Category: warblers

Buntings and an Osprey at Mt. Davis

Frank Saunders JrLeave a comment

Well, after a long and busy week of work, I was finally able to get a morning at Mt. Davis, right down the street. Temperatures were around 26C today at the top and it was breezy, so we had perfect autumn conditions well suited for an October morning. We taxied up right away (not without some protest from the cab driver) and were immediately greeted by a little bunting, a sure sign of autumn.

We heard some other buntings calling and saw some flyovers, so I’m fairly confident that this will be a good spot for buntings as the season rolls on, which is good news for me! But it seems the best strategy is to go early and catch them when they’re exhausted and cooperative (without disturbing them too much of course).

Another concurrent visitor we were pleasantly surprised to encounter was a Siberian stonechat. I’ve only seen these before in Long Valley, which I haven’t made my way to yet this season.

In addition to the usual assortment of large-billed crows, bulbuls, magpies, and white eyes at the summit, we also saw a few pale-legged/Sakhalin leaf warblers, and Arctic warblers, one of whom was very cooperative for a photo.

As it was very windy at the summit, I didn’t expect us to see too many raptors, and unfortunately I was right—at first anyway. Eventually at the summit, we saw a besra, a small raptor, but I couldn’t get a photo. We did, however, have a number of flyovers of at least 3 different crested goshawks.

The most impressive encounter today was in my opinion the one osprey we saw just as we began our descent. I was very surprised by this, since although they do occur in Hong Kong sporadically, I’ve only ever heard of reports from Mai Po. To see one hanging out at the top of Mt. Davis was definitely a treat.

I’m very pleased with our findings today and I’ll definitely be returning to Mt. Davis in the coming weeks as the fall migration continues.

Fairy Pitta and more at Ho Man Tin

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I visited Ho Man Tin this morning to try and find a tiger shrike that’s been there for a few days. Instead, however, I was greeted by a juvenile brown shrike, whose slightly barred plumage on the front and lack of a prominent black eye-stripe possessed by adults did in fact have me fooled at first. Still though, it was a cooperative subject, and I’m glad to have gotten a few record shots, the following being my favorite.

In the next photo, you can see a bit of the patterning on the chest and neck, which should disappear I believe as it grows up.

The real prize from this morning, however, was a surprise appearance by a fairy pitta. These gorgeous ground-dwellers are indeed fairy-like in terms of their elusive behavior. When I left this morning, however, a group of interested birders was indeed forming, and I suspect it will be a star if it decides to stick around. Likely, it will be baited, so I suspect others will have better photos than the one record shot that I managed.

Definitely a special encounter with a special bird. I wish it luck on its journey, and I hope it isn’t held up too long here in Hong Kong!

Other records included a female yellow-rumped flycatcher as well as one or two Asian brown flycatchers. I spotted up to 5 arctic warblers as well.

More good records from Sai Kung

Frank Saunders JrLeave a comment

Last Saturday, 12 September, was a very productive morning in Sai Kung. The early Autumn migrant season is indeed in full-swing, with reports of flycatchers and warblers throughout the territory last week. We saw the usual amount of Amur paradise flycatchers during our walk, but also came across a few unexpected surprises in our bird waves.

One such surprise was 3 Hainan blue flycatchers. I’m not sure how much longer they’ll stick around, as they’re mostly here in the early summer for breeding purposes, but it was nice to finally see one this season and even get a record photo.

Equally welcome was a female yellow-rumped flycatcher, a bird with many records at Ho Man Tin and elsewhere, but one I hadn’t actually yet seen. Unfortunately my photos were no good, but at least it’s a clear record.

Perhaps the most special bird of all, however, was a Japanese paradise flycatcher mixed in with the Amur paradise flycatchers. They’re a bit difficult to tell apart, as they were considered to be the same species until re-organized in 2015, but the Japanese paradise flycatcher’s outer plumage is a bit darker overall compared to the brighter reddish of the Amur. Additionally, the Japanese paradise has a noticeably lighter eye-ring, as well as a lighter colored, uniform beak compared to the Amur’s black-tapered beak. I’m very pleased that I managed to snap a record shot.

Another special encounter was with some much welcome residents, including two bay woodpeckers and a speckled piculet. These elusive residents are a sign of the health and increasing maturity of Hong Kong’s secondary forests. Sai Kung is definitely proving to be a reliable and worthwhile place to visit this season!

Good records at Sai Kung

Frank Saunders JrLeave a comment

A friend and I journeyed to Sai Kung once again on 5 September for a late afternoon birding-cum-herping trip. The trail we take goes along a small stream for most of the way, which suggested that it would be a good spot for herping. But alas, while our bird luck was decent, our herping luck was not.

Immediately when we arrived, we spotted a small bird-wave that included an Amur paradise flycatcher. Among them was also an arctic warbler, two or three Japanese tits, and of course some chestnut bulbuls. I only cared about the flycatchers….woops!

As we moved along, things got quiet until we found another small bird wave. This one also had one or two more flycatchers, but equally impressive were two birds that I haven’t yet had good encounters with: one black-winged cuckooshrike, and one female orange-bellied leafbird. Both were hanging around a fruiting tree on the trail.

Orange-bellied leafbird (female)

I don’t think I’ve ever recorded an orange bellied leafbird yet, so this was a real treat. I hope to some day see the male bird with its striking blue cheeks.

The black-winged cuckooshrike put on quite a show devouring a praying mantis—a slightly less common bird devouring a slightly less common insect!

Amur Paradise Flycatchers and more in Sai Kung

Frank Saunders JrLeave a comment

Today I visited Sai Kung with a friend to try and track down the Amur paradise flycatcher. I haven’t done much birding in Sai Kung because it’s just so far away, but I decided to make the trip anyway just because there have been so many reports of these birds around, and I’m very glad that I did.

Amur paradise flycatchers typically make their way through Hong Kong on their way further south from the end of August to early September. Last year I did managed to catch one in a bird wave, but I wasn’t very satisfied with the only photo I managed to take.

Amur paradise flycatcher, September 2019

Today I had much better luck and was able to get more shots (we saw a total of 3), but still I’m not fully satisfied. I hope to have a few more tries before they all depart.

But that wasn’t even the whole of our luck. We also found a brown-breasted flycatcher, although the photo was only just barely enough to successfully identify it.

Brown-breasted flycatcher

Another good find was an arctic warbler. These are not terribly common in Hong Kong, though they are regular migrants and visitors.

Arctic warbler

A final bird of note perhaps only for me was the white bellied erpornis. I hadn’t ever seen or heard of this bird before, but they were regulars in most of the bird waves we came across.

This was the only shot that I managed, and the leaf unfortunately photo-bombed it.

The Amur paradise flycatcher and the white-bellied erpornis have entries in my Hong Kong Bird Log.