Misty Mountain, Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong.

I had arranged to meet with Bell Wong this morning. Tai Mo Shan was covered in cloud. If I had been asked for a literal translation of the name of the mountain, I might have suggested, “high land of unhelpful taxi-driver,” as ours had refused to drive us up the slope because he felt that the thick mist was too dangerous on a steep windy road. I shouldn’t have been surprised to find from Bell that its Chinese name actually means, “Big Foggy Mountain.”

It is a vertical rise of 230m from the car park at the bottom of Tai Mo Shan Road to the control barrier at almost 700m above sea-level. It doesn’t sound like too much of a hardship until the heat and humidity are factored in. Bell looked worried. He had already expressed surprise at how tightly my birding silks fitted, even with the elasticated waistband, now he made enquiries about my blood pressure and heart. At least I was sober today.

Visibility only improved as we were leaving the mountain

There was very little to see, but we climbed in the hope that the wind and the sun would combine to drive the cloud away and allow us to look for some red crayon birds. I had missed some on my last trip that I wanted to have another look for. The mist veiled our sight and although the bird sounds were subdued, we were able to recognise a few. A Chinese, or Light-vented Bulbul was our constant companion somewhere out to the right and Bell reminded me that the song I had been hearing all of the previous day, a teasing refrain to the tempo of  “you’ve got a hangover,” was from the Yellow-bellied Prinia.

A rising note with an emphatic finish, reminiscent of a stuttering, Australian, Eastern Whipbird, caught my interest. I had heard it last time but dipped on actually seeing the bird which I had suspected at the time to be the Brownish-flanked(Mountain) Bush Warbler. It remained elusive for the moment. A few gaps were appearing in the mist as we heard the call of the Chinese Francolin, “come to the Peak, ha ha!” We slowly stalked further up the road and rounded a bush as a clear patch revealed a male bird crowing from a boulder. I snatched a quick shot before he darted down into the brush of the mountainside. He kept calling however and drew responses from at least two other birds in the vicinity.

 Just before the first of the big switchbacks, a stepped path leads off to the right, south. The end of this path would have afforded us a tremendous view of the city in other circumstances, but we were distracted by another calling francolin. This one was hidden by the mist, but after a short while, the fog cleared enough to reveal another male singing proudly from a rock. We listened to this one for a while and I must say that the interpretation of its call is a very locally convenient one. Anywhere that does not have a tourist attraction called Victoria Peak would probably have stuck with a very farmyard-like “cock-a-doodle-doo.”

We climbed a little further up, but the bird was easily spooked. As the other francolin had returned to his rock as soon as we left, we hoped that if we sat quietly, this one would do the same. We gave it plenty of room, but it did not come back. A thrush (?) sat out on a rock, possibly hoping to get a view over the city, but was probably as frustrated as we were in not being able to identify him.

The bush warbler was still calling as we began our descent. One was very near to the road and its call is very loud as if from a large bird. A Black-throated Laughing Thrush appeared from the same bush as the warbler and I thought that I may have misdiagnosed the call. But the warbler was still in the roadside bush and I eventually resorted to playing back his own song from my digital recorder. The warbler flew out, over our heads and into the trees on the other side of the road. He continued singing and gave a couple of passes before I ticked him and left him to his huge song.

There had been no sign of the Upland Pipit which had been the third target bird for the day. Still, two out of three ain’t bad. But wait, what’s this? A long slim bird with a streaming tail flew down from above us and disappeared into the fog. It was a Blue Magpie and softened the blow of dipping on the pipit again.

Tai Mo Shan gave one last surprise in the form of an eagle soaring past a gap in the cloud. I wasn’t able to get any detail before it disappeared into the mist again but if my arm was twisted, I might guess at an Imperial Eagle.

Thank you to Bell for his company, his concern and for remembering to bring the water. There is a toilet block at the car park  by the entrance and a small kiosk that has a limited selection of drinks and snacks. Beyond this, there are no facilities on the mountain. If you want it, bring it.

Species seen; 11

Chinese Francolin 2, House Swift 4, Red-whiskered Bulbul 10, Light-vented Bulbul 25, Oriental Magpie Robin 1, Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler 1, Black-throated Laughing Thrush 1, Japanese White-eye 1, Blue Magpie 1, Large-billed Crow 2.

