Commencing Autumn Migration

 It really know it is autumn when you start seeing Yellow-rumped Flycatchers, they are one of our most typical autumn migrants passing through Hong Kong. Being a small and rather inconspicuous flycatcher, they can be difficult to locate in the forest, luckily for us, the urban gem of Ho Man Tin provides this perfect migrant trap and we get to see them there almost every year with relative ease. A male was spotted by my friends, but unfortunately I was about an hour too late, by the time I got there only the female showed. Funnily enough, I already got this species on my year list this year, as I found one at Jordan Valley in spring, still they are great birds to start the season with.

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher - female

I paid Tai Po Kau a visit, hoping to find an Amur Paradise Flycatcher or two, to my disappointment none showed for me. A good selection of resident birds were present, including a relatively friendly Bay Woodpecker which I suspect maybe the same ringed individual I got months ago. 

Bay Woodpecker - male

A very friendly Pygmy Cupwing made its rounds, this skulking species can sometimes be tough to see well, so to get one perched in the open for so long is always a treat. It took a while to locate any bird waves, I checked for Amur Paradise Flycatchers constantly but got nothing, only a few Yellow-cheeked Tits were friendly enough to allow for any decent photos.

Pygmy Cupwing

Yellow-cheeked Tit - female

Yellow-cheeked Tit - male

An immature Slaty-backed Forktail been seen along the stream at Tai Po Kau lately, its been well over 20 years since I last seen a Slaty-backed Forktail at this site, they used to be a regular visitor to the stream here, although they can still be regularly found and likely breeding at Shing Mun. My guess is that this young bird is an offspring of the Shing Mun birds and dispersing to suitable habitat, hopefully they will take root here again.

Slaty-backed Forktail - immature

An interesting non-bird observation of late was this Carrion Beetle, Diamesus osculans. It was found near a Burmese Python carcass, we took so e photos of it away from the carcass first, but what strikes me was its stench! The beetle itself smelled extremely unpleasant, with a strong odour of ammonia. It was later found feeding on the carcass on our way out. Carrion Beetles are not that common in Hong Kong, probably due to the fact that ants and flies are much more dominant in warmer climates, therefore relatively slow growing beetles probably have a harder time competing with them.

Diamesus osculans

Diamesus osculans feeding on Burmese Python carcass

Also took sometime to photograph an interesting species of plant, the Common Swamp Pitcher-plant, Nepenthes mirabilis. This is our only pitcher-plant species found in Hong Kong, and a relatively widespread species globally. They can be found along small stream or swampy areas with little shade. As a carnivorous plant, its modified leaf act as a trap with sweet scent lined along the opening to attract insects to it, once the insects fallen in there is no escape, and the digestive liquid within the pitcher will provide nutrients for the plant, allowing it to grow even in poor soil.

Common Swamp Pitcher-plant - Nepenthes mirabilis

Spring Migrants - Making Us Work Extra Hard...

The thing with migration is that you never really know what to expect, some years maybe extremely good with migrants everywhere, some years you get a few weeks of practically nothing. This year was one of those, where continued north easterly winds seems to have affected the birds somehow. Things were relatively slow going, the usual migrant magnet at Ho Man Tin been getting barely any flycatchers. My local patch was fairing no better, with very little movements. A Crested Goshawk and Grey-faced Buzzard was about the best I managed at Tai Mei Tuk Catchment.

Crested Goshawk

Grey-faced Buzzard

I tried Ng Tung Chai one day, again it was great habitat with no migrants occupying it. Managed some photos of common forest species, such as some confiding Rufous-capped Babbler and a pair of nesting Streak-breasted Scimitar Babblers, this one carrying a legless Spider back to its young.

Rufous-capped Babbler

Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler

Lok Ma Chau Village was slightly better, with a few 'Swintail' Snipes feeding on the lettuce field, couldn't get a good photo of their tail fanned out though, so can't confirm their ID. A single Plaintive Cuckoo was in song, flying around the fields and houses. A few Greater Painted Snipes were very well hidden in the fields, while a single Chinese Penduline Tit was all that remains along the reedbed.

