Hong Kong Southern Waters 25th April 2021 - a seabird trip

A suitably-distanced masked, precautionary boat trip led us to a regular stream of Terns, eight species heading northeastwards included Little, Aleutian,Bridled,Black-naped,Common,Gull-billed, Greater Crested Tern and Caspian Tern. Aleutian Tern

Common Tern

Greater Crested Tern

Little Tern

Arctic Skuas (Parasitic Jaegers) were present, too...

Short-tailed Shearwaters are passing through HK waters now. This was the closest..

"Also-seens" included Red-necked Phalarope..

Several example of "Visible Migration" included this group of Cattle Egret, possibly arrived from the Philippines

At the Mai Po boardwalk hides, 20th April 2021

Out at the Mai Po Nature Reserve boardwalk hides today there was a fine selection of migrating birds..

None of them announced themselves as they approached within camera range, so, like me, you can work them out for yourself !

Egretta eulophotes - Chinese Egret

This species was chosen as a symbol for the HKBWS when it was founded. A sketch by Mike Roser was used for the Society’s first thirty-or-so years, superseded by David Bakewell’s more realistic version in the late 1980s. More recently still, the HK Birdwatching Society has been using a different, colourful representation of this bird. There can’t be an egret that does “aigrettes” quite like Egretta eulophotes, even the scientific name means “well-crested”.

All photos taken from the boardwalk hide, today, 8th April 2021.