kmike

Its good to know there is another regular birder in Lam Tsuen - please keep posting!

The Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike is a good early record - thought I saw one about 10 days ago, but views not enough.

Cheers
Mike K

kmike

Ping Long to Ha Tin Liu Ha - 0800 -1000

Black-winged Cuckooshrike - 1
Hair-crested Drongo - 2
Black Drongo - 1

Siberian Stonechat - 3
Dusky Warbler - 2
Asian Brown Flycatcher - 1

Crested Goshawk - 1
Crested Serpent Eagle - 1

Cheers
Mike K

kmike

Visible migration from my roof in Ping Long this morning at 0615 am

Four Black Drongoes moving SW down the valley towards KFBG.

Also a Dollarbird on the powerlines across the valley - my first one up there this year.

Cheers
Mike K

kmike

10 Black Drongos today - reflecting passage at Mai Po (60 before 10 this morning)

Cheers
Mike K

kmike

Gripped off by Subbeteo's Yellow-breasted Bunting , which I think is a new Lam Tsuen bird (at least in the modern birding era) and went out to look for it this morning. I dipped, but it was worth it as this turned out to be a good session for migrants:

Swintail Snipe - 2

Black Drongo - 3
Black-winged Cuckooshrike - 1
Common Blackbird - 1 m
Black-headed Bunting - 1

Little Bunting -1
Red-throated Flycatcher - 2
Brown Flycatcher - 1

Common Kingfisher - 1

Richard's Pipit - 7
Yellow- Wagtail - 2

Bright-capped Cisticola - 1

The Black-headed Bunting was obviously the pick of the bunch. I first saw it flying over the Tin Liu Ha area witha couple of smaller buntings and immediately noted the large size, pale head with a dark eye and pale bill, but had to wait to bump into it again on the edge of the dumped area at She Shan, when it showed pretty well. I found it after putting up the Richard's Pipits, and when it flushed - almost as big and long-tailed as a Richard's Pipit, I was surprised to see what I thought was another Richard's flop about 10 yards and crash into some grass stems in very un-pipit-ic manner.  After a second's confusion it dawned on me that this was the bunting and was able to see the original fetures I'd seen in flight, plus some fine streaks on the mantle and the head. The dark greater coverts were rather washed out and there was only a hint of a yellow wash in the undertail coverts, but with views as close as I had it was unmistakable.

Apart from the migrants other good birds included:

Crested Serpent Eagle - 2
Besra - 1

Scarlet Minivet - 2
Hair-crested Drongo - 4

White-cheeked Laughingthrush - 4

Cheers
Mike K

kmike

Thanks Dave

I'd like to concoct a Lam Tsuen list, so its good to know about these.

Sorry to hear you didn't see the BH Bunting.

This morning there was a Brown Shrike and 3 Chinese Blackbirds (flying over) in Ping Long, plus I heard an Olive-backed Pipit.

Cheers
Mike

kmike

This is a very good record - I have seen only one other  - at Ng Tung Chai on 11 Nov.  

Cheers
Mike

kmike

Lots of migrants in Lam Tsuen this morning between Ping Long and She Shan (0600- 0930):

Hobby (over my roof at 0630)

Swintail Snipe - 1

Common Kingisher - 1

Oriental Turtle Dove - 4

Richard's Pipit - 7 or 8
Olive-backed Pipit - 1
Yellow Wagtail - 1

Black-winged Cuckooshrike - 2

Daurian Redstart - 1 M (first of the winter)

Chinese Blackbird - 2
Blue Rock Thrush - 1 imm male philippensis  (rare in Lam Tsuen)

Dusky Warbler - 10
Black-browed Reed Warbler - 1 (first record for La Tsuen?)
Yellow-browed Warbler - 3 heard
Pallas' Leaf Warbler - 1 (first of the winter)

Red-throated Flycatcher - 1
Asian Brown Flycatcher - 2

Black Drongo - 1 (in the same dead tree as a Hair-crested Drongo)

Masked Bunting - 1 (first of the winter)
Yellow-Breasted Bunting - 3 (Lam Tsuen tick for me)
Silky Starling - 1 (first of the winter)

Other birds of interest -

Great Egret  -1 feeding in grassland
Night Heron - young bird flushed from same area
Moorhen - 3 in same pool as BB Reed Warbler (rare in Lam Tsuen)

Cheers
Mike K

[ Last edited by kmike at 25/10/2009 22:03 ]

kmike

. . . and more birds from Lam Tsuen  . . .   I had a Crested Serpent Eagle over Ng Tung Chai from the bus, and then as I got off, a Common Buzzard was soaring over Lam Tsuen.

Then in the afternoon a bird that was either Mountain Hawk Eagle or a juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle appeared above the hill opposite my home.  It had fine barring on the underwings and tail, and pale outer primaries that contrasted with the rest of the underparts which were distinctly dark (with a hint of paleness on the belly.  It showed mottled brown upperparts, with no obvious rump or broad tail bands.  Most intriguingly it soared on flat wings with just the tips of the primaries raised, quite different from CSE, which soars with is wings in a shallow V. The main non-MHE feature was the slightly short tail. Any thoughts from others would be welcomed.


I walked up to Tai Om Shan this evening now that the path has been cleared by the grave-sweepers and had almost nothing until coming down through the ruined village, where a Fork-tailed Sunbird whittered to itself, and two Pygmy Wren Babblers sang in the undergrowth.  Just as I was leaving I caught a flicker of movement and found an Ashy Drongo of one of the  dark-cheeked races.

However an undeniable highlight of the day was a Purple Heron that flew down the valley at dusk as I was helping my wife take in the laundry. It had the good manners to call a couple of times and then beat slowly past towards the sunset over the pass at Kadoorie Farm - a terrific addition to the Lam Tsuen list.

Cheers
Mike K

PS There was also a Mountain Water Snake in the forest at Tai Om Shan

kmike

No sign of Dylan's Japanese Quails, but a hot walk on Sunday morning was well-rewarded.

Top bird was a Common Teal on the She Shan ponds - a new Lam Tsuen bird for me, and possibly a new record for the valley

I was surprised to discover the same ponds also held two Black-browed Reed Warblers - one more than last weekend.

Other good birds included 3 Little Buntings, 4 Chestnut Buntings, a Daurian Redstart and my first Siberian Rubythroat of the winter around the marshy farmland at Pak Tin Kong.

I also heard at least 3 different Red-throated Flycatchers, had two flyover Green Sandpipers, an Ashy Drongo, a Cattle Egret, a couple of Zitting Cisticola and a single Bright-capped Cisticola.

There was also one that got away - a large dark warbler came out of thegrass and dropped into cover without ever appearing. It was big enoughto be Oriental Reed Warbler, which I still need for my Lam Tsuen list.

I also had a record four  Lesser Coucals - all juveniles.

Cheers

Mike K

[ Last edited by kmike at 2/11/2009 17:41 ]

kmike

The cold front last night brought some birds past Ping Long between 0645 and 0720 this morning:

Silky Starling - 17
Red-throated Flycatcher - 1
Chestnut Bunting - 1
Plaintive Cuckoo - 1
Chinese Blackbird - 12 (highest of the winter so far)

Cheers

Mike