We visited Ng Tung Chai yesterday, but although it was a nice morning, we didn't have any migrants, and even the Yellow-browed Warblers had all but disappeared.
This morning I birded lower Lam Tsuen around She Shan:
Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike - 2
Large Hawk Cuckoo - 3
Plaintive Cuckoo - 1
Richard's Pipit - 1
Olive-backed Pipit - 20
Yellow-browed Warbler - 1
Siberian Stonechat - 2
Little Bunting - 1
Blue Magpie - pair (rare in Lam Tsuen)
Collared Crow - 1
It also looks like the Chinese Pond Herons will nest at Ping Long carpark again.
Cheers
Mike Author: kmike Time: 7/04/2012 17:56
With the exception of a philippensis Blue Rock Thrush in the village, and two Yellow-cheeked Tits and a Ferruginous Flycatcher in the clearing in front of the temple Ng Tung Chai was rather quiet this morning.
The only other birds of interest were two Velvet-fronted Nuthatches collecting nesting material.
[ Last edited by kmike at 7/04/2012 23:13 ] Author: subbuteo Time: 19/04/2012 06:24
19 April 2012
First Dollarbird this morning at Lung A Pai.
Dylan Author: kmike Time: 19/04/2012 10:05
At 5pm five Dollarbirds flew up and circled above Tai Yeung Che and Ping Long before continuing their migration northeast along the valley.
I also heard Chestnut-winged Cuckoo and at dusk a Brown Wood Owl was again calling.
I should work at home more often!
Cheers
Mike
[ Last edited by kmike at 19/04/2012 23:54 ] Author: kmike Time: 22/04/2012 12:12
Three Dollarbirds on Friday morning (20 Apr) and two more this morning Sunday 22 April at Lung A Pai.
Just before noon a pair of Hobby were circling over Ping Long before drifting away north.
On Saturday morning I heard Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo and Lesser Coucal before heading off to Mai Po.
Cheers
Mike K Author: kmike Time: 24/04/2012 20:02
Two more Dollarbirds at Ping Long this morning.
Cheers
Mike K Author: subbuteo Time: 24/04/2012 20:57
There was a Dollarbird yesterday and and the Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo still calling at Ha Tin Liu Ha.
Dylan Author: subbuteo Time: 26/04/2012 10:08
Yesterday evening (26.4.12) a Grey-streaked Flycatcher was on telephone lines above my yard- one of my best living room ticks (I envy Mike's veggie patch views). A single Dollarbird was at Lung A Pai and Brown Wood Owl was calling around 6.30pm
Dylan Author: kmike Time: 26/04/2012 14:59
Two more Dollarbirds on the ridgetop powerlines this morning - one above KFBG and one above Lung A Pai.
Cheers
Mike K Author: subbuteo Time: 27/04/2012 06:24
Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo, Indian Cuckoo (my first in Lam Tsuen this year) and a single Dollarbird this morning.
Dylan Author: kmike Time: 28/04/2012 23:20
Seven Dollarbirds were in Lam Tsuen this morning. This brings the spring's total to 25 in the valley a new record for the valley.
Cheers
Mike K Author: kmike Time: 28/04/2012 23:24
Seven Dollarbirds were in Lam Tsuen this morning. This brings the spring's total to 25 in the valley a new record for the valley.
Cheers
Mike K Author: kmike Time: 29/04/2012 21:32
Six more Dollarbirds this morning after the rain - the total is now 30 birds seen by myself and Dylan this spring.
Also one Black Drongo, which have not had a good spring so far. How many have others had?
Cheers
Mike
[ Last edited by kmike at 29/04/2012 21:49 ] Author: wgeoff Time: 29/04/2012 23:20
Black Drongo - normal numbers on Po Toi to date, at least six taken up residence.
Dollarbird, only one on Po Toi so far, a poor year (but similar to 2011).
[ Last edited by wgeoff at 29/04/2012 23:23 ] Author: kmike Time: 30/04/2012 16:34
Many thanks Geoff
Four more Dollarbirds at Lung A Pai today, plus a rather surprising adult Black Bulbul with a full white head in the same tree.
Cheers
Mike K Author: kmike Time: 2/05/2012 00:55
Two more Dollarbirds were in the same tree over at Lung A Pai. Author: subbuteo Time: 2/05/2012 09:54
Indian Cuckoo calling at the ponds behind She Shan, Chestnut-winged Cuckoo calling at Pak Tin Kong and a single Dollarbird at Lung A Pai.
Dylan Author: kmike Time: 2/05/2012 22:23
Plus one more Dollarbird on the wires above Lung A Pai and one on the wires above Ng Tung Chai making three in total.
Cheers
Mike Author: subbuteo Time: 4/05/2012 06:22
A single dollarbird at Lung A Pai in their favourite tree. The Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo was still calling behind Ha Tin Liu Ha. Chestnut-winged, Large Hawk and Plaintive Cuckoo were also calling this morning
Dylan Author: kmike Time: 4/05/2012 21:51
I scoped the Dollarbird tree from my house about 7am - and by that time there were three Dollarbirds in it.
By 7:30 there were two and by 7:45 just one.
