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Subject: Lam Tsuen Autumn 2010 [Print This Page]
Author: kmike    Time: 22/08/2010 16:03     Subject: Lam Tsuen Autumn 2010

The first migrants of the autumn were a pair of Grey Wagtails opposite the Ping Long bus stop earlier in the week.

If anyone is birding in Lam Tsuen and Finds a Wood Sandpiper, please could you  post this on the website - there are no records yet in Lam Tsuen!

And finally, not migrant, but a couple of resident birds which have shown well over the summer.

Barred Owlet - Ping Long  5am 17 Aug
White-browed Laughingthrush - 1 of a family party of 5 which bred nearby 1 Aug
First breeding record of Chinese Starling  a pic of a juvenile from 20 July

Cheers
Mike K

[ Last edited by kmike at 22/08/2010 20:06 ]

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Author: ddavid    Time: 22/08/2010 17:36

Mike

I had a Wood Sandpiper with a Green Sandpiper on the river below the Golden Triangle on February 27th this year. This is the only one I can recall seeing in LTV - which must be why I have written an exclamation mark next to the record in my notebook!

Cheers,

Dave
Author: kmike    Time: 22/08/2010 20:01

Good to know - Many thanks Dave

Cheers
Mike
Author: subbuteo    Time: 22/08/2010 22:46

What we need a is a water buffalo or two in the marsh, open water is really lacking in Lam Tsuen.  Anyone know where I can get one?  Roll on Autumn- it has been a quiet summer; I'm really looking froward to seeing the first stonechat- shouldn't be long now.

Dylan
Author: subbuteo    Time: 25/08/2010 22:28

Brown Wood Owl was calling this evening (6.20pm) near Pak Tin Kong.  Barred Owlet joined in too.

Dylan
Author: lchunfai    Time: 26/08/2010 01:18

Wonderful !
By the way, how long did it call ?
Thanks a lot

Fai Jai
Author: thinfor    Time: 26/08/2010 10:12

So happy that Lam Tsuen birders have started the autumn birding already and many thanks for your updated info here!  
Author: subbuteo    Time: 26/08/2010 10:32

Not so much a case of starting birding, just has not been much to report- I had not appreciated how quiet summer was until this year.  

I am aware that many people would like Brown Wood Owl as an addition to their HK list, unfortunately, as I'm sure Mike will confirm, it is very difficult to predict.  I have heard it only a few times and I am out in the valley most days.  I have not heard it call at the same time twice or on consecutive days.  Yesterday was the first time I have heard it call at dusk.  I have heard it at dawn (last August) and at various times in the early night.  Mike, I believe has heard it call in the wee hours.  And it seems to be mobile, calling from different locations along the Tai Mo Shan flank of the valley.

It is just good to know it is still there!
Author: lchunfai    Time: 26/08/2010 12:57

Many thnks for your useful informations.
Good to know it loves LT area  

Fai Jai
Author: brendank    Time: 27/08/2010 09:38

As I never birded Lam Tsuen and I can't find a good reference on the net, would it be possible for someone to comment quickly on transportation to Lam Tsuen and key birding areas in Lam Tsuen?
Author: james10    Time: 27/08/2010 10:08

Take KMB 64K (heading to Yuen Long) at the Tai Wo station. You may choose to get off at a number of destinations, from 較寮下 to 麻布尾.
Author: subbuteo    Time: 27/08/2010 10:28

The 64K runs right through the valley and will give you access to any of the sites below.  The 25K green minibus from the road below Tai Wo KCR runs as far as the bottom of the road to Ng Tung Chai.  There is really no good map available for Lam Tsuen- best I have found is here:

click to zoom

I mainly bird along the Tai Mo Shan side of the valley.  

Key sites:  

Ng Tung Chai.  Probably the most diverse in terms of birds- very busy at weekends.
Tai Om Shan.  My new favourite site because it is rarely visited.  Mixture of orchards, woodland and open grassland.
Golden Triangle.  The Fung Shui wood beside Kwun Yik store.  Hasn't been as productive for me recently- a lot of disturbance to the undergrowth last year but seems to be recovering now.
She Shan to Ping Long mostly open farmland with well wooded hillsides and some large trees.  Open marshy / grassland area area has been productive for buntings in winter.  
Kadoorie Farm. Somewhere I have not birded enough which I hope to rectify this winter.
Tai Yeung Che.  Village on the opposite side of the river to Ping Long had great birds in the past winter.
She Shan grassland Pipits and buntings last year, also quail.
She Shan ponds had black-browed reed warbler and teal last winter.
Hong Lok Yuen roundabout Plumbeous redstart and thrushes as well as water birds.

