Hello, Enjoying your blog very much. Great birding stories and fantastic pictures. I am going to spend a month in China this winter. Would you perhaps have any tips what organisation or person to contact? Thanks very much in advance for your advice! Eildert
Hi Judy, Sorry not to have replied earlier, but we're on a trip right now... HK must have changed since 1962 ! Birding is more fun as a passion acquired later in life, I think !
Hi Eildert, Yunnan Province would be a good "bet" in winter, much of Sichuan and Qinghai, for example, quite frost bound. If you're traveling independently, there's quite a lot of tourist infrastructure in Yunnan.
Absolutely beautiful photos! Came across your blog by accident looking for bird photos and you have a wonderful collection. Would love to know details of the lenses/camera etc. Seriously good!
Hi John, have been avidly reading your site lately, preparing for my trip to China. You site is amazingly informative! I read that you've visited Jianfengling, Hainan. My wife and I are thinking of spending some time there, as well. I am finding it very hard however to find specific information about the place. Could I ask you what hotel you stayed at while you were there, and whether you enjoyed your stay? Did you take a cab from Sanya airport? How did you get into contact with this place? I'm sorry to ask you all these questions, but I'm afraid the very quality of your site has promoted you to guru-like status concerning eco-travel in China! Apologies again and many thanks in advance for any help, Best regards, Eildert
Hi John ... thank you for sharing you wonderful photos .. my wife and i are new to birding but are very keen, .. because i am a non-chinese reading chinese, i have found it very difficult to find information in HK .. it'd be great if we can tag along on one of your outings on weekends!! Cheers
Hi dongdong, Glad you like the photos... the weather is pretty miserable at the moment.... here are some links to sites a non-reader of Chinese - and that includes me, basically - may find useful....
HKBWS site: http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/index.php
(Tim Woodward) South China Birder : http://www.southchinabirder.com/Provinces/Hong%20Kong.html
David Diskin's site and book: http://www.hknaturewalks.com/
Hi John - excellent images. I am in HK for four days 19-22 April, trying to show some of my students who live there a few birds. Fancy a trip to Mai Po to help us find some great birds? Anyway, even if not, is there an electronic annotated list of Hong Kong birds you could send me? I can't find anything like that on the web. Thanks!
John, Nice to see your work. I am trying to find my pics of "my" sea eagles on Tai Ah Chau (big bird island). John Burton, I think, id'd them for me and we had an immediate campaign to stop the Viet. residents eating them like they did everything else that moved.There were also tiny flocks of birds about the size of my thumb which we did not id. My own birding fame is otherwise only by association namely my relative who has the polioptilia clementsi named after him. Personally I prefer to think of it as a miniature raptor - better for the street cred!
Hi Jamie, Good to hear from you ! I'm rather rusty at South American birds, but - having googled it - I see that you're writing about Iquitos Gnatcatcher.... "New to science" in 2005 and named after James F. Clements. I have had Clements's "World Bird Checklist for 10 - 12 years... your relative ? GREAT. I suppose it is a "Raptor of small insects" - so what-the-hell. At least it's not a seedeater ! I remember your WBSE photos from Tai Ah Chau... I may have been at "Camp Shekkers" at about the same time with Graeme Sutherland
I'm Thet Win from Bagan. I was with you as the birding guide to Bagan and Mt. Victoria in 2005. Now I'm working as a freelance in the region with various travel companies. I would like to include photos of Hooded Treepie and Jerdon's Minivet in my website. Can you please kindly send me some of your photos to my email baganbirdwatching001@gmail.com if you do not mind? Aslo let me know if you ever make Burma trip again. I would love to guide you again. Or if any of your friends are coming this way please let me know.
Thet Win
Birding Guide Mobile - 00959 49214838 Email - baganbirdwatching001@gmail.com
It is good to hear from you. We'll send the photos you asked for in a day or two. We have fond memories of Burma and Bagan ! If we return to Burma we'll let you know. Good luck with the guiding.
We were recommend you as a potential guide by Mike Kilburn. Two of us, father and son, are travelling over from England to Hong Kong and are there from the 14th to the afternoon of the 17th of March 2013 on route to a birding holiday in Australia. We are hoping to do a day and a halfs birding in Hong Kong, the half day preferably on the morning of the 17th. The full day could be either the 15th or 16th, and wonder if you would be able to guide the two of us. We were thinking of Mai Pow but would be grateful for advice regarding where else would be good.
