At the end of last month Typhoon Wutip crossed Vietnam's coastline near Danang and some wet and windy weather blew north, bringing seabirds to Hong Kong's coastline. A highlight being three Long-tailed Skuas seen over Mai Po Nature Reserve.
Sightings of "Marsh" Terns on autumn passage are not nearly as unusual as sightings of skuas, I'll admit.
A flock of Whiskered Terns over fishponds near Mai Po provided a good opportunity to study juveniles together with the adults moulting out of breeding plumage.
A flock of Whiskered Terns over fishponds near Mai Po provided a good opportunity to study juveniles together with the adults moulting out of breeding plumage.
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| Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida (hybrida) |
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| Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida (hybrida) |
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| Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida (hybrida) |
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| Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida (hybrida) |
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| Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida (hybrida) |
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| Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida (hybrida) |
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| Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida (hybrida) |
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| Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida (hybrida) |
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| Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida (hybrida) |
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| Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybrida (hybrida) |
No prizes for telling adults-from-juveniles.
A different call brought my attention to an "odd man out"; - Little Tern !
This species breeds along the coast of south China, including Guangdong Province, and appears on passage here in Hong Kong too.
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| Little Tern - Sternula albifrons |
And they all flew nice and low, so I could get green/neutral backgrounds for the photos.
Isn't nature fabulous ?
Finally, a semi-serious "Technical" note:
Since July 2013 I've enabled "Google +" comments for this blog. However, it became clear to me that this was EXCLUDING potential commenters who weren't on G +.
So I've disabled the Google + comments, and - something beyond my control - all those comments have been wiped off the blog records. My thanks, again to commenters, especially since July and apologies for the unintended deletions.
I felt that "Google +" comments were the electronic equivalent of shouting in a small room.
Although it's entirely possible I haven't grasped the potential of "G +" for "networking", I'd rather keep life simple.
Although it's entirely possible I haven't grasped the potential of "G +" for "networking", I'd rather keep life simple.
Very nice tern pics John........
ReplyDeleteVery nice BIF shots as usual, John. I like the pattern on the upperparts of these juvenile terns.
ReplyDeleteStu and Ayuwat, - Thanks....
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos as usual - wanted to add how much I have enjoyed your blog lately especially looking at the incredible pics you took from the hide - hope you do more of this kind of photography, really great stuff! Actually glad that you disabled Google + as I was having trouble adding comments to your blog.
ReplyDeleteJeremy, Thanks...
DeleteYes G + was driving me nuts. I'm a technophobe from the "computers-must-be-programmed-with-paper-tape" era !
Vinyl records, beer in Party Seven cans, 25% annual inflation rate...ah, the good old days (!!)