Hope this helps- my break is over- I can add more details when I get a chance.

Dylan
Author: brendank    Time: 27/08/2010 15:51

Thanks, Dylan! This is really an excellent description and a useful map too!

Brendan

[ Last edited by brendank at 27/08/2010 15:57 ]
Author: kmike    Time: 27/08/2010 19:11

Hi Brendan  

I blog on Lam Tsuen birding and other wildlife here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=66653

Cheers
Mike K
Author: subbuteo    Time: 27/08/2010 19:20

Mike's blog is great- he is the Lam Tsuen expert!  Just a note on the map- some of the paths marked on there are impassable due to overgrowth through lack of use- especially in the summer months.  Many routes are opened up in the Autumn my grave visitors and hikers- there are often trail tags to follow along where the routes pass even though the route may not be obvious.  lam Tsuen is very underwatched- I am sure Mike and I miss some good birds (me far more than Mike!)

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 27/08/2010 19:21 ]
Author: brendank    Time: 27/08/2010 23:21

I suppose when most birders think of the New Territories they think of Mai Po, LV, and Tai Po Kau.  But Mike and Dylan have definitely convinced me to explore more.
Author: brendank    Time: 27/08/2010 23:22

I suppose when most birders think of the New Territories they think of Mai Po, LV, and Tai Po Kau.  But Mike and Dylan have definitely convinced me to explore more.
Author: ddavid    Time: 29/08/2010 20:30

At the overgrown southern corner of the She Shan grassy area this afternoon (29-8-2010) there were at least 3 Bright-capped Cisticolas and a Zitting Cisticola.

There were also 500++ Wandering Gliders Pantala flavescens in the area. This dragonfly is a long-distance migrant and this swarm probably consisted of recent arrivals from the Philippines moving ahead of tropical storm Lion Rock.

david

[ Last edited by ddavid at 29/08/2010 20:34 ]
Author: subbuteo    Time: 29/08/2010 21:55

Thanks for that- I had watched a talk about that species of dragonfly here:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en ... t_cross_oceans.html

He calls them "globe skimmers" Didn't realise they were what I was watching this afternoon!

Dylan
Author: ddavid    Time: 29/08/2010 22:35

Dylan

Pantala flavescens seems to have a variety of English names - Wandering Glider, Typhoon Dragonfly, Orange Glider and, as you note, Globe Skimmer.

Many thanks for the link to Charles Anderson's talk on the migration of the Globe Skimmer from India to Africa.

The paper he wrote on the same topic can be found at http://www.mrc.gov.mv/index.php/publications/

It's interesting the link he makes between the migration of birds such as Amur Falcon at the same time and on the same flight path as the dragonflies. As he says in his paper, Amur Falcons use the Globe Skimmers as a source of "in-flight refuelling".

Fascinating stuff!

dave
Author: subbuteo    Time: 7/09/2010 20:02

A walk this evening (5.30-7.15pm) proved both frustrating and successful.  The main frustration was a flycatcher which took a long time to present itself and then only fleetingly.  I had thought it was a Ferruginous Flycatcher but after consulting my books, poor light and fleeting views have reduced my confidence and now I don't know what it was.  As I left the flycatcher I flushed a large bird from a tree below the path, it flew across in front of me and low through the tree trunks.  It was long-winged, dark (brown?) and had no obvious marks- a big bland bird.  I don't know what it was.  It seemed crested goshawk size so perhaps one was roosting.

The success was the Brown Wood Owl was calling again- from a different location- more towards Ping Long this time.  As I mentioned before, I am out most evenings/nights and rarely hear it but if there is any pattern at all clear evenings seem to be best.  Barred Owlets  where calling all over and one flew overhead.

Dylan

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 8/09/2010 06:12 ]
Author: kmike    Time: 11/09/2010 21:17

today in Ng Tung Chai:

Eastern Crowned Warbler - 2
Greenish Warbler - 1
Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warbler - 1

Mountain Bulbul - 1

and  . . . rain, rain, rain

Cheers
Mike
Author: subbuteo    Time: 12/09/2010 12:03

Ng Tung Chai this morning (7.30 to 10.30).

Eastern Crowned Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Flycatcher - 1

There were a couple more flycatchers but I couldn't pin them down they kept in cover, blue colouration on one.  Also Emerald Dove, Mountain Tailorbird (5+), Red-billed Leothrix, and  Wild Boar (2 juveniles foraging within 20 feet of me).  I was pleased to note that the cutting back along the path carried out over the summer was not as bad as it could have been.  