'Swintail' Snipe

Plaintive Cuckoo - male

Greater Painted Snipe - female

Chinese Penduline Tit

Things started to improve on 16th, at Mai Po we saw the arrival of a male Ruff, a species that is far more uncommon now than it was used to. Most individuals passing through Hong Kong are juveniles, so a male was quite a nice surprise. Most waders were chased off by an Eastern Marsh Harrier off the mudflat when the tide came in.

Ruff - male with assorted waders

Ruff - inflight

Eastern Marsh Harrier

At least two Chinese Egrets were still present on the mudflat, this is a species I can hardly get bored of, they certainly are the most elegant of all egrets in Hong Kong!

Chinese Egret

While a Japanese Paradise Flycatcher was reported at Tai Po Kau, I couldn't connect with it. A friendly pair of Black Bulbul was probably the best bird I managed here. The pair seems to be engaging in some courtship display and in the process of looking for suitable nest site. While a relatively common winter visitor to Hong Kong, not many of them breed here. This is by far the closest encounter I have with them.

Black Bulbul

Though there weren't that many migrants around, Tai Po Kau is still easily one of the best site for forest birds in Hong Kong, here is a good range of species you can expect to see on a single visit. Other than the common resident species, Hainan Blue Flycatchers make any spring time visit a truly delightful experience.

Velvet-fronted Nuthach

Silver-eared Mesia

Pygmy Cupwing

Huet's Fulvetta

Great Barbet

Hainan Blue Flycatcher - male

Thanks to Captain's tip, I managed to get a male Japanese Paradise Flycatcher at Jordan Valley, this site is not quite known for birds but with suitable habitat it can be a good place to look for migrating flycatchers. This male was a little shy, only showed briefly after I waited nearly three hours. A more surprising find was a juvenile male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, this species is more common in autumn, and quite rare in spring, unfortunately this was not the adult male I was hoping for. A pair of Blue Whistling Thrush was also nesting nearby, allowing quite close views as they forage along the stream.

Japanese Paradise Flycatcher - male

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher - juvenile male

Blue Whistling Thrush

Underway! Autumn Migration

Autumn migration started for nearly half a month, unfortunately I have been busy with work and barely had any time for birds, finally got most of my work done and was able to free up a morning for some birding! My top target was a Daurian Starling thats been seen at Mai Po, I have seen them many times in Hong Kong but never been able to get any decent photos. I was delighted to find not just one, but two Daurian Starlings feeding in a few ficus trees along the access road! They showed briefly at first but finally came into one of the closer trees to feed and gave great views.

Daurian Starling

They were not the only starlings feeding in those trees, with them were lots of White-shouldered Starlings, they are similar size to the Daurian Starlings, therefore can be confusing when searching for the odd one out in the field, but their greyish white backs and pale eyes are a dead giveaway.

White-shouldered Starling

Its that time of the year again where hundreds of Arctic Warblers passes through, they were in no short supply, you can either find them gleaning for insects in the trees or hear their 'chit-chit' call up above.

Arctic Warbler

In the same tree as the starlings were at least two Asian Brown Flycatchers, these returning migrants are highly under rated, while a common species during passage, they are great fun to watch, the two were chasing each other from time to time and often gave close views when perched.

Asian Brown Flycatcher

It is no autumn migration without any Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, was happy to catchup with this one, also in the same tree as the starlings! It was really quite shy and only showed briefly before chased away by an Asian Brown Flycatcher.

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher

I've not had much luck birding elsewhere, I visited Tai Lam and Tai Po Kau once earlier in the month, both outings were highly disappointing where I saw ZERO migrants. Although many of our local residents still showed well, including a Pygmy Cupwing, many Blue-winged Minlas, numerous Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and last but not least a few Speckled Piculet.

Pygmy Cupwing

Blue-winged Minla

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

Speckled Piculet

One of the Brown-breasted Flycatcher at Tai Po Kau remained till early September, it showed well not far away from their nesting site, hopefully after this successful breeding season they will be back again next year.

Brown-breasted Flycatcher

Its never a bad time to look for Savanna Nightjar, while they are not vocal anymore come autumn, its not difficult to find them sitting quietly in the middle of the road at night, as long as you go slowly they can be fairly confiding.

Savanna Nightjar