2020年1月31日 星期五

Cheng Chau 30 Jan 2020 - half day birding

Spent half day in Cheung Chau resulted not a bad list even we could not see the Brown Fish Owl.

We had Black-naped Monarch, Manchurian Bush and Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler, Chinese Hwamei and White-browed Laughingthrush, and Grey-backed plus Pale Thrush.

Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S63931338
BigEar2020 is 92.

White-browed Laughingthrush - they are getting more and more uncommon in HK

White-browed Laughingthrush

White-browed Laughingthrush - which we only saw two this time

Masked Laughingthrush

2020年1月30日 星期四

Shek Kong Catchment and Shek Kong Airfield Road 28 Jan 2020 - boring day

What a boring day... We went both sites in Shek Kong but nothing interesting, even not a Common Rosefinch....

Best one we saw probably the same male Mrs. Gould's Sunbird...

Checklist of Shek Kong Catchment: https://ebird.org/checklist/S63894710
Checklist of Shek Kong Airfield Road: https://ebird.org/checklist/S63865249

Olive-backed Pipit

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

Little Egret

Light-vented Bulbul

Light-vented Bulbul

2020年1月29日 星期三

Tai Po Kau and Shek Kong Catchment 27 Jan 2020 - Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

We went to Tai Po Kau in the morning first, only bumped the wave twice and I dipped the Chestnut-crowned Warbler in the wave. Specialties include a Blyth's/Claudia's/Hartert's Leaf Warbler with no DNA sample collected and a clearly goodsoni Hartert's Leaf Warbler. Outside the wave, we managed to see one male and 2 female Mrs. Gould's Sunbird and a very active Hume's Warbler.

Then changed to Shek Kong Catchment after a quick poor lunch, no more possible Claudia's Leaf Warbler and only a glimpse of the female Cyornis flycatcher, but two Asian Barred Owlet and two Mrs. Gould's Sunbird made a better list today.

Checklist of Tai Po Kau: https://ebird.org/checklist/S63832399
Checklsit of Shek Kong Catchment: https://ebird.org/checklist/S63834592

BigEar2020 is now 83.

Mrs. Gould's Sunbird - female and male

Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

Hume's Warbler - curious cutie

Hume's Warbler

Hume's Warbler

Hume's Warbler

Hume's Warbler

Hume's Warbler

Hume's Warbler

Hume's Warbler

Hume's Warbler - vocal cutie

Olive-backed Pipit

Little Egret

Little Egret

Little Egret

2020年1月28日 星期二

Yunnan 25 - 26 Dec 2019 - a Xmas Twitch

Huge thanks to Carrie we managed to Twitch the Yellow-rumped Honeyguide in Yunnan in just a weekend!

We took the flight KY8313 from Zhuhai to Tengchong on 25 Dec and left from Tengchong to Zhuhai by KY8317 on 26 Dec. We just did 4.5 hours birding in Hetou Zhai (河头寨) and saw 59 species, not bad indeed. This proved we can make weekend trips to Yunnan from Hong Kong which I just spent around 2000HKD for 15 lifers!

For anyone who wanna twtich the honeyguide or bird in Hetou Zhai (河头寨), feel free to contact 小王 by WeChat: ssyilubba or phone: 13987528048.

The trip list and photos are attached below.

this was my first time to cross the HK-Zhuhai-Macau bridge

Sunset

dinner in Zhuhai airport

Coconut milk, my favorite

we took Kunming Airlines

simple late dinner on plane

nice weather in morning

this is the spot for the Honeyguide @ 25.2144431, 98.6825808

and the Yellow-rumped Honeyguide was already waiting for us

feeding habitat of the Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, hive was built on the cliff

simple lunch before heading to the airport

no solar eclipse which can be seen in other places in E Asia

and tea time

our plane back to Zhuhai

and this was also my first time to fly from and return to Zhuhai

dinner - simple rice

back to HK by crossing the bridge

Checklist (taxonomy as in eBird): 

Rock Dove Columba livia

Little Egret Egretta garzetta

Eastern Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis

Chinese Pond Heron Ardeola bacchus

Eastern Buzzard Buteo japonicus

Eastern Buzzard

Asian Barred Owlet Glaucidium cuculoides
- 1 seen

Asian Barred Owlet - did not expect any owl species in such a short trip

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide Indicator xanthonotus
- 1 seen

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide - see the yellow rump clearly

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide feeding

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide feeding

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide feeding

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide feeding

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide feeding

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide feeding GIF

Bay Woodpecker Blythipicus pyrrhotis
- 1 heard only

Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus

Grey-chinned Minivet Pericrocotus solaris

female Grey-chinned Minivet

White-bellied Erpornis Erpornis zantholeuca

White-bellied Erpornis

White-bellied Erpornis

White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis

White-throated Fantail

White-throated Fantail

Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus

Ashy Drongo

Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach
- subspecies tricolor

Long-tailed Shrike - this subspecies show black head

Grey-backed Shrike Lanius tephronotus

Grey-backed Shrike

Red-billed Blue-Magpie Urocissa erythroryncha

Oriental Magpie Pica serica

Oriental Magpie with nest

Oriental Magpie - we first thought this was Black-rumped Magpie which is a newly split