Dylan
Author: subbuteo    Time: 13/09/2010 12:28

First snipe (fantail/pintail?) I've seen for a while foraging on muddy pools along a track at Pak Tin Kong, presumably a migrant.  Nice to have a bit more variety about after a quiet summer!
Author: kmike    Time: 15/09/2010 07:37

Patch tick this morning - Oriental Reed Warbler in the veggie patch with the Crested Bulbuls.

Has anyone had one of these in Lam Tsuen previously, or can I claim an addition to the Lam Tsuen list?

Cheers
Mike
Author: subbuteo    Time: 16/09/2010 06:28

16/9/10 6.10 am

First dollarbird this morning over the swamp between Pak Tin Kong and Ping Long.

Dylan
Author: kmike    Time: 16/09/2010 21:06

. . . and there were two Dollarbirds this evening on the power lines opposite Ping Long.

Cheers
Mike K
Author: kmike    Time: 17/09/2010 10:01

This morning there were four Dollarbirds - three flying around the pylons at N end of Tai To Yan ridge, and one on the powerlines above the Kadoorie Farm Bus Stop - all scoped at long range from my roof!

Cheers

Mike
Author: kmike    Time: 18/09/2010 22:37

Arriving home at about 2pm, there was an immature White-bellied Sea Eagle soaring over the village. It drifted off towards Lung A Pai and the Lin Au ridge.

This is just my second record in Lam Tsuen - the first was an adult that flew past Kadoorie Farm when I was working there a few years ago.

Cheers
Mike K
Author: subbuteo    Time: 22/09/2010 08:38

This morning at 5.50 am Brown Wood Owl was heard calling.  There was initially a three note call and a few minutes later I heard the usual four note call.  Barred Owlet has also been making a lot of noise recently.

Over the last couple of days Hair-crested Drongoes have been seen along with single Dollarbirds on Sunday and early this morning.

Dylan
Author: subbuteo    Time: 23/09/2010 09:25

A walk up to Tai Om Shan this morning- still not possible to get all the way through to the higher forest as the path is heavily overgrown.


Open country birds:
Black-becked Starling
Crested Mynah
Crested Bulbul
Sooty-headed Bulbul
Great Tit
Common Tailorbird
Tree Sparrow
Magpie Robin
Spotted Dove
White-breasted waterhen
Chinese Pond Heron
Magpie
Masked Laughing Thrush

Path up to Tai Om SHan:
Mountain Tailorbird
Pale-legged Leaf Warbler
Rufous-capped Babbler
Blue-winged Minla
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Japanese White-eye
Hwamei
Black-throated Laughing Thrush
Greater Necklaced Laughing Thrush
Grey Treepie x3 (my HK list bogey bird- need to find a new one!)

Also three Accipters but no firm id- one was very dark, the other two flew together and were very pale below.

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 23/09/2010 17:40 ]
Author: kmike    Time: 23/09/2010 18:45

Having had a couple of Dollarbirds from the window I went up on the roof to see how many I could pick up with a proper scan . . . and found 10!  Four we above Wo Hop Shek, four were over Ng Tung Chai and two over Lung A Pai.

While I was counting them a total of 61 Chinese Starlings (two flocks of 6 and 55) flew down the valley, looking like a chessboard which had decided to disconnect itself and fly away.

While I was admiring a juvenile Lesser Coucal a couple of Black Drongos, the first of the autumn in the valley, appeared, and a few minutes later a couple of Yellow Wagtails called as they flew over, but too high to be seen.

Not bad for 30 minutes!

Cheers
Mike
Author: kmike    Time: 25/09/2010 20:35

Quieter today, with just a Dollarbird on the power lines over Tai Om and a young, pale-bellied Black Drongo hunting from the big tree in the grassland in front of the house.

Cheers
Mike K
Author: kmike    Time: 26/09/2010 20:18

A walk up to Ng Tung Chai started well with an Arctic Warbler right at the beginning of the trail, but I then had no migrants at all until coming back to the same spot, where a Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warbler was calling.

However I did see a Mountain Bulbul near the lower falls.

As I passed through the village I was astonished that my first flycatcher of the autumn was a juvenile Red-throated Flycatcher, with a fine buff wing bar. It was perched on a cane in the top corner of the flower field to the left of the village hall. One minute later it had gone, but was replaced - at exactly the same spot - with a Grey-streaked Flycatcher!