These three make 42 birds so far this spring. Could this spring challenge for the single season record on 55 set from 18 September to 24 October in autumn 2007? There are 24 more days until my previous latest spring record, which was 29 May in 2011.
Cheers
Mike Author: subbuteo Time: 5/05/2012 20:05
I didn't get a chance to look for dollarbirds this morning and none were there this afternoon. However, around 5pm, the Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo was calling again from the same wood behind Ha Tin Liu Ha.
I flushed a black-crowned night heron off the path tonight which doesn't happen often. There was a bird circling and calling in the night sky- a call I didn't recognise- single note repeated- not like the usual night heron call but could well have been one!
Dylan Author: brendank Time: 5/05/2012 20:19
Could it have been a Malayan Night Heron? Your description of the call sounds a bit like one. Author: subbuteo Time: 5/05/2012 22:10
Unfortunately, no, at least not as far as the calls I have found on the internet which seem to be fairly deep booming calls. This was a higher pitched "croak". It's not a call I've heard before, and I am out at night in this area often with my dog. Malayan Night Heron is on my "hoped for" list!
Dylan Author: subbuteo Time: 6/05/2012 11:11
Another dollarbird this morning flying up the valley towards Kadoorie Farm.
Dylan Author: lun9394 Time: 7/05/2012 15:41
7/5
Crested Serpent Eagle *3
Wai Tau Tsuen Author: subbuteo Time: 7/05/2012 19:17
Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo is still calling from the same wood- heard at 6.15 am.
Dylan Author: kmike Time: 7/05/2012 20:02
Four more Dollarbirds this morning.
Cheers
Mike Author: subbuteo Time: 9/05/2012 08:35
Indian Cuckoo calling again this morning from the flower field area between Shen Shan and Pak Tin Kong. Also, Blue Magpies at the lower ponds past She Shan.
Dylan Author: kmike Time: 9/05/2012 19:52
Plus two more Dollarbirds in the usual tree. They're getting harder to see now that the leaves are starting to grow.
One more for a half century this spring . . .
Cheers
Mike Author: subbuteo Time: 12/05/2012 08:56
A single dollarbird this morning flying between Lung A Pai and Ping Long.
Dylan Author: kmike Time: 12/05/2012 19:56
I saw the same Dollarbird this evening plus one on wires close to Kau Liu Ha at the northern end o the valley at dusk - now 51 birds this spring.
Other birds today included a Pacific Swift this morning over Ping Long Fa Yuen, 18 Cattle Egrets and a Great Egret flying SW down the valley this morning at about 8am. A Night Heron and a Little Egret this evening added to the breeding Chinese Pond Herons to make five species of ardeid in the valley today.
Other signs of spring were a couple of fledged Long-tailed Shrikes, a White-browed Laughingthrush carrying food and four newly fledged Barn Swallows taking break on one of the aircon units of the flat below mine.
Cheers
Mike
Also, unauthorised track has been built towards Tin Liu Ha from the She Shan Road. The digger is still present. Author: subbuteo Time: 13/05/2012 16:56
The Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo is still in the valley! It was calling from the same location at about 3pm this afternoon.
Dylan Author: kmike Time: 13/05/2012 20:33
And another two more Dollarbirds today.
Cheers
Mike Author: subbuteo Time: 15/05/2012 12:05
Unusually, a Common Mynah was in a garden near my home, only the second one I have seen in Lam Tsuen.
The Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo was calling again this evening around 6pm/
Dylan
[ Last edited by subbuteo at 15/05/2012 19:59 ] Author: kmike Time: 28/06/2012 09:48
At 0445 this morning an Asian Lesser Cuckoo was heard calling in flight near Ping Long. This is the second Lam Tsuen record following a bird, also heard calling at night, on 22 May 2011
Brown Wood Owl was also heard. This is the first June record of a calling bird, which has now been heard in every month of the year in Lam Tsuen.
There was also a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo
Cheers
Mike Author: kmike Time: 22/07/2012 08:12 Subject: Ringed Chinese Pond Heron in Lam Tsuen
Yesterday morning I photographed this Chinese Pond Heron feeding a giant earthworm to a chick in the small egretry in Ping Long, Lam Tsuen.
I noticed that the adult had a ring on its right leg, but even on max zoom I could not see any numbers or letters.
I would be interested to know from the Ringing group how many Chinese Pond Herons have been ringed in HK and whether this bird might be one of those rescued from the Ping Long egretry after a wind squall knocked a dozen young birds out of their nests a few years ago?
Hi Mike
The ringing group has ringed a total of 56 Chinese Pond Herons over the years. Most have either been trapped at Mai Po or have been birds rehabilitated at KFBG. I think the chicks you refer to were a batch of six birds ringed at KFBG in August 2009.
Without having any more details about this ring number, it is not possible for us to know which bird is involved. It could well be one of the chicks which came from the colony, but could also be another bird. It would certainly be interesting to know, because very little is currently known about the movement of Chinese Pond Heron in Hong Kong. To date we have only one ringing recovery - a bird ringed at Mai Po in October 2004 and found dead at the same site two months later. If at any point you are able to get even a partial ring number I may be able to work out the individual involved (but no guarantees!) Author: kmike Time: 23/07/2012 07:47
Many thanks John.
Mike
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