Oriental Magpie - but clearly this bird did not show full black rump

Oriental Magpie - showing little whitish rump 

Yellow-browed Tit Sylviparus modestus

Yellow-browed Tit

Green-backed Tit Parus monticolus

Green-backed Tit

Japanese Tit Parus minor

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Crested Finchbill Spizixos canifrons

Crested Finchbill

Crested Finchbill

Brown-breasted Bulbul Pycnonotus xanthorrhous

Brown-breasted Bulbul

Black Bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus

Black Bulbul

Ashy-throated Warbler Phylloscopus maculipennis

Ashy-throated Warbler

Ashy-throated Warbler

Ashy-throated Warbler

Ashy-throated Warbler

Ashy-throated Warbler

Ashy-throated Warbler - showing undertail

Ashy-throated Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler Phylloscopus pulcher

Buff-barred Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler

Sichuan Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus forresti

Sichuan Leaf Warbler

Sichuan Leaf Warbler

Sichuan Leaf Warbler

Dusky Warbler Phylloscopus fuscatus

Chestnut-crowned Warbler Phylloscopus castaniceps

Whiskered Yuhina Yuhina flavicollis

Whiskered Yuhina

Whiskered Yuhina with Indian White-eye

Whiskered Yuhina with Indian White-eye

Indian White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus

Indian White-eye

Indian White-eye - the new split again

Indian White-eye- cute looking

Indian White-eye - the identification can be still tricky

Indian White-eye

Indian White-eye

Rufous-capped Babbler Cyanoderma ruficeps

Rufous-capped Babbler

Slender-billed Scimitar-Babbler Pomatorhinus superciliaris

Slender-billed Scimitar-Babbler - very record shot.... need to retake next time!

Slender-billed Scimitar-Babbler - you can see the bill shap

Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler Pomatorhinus ruficollis

Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler 

Yunnan Fulvetta Alcippe fratercula

Yunnan Fulvetta

Yunnan Fulvetta

Yunnan Fulvetta - again similar looking to the Huet's or David

Yunnan Fulvetta

Yunnan Fulvetta

Yunnan Fulvetta

Yunnan Fulvetta with Rufous-capped Babbler

Red-billed Leiothrix Leiothrix lutea

Blue-winged Minla Actinodura cyanouroptera

Blue-winged Minla

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch Sitta nagaensis

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch

Long-tailed Thrush Zoothera dixoni

Long-tailed Thrush

Long-tailed Thrush

Long-tailed Thrush

Long-tailed Thrush

Long-tailed Thrush

Long-tailed Thrush

Long-tailed Thrush GIF

Eyebrowed Thrush Turdus obscurus

Eyebrowed Thrush - common thrush migrant

Chestnut Thrush Turdus rubrocanus

Chestnut Thrush

Chestnut Thrush

Chestnut Thrush

White-gorgeted Flycatcher Anthipes monileger

White-gorgeted Flycatcher

White-gorgeted Flycatcher - another cutie

White-gorgeted Flycatcher

White-gorgeted Flycatcher

White-gorgeted Flycatcher

White-gorgeted Flycatcher

Large Niltava Niltava grandis

male Large Niltava

male Large Niltava

male Large Niltava

female Large Niltava

female Large Niltava

Blue Whistling-Thrush Myophonus caeruleus

Blue Whistling-Thrush - subspecies showing yellow bill

Himalayan Bluetail Tarsiger rufilatus

Himalayan Bluetail 

Himalayan Bluetail 

Himalayan Bluetail - love this blue

Himalayan Bluetail 

Himalayan Bluetail - common but beautiful

Himalayan Bluetail 

Golden Bush-Robin Tarsiger chrysaeus

female Golden Bush-Robin

Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher Ficedula strophiata

Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher

Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher

Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher

Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher

Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher breathing GIF

Blue-fronted Redstart Phoenicurus frontalis
- poor view for me

Daurain Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus

Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maurus

Siberian Stonechat - different to the one in HK

Grey Bushchat Saxicola ferreus

Black-throated Sunbird Aethopyga saturata

female Black-throated Sunbird (?)

male Black-throated Sunbird

Mrs. Gould's Sunbird Aethopyga gouldiae

male Mrs. Gould's Sunbird 

male Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

male Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

male Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

Orange-bellied Leafbird Chloropsis hardwickii

Orange-bellied Leafbird

Orange-bellied Leafbird

Orange-bellied Leafbird

Orange-bellied Leafbird

Orange-bellied Leafbird

Orange-bellied Leafbird

Rufous-breasted Accentor Prunella strophiata
- poor view for me

Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus

Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea

White Wagtail Motacilla alba
- we didn't check the subspecies seriously

Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla