wgeoff

1st March - first day of spring for me, spent on Po Toi with Abdel (Ronaldo), Beetle Cheng and a few others from KFBG, WWF and Lands Department who had come to see what the developers had done.

It seems the work has now stopped, at least for the time being, with much of the flat land in the area past the sister's cafe covered with the shallow concrete boxes. Fortunately, not on the upper end of green-pigeon valley although some scrub clearance has taken place here.

A good day for birds, highlights were a Radde's Warbler, presumably the one seen by Brendan on 29 January, still the wintering Black-naped Monarch, two!! Red-flanked Bluetails, surely a HK record count this winter, up to 10 Japanese Thrush. New very early migrants were Barn Swallows, a small flock of Olive-backed Pipits and a Common Kingfisher.

Also Black-tailed and Heuglin's Gulls from the Ferry.

No photos from me but maybe Abdel has some.

I will be starting my usual Tuesday to Thursday holidays on Po Toi next week, my latest start in seven years but I'm getting old and lazy.

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 1/03/2012 16:45 ]

wgeoff

A warm and sunny Tuesday afternoon quickly degenerated into a miserable cold, foggy, very windy and wet week. So wet that I didn’t leave the house at all on Wednesday afternoon.

New migrants for the week included a large flock of Black Kites around the lighthouse on Wednesday, the annual four Pacific Swifts which will probably now stay for the summer at the South Point and a pair of Large-billed Crows which were chased off by the resident pair also on Wednesday. What’s the life span of a Pacific Swift – I’ve had four there now for the last three years, are they the same birds each year?

It’s still too early to say how much the land clearance past the sisters' café will affect the birds. Most wintering species still remain although the Black-naped Monarch may have gone as I didn’t hear it after Tuesday. Yellow-browed and Pallas’s Warblers were singing in the sun on Tuesday but that didn’t last long. Also four different Manchurian Bush Warblers singing in various places and Romer’s Tree Frogs are still around.

Watching for seabirds is going to be my main task this spring. Migration of gulls was in full swing on Tuesday evening with 172 Heuglin’s-type and 78 Black-tailed Gulls passing the South Point heading north-east on Tuesday evening



Gulls usually start to migrate in the late evening - there have been many more Black-tailed this year, as Brendan has highlighted above. The Heuglin's in particular have a long way to go.

Having missed the chance to sea-watch on Wednesday evening, I was determined to go on Thursday morning whatever the weather – very windy with mist and drizzly rain at times. I was rewarded by a flock of Streaked Shearwaters presumably brought into in-shore waters by the very strong easterly wind and mist – I counted five flying south-west in the mist at 8.30am followed by eight coming back the other way at 8.45 and then six going south-west again at 10.15. I think they were all the same birds but never very close – here’s my best photo.



Also a single Ancient Murrelet leaving going north-east. These birds fly really fast and my hands were too cold to get my camera going before it disappeared into the mist.

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 9/03/2012 08:34 ]

wgeoff

Hi Manson

It's a high count but not the highest. My highest was 80+ around Po Toi during the passage of Typhoon Chanchu on 17 May 2006, that's the HK highest count.

There were eight in southern waters on 24 April 2009, recorded by Tung and we have a super photo of one by Christina Chan from 11 April 2009 to be published in the up-coming 2009-10 HKBR out later this year.

There are many in the South China Sea in spring but they don't often come into HK waters, mostly in strong easterly winds with mist.

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 9/03/2012 16:26 ]

wgeoff

The Vega Gull listed by Brendan above is the first formally recorded for Po Toi and, given Brendan's experience at identifying gull species, I'm happy to add it to the Po Toi List, which now stands at 307.

As for the Oriental Greenfinch, this is probably the same bird as seen on 21 February so it seems to be staying around.

wgeoff

A quiet week spent in the company of Abdel (Ronaldo) who was enjoying his last week of sanity before plunging back into the crazy world of international finance. In the many quiet moments we were able to discuss a wide range of subjects including pension funds, quantum theory, French cheese, chocolate biscuits and many more, on all of which we seemed to have completely opposite views. How anyone can like chocolate and biscuits but not like chocolate biscuits was completely beyond me but, as usual, Abdel had an explanation.

Amongst the occasional birding highlights this week were the first Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Blackbird and Little Bunting of spring, a probable Eagle Owl near the small reservoir, brief sightings of what might be the Radde’s Warbler around the banana plantation, the Grey-capped Greenfinch still around and the Black-naped Monarch back again with still the regular wintering species including good views of Red-tailed Robin and Red-flanked Bluetail and vocals from several Manchurian Bush Warblers.