Thanks in advance,
Adam
My email address is adzey_1231@hotmail.com
I've tried emailing you several times on the email address which Mike gave, but each time it 'fails'. I'm not sure if this is a problem emailing from the UK in which case I'm not sure how would be best to make contact. Thanks again.
I too am based in HK and frequent Mai Po - love your blog and more so your images. What equipment do you use? It's not in the same league but you can check my work out at www.flickr.com/photos/wildaboutwildlife - cheers, Darren
As an ex Hong Kong resident I used to birdwatch at Mai Po (and well, just about everywhere else) back in the late 60s. Really enjoyed your blog and photos - really enjoyable :-)
Glad you like the blog; - the human development means the landscape around Mai Po has really changed since the late 60s... ( I first saw Mai Po in 1979 ) but the birds still look the same !! We are lucky now that the infrastructure of hides and paths at the Nature Reserve makes things much easier than in the "old days".
Sorry for the slow reply, we got back yesterday from Yunnan.
Last year you gave me some great advice on Yunnan and Hainan birding. I had a ball there! I've got a picture with (I think) 2 species of Rosefinch in it; I think they are Chinese White-browed and Chinese Beautiful. Is there any way I send you the picture for you to have a look at it? Thanks in advance, Eildert Beeftink
We (my wife and I) went to Zhongdian (and surroundings) Tiger Leaping Gorge and to Kunming. It was our first trip to Yunnan, so we were getting acquainted with the place; it wasn't fully dedicated to birding. Nonetheless, we found Napahai and other places very impressive. In Hainan we went to Jian Feng Ling. This is a great place. Unfortunately, it took us quite a while to find the best places to bird, and as a consequence we didn't find all of the species we were looking for. For our next visit to these regions I will have to step up my preparation! In Jian Feng Ling we had some unpleasant moments at the big resort on the lake there. When you were there, you probably stayed in the other, smaller place that's on the far side of the lake, with its back to the mountain side? I posted my picture on birdforum; here's the link: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=249794 Hope it works! The (bad) picture was taken at Xiagei. The reason I'm not sure of this ID is because the illustrations in the guide to China are so poor, and because of recent (confusing) splits. Is there any guide in which these Roesfinches are decently covered at the moment?
I am planning to go to Kamchatka and the islands...and just realized you went last summer!!! May I ask for some bird guide details please if you have used any....and how many days were you there? Cheers Marie
Hi Marie, Sorry for the slow reply, we just got back from Papua New guinea yesterday. I'll see what we've got from Kamchatka, but it's a big remote place with no local Russian bird guides as far as I know.
We went the "easy" way with the Heritage Expedition trip, which sails this year on May 23rd..... but it may be too late to sort out your Russian visa in time...
Hi, I've been quite a fan of your photos in OBI, didn't know you also have a blog here. Keep up great work!!!
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words. Glad you found the blog at last !
Sorry not to have responded earlier, but we were in Sabah, East Malaysia
John and Jemi
Hi there! just came by your blog and its really awesome! Thanks for sharing! ;)
ReplyDeleteMarie
Hi Marie,
ReplyDeleteI liked your Barred Owlet photos on your blog, too !
John
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures.
Thanks for your email.
Is it easy to get access to Nam Sang Wai ?
I have looked at the location on Google Earth.
Chris Rae.
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteThere are no permit requirements and it is a 10 - 15 minute Taxi ride from the West Rail Station at Kam Sheung Road.
Hope this helps !
John
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI have a photo of a bird in North Eastern China and eager to know it's name. Can you help?
Thank you.
Sally
cottonyc@gmail.com
Hi Sally,
ReplyDeleteWe've relied to your Email - it is a Hoopoe
Best
John and Jemi
Hi John
ReplyDeleteI am a new hand in bird watching. I agree with Marie that your blog is really awesome. Many thanks for the sharing.
Wendy K (wksf)
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words. Don't forget there is a lot of good information on the HKBWS site;
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/
Cheers
John
I am delighted to stumble upon your blog. I haven't been in Hong Kong since 1962 - and wasn't a birder then.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteEnjoying your blog very much. Great birding stories and fantastic pictures. I am going to spend a month in China this winter. Would you perhaps have any tips what organisation or person to contact? Thanks very much in advance for your advice!
Eildert
Hi Judy, Sorry not to have replied earlier, but we're on a trip right now... HK must have changed since 1962 ! Birding is more fun as a passion acquired later in life, I think !
