May has been pretty average in terms of birding, though there was one rarity, it was generally quiet. The rarity which had appeared in May is the Pale Blue Flycatcher, and I had paid a to see it one morning. I was located at the helipad on Maclehose Trail Sec.9, and throughout the time when I was there it was very vocal and showed well.
Pale Blue Flycatcher - singing and showing well
Other bird which I had seen in the same area included hainan blue flycatchers, lesser cuckoos, and even a square tailed drongo cuckoo was heard, but only silver eared mesia and juvenile blue whistling thrush showed briefly.
Silver Eared Mesia
I also visited Cheung Chau briefly whilst waiting for my family to finish some work. The ferry ride was pretty uneventful, but in the harbour there were quite a few terns. The species included Black naped Terns, Roseate Terns, Whiskered Terns, a Common and Little Tern.
Roseate Tern, Whiskered Tern and Common Tern (far right)
Whiskered Tern, Black Naped Tern and Little Tern (under whiskered tern on metal semicircle)
Whiskered Tern - in flight
Other birds along in the waterfront which I got photos of included Black Kites and Black Crowned Night Herons.
Black Kite
Black Crowned Night Herons - inflight
On a trip to Tai Po Kau, we started out hike with a pair of duetting Brown Wood Owls near the entrance, but they obviously stayed out of view. Some of our common forest species can be best seen in Tai Po Kau, and on the day I visited it was no exception, with some of the birds seen including Yellow Cheeked Tit, Little Egret, Hainan Blue Flycatcher and Fork Tailed Sunbird.
Yellow Cheeked Tit
Little Egret
Fork Tailed Sunbird
Another owl which I had seen along the footpath was an Asian Barred Owlet. I had first seen some birds mobbing something on a tree on the opposite side of the gully, and when I spotted a dove sized bird perched on a branch, I lifted my binoculars and two bright yellow eyes staring back at me!
Asian Barred Owlet - being mobbed by mountain bulbul
It soon flew closer and perched just right above the road and at a way closer distance! On my way out I also had a flyby of Great Barbet with food, and it seems that it is nesting on the far side of the hill.
Asian Barred Owlet - staring right back.....
On a brief stop to Hong Kong Park, birds seen there included Yellow Crested Cockatoo and other common birds, but I did find a young tailorbird being fed by it's parents!
Yellow Crested Cockatoo
Other than that, I haven't been out birding much and mainly just observed common birds around my local patch. We are now well into the breeding season, and since my last blog post there was a pair of light vented bulbuls building nest on my housing estate!
Light Vented Bulbul - building nest
Soon after, they laid eggs and their chicks hatched, and everything seemed to be going great with the chicks growing strong and healthy! But, as with all natural beings, there are dangers too. On the third day after the chicks hatched, all of then chicks were missing from the nest, my suspicion is that maybe red billed blue magpies or snakes, both of which are in the area.
Light Vented Bulbul - chicks before disappearance
On the other hand, the local pair of Barn Swallows which nests at Caldecott Road each year has returned again which three chick successfully fledged! I had a great photo session with them, as the chicks just stood on a wire and the parents hunted around the clock, bring food every 3 minutes!
Barn Swallow - chicks being fed
With all the work, the parents had to rest, so on some occasions the parents would also perch on the wire to take a break. The juveniles hung in the area for around one week while still being fed by their parents before leaving, with only the parents remaining.
Swinhoe's White Eyes have been found breeding on my estate once again, not gathering nesting material to restore an old red whiskered bulbul nest. The have started to add spiderwebs to the nest, and from my view the nest is pretty out in the open.
Swinhoe's White Eye - reusing old bulbul nest
On a few trips to Piper's Hill Road, I picked up some new birds for my patch during this month, which was Black Throated Laughingthrush, White Rumped Shama, a family of Velvet fronted Nuthatch, Blue Winged Minla and Chinese Hwamei. I also heard and briefly seen a brownish- flanked bush warbler, which was new for my patch but failed to get a photo. I also had a juvenile Asian Tit.
Black Throated Laughingthrush
White Rumped Shama
Blue Winged Minla - very skulky
Asian Tit - juvenile
Other than bird, some other animals in my local patch include moths, frogs and geckos. Some of the frog species which were seen included brown tree frog, asian painted frogs and greenhouse frog, all from my housing estate! Not bad for a small patch in my estate!
Brown Tree Frog
Asian Painted Frog
Greenhouse Frog
Geckos which were seen included Oriental Leaf Toed Gecko, Indo-pacific Gecko, Gray's Chinese Gecko and Common Four Clawed Gecko.
Oriental Leaf Toed Gecko
Indo-pacific Gecko
Gray's Chinese Gecko
In terms of insects and moths, there has been quite a few but nothing worthy of note. With the weather getting hotter, I might increase my night outings......