At sea, migration of Heuglin’s-type Gulls continues with 301 counted this week plus just two Black-tailed. Best birds were Ancient Murrelet with one each on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and another two seen by Abdel on Thursday morning. March is the peak time for Ancient Murrelet migration past Po Toi as this chart shows



Re Brendan's comment on Mongolian Gulls above, I have recorded them in previous years (at least what I think were Mongolian) but the gulls are usually migrating too far away for regular records.

No photos of anything from me this week but maybe Abdel has some.

Let’s hope some fresh migrants will now start coming as the weather gets warmer.

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 16/03/2012 07:06 ]

wgeoff

Yes, it's the earliest spring Tree Sparrow record I have for Po Toi (where Tree Sparrow is a migrant).

Previous earliest was 22nd March last year. Must be global warming.

wgeoff

A mixture of the expected and the unexpected this week – in fact, a typical Po Toi week which is why I enjoy going there so much.

On the land, many of the wintering species still remain with some new migrants. Best was a single Silver-backed Needletail which typically stayed only for one minute – you need to be in exactly the right place at the right time for this species.



This was my first spring sighting of the species on Po Toi since March 2007 although I had a very rare autumn one in October 2008.

Also unexpected was a Common Magpie, the first since 2008, and a very early (for Po Toi) White-cheeked Starling which just stayed for one day on Tuesday.



The Magpie was still there on Thursday, desperately looking for some company. It found its way to the lighthouse but was eventually not tempted to make the journey to the Dangan Islands, although they were clearly visible.

At sea, most gulls appear to have departed and I saw only 28 Heuglin’s-type Gulls all week. In fact, I was nearly asleep on Wednesday morning when I spotted a medium size tern heading steadily north-east – very early whatever the species. I thought it must be a Common Tern but the photos show the distinctive dark trailing underwing of an Aleutian Tern – an earliest spring record by nearly three weeks




On Thursday, two Ancient Murrelets close enough to photo. But no Red-breasted Merganser which I was hoping for.




Good luck to the HKBWS trip this Sunday – maybe the first flycatcher and something unusual at sea?

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 23/03/2012 11:53 ]

wgeoff

Apart from the white loral spot, the needles on this bird are longer and more obvious than on a (normal) Silver-backed, so I go for Brown-backed also.

A great record if accepted and great photos to get such details on a fast-flying species.

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 25/03/2012 07:49 ]

wgeoff

A week when most of the action was at sea, seabirds and incoming migrants.

Starting with the seabirds, Red-necked Phalarope were passing in small flocks all week with a total of 364 by the end of the week, but that’s just for the limited time I was seawatching. Probably several thousands all together. Another four Ancient Murrelet this week plus the quality bird, a Black-legged Kittiwake that passed by on Wednesday morning.



Incoming migrants included several fine-looking Little Egrets, a flock of 13 Oriental Pratincoles, a regular passage of Barn Swallows and this Grey-faced Buzzard on Thursday morning drifting over from Dangan, inspected closely by the resident Black Kites but allowed to pass without interference (they would never do this with an incoming migrant Black Kite!)




On the land, a single Ferruginous Flycatcher left over from last weekend, but also many wintering species still around to keep the photographers happy, including the long-staying Black-naped Monarch, more than five singing Red-tailed Robins, Japanese Thrush as ever almost impossible to see and even a late Red-flanked Bluetail on Thursday.



Two potential HK First records have already been recorded in March – Red-crested Pochard on 9th March in Mai Po and Brown-backed Needletail last Saturday 24th March on Po Toi. I think it’s no co-incidence both of these records occurred on the day after frontal system passed through Hong Kong

  

I’m not sure what migration route the Pochard was on but the Needletail would probably have become caught up in a group of Silver-backed which left the Philippines heading north for East China/Taiwan and met the front over the sea, being pushed west into the Hong Kong area



It’s always dangerous to predict but there is another cold front due this Saturday so Sunday may be a good day on Po Toi – possibly Grey-faced Buzzard, Oriental Cuckoo, Brown Hawk Owl, Dollarbird and some more flycatchers to keep the punters happy

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 30/03/2012 07:21 ]

wgeoff

Thanks Manson

Wherever they come from, it's the frontal system that often brings them in