As I walked back down to Ping Long I flushed a female Blue Rock Thrush off the path and had another Arctic Warbler crossing the stream a little lower down.

Almost forgot - first thing this morning I heard a single call from a Grey Treepie fro the fung shui wood opposite my place.

Cheers
Mike
Author: ddavid    Time: 1/10/2010 19:17

She Shan/Ha Tin Liu Ha - 1/10/10 - p.m.

Cattle Egret 1
Red-rumped Swallow 1
Richard's Pipit 1
Grey Wagtail 2
Siberian Stonechat 3
Bright-capped Cisticola 1
Zitting Cisticola 1
Hair-crested Drongo 2

dave
Author: subbuteo    Time: 2/10/2010 10:01

Very quiet walk up to Tai Om Shan.  The path is still impassable to the upper areas- I've given up on pushing through, the vegetation pushes back!  Only bird of interest was an Oriental Honey Buzzard.

Dylan
Author: kmike    Time: 2/10/2010 19:28

A quiet day for me too, with a solitary female Siberian Stonechat being my only reward for an early start.

However I did also see a Javan Mongoose (just my second in Lam Tsuen) and a juvenile King Cobra on my way home.

Cheers
Mike

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Author: subbuteo    Time: 2/10/2010 22:01

Mike omitted to mention the king cobra was nearly on my door-step and was later evicted!  Beautiful but not welcome to set up home.

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 2/10/2010 22:05 ]
Author: brendank    Time: 3/10/2010 21:56

Mike and Dylan, can you comment on how rare King Cobra are in HK?  I was under the impression that they were quite rare indeed.

[ Last edited by brendank at 3/10/2010 21:58 ]
Author: subbuteo    Time: 4/10/2010 11:11

First one I had seen.  I asked Paul at Kadoorie Farm:

King Cobras  are few and far between in Hong Kong but this may not represent any sort of  ecological imbalance. As an apex predator in the snake world  that feeds almost exclusively upon other snakes they should naturally be in much smaller numbers than other snake species. (The narrow top of the pyramid).  The KFBG snake rescue program receives in the region of  500 snakes per year of which only 2 to 3 are  King Cobra.   As a primarily forest species a lot of Hong Kong’s scrubby hillsides may not provide appropriate habitat.

Paul Crow
Senior Conservation Officer

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 10/10/2010 13:28 ]

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Author: subbuteo    Time: 4/10/2010 12:22

This is from a while ago:

http://www.hku.hk/ecology/porcupine/por20/wildlife.htm
Author: brendank    Time: 4/10/2010 13:17

Very interesting. I assume the picture of snake in blue bucket was when it was being evicted.
Author: subbuteo    Time: 4/10/2010 13:46

Yes, bucket was only just big enough, snake was about two feet long.  Paul also said this was probably a year old snake- this year's hatchlings would be significantly smaller.  I moved it (very cautiously with snake tongs) about 200m from home and released it well away from other houses.  They can move very fast!
Author: brendank    Time: 4/10/2010 14:48

Seems that life in the Lam Tsuen Valley is more exciting than on HK island. Don't think too many people would have snake tongs handy here.
Author: subbuteo    Time: 4/10/2010 14:56

We've had enough snakes at the house to warrant their purchase- Chinese Cobra, Bamboo Pit Viper(x2), red-necked keelback and the king cobra in the last couple of months.  The king cobra was the first time I used the tongs and they are definitely better than a brush and dust pan!
Author: kmike    Time: 4/10/2010 21:09

Love the pix of the King Cobra in the bucket - perfectly sets off the fine colours!

King Cobra is doing OK in Lam Tsuen:

An adult at least 8-feet long stood up to say hello on the path above Ng Tung Chai a few years ago!

I also know of two other live records - Roger Kendrick watched one kill a large Copperhead Racer at KARC a few years ago, and Charlotte in the Flora Dept at KFBG photographed an adult from a car about 2 years ago.

I also found one road-killed youngster on the road to Ng Tung Chai in 2002.

Cheers
Mike K
Author: bkenneth    Time: 4/10/2010 21:55

I also saw one (my first ever) just above the end of the Fo Tan nullah on Saturday evening at dusk. It was only a baby (about 8 inches long) but it still raised its head and its hood! Quite scary actually, as I believe they are venomous from the day that they hatch.

Ken
Author: subbuteo    Time: 7/10/2010 12:45

Lunchtime update!

Quite quiet recently, hoping that the cooler weather and time to explore at the weekend will be productive.  Also Cheung Yeung next week should mean paths being opened up.

