30 Mar 2021

Four Glossy Ibis at Mai Po Nature Reserve, 30th March 2021

I was out at one of Mai Po's boardwalk hides - where mobile coverage can be intermittent - when I got "pinged" on the phone with some "hot" bird news that there were four Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) just landed on Ponds 16/17, a few hundred metres away. This was the fourth time Glossy Ibis had occurred in Hong Kong and four was a new "high count". Naturally, I hurried along, and the birds were still there. They all appeared to be adults. The last record was of two immature birds at Long Valley on 21st March 2019.
The birds looked unsettled and I wasn't surprised when they were spooked by a Black Kite after about half an hour. Spring wader migration is slowly starting and "also-seens" at the board walk were two Endangered species of wader...Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)and Great Knot (Calidridris tenuirostris)
Turned out nice again !

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the Glossy Ibis, John. It's a great looking bird and one that very rarely strays into southern Ontario from a little farther south on the east coast where it is quite common. Years ago when Jamaica Bay in New York was rehabilitated one of the first species to recolonize the mudflats and marshes was Glossy Ibis. There was huge excitement at first, justifiably so of course, but within a couple of years people talked flippantly about "just another Glossy Ibis." Great Knot would have been very exciting for me.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, David, people soon take a species for granted.....I really admire Northern Lapwings in the UK, but British Birders barely look at them twice.

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