Belated BY - 6th year! Herman&Kit

[Kitsafari]

406. Chinese Huamei

 

Sneaking in my best stab at a pure EBC, this very very skittish bird just took off when I raised my camera - and I was hidden by a glass panel too! its distinctive eye pattern can just be made out. I've never seen a huamei in the wild before (only caged ones or escapees) which is a reason why I'm unabashedly adding it to my count. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

407.  Masked Laughingthrush

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

408. Black-collared Starling

 

 

[Kitsafari]

276. White Wagtail Chinese race

 

Already in the UK count, but the white wagtail I saw in HK looks different from the western white wagtail with a very white face and a patch of black on its chest.

 

[Kitsafari]

Some of the birds already in the count are: 

 

Green-winged or Eurasian Teal

 

 

 Northern Shoveller

 

 

Common Moorhen

 

Black Kite

 

 

cattle egret

 

 

That's the list for HK - quite a good collection. About 65 photographable birds and quite a few which vanished too fast for a shot like the blue whistling thrush and Olive-backed pipit. 

Flying out for a trip to Christmas Island tomorrow morning for a week and we are hoping to get the boobies and the frigates, and hope the red crab migration happens!

 

 

[Galana]

Congratulations on your 400. Well deserved indeed.

As I scrolled through I thought it was almost a shame you get closer to the Spoonbill as that first 'group shot' would have made a great EBC. But then I had not seen your Chinese Huamei. Excellent.

[Zim Girl]

Well done on the 400.  A lovely selection of birds from Hong Kong.

[Peter Connan]

Congratulations on the 400

A poignant reminder of bow quickly we humans can stuff things up.

[michael-ibk]

Congrats on #400 - and definitely the coolest ebc of the year so far!

 

Such a shame about the Bunting. Why in the world would anybody think it´s a good idea to eat them? Incomprehensible!

 

BTW, we just had a Bunting from your corner over here - a Chestnut Bunting was in Tirol recently and attracted a lot of birders (not me unfortunately). Possible the 14th record in the Western Palearctic, not ringed, pretty shy. But probably impossible to find out for sure if it´s not an escapee from somewhere in Europe.

[xelas]

Great effort gave you a handsome prize … 400 birds milestone passed! Five hundredth awaits you for X-mas 😁.

[TonyQ]

Well done on passing 400. I loved the Crake photos.

I hope you had/are having a great time in Christmas Island

[PeterHG]

Congratulations on passing the 400 mark and on entering such a strong contender in the EBC category. It is really hard to tell whether it’s a Chinese Huamei or a Chinese Huawei. Well done!

[michael-ibk]

10 hours ago, PeterHG said:

It is really hard to tell whether it’s a Chinese Huamei or a Chinese Huawei. Well done!

 

Thanks for a very good laugh Peter!

[Tdgraves]

I was so quick with the likes, I missed the milestone. Congratulations 

[Kitsafari]

Thank you @Galana @Zim Girl @Peter Connan @michael-ibk @xelas @TonyQ @PeterHG  @Tdgraves 

[Kitsafari]

A preview of our Christmas Island birding

The frigatebirds - possibly Christmas Island Frigatebirds - were harassing the brown booby juveniles every day!

 

warning - the clip is a bit long. pse excuse all the chitchat.

 

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by Kitsafari

[michael-ibk]

What a wonderful spectacle!

[PeterHG]

Beautiful video!

[BRACQUENE]

Congratulations with your 400 ! 

[Kitsafari]

Thanks all!

 

I'll continue with day trips done through the year to Malaysia - I went on a couple I think but it was mainly Herman who did the most trips as birdlife activity was unusually quiet in Singapore, even during the migration season. 

 

Lenggor and Panti nature reserves are in Johor, about a two-hour and an hour or so drive from the Causeway bridge that span between Singapore and Malaysia. The popularity of the reserves with birders has now prompted the Johor park agency to require permits before we can visit the parks. The rangers seldom conduct checks, but the checks are random and there is no point trying to go without a permit. It doesn't cost much and it takes about a couple of days or even less for approvals to come through. Johor is our convenient backyard to fall back on for specialty birds we don't see on our tiny Singapore island. 

 

409. Black Hornbill, Lenggor

Low light and distance meant even Herman's camera struggled!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

410. Black-naped Monarch, Lenggor

 

Also called black-naped blue flycatcher, it's always a delight to see it. 

[Kitsafari]

411. Blue-winged Leafbird, Lenggor

 

 

[Kitsafari]

412. Brown Fulvetta, Lenggor

 

[Kitsafari]

413. Buff-necked Woodpecker, Lenggor

 

not the easiest woodpecker to sight. 

Male

 

female

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

414. Checker-throated Woodpecker, Lenggor

 

Seen more often