wmartin

Not sure where to post re birds in HK overall; hopefully Forrest, say, can move to appropriate place.

Been chill/cold for some days; grey too. Reading of severe winter in China, inc worst snow in 50 years at least one place, record low temperatures (not sure if coldest ever, or for some time).
There's been much snow, across swathe of the country.

While I've come to think that if fine and dry, even if cold, birds like thrushes might stay in China, I also reckoned that cold plus snow meant birds had to move to warmer places: saw little evidence of this with Hong Kong records.

So would seem conditions these past few days would be ideal for prompting hard weather movements, resulting in influx of thrushes, bluetails etc to Hong Kong.
Yet, so far as I've seen and heard, no such influx (well, a v few more thrushes, but nothing compared to what used to be a normal winter; was if four Red-thr Flycs at Mai Po yesterday).
Just been out on Cheung Chau; and if anything might be less birds - didn't hear Yellow-browed Warbler.
To me, puzzling.

wmartin

Taken a while, but at last getting reports of thrushes, red-tailed robins, bluetails, rubythroats in good numbers, esp Pak Sha O, and Shing Mun.
But still doesn't seem massive influx, given the scale of the ice and snow storms, and the length of this cold spell, which seems to have brought the Arctic to south-central China.

Also, here on Cheung Chau, seems birds such as yellow-browed warbler have moved out (or died).
Seen birds such as common tailorbird foraging on ground, down to very close range: getting pretty desperate I think.

Images from China showing thick ice on foliage; SCM Post yesterday had report re 90 percent of China's forests being damaged in hardest hit areas.
So, surely many birds had to flee the impacted areas, or die. Perhaps many went southwest, helped by northeasterlies.
As to those that stayed, even residents: I wonder if tried moving lower down hills, and important that lowlands mostly deforested, so places birds might seek refuge during such winters are no longer useful to them.
Added to which: read of even food becoming scarce in some places, so maybe rural people turned to wildlife more than normal?
Just guessing, here; but surely a dire situation. [perhaps there's already a fair amount of info on the snowstorms and birdlife in China: if so, hopefully someone can post a little here]

Also guessing: if some birds have moved from normal areas, perhaps will mean some oddities to occur here in spring? (Po Toi even busier than usual!?)

wmartin

Last Friday - shortly before the long cold spell at last ended - walked Chi Ma Wan to Pui O. Plenty of thrushes, red-tailed robins, bluetails. But only four Yellow-browed Warblers (no Pallas's Leaf) - one of these in saplings above a ditch w water, the other three foraging at ground level in small patch of Pui O marsh.
During cold spell, I also saw Great Tits foraging on ground (a pair in woods on Cheung Chau memorable to me). So, surely desperate times, even for some of birds typically with us in winter.

S China Morning Post has had some more reports on winter storm damage in China; inc one village where woman reported hearing bamboo cracking "like firecrackers" under weight of ice and snow; another village had all fruit trees wrecked. Today, there's mention of "great losses to the forestry resources in the southern part of China" (cost at 57.3b yuan); "the destruction would also alter the local ecology ... About 30,000 nationally protected wild animals were killed or injured"
Latter seems an odd statistic, as China is wont to produce.
But again, must wonder re scale of destruction to birdlife, inc some restricted range species.