wgeoff

In keeping with tradition, and in response to unprecedented demand (I think someone mentioned it), here is this year’s Po Toi Christmas Quiz.

As usual, the Grand Prize is a free night on Po Toi in January (excluding dinner). The total possible score is 10. In a generous effort to ensure we have a winner this year, the Grand Prize and the title ‘Bird Brain of Po Toi’ will be awarded to the first person who scores 9 or more.

None of Hong Kong’s greatest Bird Brains have yet managed to win the Grand Prize but maybe this is the year. It has become increasingly difficult to think up new questions for the Quiz, so this may be your last opportunity.

Wildlife Questions

1.        Name these two birds, photographed on Po Toi in December. Half point for each correct answer



2.        Name these two birds, sound recorded on Po Toi in September and December. Half point for each correct answer

http://www.geoffwelch46.com/XMASSOUND1.mp3

http://www.geoffwelch46.com/XMASSOUND3.mp3


3.        The three commonest migrants on Po Toi in terms of numbers of birds are all passerines – Chinese Bulbul, Japanese White-eye and Tree Sparrow. The fourth commonest migrant in 2009 is not a passerine – but what species is it?

4.        Who is Mr Big and where does he usually spend the day?

5.        What animal species was added to the Po Toi list in 2009?

6.        225 different species of bird have been seen on Po Toi this year. But how many different species of bird watchers have been seen on Po Toi this year?

a.        One
b.        Two
c.        More than 50

Questions about Po Toi

7.        Apart from the restaurant and sales to tourists, what is the biggest business activity on Po Toi? (not fishing, which is a lifestyle)

8.        How have the Government managed to waste $500,000 of your money on Po Toi this year?

Questions about the Restaurant on Po Toi

9.        How did the restaurant feature in the Hong Kong news headlines in 2009?

10.         By tradition, the restaurant goes vegetarian (no seafood served) for one week in every three years. This will occur again in 2010 and you will want to avoid the vegetarian week – but which week is it?

So, there you are. 10 questions, 10 possible correct answers and a Grand Prize for the first to get 9 out of 10. What could be more tempting this Christmas? Answers next week.

Happy Christmas and a good birding New Year to all in HKBWS.

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 25/12/2009 07:44 ]

wgeoff

John Holmes - 3 out of 10
Mike Kilburn - 5.5 out of 10
Best combined score - 6.5 out of 10

So, the Grand Prize is still available to some aspiring Bird Brain out there.

I don't think it's giving away any secrets to say that John Holmes's obsession with Dr K J G Hartlaub and his Turaco has cost him more points again this year.
But, just to prove it's not an impossible record in Hong Kong, here is a photo I took of a Black-billed (?) Turaco at Nam Sha Po near Tsim Bei Tsui on 27th January 2004, plus a photo of the great man himself (Dr Hartlaub I mean, not John Holmes).



For some reason the Turaco, a first record for East Asia, was entirely ignored by the Records Committee.

I've also learnt what a 'sus scrofa' is but I'll leave it to the reader to find out themselves.

There's nothing in the rules to say you can't have more than one try so I'm willing to let John and Mike have another go if they think they can improve on their first effort. However, I should warn John Holmes that neither Dr K J G Hartlaub nor his Touraco feature in the answers.

Answers tomorrow (Tuesday)

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 29/12/2009 06:50 ]

wgeoff

Here are the answers to the Xmas Quiz

Wildlife Questions

1.        Name these two birds, photographed on Po Toi in December.

a. Common (Siberian) Stonechat

b. Brownish-flanked (Mountain) Bush Warbler – a common view of this bird

2.        Name these two birds, sound recorded on Po Toi in September and December.

a. Yellow-rumped Flycatcher. Also sounds like a Narcissus Flycatcher but these usually arrive much later in autumn.

b. Blue Magpie, making a passable imitation of the calls of both Black-necked Starling and Chestnut Bulbul.
This bird has been on Po Toi since May. It must have learnt the Black-necked Starling call before arriving because there are no Black-necked Starlings on Po Toi. It learnt the Chestnut Bulbul call after the arrival of several on Po Toi in November – I didn’t hear it making the call before then.

3.        The three commonest migrants on Po Toi in terms of numbers of birds are all passerines – Chinese Bulbul, Japanese White-eye and Tree Sparrow. The fourth commonest migrant is not a passerine – but what species is it?