Dollarbirds have been around Pak Tin Kong for the last couple of mornings.  Dawn is getting later so my early dog walks have been coinciding with the birds waking up- large numbers of bulbuls fly out from the flanks of the valley and fung shui woods were they roost, gather on the powerlines and then disperse for the day.  By far Crested is the most common, occasional Chinese and Sooty Headed.  There are more skulking birds in the swamp/grassland.  I suspect there have been reed warblers but now Cisticolas have arrived back.  A Greater Coucal refused to fly away from me yesterday and I worked out why after he took off and sat above me in a branch muttering- he had a sizeable Changeable Lizard which was putting up a stout defence.  The coucal seemed to have struck a mortal blow so I left it to be dinner.

Still haven't seen a stonechat!

Dylan

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 7/10/2010 14:53 ]
Author: kmike    Time: 10/10/2010 00:33

Classic fall conditions this morning - heavily overcast with drizzle on and off and moderate NE winds, and it turned out to be pretty good.

I was on my roof from 0630 to 0730, and during that time I had a Dollarbird making a couple of languid circuits, including one right overhead, five Black Drongos, three Hair-crested Drongos and my first Ashy Drongo of the winter.

Even better were the first Yellow-breasted Bunting (a flyover) and a female Black-winged Cuckooshrike, which had a swift dogfight with the Ashy Drongo.

After breakfast I thoroughly covered the She Shan area and had good numbers of regular migrants, including the following:

Green Sandpiper - 2
Dollarbird - 1
Common Kingfisher - 1
Richard's Pipit - 9
Olive-backed Pipit - 2
Yellow Wagtail - 1
Grey Wagtail - 8
Siberian Stonechat 10
Dusky Warbler 19
Asian Brown Flycatcher - 4
Taiga Flycatcher - 2
Black Drongo - 5

The Taigas were great - chasing each other and one of the Brown Flycatchers round the tree nursery that has been newly established on the filled land.

However the biggest news was that yesterday Dylan pished out the valley's first Pallas' Grasshopper Warbler.

Cheers
Mike K
Author: kmike    Time: 10/10/2010 00:34

Classic fall conditions this morning - heavily overcast with drizzle on and off and moderate NE winds, and it turned out to be pretty good.

I was on my roof from 0630 to 0730, and during that time I had a Dollarbird making a couple of languid circuits, including one right overhead, five Black Drongos, three Hair-crested Drongos and my first Ashy Drongo of the winter.

Even better were the first Yellow-breasted Bunting (a flyover) and a female Black-winged Cuckooshrike, which had a swift dogfight with the Ashy Drongo.

After breakfast I thoroughly covered the She Shan area and had good numbers of regular migrants, including the following:

Green Sandpiper - 2
Dollarbird - 1
Common Kingfisher - 1
Richard's Pipit - 9
Olive-backed Pipit - 2
Yellow Wagtail - 1
Grey Wagtail - 8
Siberian Stonechat 10
Dusky Warbler 19
Asian Brown Flycatcher - 4
Taiga Flycatcher - 2
Black Drongo - 5

The Taigas were great - chasing each other and one of the Brown Flycatchers round the tree nursery that has been newly established on the filled land. I'd welcome any thoughts on this plumage - not sure I've sen such a strong breast band before.

However the biggest news was that yesterday Dylan pished out the valley's first Pallas' Grasshopper Warbler.

Cheers
Mike K

[ Last edited by kmike at 10/10/2010 17:17 ]

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Author: subbuteo    Time: 10/10/2010 13:22

Another snake in the garden- red-necked keelback.

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 10/10/2010 13:25 ]

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Author: thinfor    Time: 11/10/2010 02:42

I'm very interested to visit your garden.  It's like national geographic habitat!

Very glad that you know snakes much and you're not afraid of it (those who don't know much will kill them without much consideration no matter it's venomous or not).  Still a little bit scary for me though since all those you have mentioned are venomous indeed!
Author: subbuteo    Time: 11/10/2010 14:54

My garden is a very poor habitat for snakes- all tiles and flowerpots.  There is really only one point of entry as the garden is surrounded by a wall.  I think the shape of the path and the steps down tend to guide snakes towards the gate and once in they can't get out.  The surrounding area is a mix of scrubby grass, small vegetable plots and village houses.  I had no snakes in the garden last year but seem to be making up for it now.
Author: Yung    Time: 11/10/2010 17:14

11 Oct Afternoon
Tin Liu Ha

Black -Winged Cuckoo-Shrike
Ashy Drongo
Author: subbuteo    Time: 13/10/2010 10:30

Pak Tin Kong / Tin Liu Ha

Glad to report that the Brown Wood Owl was heard again last night at dusk.  Clear evenings definitely seem to be best- but I haven't been down at dusk for a while.  Ashy drongo has been about for the last couple of days and a dollarbird roosted overnight on the power lines outside Lung A Pai (saw it at dusk last night and dawn this morning).  

