Greetings all,
On the 14th I did a quick run-through of Long Valley (dawn until 730ish) before going to Mai Po for the day, which was excellent by the way (Pale Martin, Pied Harrier, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Grey Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Great Knot, Red Knot, Terek Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, and Pheasant-tailed Jacana, among other things). During the hour or so of searching Long Valley I found a few birds of note:
- 2 Eurasian Hobby (One adult male perched on a telephone wire that allowed close approach, maybe 10 feet or so, and one juvenile seen flying)
- 1 Asian Barred Owlet (Spent 20-30 minutes watching it survey the land just as the sun was coming up)
- About 5 Dusky Warblers, 2 Richard's Pipits, 4 Zitting Cisticolas, 1 Striated Heron, and 1 Asian Brown Flycatcher, which was the first time I'd seen a flycatcher in Long Valley. It was just off the side of the walkway along the river, near Castle Peak Road, so maybe not technically Long Valley.
Today, the 16th, I had more time (about 2 hours) to peruse the area on my way home from a full day of birding in Tai Po Kau and Sha Lo Tung, though the latter was more of scenery-watching than birdwatching. In any case, Long Valley brought me a couple of great finds, as well as several other solid birds:
- 1 female Schrenck's Bittern (Actually saw this one in the small cultivated area that's just at the start of the walkway along the ditch leading up to the river. It's situated between a small, fenced park-type area and a housing development, opposite the ditch.)
- 2 Plaintive Cuckoo (Flushed these out while walking along a dividing bund next to a dry, thick, grassy patch. There was one adult male that looked a bit faded and one female hepatic morph. Both birds perched on wires for several seconds and gave great looks.)
- Also a couple of Plain Prinia, 1 Richard's Pipit, 4 Red-throated Pipits, 2 Greater Painted Snipe, and 1 Pallas' Grasshopper Warbler.
Good birding,
Wes Homoya
whomoya@yahoo.com
