kmike

This is my new place after moving on after 5 wonderful years at Ng Tung Chai.

Good birds seen at Tai Om include Chestnut-crowned Warbler (a couple of winters ago) and more recently Pygmy Wren Babbler, Siberian Rubythroat, Black-winged Cuckooshrike, Goodson's Leaf Warbler, Lesser Coucal, Mountain,  Russet, and Manchurian Bush Warblers, Woodcock, Bright-capped Cisticola and White-browed Laughingthrush (last 3 never recorded at Ng Tung Chai)

Birds seen today (Sunday 3rd Feb):

Common Buzzard - 2
Crested Goshawk - 1
Besra - 2

Grey-backed Thrush- 6
Common Blackbird - 3
Rufous-tailed Robin - 4
Pygmy Wren-babbler - 1h
Striated Yuhina - 20
Red-throated Flycatcher - 1

Cheers
Mike K

hgeorge

0900 - 1145am

White's Thrush
Japanese Thrush
Grey-backed Thrush
Red-flanked Bluetail
Siberian Rubythroat
Rufous-tailed Robin
White-bellied Yuhina
Striated Yuhina
Velet-fronted Nuthatch
Mountain Bush Warbler
Little Bunting
Black-faced Bunting

plus other common species
total 51 species were seen there


Japanese Thrush
Verditer Flycatcher
Black-naped Monarch
Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike

found at Lam Tsuen golden triangle

kmike

After my visit to Lam Tsuen I walked a circuit from Ping Long to Tai Om Shan, to Siu Om Shan, to Lin Au, all in SE Lam Tsuen.

Highlights included:

Large Grass Warbler  - 1 (recently reclassified as a babbler and since HK is the only known stable population of this race - we may soon be able to call it Hong Kong Grassbird)

Crested Goshawk - 2
Besra - 1
Crested Serpent Eagle - 1
Common Buzzard - 1 (seen the day before)

Lesser Coucal - 1
Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike - 1 m

Rufous-tailed Robin - 5
Red-flanked Bluetail - 5
Daurian Redstart (1 m seen the day before)

White's Thrush - 2
Eye-browed Thrush - 1
Grey-backed Thrush - 2
Japanese Thrush - 3 (seen the day before (9th Feb))
Chinese Blackbird - 5

Bright-capped Cisticola

Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush - 5
Hwamei - 2

Ashy Drongo - 1 (seen the day before)
Hair-crested Drongo - 1 (seen the day before)

Little Bunting 2 (seen the day before)
Black-faced Bunting - 5

Cheers
Mike K

kmike

A quick after-work walk produced a new bird for Lam Tsuen - A Water Rail was feeding in the water channel between two rows of wilted flowers!

This is a rare sighting away from known wetland areas such as Mai Po and Long Valley.

I also saw a White's Thrush, and heard Bright-capped Cisticola (it called once only) and  several Rubythroat calling.

Cheers
Mike K

ddavid

Mike -

I believe someone had a Water Rail on a couple of occasions along the stream at She Shan last winter !!

Dave

cgeoff

Were you able to check which taxon?

Geoff

kmike

Hi Geoff

The taxon was indicus.

Yesterday I was out in the same area and followed the path behind Tin Liu Ha which goes up to Lin Au:


Crested Serpent Eagle - 2

Rufous-tailed Robin - 2

White's Thrush - 3
Grey-backed Thrush - 2

Bright-capped Cisticola - 1 (Lin Au)

Blue Magpie - 1


Cheers
Mike

kmike

A mix of lingering wnter visitors, spring migrants and residents in Ping Long / Tai Om today (with a few records frm the last week in brackets):

Crested Serpent Eagle - 2
Besra - 1

Oriental Turtle Dove - 1
Emerald Dove - 1

Lesser Coucal (singing for the first time this year)
Large Hawk Cuckoo - 2
Plaintive Cuckoo

Olive-backed Pipit - 3

Siberian Stonechat - 1
Siberian Rubythroat (seen on top of tree sunbathing  on Thursday morning)
Rufous-tailed Robin - 2

Japanese Thrush - 1 male

Asian Stubtail - 1
Pallas' Leaf Warbler - 4 several singing

Red-throated Flycatcher - 1

Blue Magpie - 1

Tristram's Buniting - 1

Cheers
Mike K

kmike

A very nice day in Lam Tsuen started with 3 Grey Wagtails in the newly planted marrow field next to my house and five Crested Serpent Eagles and a Crested Goshawk drifting over at lunchtime.  But the real highlights were see or hearing all 7 of Hong Kong's breeding cuckoos during the day.

The one that made me think it was possible was a Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo giving its distinctive high-pitched "cheez-zweet" across the road from Kadoorie Farm while I was waiting for a meeting to start. Before that I'd seen Greater and Lesser Coucals in front of the house and a female Koel cackled overhead as she was chased off by Black-necked Starling as I waited for the bus.

When I got home a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo gave its clear sweet "toot toot" whistle, but did not respond to my imitation of its call. However an Indian Cuckoo, the rarest of the resident cuckoos in Lam Tsuen started calling - and even gave fllight views as it fled from my "one more bot-tle" imitation.

The last to give itself up was a distant Plaintive Cuckoo which twice gave the typical "oh, what-ever-you-do" call as the gloom gathered.

Other rewards for my evening walk included a White-browed Laughingthrush and a distantly calling owl. Its three-note hoot has intrigued me for a few days. The call was pretty distant, so it will certainly take some tracking down. This is the first time it has called at a sociable hour - its usually going between 11pm and 1am!

Last but not least a Spotted Narrow-mouthed Frog was on the path near one of the mostly ruined villages and allowed a very close approach.

Cheers
Mike

kmike

A good week for migrants and a few breeding birds from my house in the village.

Chinese Pond Heron - 3 pairs breeding

Grey-faced Buzzard - 1 May
Chinese Goshawk - 1 May
Hobby - 23 Apr

White-breasted Waterhen - a pair with 6 chicks

Dollarbird - 3

Silver-backed Needletail - 1

Yellow Wagtail - 2 simillima
Grey Wagtail - 3 together

Brown Shrike - 1

Chestnut Bunting - a male, and a pair the next day
Black-faced Bunting - a male

And from the day of the typhoon

Chinese Starling - 1
Red-billed Starling - 1

Cheers
Mike K