Also seem to have boar right down in the valley at the moment- plenty of footprints and paths through the marsh.

Dylan

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 13/10/2010 10:31 ]
Author: kmike    Time: 13/10/2010 16:57

There was a Black-naped Oriole and another Black Drongo near Ping Long this morning.

Cheers
Mike
Author: kmike    Time: 15/10/2010 14:12

. . . and a Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike dropped out of sky around 7:30 am this morning

Cheers
Mike
Author: subbuteo    Time: 15/10/2010 14:35

and there is still a dollarbird in the same location outside Lung A Pai.
Author: Yung    Time: 15/10/2010 15:07

15 Oct
Pak Tin Kong
- Dark sided flycatcher
Tin Liu Ha
- Dusky Warbler
Author: kmike    Time: 16/10/2010 20:31

A quiet afternoon with few migrants, but one good one - my first Pallas' Grasshopper Warbler in the near total dark at Pak Tin Kong, while Dylan again heard the Brown wood Owl and saw a Dollarbird.

Cheers
Mike
Author: tmichael    Time: 16/10/2010 20:50

On a similar note to my Oriental Reed at Po Toi comment, Pallas's G is a bird I once had at Mt Austin (causing some initial consternation) and I've also seen it in mangrove edge in Sai Kung, so its appearance in LTV is perhaps overdue.

Mike Turnbull
Author: subbuteo    Time: 19/10/2010 11:41

Ng Tung Chai- 7.15-10.00am 18/10/10

Decided to head further afield this morning (but still in Lam Tsuen!)

Mountain Tailorbird x5
Lesser Shortwing x2
Mountain Bulbul x1
Japanese Paradise Flycatcher x1

I think I also heard a blue-throated barbet but fairly distant.

Dylan
Author: subbuteo    Time: 21/10/2010 18:58

A fairly early Chinese Blackbird this morning, flew into a fruit tree beside me and then flew on down the valley.  

Dylan
Author: ddavid    Time: 21/10/2010 19:10

She Shan/Ha Tin Liu Ha - 21-10-10 - late afternoon

Green Sandpiper - 1
Red Turtle Dove - 1
Richard's Pipit - 14
Olive-backed Pipit - 7
Stejneger's Stonechat - 6
Dusky Warbler - 5
Zitting Cisticola - 1
Asian Brown Flycatcher - 1
Ashy Drongo - 1

dave
Author: kmike    Time: 23/10/2010 19:59

A Wryneck which zipped straight in to a tree as I pished and a couple of Dollarbirds showing very well on the wires at Pak Tin Kong were the highlights of a swift hour this morning. Other birds included a Hair-creseted Drongo, an Ashy Drongo, a couple of Stonechats and a Dusky Warbler.

Cheers,

Mike K

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Author: kmike    Time: 30/10/2010 19:03

Chinese Blackbird, Black-faced Bunting, Commmon Buzzard and 5 Silky Starlings this morning were all first autumn records for me around Ping Long and She Shan this morning.

I also had very nice views of a Crested Serpent Eagle  above She Shan and brief views of 2 Green Sandpipers and an Ashy Drongo.

Cheers
Mike
Author: subbuteo    Time: 31/10/2010 10:23

A walk up to Tai Om Shan (6.15-8.30) on a glorious morning- winter definitely made it's presence felt.  The path up through to Tai Om SHan has been cleared in a very professional fashion, glad I left it for someone else to do!

Highlights:

Crested Goshawk 3
Chinese Blackbird 3
Stonechat 2
Violet Whistling Thrush 3 (normally few and far between)
Yellow-browed Warbler
Lesser Shortwing 5+ - great views of one at the top area; there was territorial singing contest and a juv came out to make sure s/he could be heard
Pygmy Wren Babbler 2 seen, more heard; I think the cold weather helped keep them out in view
Mountain Tailorbird
Grey-cheeked Fulvetta
Asian Paradise Flycatcher
Black-winged CUckoo-Shrike
Greater Necklaced Laughing Thrush

Total of 46 species without trying the grasslands or open country is a very good haul.

