had a typical migrant comportment, I remember have seen it arriving from very far landed on the electric wire for a moment and then flying away quite far again. So I see no reason why this bird could not be of a wild origin, there are not seen elswhere in Shenzhen, and in HongKong the local population still seems to be very restricted to a few area including Mai Po, where I reguraly saw them.
About the House Sparrow, I'm a kind of optimist guy, and the fact that birds has been allready found in two distant different locations at a similar period where there is no previous records, make me believe that they are very likely of wild origin, especially since no one of these birds shows cage dammaged feathers. In the case that some birds would have been release, I see no reason that 2 of them stay in Long Valley and that some others moove 50 kms away...
One thing is sure, is that I will check every Tree Sparrow group this winter, in Guangdong or even in Guangxi to see wether it is isolated sightings or a more general events...
Finally, all of this 3 species has been seen in Autumn, I would probably had a different opinion if would have been in summer for example.

All the best,

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

to keep the discussion going on, below is the link to a picture of a bird found on Heuksan do Island in Korea on may 2006.

http://www.birdskorea.org/Galler ... er-domesticus.shtml

All the best,

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

Very pleasant and birdy day. Spent quite a lot of time to spot again the big group of Eurasian Tree Sparrow, but nothing in particular inside. Highlight was an Osprey flying along the beach in the morning, 1 Black-tailed Godwit with a Spotted Redshank. Seems that a lot of Bright-capped Cisticola arrived since my last visit, with a total of 17 different birds, 11 at Dayawan and 6 at a new spot distant of a 2 or 3 kms. The place is named Yiliancun (this is the nearest village name), there is a big field that only a very little part is cultivated, with a small river bordered of trees and Bamboos. Hightlight in this new place was a Speckled Piculet seen in very short distance foraging on a tall of bamboos, this is the way I found it, other good bird was a Thick-bill Warbler near the same area, a Black-naped Monarch and a chestnut Bulbul. Full list below.

All the best,

Jonathan

Japanese Quail        Dayawan        08 december 2012        13
Chinese Pond Heron Dayawan 08 december 2012        7
Grey Heron Dayawan 08 december 2012        1
Eastern Great Egret Dayawan        08 december 2012        18
Little Egret Dayawan        08 december 2012        4
Western Osprey        Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Black-winged Kite Dayawan        08 december 2012        2
Black-winged Kite Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Common Kestrel        Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Common Kestrel        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Common Snipe        Dayawan        08 december 2012        2
Common Snipe        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Black-tailed Godwit Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Spotted Redshank Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Common Greenshank Dayawan        08 december 2012        2
Green Sandpiper        Dayawan        08 december 2012        3
Green Sandpiper        Yiliancun 08 december 2012        1
Oriental Turtle Dove        Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Spotted Dove        Dayawan        08 december 2012        12
Spotted Dove Yiliancun        08 december 2012        17
Greater Coucal        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
White-throated Kingfisher Dayawan        08 december 2012        2
White-throated Kingfisher Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Common Kingfisher Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Common Kingfisher Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Speckled Piculet Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Grey-chinned Minivet Yiliancun        08 december 2012        6
Long-tailed Shrike Dayawan        08 december 2012        4
Long-tailed Shrike Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Black-naped Monarch Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Cinereous Tit ssp cinereus Yiliancun        08 december 2012        4
Eurasian Skylark Dayawan        08 december 2012        2
Oriental Skylark Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Red-whiskered Bulbul Yiliancun        08 december 2012        3
Light-vented Bulbul Sinensis Dayawan        08 december 2012        70
Light-vented Bulbul Sinensis Yiliancun        08 december 2012        15
Sooty-headed Bulbul ssp chrysorrhoides        Dayawan        08 december 2012        5
Chestnut Bulbul        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Red-rumped Swallow Dayawan        08 december 2012        25
Red-rumped Swallow Yiliancun        08 december 2012        8
Manchurian Bush Warbler        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        2
Dusky Warbler        Dayawan        08 december 2012        7
Dusky Warbler Yiliancun        08 december 2012        4
Yellow-browed Warbler Dayawan        08 december 2012        9
Yellow-browed Warbler Yiliancun        08 december 2012        5
Thick-billed Warbler Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Zitting Cisticola Dayawan        08 december 2012        4
Golden-headed Cisticola        Dayawan        08 december 2012        11
Golden-headed Cisticola        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        6
Yellow-bellied Prinia Yiliancun        08 december 2012        2
Plain Prinia Dayawan        08 december 2012        13
Plain Prinia Yiliancun        08 december 2012        6
Common Tailorbird Dayawan        08 december 2012        2
Common TailorbirdYiliancun        08 december 2012        5
Masked Laughingthrush Yiliancun        08 december 2012        7
Japanese White-eye Yiliancun        08 december 2012        2
Crested Myna        Dayawan        08 december 2012        18
Crested Myna        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        4
White-cheeked Starling        Dayawan        08 december 2012        30+
Black-collared Starling        Dayawan        08 december 2012        25
Black-collared Starling        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        8
Grey-backed Thrush Yiliancun        08 december 2012        2
Japanese Thrush        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        1
Common Blackbird Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Oriental Magpie Robin        Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Oriental Magpie Robin Yiliancun        08 december 2012        2
Daurian Redstart Dayawan        08 december 2012        2
Daurian Redstart Yiliancun        08 december 2012        4
Common Stonechat Dayawan        08 december 2012        14
Common Stonechat Yiliancun        08 december 2012        6
Fork-tailed Sunbird Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Fork-tailed Sunbird Yiliancun        08 december 2012        2
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Dayawan        08 december 2012        400 to 500
Eurasian Tree Sparrow        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        30
Scaly-breasted Munia        Dayawan        08 december 2012        15
Eastern Yellow Wagtail        Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
Grey Wagtail        Dayawan        08 december 2012        1
White Wagtail leucopsis        Dayawan        08 december 2012        9
Richard’s Pipit        Dayawan        08 december 2012        12
Richard’s Pipit        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        6
Olive-backed Pipit        Dayawan        08 december 2012        15
Olive-backed Pipit        Yiliancun        08 december 2012        4
Red-throated Pipit        Dayawan        08 december 2012        25
Grey-capped Greenfinch Dayawan        08 december 2012        2
Chestnut-eared Bunting        Dayawan        08 december 2012        17
Chestnut-eared Bunting        Yiliancun 08 december 2012        5
Little Bunting Dayawan        08 december 2012        12
Little Bunting        Yiliancun08 december 2012        2
Yellow-breasted Bunting        Dayawan        08 december 2012        3
Chestnut Bunting Dayawan 08 december 2012        3
Black-faced Bunting Dayawan 08 december 2012        2

