Lamma 31 Mar 2020 - an exhausted Brown Booby

A HK tick for an exhausted Brown Booby which died eventually...

exhausted Brown Booby - died in AFCD hands as expected

Mai Po 30 Mar 2020 - some gulling

The boat trip was cancelled and I was dumped, so I chose to visit Mai Po to do some gulling. Not many interesting species recorded, and need 2 more to reach the 100 mark.

Charadriiformes is the main focus so many photos of gulls were taken even without a certain ID, still, I think gulling in other places are is much funnier than in HK.

Highlights include Black-tailed Gull, Pallas's Gull, Little Tern, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Nordmann's Greenshank.

Checklist is here https://ebird.org/checklist/S66349316 and my BigEar2020 is now 159.

Nordmann's Greenshank, Common Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit

mainly Black-tailed Godwit

Nordmann's Greenshank - note the color tone difference

Nordmann's Greenshank and Northern Shoveler

Nordmann's Greenshank and Common Greenshank - see the size, bill shape, pattern difference

Saunder's Gull in summer plumage is the main character here

Nordmann's Greenshank, Common Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper

Nordmann's Greenshank

Nordmann's Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper

Black-headed Gull

Nordmann's Greenshank - take off

Western Osprey

Kentish Plover

Greater Sandplover

Greater Snadplover

Common Sandpiper

Black-tailed Gull - first winter, one of the easiest IDable first winter gulls here

Black-faced Spoonbill

Black-faced Spoonbill

Black-faced Spoonbill

Black-faced Spoonbill - at least an endangered species

Black-faced Spoonbill

Terek Sandpiper

Terek Sandpiper

Terek Sandpiper

Identification of immature herring gull species is always challenging, so I can be wrong as always, I would say this is a first winter Lesser Black-backed Gull, I expect first winter Herring should show much whitish head in this time of year

two first winter Lesser Black-backed Gull - the left one show some Slaty-backed jizz

Caspian Tern

third winter Lesser Black-backed Gull - an interesting molt in this individual but showing pale iris, yellow bill with dark spot is feature of thrid winter

first winter Lesser Black-backed Gull in flight - very dark upperwing pattern and starting to molt in mantle

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-tailed Gull and Caspian Tern

Black-tailed Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull

first winter Herring Gull ? and Lesser Black-backed Gull - the noise is real in D850

adult summer Pallas's Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull - the black head is always distinctive 

Pallas's Gull and Black-tailed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull and Caspian Tern - sometimes adult gulls are easier to be identified, as here, Lesser Black-backed always shows limited mirror on wings, usually a small one restricted to p10 only.

mostly Lesser Blac-backed Gull - is the left one Herring? showing whitish head and paler underwing

Herring Gull? more whitish head and paler underpart

Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull in the middle - note the much more paler upperwing patterns, especially the wing panel and the inner primary

Herring Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull - the middle one show color tone and eye pattern of Slaty-backed Gull, but first winter Slaty-backed Gull does not show any terminal tail band as this individual 

Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gull - challenging right? especially no upperwing seen

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

two Pallas's Gull

two Pallas's Gull

Herring Gull

Norther Shoveler

adult Lesser Black-backed Gull - still in winter plumage which they molt later than the Herring Gull (mongolicus)

Black-faced Spoonbill

Black-faced Spoonbill

Pied Avocet

Great Egret

Great Egret

Black-faced Spoonbill

Far Eastern and Eurasian Curlew

Far Eastern and Eurasian Curlew

Far Eastern Curlew

Common Redshank

Common Redshank

Grey Plover and Great Knot

Herring Gull (mongolicus) likely - note the two big mirror and more paler upperpart (saddle), of course, the grey color tone is always affected by sunlight. The full whitish head is a clue of summer plumage, which Herring Gull (mongolicus) molt earlier than Lesser Black-backed

Common Redshank in majority, also a Marsh Sandpiper inside

Common Redshank - the upperwing pattern is also distinctive in other Tringa species