ReplyDeleteHi Eildert, Yunnan Province would be a good "bet" in winter, much of Sichuan and Qinghai, for example, quite frost bound. If you're traveling independently, there's quite a lot of tourist infrastructure in Yunnan.
Best
John
Absolutely beautiful photos! Came across your blog by accident looking for bird photos and you have a wonderful collection. Would love to know details of the lenses/camera etc. Seriously good!
ReplyDeleteHi "Anon",
ReplyDeleteThey're mostly taken With Canon equipment.... and we find a tripod to be useful in low-light situations.. Thanks for the comments
John
Hi John, have been avidly reading your site lately, preparing for my trip to China. You site is amazingly informative! I read that you've visited Jianfengling, Hainan. My wife and I are thinking of spending some time there, as well. I am finding it very hard however to find specific information about the place. Could I ask you what hotel you stayed at while you were there, and whether you enjoyed your stay? Did you take a cab from Sanya airport? How did you get into contact with this place? I'm sorry to ask you all these questions, but I'm afraid the very quality of your site has promoted you to guru-like status concerning eco-travel in China!
ReplyDeleteApologies again and many thanks in advance for any help,
Best regards, Eildert
Hi Eildert,
ReplyDeleteWe stayed at the Tian Chi Resort, which we recommend, it's right next to some good forest.
http://johnjemi.hk/journey_tr/cn/hn09_11/two.html
You can get a taxi from Sanya Airport
We're off to Yunnan today..
Regards
John
Hi John ... thank you for sharing you wonderful photos .. my wife and i are new to birding but are very keen, .. because i am a non-chinese reading chinese, i have found it very difficult to find information in HK .. it'd be great if we can tag along on one of your outings on weekends!! Cheers
ReplyDeleteHi dongdong,
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the photos... the weather is pretty miserable at the moment.... here are some links to sites a non-reader of Chinese - and that includes me, basically - may find useful....
HKBWS site: http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/index.php
(Tim Woodward) South China Birder : http://www.southchinabirder.com/Provinces/Hong%20Kong.html
David Diskin's site and book: http://www.hknaturewalks.com/
Hi John - excellent images. I am in HK for four days 19-22 April, trying to show some of my students who live there a few birds. Fancy a trip to Mai Po to help us find some great birds? Anyway, even if not, is there an electronic annotated list of Hong Kong birds you could send me? I can't find anything like that on the web. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSimon Woolley (skw@wincoll.ac.uk)
Hi Simon,
ReplyDeleteDid you get my Email ? A checklist of HK birds is here..
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/viewthread.php?tid=11861&extra=page%3D1
John
John, Nice to see your work. I am trying to find my pics of "my" sea eagles on Tai Ah Chau (big bird island). John Burton, I think, id'd them for me and we had an immediate campaign to stop the Viet. residents eating them like they did everything else that moved.There were also tiny flocks of birds about the size of my thumb which we did not id. My own birding fame is otherwise only by association namely my relative who has the polioptilia clementsi named after him. Personally I prefer to think of it as a miniature raptor - better for the street cred!
ReplyDeleteHi Jamie,
DeleteGood to hear from you !
I'm rather rusty at South American birds, but - having googled it - I see that you're writing about Iquitos Gnatcatcher.... "New to science" in 2005 and named after James F. Clements. I have had Clements's "World Bird Checklist for 10 - 12 years... your relative ? GREAT.
I suppose it is a "Raptor of small insects" - so what-the-hell. At least it's not a seedeater !
I remember your WBSE photos from Tai Ah Chau... I may have been at "Camp Shekkers" at about the same time with Graeme Sutherland
Hi John & Jamie,
ReplyDeleteHow are you?
I'm Thet Win from Bagan. I was with you as the birding guide to Bagan and Mt. Victoria in 2005. Now I'm working as a freelance in the region with various travel companies. I would like to include photos of Hooded Treepie and Jerdon's Minivet in my website. Can you please kindly send me some of your photos to my email baganbirdwatching001@gmail.com if you do not mind? Aslo let me know if you ever make Burma trip again. I would love to guide you again. Or if any of your friends are coming this way please let me know.
Thet Win
Birding Guide
Mobile - 00959 49214838
Email - baganbirdwatching001@gmail.com
Hi Thet Win,
DeleteIt is good to hear from you. We'll send the photos you asked for in a day or two. We have fond memories of Burma and Bagan ! If we return to Burma we'll let you know. Good luck with the guiding.
