Spoon-billed Sandpiper - again

Yesterday morning, I went to Mai Po with visiting birder and former colleague John Burton.

Earlier, I  had received a message to the effect that Hong Kong's Autumn migrant Spoon-billed Sandpiper was gracing Ponds 16/17 in Mai Po Nature Reserve for the third day in a row. This seemed to augur well for a good morning's birding.

We stopped along the Access Road to the Nature Reserve to look at the waders on a drained fishpond….

and there IT was, quite close, pottering around with other small waders including Long-toed Stints and Little Ringed Plovers.

Although I hadn't heard, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper had flown off Pond 16/17 about twenty minutes earlier.

And there it was, only about 25 metres away.  I had the 500mm lens and 1.4 converter in the car.

Thanks to digital and lots of cropping, here are some shots to show you.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

So there you have it, pure luck.

But, as Gary Player (the golfer) once said; - "The harder I practice, the luckier I get.."

Spoon-billed Sandpiper at Mai Po - a September surprise

Found by Ivan TSE of the HK Birdwatching Society this morning on Ponds 16/17 Mai Po Nature Reserve.  This Critically Endangered Species is "difficult" to find here in spring, and even rarer in Autumn.

A few record shots:

Spoon-billed Sandpiper - Eurynorhynchus pygmeus

Spoon-billed Sandpiper - Eurynorhynchus pygmeus

Spoon-billed Sandpiper - Eurynorhynchus pygmeus

Spoon-billed Sandpiper - Eurynorhynchus pygmeus

Yesterday (Sept. 20th) there were about sixty Great Knot on the outgoing tide.

Great Knot - Calidris tenuirostris

Great Knot - Calidris tenuirostris

Great Knot - Calidris tenuirostris

Great Knot - Calidris tenuirostris

And - as a useful comparison - three Red Knot were close to the hide, here is one of them

Red Knot - Calidris canutus

In the bay, though, the most noticeable Great Knot was struggling for it's life in the retreating tidal waters while a Peregrine tried to pluck it out of the sea.

The Great Knot moved closer to one of the old marker poles and this disturbed the rhythm of the swooping raptor.

And, to our surprise, eventually the Peregrine gave up and flew away.

Peregrine - Falco peregrinus

Peregrine - Falco peregrinus

Unfortunately for the Great Knot, though, it had a gash on it's chest and probably won't get much further.

Eurasian Wild Boar

HK-Shenzhen

I've done this before but this is a "HK-border-with-Shenzhen" photo…  where the foreground is Hong Kong, and the city in the distance is Shenzhen, our nearest mainland neighbours.

The main reason for lack of development on the HK side was the "Frontier Closed Area" - a restricted Zone that was created in the early 1960s and lasted until well after the handover.

Even though there are development plans now for the HK side, there are still a few wild corners, and a few wild occupants, such as this Wild Boar, photographed earlier this month. 

Wild Boar Sus scrofa

Wild Boar Sus scrofa

Wild Boar Sus scrofa

Further east along the land border, Kong Shan Police Post towers on a hilltop near the village of Lin Ma Hang.  These posts are informally know as "Mackintosh Cathedrals" after a Commissioner of the Hong Kong Police in the early 1950s.

Kong Shan Police Post

But, the post, in turn, now seems to be overlooked by luxury flats on the Shenzhen side of the border. 

Kong Shan Police Post

Once upon a time, would-be illegal immigrants used to sit on the Chinese mountainside opposite this post (and the six others like it) and wait for darkness to fall before making their bid to cross the Hong Kong Border Security Fence.

Anyway, that's enough travelogue. As this is supposed to be a blog about birds, a couple of shots of Grey Treepie.  Like most corvids, they are clever and alert.

Grey Treepie

Grey Treepie

These are the best shots I've managed so far of this species, but, obviously, there is plenty of room for improvement !

A "Hong Kong First" - Crow-billed Drongo

Not found by yours truly, I must confess.  This bird was seen on Po Toi Island on Sunday 7th September, and again on Tuesday 9th.

Some photos by Allen Chan are on the HKBWS website here:

http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/viewthread.php?tid=21654

The bird was reported to favor a small area of wooded hillside and so it seemed like a good idea to go and have a look for it again today.  About twenty Hong Kong birders and photographers had a similar idea ("Great Minds…") and the ferry trip to Po Toi Island was quite a social occasion.

I was lucky to walk right up behind some eagle-eyed types who had just found it.

Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectans

Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectans

Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectans

Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectans

Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectans

Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectans

In front of an admiring audience, the drongo made short work of a succession of Stink Bugs, Lychee Bugs and a Cockroach.

The spotting indicates that it is a juvenile.

Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectans

Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectans

Crow-billed Drongo occurs in S.E. Asia, and Yunnan, Guangxi and Hainan Provinces in China.  There are one or two records from north Guangdong, too, but this is the first to be seen in Hong Kong.

A memorable bird, and ideal conditions for a "Twitch" !

Southbound

A good variety of waders on the falling tide at Mai Po yesterday.

Black-tailed Godwit

Common Redshank in flight, Whimbrel, Godwits in the water

Two Common Redshank and, right, Terek Sandpiper

Whimbrel

Broad-billed Sandpiper

Broad-billed Sandpiper, with Common Redshank and Marsh Sandpiper (background)

Red-necked Stint (juv) with Marsh Sandpiper, Greater Sand Plovers

 Last here, but not least….

Red Knot (juvenile)

Autumn migration is never as gripping as spring, but at Mai Po, there's always something to look at !

Bonelli's Eagle at Mai Po

Bonelli's Eagle (juv)

Bonelli's Eagle (juv)

Bonelli's Eagle (juv)

Not a species seen very often by me, but reports are regular in Hong Kong. The Water Buffalo on Mai Po's Pond 24 were suitably impressed.

Out on the mudflats, a few southbound Whimbrel can be seen in late August..

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

For wader fans, there were also a few Asian Dowitchers dotted around, often associated with Black-tailed Godwits

Asian Dowitchers (front)

Asian Dowitcher (juvenile)

Most wildfowl won't turn up until the end of October, so the appearance of this Ferruginous Duck in mid-August was strange.  It's been a big favorite of photographers here…

Ferruginous Duck

So I can say "large as life" but maybe not "twice as natural" !