14 Dec 2012

Mai Po and Deep Bay Ramsar Area - "Winter Visitors"


In December and January Deep Bay's daytime high tides rarely come close to the birdwatching hides. 

So, due to the usual distance of the tidelines, the best of our winter visitors can go largely unseen, or at least, seen distantly.  

Due to some quirk of the weather, last Monday's tide (Dec 10th) was significantly higher than predicted, and the birds passed the "Birdwatching Society" hide in hazy sunshine.

Here are some of them:- 

"Eastern" Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa melanuroides




Nordmann's Greenshank  - Tringa guttifer (two in the lower photo, right and rear)


Dunlin - Calidris alpina

Common Greenshank - Tringa nebularia



Marsh Sandpiper - Tringa stagnatilis


And "shuffling the wader pack" were: -

Eastern Buzzard - Buteo japonicus



Osprey - Pandion haliaetus



Back to the waders...



Eurasian Curlew - Numenius arquata  (dropping in on some godwits)






"Eastern" Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa melanuroides



Saunders's Gull - Saundersilarus saundersii



As the tide went out, a surprise visitor to the tideline dropped in - Mai Po's one and only resident (since July 2012) Oriental Stork.




Oriental Stork - Ciconia boyciana


Including a distant Black-faced Spoonbill, the Stork and Nordmann's Greenshank made it  three "Endangered" species for the morning.

(Edited and added) And as Martin Williams reminds me, - Saunders's Gull is "Vulnerable".

Beats a Monday morning in the office !







8 comments:

  1. What a great morning, John. Some great flight shots. I must get out soon.

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  2. Those Nordmanns photos are so "bang on" Per-fect. Good work john.

    Simon

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  3. Thanks, Jason, Andrew and Simon !

    Simon, when I try to comment on YOUR blog, I just get an Email saying my message has been rejected as "Spam" .

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  4. More brilliant images from a wonderful location John.........

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