Hong Kong 1 Nov. to 4 Nov. 2015

Azure-winged Magpie

It was a special fare of S$249 return to HK that got us planning another trip to HK.  Although we were restricted to take an afternoon flight arriving almost 7 pm in HK we were keen to revisit the sites that we had been earlier in the year.  We were able to catch the local bus E34A from the airport which took 1.5 hours to our hotel in the New Territories.  Compared to a taxi ride (HK$380) the fare of HK$13.90 per person on the bus was worth taking for a 30 mins longer ride.  This bus terminates next to the Harbour Plaza Hotel less than 5 mins walk away. 
On Sunday 1st Nov after a good night's sleep, we took a taxi to Maipo village.   We walked along Tam Kon Chau Road and checked out the birds feeding in the canal and nearby abandoned fields.  There were sandpipers, egrets, commorants and on the trees bulbuls and Japanese white-eyes feeding on the fruits. The Azure-winged Magpies were easily seen as we approached Maipo Reserve.   At the visitor center we met a local birder who showed us his photographs of the Forked-tailed Sunbird.  This trip we did not apply for the permit to enter the reserve so we birded outside the area.  When it was time to leave for lunch the WWF staff was kind enough to call a taxi for us.   We asked to be taken to Sheung Shui MTR station as we knew there would be a minibus 51K that will bring us Long Valley for our afternoon birding.

Great Cormorant

We had lunch at Sheung Shui and arrived Hor Siong Heung after 2 pm.   We had bean curd for dessert at the Bean curd shop where visitors in bus loads come for their their sweet treat.  We walked to the farms, and the birds were similar to the ones we had seen in our previous trip with few migratory species yet.  The Black-winged Stilts, Plovers and Egrets, were feeding in the flooded fields, while some swallows were flying around.  Some photographers were taking shots of these Red-rumped Swallows.  We left at 4 pm, took the bus 51K back to Sheung Shui, and a taxi ride back to the hotel.
On Monday 2nd November we decided to take the local bus 276B to Sheung Shui then minibus 51K to Hor Sheung Heung.  We arrived 9.15 am, our second try for morning birds at Long Valley. It was the same few birds we saw yesterday and we left at 11 am.

Yellow-cheeked Tit

In the afternoon we went shopping at Mongkok.
On Tuesday 3^rd Nov we met with Chun Fei at Shatin MRT and he suggested taking bus 28K to Tai Po Kau.  We walked up and along the way met Mike who asked if he can tag along since he was visiting Tai Po Kau for the first time.  As we walked past the rest area and up the slope, a bird wave greeted us.   Yellow-cheeked Tits and Grey-chinned Minivets were out feeding on the trees.  After this bird wave we came to a quiet picnic area where tables and benches were set out.  In the tall trees the Rhesus Macaques were playing and making a lot of noise.  We walked down at 11.30 am leaving Mike to continue exploring other trails.  We went back to the hotel to put away our camera and bins and took off for Mongkok again.   This time we found some outdoor clothes shops at Nam Cheong Street.  At Heng Chung Hang we bought some long-sleeve shirts, rain jacket and pants.

Erpornis

Wednesday 4th November morning we walked around Tin Sui Wai Park to test out the new 300mm Nikon lens.  Then it was a short trip to Yuen Long for some “wife cakes” from Hung Heung.  In the afternoon we took the Light Rail to HK Wetlands Park and did some birding along the boardwalks.  
Thursday 5^th Nov early morning we checked out and took the hotel airport bus HK$60 per pax to the airport, it was an hour’s ride in the morning light traffic.

Hong Kong Birds Photos

  Birds Seen:

1	Black-collared Starling		23	Chinese Bulbul
2	Chinese Pond Heron		24	Japanese White-eye
3	Little Grebe		25	Common Moorhen
4	Little Egret		26	Oriental Magpie Robin
5	Great Egret		27	Spotted Dove
6	Grey Heron		28	Eurasian Tree Sparrow
7	Masked Laughing Thrush		29	Yellow-cheeked Tit
8	Common Kingfisher		30	Black-winged Stilt
9	Siberian Stonechat		31	Scaly-breasted Munia
10	Grey Wagtail		32	White-rumped Munia
11	White Wagtail		33	Red-rumped Swallow
12	Plain Prinia		34	Grey-chinned Minivet
13	Great Comorant		35	Eurasian Magpie
14	Crested Myna		36	White-throated Kingfisher
15	Oriental Reed Warbler		37	Blue and White Flycatcher
16	Common Sandpiper		39	Fork-tailed Sunbird
17	Wood Sandpiper		40	Dark-sided Flycatcher
18	Little-ringed Plover		41	Dusky Warbler
19	Long-tailed Shrike		42	Mountain Bulbul
20	Azure-winged Magpie		43	Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
21	White-cheeked Starling		44	Erpornis
22	Red-billed Starling		45	Daurian Redstart
23	Red-whiskered Bulbul