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 1/11/2010 05:07 ]
Author: kmike    Time: 31/10/2010 20:17

adding to Dylan's very good list I had an Ashy Drongo, a Greenish Warbler and a Radde's Warbler at Tai Om Shan, and again had the baicalensis White Wagtail on the fields between the river and fung shui wood at She Shan.

Also newly arrived was a fine male Daurian Redstart in the She Shan tree nursery with the long-staying Asian Brown Flycatcher.

Cheers,
Mike
Author: subbuteo    Time: 1/11/2010 05:06

I thought I had lost the plot on Saturday- I was driving towards Hong Lok Yuen and  thought I saw a Black Stork flying over the Tolo Highway.  It was low and looked to be dropping into the nullah above the fabri-dam.  I went back two hours later to locate it but couldn't.

Given that five were seen at Nam Sang Wai yesterday, I might claim it on my Lam Tsuen list!

Dylan
Author: ddavid    Time: 1/11/2010 20:20

1-11-2010

The baicalensis-type White Wagtail was still at She Shan this afternoon (thanks to Mike for directions). The Daurian Redstart & Asian Brown Flycather were still on the grassland area. There was also a Chestnut-eared Bunting there.

dave
Author: ddavid    Time: 7/11/2010 18:36

7-11-2010

At She Shan grassland this afternoon, around the tree nursery, there were two Bramblings (winter male & female), two Yellow-breasted Buntings (1st-winter males I think) and a Red-throated Flycatcher (heard).

Dave
Author: kmike    Time: 7/11/2010 20:27

Brambling is a first for Lam Tsuen !

I had a less exciting morning - with just a Black-winged Cuckoo Shrike, a male Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, and a very chatty pair of White-cheeked Laughingthrushes just above the graves were my first in Tai Om.

Cheers
Mike
Author: subbuteo    Time: 16/11/2010 06:25

An unusually early walk this morning (I prefer to be out in the daylight).  I heard the Brown Wood Owl call more than twenty times over about ten minutes- it probably called more but the sound was masked by the streams I had to walk beside and dogs expressing their displeasure.  It has moved!  I couldn't pin it down as it had stopped calling by the time I got closer but it was calling from much further down the valley.  The call travels a long way on a quiet morning but this is the first time I've heard it in a couple of months.

Dylan

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 16/11/2010 08:40 ]
Author: kmike    Time: 16/11/2010 09:50

On Monday morning I had a Chestnut-eared Bunting and a fine male Yellow-breasted Bunting in the grassland just next to the veggie patch. This was my first Chestnut-eared Bunting in the valley - has anyone else had one previously?

I also had my first Daurian Redstart of the winter from the house - a very noisy female, and this mornign there was a fine male by the bus stop

Cheers
Mike
Author: ddavid    Time: 16/11/2010 13:11

Mike -

I had a Chestnut-eared Bunting at She Shan on November 1st - I posted the info in this thread!!

dave
Author: kmike    Time: 16/11/2010 14:56

I remember now - thanks Dave!

Mike
Author: subbuteo    Time: 18/11/2010 08:32

I heard my first zee-bit this morning; russet bush warbler calling at around 7.35 am in the grassland by Ping Long Village.  I hope Graham Talbot won't mind me posting his find yesterday- he saw two yellow-browed buntings near She Shan yesterday evening- I missed them!  

Dylan
Author: ddavid    Time: 18/11/2010 16:13

There was a Eurasian Skylark at She Shan grassland this afternoon - 18-11-2010.

dave
Author: subbuteo    Time: 19/11/2010 06:59

6.55 am
Just saw three finches fly past one of which had a bright white rump- brambling?  Funny call too.
Author: kmike    Time: 19/11/2010 09:49

Sounds like Brambling, but Arctic Redpoll is also possible based on this description!
Author: subbuteo    Time: 19/11/2010 10:03

I wish.  Didn't get enough on it to say for sure it was brambling either but, hey, I'm with you!  Must've been a redpoll...

Also another Russet Bush Warbler calling, this time from the marshland.  I'm finding it hard to get out for a walk in the daylight in the mornings- I've been late leaving for work as a result the past week.  The birds are only really coming out from roost around 6.45am.  There seem to be a pair of, I think, Besra in residence over the past couple of weeks, they perch and call at first light from tres and rooftops- I've seen them fly over but the light has been too poor so I haven't ruled out Crested Goshawks yet.

[ Last edited by subbuteo at 19/11/2010 10:11 ]
Author: kmike    Time: 20/11/2010 15:26     Subject: Yellow-browed Bunting!

