Nam Sang Wai and Shek Kong Catchment, 29th Nov 2018

Black-faced Spoonbill - Platalea minor

Hazy sunshine and a low tide predicted in late morning made NSW seem like an attractive place to visit for the first time in over a year.

Common Teal - Anas crecca

White-breasted Kingfisher - Halcyon smyrnensis

I get the feeling that many of the more experienced HK photographers consider NSW a bit passé  And someone recently pointed out to me that hardly any real rarities turn up there. 

Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea

Northern Shoveler - Anas clypeata

Pied Avocet - Recurvirostra avosetta

Pied Kingfisher - Ceryle rudis

But the  slipway near the AFCD post is still great place to practice “birds in flight” photography.

Woodland birding sites can be pretty quiet after mid-morning, but a low winter sun meant that there would be plenty of dark gullies along the track at Shek Kong Catchment, so there I went.

As it turned out, the first noteworthy bird was another “BIF” -  a displaying Crested Goshawk.

Crested Goshawk - Accipiter trivirgatus

Crested Goshawk - Accipiter trivirgatus

I’ve seen them do this often before, but rarely so close and in such strong light.

Later on, a mixed feeding bird flock found me in a shady corner and I got shots of a couple of the more colourful species under the tree canopy.

Yellow-cheeked Tit - Parus spilonotus

Silver-eared Mesia - Leiothrix argentaurus

Daurian Redstarts, having mostly arrived for the Hong Kong winter three to four weeks ago, have established their territories and become more cautious of humans. 

Daurian Redstart - Phoenicurus auroreus

But this male gave me a brief photo opportunity as I returned to the end of the catchment road.