lrichard

Great list of birds yesterday and matching what's happening here in Hong Kong in a very good late autumn/early winter.

I think you have three more new species for Eastern Guangdong: Speckled Piculet, Black-naped Monarch and Chestnut Bulbul.

Richard

Jonathmartinez

I've spend all morning in Huiyang county at Dayawan and Yiliancun. At Dayawan, development is going incredibly quickly and there is now 2 more road that are cuting throught the farmland.
It was hell-like birdwatching,with diggers and this very big hammer that putting the hugge pole in the ground to stabylise the construction, but despite all this noise and the habitat that start to reducing it was incredibly birdy. Highlight was 5 Common Starling, they seems to be more common this year, I saw another group of 4 last week near Kaiping.
They were with a flock of White-cheeked Starling, including one bird that has been rusty colored, and this is my first proove of an ex-captive bird in this area, but it may come from quite far as well...and may have been release elsewhere than here.
I then moove again to Yiliancun where I spotted the small river, it was much more quiet, best bird being a female Brown-headed Trush...I don't know if it is the explication why it was so quiet , but I then found 8 lines of illegal mistnets bordering some farmland from wich I release 2 Light-vented Bulbul... Not so lucky I then found a dead Long-tailed Shrike on a mistnet that was on the ground. I neutralyse the most dangerous mistnets and moove away as a old woman was probably insulting me (well I suppose).
On the way back to Shenzhen, I was abble to spotted 10 more line of mistnets along the highway...

Below full list of this morning, and I will send late a few horror pictures...

All the best,
Jonathan

Japanese Quail        Dayawan        3               
Chinese Pond Heron        Dayawan        7               
Black-winged Kite        Dayawan        1               
Common Greenshank        Dayawan        1               
Oriental Turtle Dove        Dayawan        60               
Spotted Dove        Dayawan        17               
Emerald Dove        Yiliancun        1               
Greater Coucal        Dayawan        1               
Lesser Coucal        Dayawan        1        Juv       
Asian Barred Owlet        Yiliancun        1               
White-throated Kingfisher        Dayawan        3               
Common Kingfisher        Dayawan        1               
Long-tailed Shrike        Dayawan        3               
Long-tailed Shrike        Yiliancun        4               
Black Drongo        Dayawan        1               
Cinereous Tit cinereus        Yiliancun        2               
Oriental Skylark        Dayawan        3               
Red-whiskered Bulbul        Yiliancun        3               
Light-vented Bulbul sinensis        Dayawan        16               
Light-vented Bulbul sinensis        Yiliancun        4               
Sooty-headed Bulbul        Dayawan        3               
Red-rumped Swallow        Yiliancun        4               
Dusky Warbler        Dayawan        2               
Dusky Warbler        Yiliancun        3               
Pallas’s Leaf Warbler        Yiliancun        1               
Yellow-browed Warbler        Dayawan        2               
Two-barred Warbler        Yiliancun        1               
Zitting Cisticola        Dayawan        4               
Golden-headed Cisticola        Dayawan        7               
Plain Prinia        Dayawan        2               
Common Tailorbird        Yiliancun        3               
Masked Laughingthrush        Dayawan        2               
Masked Laughingthrush        Yiliancun        6               
Japanese White-eye        Dayawan        6               
Crested Myna        Dayawan        23               
White-cheeked Starling        Dayawan        21                including one bird has been colored and released
Black-collared Starling        Dayawan        19               
Common Starling        Dayawan        5               
Blue Whistling Thrush        Yiliancun        1               
Grey-backed Thrush        Yiliancun        5               
Common Blackbird        Yiliancun        1               
Brown-headed Thrush        Yiliancun        1        F       
Daurian Redstart        Yiliancun        1        M       
Common Stonechat        Dayawan        7               
Common Stonechat        Yiliancun        1               
Fork-tailed Sunbird        Yiliancun        1        M       
Eurasian Tree Sparrow        Dayawan        350               
Scaly-breasted Munia        Dayawan        215               
White Wagtail leucopsis        Dayawan        2               
White Wagtail ocularis        Dayawan        1               
White Wagtail leucopsis        Yiliancun        1               
White Wagtail ocularis        Yiliancun        1               
Richard’s Pipit        Dayawan        3               
Olive-backed Pipit        Dayawan        6               
Olive-backed Pipit        Yiliancun        7               
Red-throated Pipit        Dayawan        4               
Grey-capped Greenfinch        Dayawan        26               
Chestnut-eared Bunting        Dayawan        6               
Little Bunting        Dayawan        15               
Black-faced Bunting        Dayawan        4               
Black-faced Bunting        Yiliancun        1

cgeoff

Jonathan,

We get coloured White-shouldered Starlings quite often in HK. I don't think they are ex-captive, or have been dyed by humans. What would be the reason?

Geoff