A good mid-day period in Lam Tsuen was headlined by a briefly-seen female Yellow-browed Bunting in Pak Tin Kong and a range of decent winter birds. These included:

Wryneck
Black-winged Cuckooshrike - 3
Ashy Drongo
Siberian Rubythroat (2 heard,  1 male seen)
Daurian Redstart - 2
Black-faced Bunting - 5
Baicalensis White Wagtail
Collared Crow - 2
Green Sandpiper
Yellow-browed Warbler (my first of the autumn!)

Cheers
Mike K
Author: kmike    Time: 21/11/2010 20:17

A much quieter day, with no sign of the Yellow-browed Bunting. The highlights were a single Grey Treepie, four Grosbeak sp. (presumably Chinese), two Black-winged Cuckooshrikes, an Ashy Drongo, a female Rubythroat, a newly arrived ocularis White Wagtail and yesterday's Wryneck.

As I write a Collared Scops Owl is calling

Cheers
Mike

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Author: kmike    Time: 12/12/2010 21:36

A very dull and overcast weekend in the valley

Chinese Blackbird - 51coming out of a roost near Tai Yeung Che
Hair-crested Dongo - 29 going to roost above She Shan

Ashy Drongo - 1

Taivana Yellow Wagtail - a rare species in Lam Tsuen
Ocularis White Wagtail - just the second record - on the same field as 2 weeks ago

Oriental Turtle Dove - 6

Daurian Redstart - 3

Verditer - Dylan had one at Pak Tin Kong
Pallas' Leaf Warbler - Dylan had one at Pak Tin Kong

Besra - 1
Common Buzzard - 1

White -browed Laughingthrush - see Youtube clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VyC63CgrSo


Cheers
Mike
Author: kmike    Time: 12/12/2010 21:51

A very dull and overcast weekend in the valley

Chinese Blackbird - 51coming out of a roost near Tai Yeung Che
Hair-crested Dongo - 29 going to roost above She Shan

Ashy Drongo - 1

Taivana Yellow Wagtail - a rare species in Lam Tsuen
Ocularis White Wagtail - just the second record - on the same field as 2 weeks ago

Oriental Turtle Dove - 6

Daurian Redstart - 3

Verditer - Dylan had one at Pak Tin Kong
Pallas' Leaf Warbler - Dylan had one at Pak Tin Kong

Besra - 1
Common Buzzard - 1

White -browed Laughingthrush - see Youtube clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VyC63CgrSo


Cheers
Mike
Author: lchunfai    Time: 16/12/2010 23:45

16.12.2010  Lam tsuen san tsuen
No owl , no woodcock and no nightjar
But we saw a large owl-like bird flying into the woodland at around 8:30pm
Author: subbuteo    Time: 17/12/2010 09:44

Keep trying!  I was out last night and only had scops owl calling.  Which woods were you watching?  The "Golden Triangle" area?  Big news in Lam Tsuen this morning was frost!  It was 2 degrees Celcius at home in the centre of the valley.  The taro and ginger plants were white- I imagine that they will be dying off over the next few days.  Birds were certainly behaving differently; a common buzzard was soaring high at first light; black-necked starlings were allowing very close approach, they were so busy feeding.

I heard that bird baths are freezing ovwer in Tai Po Kau!  Good day to be out if you have the option.

Dylan
Author: lchunfai    Time: 17/12/2010 09:57

I think the woods is the one near pak ting kong / she Shan
Yesterday was really cold , however , the dogs were very active .
One dog even chased us in Ng Tung Tsai!!
Author: brendank    Time: 17/12/2010 13:26

Yes, the time last year I went Ng Tung Tsai there seemed to be many dogs.  Was this dog potentially dangerous?

Ng Tung Tsai may have cobras but I had much rather meet a cobra than a group of angry canines.
Author: kmike    Time: 17/12/2010 14:08

There is a dog by the temple that chases but is not serious.
Brendan I agree with you. . .  up to  point. A King Cobra stood up to say hello to me on the main trail at Ng Tung Chai a few years - way scarier than any dog!

Cheers
Mike
Author: fatchun    Time: 17/12/2010 15:52

Last night we tried to walk through that dog...
But it suddenly frenzied and was likely to be dangerous, so we gave up...
Author: subbuteo    Time: 17/12/2010 16:27

I am surprised that you had a serious problem- perhaps it was the fact you were there in the dark.  I have had dogs bark but they have always kept their distance, generally making a lot of noise but not much else.  Having my own dog with me causes much more problems and I have to keep a close eye out for trouble as she likes to hide behind me.



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