Five or six early morning sessions in the Tragopan portable hide have brought a reward of some respectable wader close-ups.
So far, only a parade of common birds, but I'm not complaining.
A pleasant surprise (but not for the dragonfly) was the spectacle before sunrise yesterday of a
Black-winged Stilt zapping a passing dragonfly and proceeding to drown and eat it.
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Black-winged Stilt - Himantopus himantopus |
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Common Snipe - Gallinago gallinago |
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Spotted Redshank - Tringa erythropus |
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Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea |
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Black-winged Stilt - Himantopus himantopus |
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White-breasted Waterhen - Amaurornis phoenicurus |
There are always reminders that birding in Hong Kong is not a "Wilderness Experience". After about eight o'clock the racket grows from the nearby container yards.
The yard dogs can be a bit of a nuisance, although they usually appear, nuzzle around discarded riceboxes, and go quite quickly.
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The ubiquitous "chow" dog of the New Territories - Canis lapsappus |
Mid-October is usually when peak numbers of many autumn migrant waders occur.
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Common Greenshank - Tringa nebularia |
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Wood Sandpiper - Tringa glareola |
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Eurasian Magpie - Pica pica |
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Marsh Sandpiper - Tringa stagnatilis |
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Common Kingfisher - Alcedo atthis |
"And that" - as the great Eddie Waring used to say -
".... is all you're getting !! "
Once again, some super nice photos of waders! I love the first shot of the juvenile stilt. Really nice catch.
ReplyDeleteAyuwat, Thanks..I worried when I saw the shimmering of the dragonfly wings that the Stilt was try to eat a piece of cellophane wrapper ! There are plenty of waders around at the moment..
DeleteGreat wader photos but what is the story with those dogs?!?!
ReplyDeleteStu, The dogs can be a nuisance, and dogs like these probably prevented the Black-winged Stilts nesting at Mai Po this year...
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