April's been such a busy month, I haven't really had much time doing birding on my own, so I am slightly behind on a few migrants, but things are definitely improving with a few more interesting birds here and there. The only few good spring migrants I have seen lately were two Swinhoe's Minivets, one at home and the other at Mai Po. Swinhoe's Minivet Other spring migrants I've encountered including a single Narcissus Flycatcher at Tai Po Kau, although it was too far away for any proper photos. Hainan Blue Flycatchers are back now, and quite a few heard at Tai Po Kau, although none re ..read more

The arrival of Oriental Pratincoles marks the proper beginning of spring migration, they are always a spring migrant that I enjoy seeing immensely, as they are graceful in the air, and simply quite elegant when perched. I saw my first two along the gravel roads at Tai Sang Wai. Oriental Pratincole Many of our egrets are now moulting into their breeding plumage, such as this Eastern Cattle Egret, which is seen in full breeding plumage with bright orange head. Yellow Bitterns are present throughout the year, although their numbers do increase in spring and peaks during summer, I hav ..read more

There is no better time to see Black-faced Spoonbills than now, when many of them are moulting into their fabulous breeding plumage, their head plumes grow longer, and neck is now yellowish. At Mai Po, they often come very close to you, especially out on the mudflat during a high tide, they can be just 2m away from the front of the bird hide! Black-faced Spoonbill Many wader species have yet to arrive, I believe they will be arriving soon. Numerous Dunlins were still present out there, a classic wintering species in Hong Kong. Many large gulls remains, mostly Lesser Black-backed ..read more

The island of Hainan is situated at the most southerly tip off mainland China, being closer to the tropics, the island boasts some species that is difficult or absent from other parts of the country, as well as a few endemics. My last visit to Hainan was back in January of 2010, before birding really took off in China, we only visited Jianfengling, but got some great birds there including Hainan Leaf Warbler and brief views of Hainan Partridge. The last remaining endemic I needed is the Hainan Peacock-pheasant, a species that was as mystical as it was legendary, being an almost unreachable go ..read more

Its been one of the quieter winters in Hong Kong, with fewer wintering birds in general. One of the very few wintering species we've had quite a few this year is the Gould's Sunbird, they seems to be popping up in several different locations. Including these two I bumped into, one adult male and the other a juvenile male. Both were found on a blooming Rhodoleia tree, obviously attracted to the sweet nectar of this wonderful native species. Gould's Sunbird - adult male Gould's Sunbird - juvenile male Our local Fork-tailed Sunbirds were also attracted to these flowers, ther ..read more

A flock of 14 Oriental Storks have been going around Mai Po Nature Reserve, flying back and forth and creating quite the spectacle for those lucky enough to see them. I was lucky on two occasions that the flock flew very close to me, giving phenomenal views! These endangered waterbirds while seems to have become a staple for the last two years, we should by no means take them for granted. Increased numbers of wintering birds this far south may be a result of habitat destruction further north, in which case may not be favourable for the survival of this species. Oriental Storks ..read more

Canon revealed a new lens not too long ago, a much anticipated 200-800mm lens, a zoom range that seems too good to be true! As we all know, birds are generally quite small, therefore the longer the focal length, the better! Coming in rather compact and light, weighing at a mere 2.05kg, this lens is light enough to be carried around for hand held shooting. My Dad's been using the RF 800mm F11 for a while, and he's been enjoying the light weight aspect of that super telephoto lens, but that lens while great for its price range, lacks flexibility of a zoom lens, and quite often you will miss some ..read more

A Common Gull was reported at San Tin by Tim Woodward, feeding amongst the large flock of Black-headed Gulls! I've always wondered if any gulls will follow those into the fish ponds, turns out they do! Since I had a full day tour and was in the area, I thought I would give it a try. Luckily, I managed to relocate the bird myself and we got great views of this 1st winter bird. This is very likely the same Common Gull reportedly seen out on the mudflat earlier on. Common Gulls are not common at all in Hong Kong, while they are almost reported each year, they never stay very long, making them qui ..read more

We saw a steep temperature dropped from almost 30°C on 19th, all the way down to 8°C on 20th, and a couple of days later it got down to 6°C at home. Naturally, we expected more birds to turn up during a cold snap like this...However, things turned out to be slightly disappointing, with very minimal bird movements. Birding at Tai Po Kau did improve somewhat, with bird waves more visible. Other than the two White-spectacled Warblers, numerous Eastern Crowned Warblers, Hartert's Leaf Warblers and Kloss's can both be seen amongst the bird waves. My best bird there is perhaps two Chestnut-flanked W ..read more

Weather up till mid December was still very warm, with temperature still as high as 30°C on 15th of December. While a cold front is currently passing through Hong Kong, and temperature finally dropping to around 10°C, lots of our usual wintering birds are either missing or in very low numbers. There are still some wintering birds here to remind us what season we are in, such as a pair of lovely Northern Lapwing I saw up close, this is a species I always enjoy seeing, as they are simply stunning birds! Northern Lapwing The Grey-headed Lapwings are still showing well at Kam Tin ..read more