Dear John,
ReplyDeleteWe were recommend you as a potential guide by Mike Kilburn. Two of us, father and son, are travelling over from England to Hong Kong and are there from the 14th to the afternoon of the 17th of March 2013 on route to a birding holiday in Australia. We are hoping to do a day and a halfs birding in Hong Kong, the half day preferably on the morning of the 17th. The full day could be either the 15th or 16th, and wonder if you would be able to guide the two of us. We were thinking of Mai Pow but would be grateful for advice regarding where else would be good.
Thanks in advance,
Adam
My email address is adzey_1231@hotmail.com
I've tried emailing you several times on the email address which Mike gave, but each time it 'fails'. I'm not sure if this is a problem emailing from the UK in which case I'm not sure how would be best to make contact. Thanks again.
Hi Adam,
ReplyDeleteThe tides at Mai Po peak around midday on March 15th and 16th (and 17th)
http://www.hko.gov.hk/tide/eTBTtide.htm
I'll email you later today.... I don't do much guiding now, but David Diskin still does....
http://www.walkhongkong.com/birdwatchingtours.html
John
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteI too am based in HK and frequent Mai Po - love your blog and more so your images. What equipment do you use? It's not in the same league but you can check my work out at www.flickr.com/photos/wildaboutwildlife - cheers, Darren
Hi Darren,
ReplyDeleteI'm using a Canon 800mm lens and usually a 1D Mk IV.... I'll certainly check out your flickr stuff
As an ex Hong Kong resident I used to birdwatch at Mai Po (and well, just about everywhere else) back in the late 60s. Really enjoyed your blog and photos - really enjoyable :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Stuart,
DeleteGlad you like the blog; - the human development means the landscape around Mai Po has really changed since the late 60s... ( I first saw Mai Po in 1979 ) but the birds still look the same !! We are lucky now that the infrastructure of hides and paths at the Nature Reserve makes things much easier than in the "old days".
Sorry for the slow reply, we got back yesterday from Yunnan.
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteLast year you gave me some great advice on Yunnan and Hainan birding. I had a ball there!
I've got a picture with (I think) 2 species of Rosefinch in it; I think they are Chinese White-browed and Chinese Beautiful.
Is there any way I send you the picture for you to have a look at it?
Thanks in advance,
Eildert Beeftink
Hi Eildert,
DeleteIf you put a photo on Flickr, then you can send us a link ? Or attach a small file to an Email to:
Glad you enjoyed Yunnan and Hainan, where did you go ?
We (my wife and I) went to Zhongdian (and surroundings) Tiger Leaping Gorge and to Kunming. It was our first trip to Yunnan, so we were getting acquainted with the place; it wasn't fully dedicated to birding. Nonetheless, we found Napahai and other places very impressive. In Hainan we went to Jian Feng Ling. This is a great place. Unfortunately, it took us quite a while to find the best places to bird, and as a consequence we didn't find all of the species we were looking for. For our next visit to these regions I will have to step up my preparation! In Jian Feng Ling we had some unpleasant moments at the big resort on the lake there. When you were there, you probably stayed in the other, smaller place that's on the far side of the lake, with its back to the mountain side?
ReplyDeleteI posted my picture on birdforum; here's the link: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=249794
Hope it works! The (bad) picture was taken at Xiagei. The reason I'm not sure of this ID is because the illustrations in the guide to China are so poor, and because of recent (confusing) splits. Is there any guide in which these Roesfinches are decently covered at the moment?
Hi Eildert, the Tian Chi Resort is where we stayed, no problems there
ReplyDeletehttp://johnjemi.hk/journey_tr/cn/hn09_11/one.html
Your photo on bird forum shows both White-browed and Beautiful Rosefinches, I agree.
The Helm guide "Finches and Sparrows" is fine, but pre-dates some of these "splits".
Hi John
ReplyDeleteI am planning to go to Kamchatka and the islands...and just realized you went last summer!!! May I ask for some bird guide details please if you have used any....and how many days were you there?
Cheers
Marie
Hi Marie,
DeleteSorry for the slow reply, we just got back from Papua New guinea yesterday. I'll see what we've got from Kamchatka, but it's a big remote place with no local Russian bird guides as far as I know.
We went the "easy" way with the Heritage Expedition trip, which sails this year on May 23rd..... but it may be too late to sort out your Russian visa in time...
More later