My original answer was going to be Great Egret. Large flocks of this species can be seen flying south east past Po Toi in the early morning on calm days in October. Since the species is quite rare on Po Toi in spring, it must use a different return route.
However, I had forgotten to look in my seabird list and Mike’s answer of Red-necked Phalarope is actually the correct answer.
So one point for either answer.

4.        Who is Mr Big and where does he usually spend the day?

Mr Big is the locals’ name for the Grey Heron which has spent most of 2009 living off the Po Toi fish farms. It has only been absent for the summer (26th May to 26th August) and for October. The locals are surprisingly unconcerned about its marauding habits.
Mr Big has recently been joined by Mrs Big so maybe next autumn we will have a Big family.

5.        What animal species was added to the Po Toi list in 2009?

The Humpback Whale which stayed in the sea around Po Toi Island for a week in mid-March. This was a first record for Hong Kong.

6.        223 different species of bird have been seen on Po Toi this year. But how many different species of bird watchers have been seen on Po Toi this year?

a.        One
b.        Two
c.        More than 50

The obvious answer to this question is one.
However, I have been studying the texts on bird speciation recommended by Gary Chow and the recent decisions of the Rarities Committee (‘Praise the Lord’) to split species like Pale-legged Leaf Warbler and it is clear this is not the correct answer.
There are at least two species, bird watchers and bird photographers, which can be easily distinguished by appearance, behaviour and sound (they ‘waah’ at different things). There are very few hybrids, those that exist are inefficient at both and unlikely to survive.
But there are further potential splits. Birdwatchers can be Zeiss, Leica or Swarowski phenotypes (I’ve learnt all the buzzwords), photographers are clearly split into SLR and Digiscoping types. Again, almost no successful hybrids.

There are many more opportunities for splitting. So, if a single identifiable species such as Brown Hawk Owl is really several different species which can only be separated by counting their tail feathers, then the case for answer c. is rock solid.

Half point for the lumpers with answer b, and one point for the splitters with answer c.
No points for those still living in the past with answer a.  

Questions about Po Toi

7.        Apart from the restaurant and sales to tourists, what is the biggest business activity on Po Toi? (not fishing, which is a lifestyle)

Grave-digging.
The demand is high, now that the one thousand persons who used to live on Po Toi are reaching a certain level of maturity. There are at least two competing companies involved in this work on Po Toi.

8.        How have the Government managed to waste $500,000 of your money on Po Toi this year?

Easily.
Every year in early spring, a useless construction project is started on Po Toi (and I guess in many other places in Hong Kong) to use up the annual budget. This year it was the widening of a small section of the ferry pier by about one foot, apparently to accommodate the increasing number of overweight visitors coming to the Restaurant. The contractor’s first attempt at this task failed, all the concrete ending up on the surrounding rocks and having to be removed by drilling.
This year had the added bonus of the Government’s Financial Crisis Fund and an even more useless outside seat and glass roof were added to the Community Centre in the summer. I have yet to see any behinds placed on the seat.

However, the biggest waste of your money over the past four years has been the addition of solar panels on top of the Toilet Block in 2008, for a purpose yet to be revealed. Rumour has it that the panels do not supply sufficient power to light the light bulbs they were intended for.

Questions about the Restaurant on Po Toi

9.        How did the restaurant feature in the Hong Kong news headlines in 2009?

On Thursday 5th November, a group of 27 senior police officers arrived on Po Toi aboard a police launch and held a farewell lunch at the Restaurant for two Chief Inspectors. The group was led by a Senior Superintendent and had no officer below the rank of Inspector. The lunch was leaked to the tabloid press (the leak probably came from inside the police) who had a field day, denouncing ‘waste of police time’, ‘drinking when on duty’ and various other dreadful crimes. The police responded by saying this was an official visit to Po Toi to examine surveillance cameras set up on remote islands to monitor smuggling, the lunch was part of a normal working day (ha-ha).

John Holmes was heard to mutter ‘It would never have happened in my time’ although whether he was referring to the lunch or the leak could not be determined.

10.         By tradition, the restaurant goes vegetarian (no seafood served) for one week in every three years. This will occur again in 2010 and you will want to avoid the vegetarian week – but which week is it?

Chinese New Year Week.
As the proprietor said to me, this is a week we’d rather be spending with our family. So, leave them in peace that week please.

No winners again this year, so I will spend a lonely January on Po Toi.
Excellent effort by Mike Kilburn, only missing out on the questions which needed specialist Po Toi knowledge. Even corrected one of my answers.
John Holmes - well, what can you say?