Chai Wan 29 Nov 2018 - doing nothing

Nothing is more excited than the Silver Oriole in Po Toi, sadly we are not free until this Sunday. So, I could only have a short walk in my backyard today after skin check.

The unexpected encounter was a Striated Heron, my new in this patch, but it was.... "nearly immediately" caught and killed by two Crested Goshawk.

Besides, an Ashy Drongo and a female Black-naped Monarch were seen today too...

All photos below taken by iPhone with small Noct.

Striated Heron - was alive 30 seconds before

Crested Goshawk - looking at its meal

Common Emerald Dove - always close and tame when we don't have camera, as before

sleepy Cookie

The list as here: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50291799

HK Wetland Park 25 Nov 2018 - 'first autumn day'

Temperature finally dropped in this autumn, and a rainy day. Only able to bird in morning, resulted the same Common Pochard, 3 female Greater Scaup include a new individual, so five birds in total this season in my place till now (how come Wing Tung and I missed so many before?) and a 40% American x Eurasian Wigeon hybrid.

Not a good day, the list is here: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50194836

two Greater Scuap and two Tufted Duck

Common Pochard and Tuftie

male hybrid wigeon among the dabbling ducks - hard to see in this photo but the greenish supercilium is very obvious in field, also the extensive buffish crown

Long-tailed Shrike - with seeds on its body

Long-tailed Shrike

a female Siberian Rubythroat

HK Wetland Park 21 Nov 2018 - more scaup

This Nov is surprising boring.... Not even a single lifer for me...

The male Greater Scaup was closer today and managed to get some shots.

Greater Scaup and Tufted Duck

Greater Scaup - the black tip of bill can be hard to see, especially when covered by mud

two male ducks: Greater Scuap and Tufted Duck - as seen the different plumage and head shape

Long Valley 20 Nov 2018 - wasted or not

A Rook (maybe the one we saw together in San Tin in flight few weeks ago?) and some House Sparrow were reported recently in Long Valley so we went today, also not wanna waste the weekday holiday.

Birded for three hours, seemed that we wasted the half day. No sparrow nor rook, the best of the day? A snake maybe. Only the same Brown-cheeked Rail, two Northern Skylark and a single Oriental Greenfinch were worth reporting.

The 3 hours list: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50065736

Brown-cheeked Rail - well camouflage 

Red-throated Pipit - a lancy jizz?

Red-throated Pipit

Yellow-breasted Bunting

Black-winged Stilt

Oriental Greenfinch - a better record

Daurian Redstart - adult male

HK Wetland Park 19 Nov 2018 - #208

Many tuftie today, and among them found my #208 here - Common Pochard.

Besides, also 3 Greater Scaup (1 male and 2 female), and 2 Western Osprey.

Common Pochard among tuftie

2 Greater Scaup - this (new) individual looked like San Tin bird, with very strong facial pattern

Po Toi 18 Nov 2018 - banana day

We haven’t been to Po Toi for a long period, we vidited today mainly for a Japanese Leaf Warbler reported yesterday. The result...... was impressive. Nothing at all, so we leave that to Japan.

The banana list as here: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50014180

Banana day

Whampoa 17 Nov 2018 - Slaty-legged Crake

Tung and I saw a female Slaty-legged Crake few years back in a park in Whampoa. This year, a male came. We did a visit after the lecture.

The Slaty-legged Crake was far less friendly today, but still reminded me the past memory of that tame female.

Park list: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49987605

Rock Pigeon

Rock Pigeon - a dark iris one

Red-billed Blue Magpie

Slaty-legged Crake

Slaty-legged Crake - this individual is quite ugly, because it is a 2 C.Y. molting male? Those we saw few years ago were more beautiful

HK Wetland Park 13 Nov 2018 - ducking time

Not a good day again but had some fun in ducking. Saw two Greater Scaup.

The full checklist:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49905603

Also tried a stationary count:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49905853

spent some times in ducking but they were so far...

Tufted Duck - note the dark back and more squared head than scaup

Tufted Duck - some shows really distinct white bill patch, with the slightly crested jizz suggesting a Lesser Scaup, but the upperpart is still too dark

Greater Scaup - a male (probably eclipse?) among tuftie. note the bigger rounder head, larger size and paler upperparts

Two Greater Scaup (male and female?) with three Tufted Duck - the plumage and structure differences could still be seen in such a distance

HK Wetland Park 11 Nov 2018 - Ordinary Birthday

Too much stress recently. Scaup gone, no lancy, no Yellow-streaked Warbler and no Black Stork.

A very ordinary day, best maybe the Rufous-tailed Robin - a cutie.

Full checklist of my 25th birthday:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49845528

Chinese Penduline Tit

Great Cormorant - how many cormorant we have seen in 25 years?

How far can we go? How deep can I love?

Happy Ordinary Day

San Tin and Long Valley 10 Nov 2018 - A Causal Day

Again we did some birding in San Tin and Long Valley today, and again none are the 'rarities'..

the two checklist as here:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49817035
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49818838

Chinese Spotbill - unlike the tame birds when we saw Samll White in Taiwan

Common Starling and Red-billed Starling - we may finally take some better photos in Europe?

Yellow-breasted Bunting - a Critically Endangered species but luckily not rare in Long Valley

Yellow-breasted Bunting - as Gum Gum Bunting

Buff-bellied Pipit - note the rather plain back

Common Kestrel - a female kestrel was recently fed well in Long Valley but I really do not have much mood to wait there, so just a record shot

San Tin and Long Valley 8 Nov 2018 - Scaup and Greenfinch

We went to San Tin and Long Valley today and did some causal birding. The Pallas's Reed Bunting has gone, but we still managed to see Pied Harrier, a Japanese Quail and the Greater Scaup - a species I forget when did we see last time, probably the one which Fai Gor told me to see, but no memory.

Common Pochard - a long staying female

Eurasian Teal - sometimes I think too much about the identification and get wrong in common species

Japanese Quail - only photo... we still need better photos

Greater Scaup - the head pattern is quite distinct among the Tufted Duck

Greater Scaup - compare to other Tufted Duck we could see the head structure difference, which is more rounded in Greater Scaup

Greater Scaup with two Tuftie

Raptor time - Greater Spotted Eagle, very distant...

Pied Harrier - came to say hi again

Pied Harrier

Afternoon, Long Valley was quieter. Again the Japanese Quail, a single Black-headed Bunting and Brown-cheeked Rail. We saw two Oriental Greenfinch in flight too - another species I forget when did we see 'ticked', luckily, we got our eBird record today.

Black-headed Bunting - note the strong bill and streaky crown, also yellow vent. Not as tame as the Red-headed Tung and I saw in LV few years back.

Brown-cheeked Rail as Eastern Water Rail - Tung and I tried to wake at 4am to twtich some crakes in LV, but no need now. Brown-cheeked Rail is getting commoner and commoner in HK

San Tin:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49749501

Long Valley:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49750521