subbuteo

A wee bit early calling autumn but the first migrants are here- three Grey Wagtails on 8 August along the catchment together and one seen each day since.

Not much else of real interest although  Greater-necklaced Laughing Thrushes and Long-tailed shrikes have returned, absent since March. Collared Scops Owl and Black-crowned Night Heron calling at night.   

Dylan

subbuteo

19 August 2014, 5.30- 6.00 am

Collared Scops Owl 1
Grey Nightjar 1

Grey Nightjar resting on the road, moved off on slow wings raised flap and glides several times and then moved off to side of catchment. No markings visible on the wings but a large white spot on either side of the end of the tail were visible. No call.

Dylan

kmike

Grey Nightjar - Nice Dylan!

subbuteo

Yung Shue O, HK-
15-Sep-2014 06:10 - 06:30
0.8 kilometer(s)
Comments:     28C, very humid.  Up Jacob's Ladder.
5 species

Cinereous Tit   1
Chestnut Bulbul (Hemixos castanonotus)  2
Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius)  2
Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane)  1     Male, on the path just after first steps that follow the bridge which crosses the stream.  Couple of hundred metres into  trail.  Flew immediately but only to vegetation on side where it poked about.  Initially hard to pick out in gloom but combination of blue, black margin and white.  No call.
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum)  3     bright orange bills on young.

Not many birds, very quiet but pleased with my second ever Siberian Blue Robin- I worked so hard for the first one it wasn't fair that this one hopped about on the path!  Not complaining really but it seems to be the way with bogey birds and buses.

Dylan

subbuteo

Yung Shue O, HK-
16-Sep-2014 07:50 - 09:30

Comments:     26C, post Typhoon Kalmaegi; walk up initial part of Jacob's Ladder disappointing; headed to shoreline.  Much better!  Not raining but very windy.

17 species

Great Egret (Ardea alba)  6
Striated Heron (Butorides striata)  1
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)  3
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)  220     Flocks seen flying over the scrubby area to the front of the village, "pip pip" flight call.  Very white below, dark aboive, relatively long winged.  Headed home for the 'scope and then down to shore.  Four flocks in all seen; two of ~80 birds and a third of ~40, circled at sea in front of mangroves, dropped onto water briefly at one point.  Seemed to roost in a bay out of my line of sight.  A fourth smaller flock of ~20 seen later.

Bridled Tern    28
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)  2

Also:

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)  2
White/Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba)  1


View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19845836

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

subbuteo

20.9.14 6.30am

Jacob's Ladder trail

Siberian Blue Robin imm
Emerald Dove

Dylan

subbuteo

October 2014, Yung Shue O

October has been good in Yung Shue O- I have seen more species here inside a year than I did in all my time in Lam Tsuen.  The reed bed and mangrove have been very productive.  The reed bed becomes a very soggy grassland and borders onto shrubs and trees.  It is a very large open area and I can only really touch the edge of it at this time of year.  The Cheung Shueng (Jacob's Ladder) trail is out of commission due to a landslip at the very top so most birding has been at the shore.

Grey Heron
Cattle Egret
Striated Heron - regular for a couple of weeks at the shoreline
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Crested Goshawk
Besra
Black Kite
White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Slaty-breasted Rail - calling from mangrove
Watercock - flushed by my dog at the rear of the mangrove
Common Sandpiper
Red Collared-Dove
Lesser Coucal
Collared Scops-Owl
White-throated Kingfisher - Halcyon smyrnensis
Eurasian Wryneck - present for three days
Amur Falcon - seen roosting in burned out trees on ridgeline above the bay.
Eurasian Hobby - debated as to whether this was another Amur!
Scarlet Minivet - heard in the village, very uncommon here although heard regularly at the Sai Sah Road entrance only 3km away
Ashy Minivet - call
Black-winged Cuckooshrike - calling and seen
Brown Shrike
Ashy Drongo
Hair-crested Drongo -  only a few seen mostly individuals (unusual in my experience)
Grey Treepie - often heard, seen ocasionally up to three together.
Collared Crow - first one of the winter seen
Red-whiskered Bulbul - a roost at the back of the mangrove holds a substantial number of birds.  They arrive and disperse in  multiple directions but I estimate at least 300 birds.
Chinese Bulbul - recently reappeared
Chestnut Bulbul
Mountain Tailorbird - singing again on village edge.
Dusky Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Black-browed Reed-Warbler -
Oriental Reed-Warbler - reed bed
Lanceolated Warbler - flushed out of the soggy grass almost under my feet, high count four
Fan-tailed Warbler
Plain Prinia
Dark-sided Flycatcher
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Bluethroat
Siberian Rubythroat
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher - seen in forest along Pak Tam trail
Stejneger's Stonechat
Blackbird
Chestnut-eared Bunting - one male
Little Bunting - up to five
Yellow-breasted Bunting - two males
Chestnut Bunting - small flocks
Black-faced Bunting - small flocks

The buntings have been hard to pin down, sticking to cover in the mangroves and grass, until  I put a handful of bird seed on the path behind the mangrove each morning for a few days. It worked wonders at getting the birds in a predictable location.  Doing the same thing got me Japanese quail and yellow-breasted bunting in Lam Tsuen.

Dylan

subbuteo

And finally... some poor photos from around Yung Shue O.

Amur falcon (distant and highly cropped)






Hotly debated hobby / Amur...


Oriental Turtle Dove
[img]

Wryneck


Treepie


Zitting Cisticola


Little bunting
[img]

Chestnut bunting


Chestnut-eared bunting


Yellow-breasted Bunting




Black-faced / Masked bunting


A mystery bird- seen at dusk- night heron?  I went for the camera instead of the binoculars and didn't get a good look (or a good photo!)





[ Last edited by subbuteo at 26/10/2014 20:00 ]

John Holmes

The first "mystery" shot made me think of Painted Snipe….

But the silhouette does look more like a heron of some sort.

Mystery indeed !

subbuteo

Yes, it's the same bird, photos taken at dusk,  one second apart as it flew past just by the shore of the mangrove.  I had forgotten about it until I downloaded the photos.  Maybe a young night heron transitioning into adult plumage?  The colour combination is unusual?  

Dylan

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 26/10/2014 17:57 ]

subbuteo

Lightened images- not much help to me though- all taken within four seconds of each other.

lchunfai

Quote:

Original posted by subbuteo at 26/10/2014 17:33
Yes, it's the same bird, photos taken at dusk,  one second apart as it flew past just by the shore of the mangrove.  I had forgotten about it until I downloaded the photos.  Maybe a young night heron  ...

Agree that this is a juvenile night heron.