For previous, posts about Tai Mo Shan and the surrounding area, directions there and for other trip reports for Hong Kong, consult the dedicated Asia Page which also includes Bangkok and Singapore.

Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong,

Hong Kong Hangover, Mai Po.

Two old friends, Mr Sberg and Mr Ken, insisted that I join them in the bar last night. Between them, Carl and Heine saw to it that I had a thick head for my visit to Mai Po this morning. I was looking forward to finding a dark, quiet hide with no birds to look at so that I could go to sleep.

First, I had to walk the mile or so from the bus stop to the reserve and wait for the office to open and issue my pre-booked permit. The office usually opens at 09.00, but members of staff are often early and the doors opened at 08.20 today. By this time, if Sweet Baby Jesus had wanted me for a sunbeam, I would gladly have taken his hand.

I had registered birds on the approach road, but had not paid them much attention, saving any coherent thought to wonder why I had stayed up so late and drunk so much. For the record, there were some Chinese Pond Herons, Eurasian Swallows and Yellow-bellied Prinias. While I waited for the office staff to arrive, Azure-winged Magpies enjoyed the cake that someone had thrown out for them.

Once I had my permit, I made a concerted effort to pick myself up. Mai Po in May is a staging post for huge numbers of wading birds as they pass through on their way north and I didn’t want to lose this spectacle to a hangover. Almost exactly a year ago, the reserve was overflowing with herons, sandpipers and plovers and the fish ponds along approach road had been very productive. For this visit, numbers were reduced, but the tide was at its lowest point about mid-morning, so I was hoping that most of the birds were out on the vast mudflats of Deep Bay.

The first two hides were very quiet and I was tempted to stop and have a nap, but pressed on to the hides at gei-wai 16/17. Gei-wais are man-made fish or shrimp ponds that are flooded and managed with sluice gates that either allow or block water flow (but you knew that). Most have regular islands which have become thickly covered in mangrove bushes. At gei-wai 16/17, scrapes, sand bars and spits are available to give the waders good roosting spots and birders get clear sight lines into the bargain.

There were a few birds already roosting or feeding in the shallow water. Pied Avocets and Black-winged Stilts were obvious, even with my blurred and beery vision. There had been reports of a Swinhoe’s (Chinese) Egret, so I checked all the white herons quickly, but I suspect that gei-wai 16/17 is fresh water and the egret in question prefers salt water edges.

The smaller, darker waders needed the scope for a decent look. Good numbers of Red-necked Stint were present with Curlew Sandpipers easily found. Little Ringed Plovers, Sharp-tailed and Broad-billed Sandpipers were much fewer in number, though still well represented.

Despite the heat, the brightness and a thumping headache, I was quite enjoying myself, winkling out new species here and there and consulting the field guide for subtle differences of plumage between a Greater or Lesser Sandplover, for example. As the morning wore on, more birds came in to roost and I managed to tick off 26 different wader species. Notably, the short-legged came first, followed by species with longer and longer legs that could stay out on the flats as the tide covered the mud. Common Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit and Eurasian Curlews signalled that the tide was getting higher.

Oriental Pratincole showed in small numbers and came in to roost on the sand bars in the gei-wai. An Indian Cuckoo was calling persistently, but I could not see it as I made my way round to hide number five which looks out on to the same birds but from another vantage point. The alternative perspective allowed me to look back towards hide 3 and to scope a Greater Painted Snipe pair. This was the first time that I had managed to see the more impressive female. It was a very distant view, but that was a feature of the day. A flock of Spotted Sandpipers took flight on silvery wings.

Larger groups of birds were arriving now, so I began the hot, sticky trudge out through the mangroves to the hide overlooking Deep Bay. The mud was covered but the tide was turning. The hide is sited on a floating platform and the gentle rocking lulled me to sleep for a while. I awoke to birds passing overhead as they made sorties to see if the wet mud was showing yet.

A Common Sandpiper waited patiently on the screen as the tide withdrew. The advance parties were growing larger, but many stopped short by the old hide or passed over, heading for China ‘crost the bay. A few Red-necked Stint and Curlew Sandpiper alighted by the new hide, but it was not the spectacle that I would have sold my sobriety for.

I began the long walk back and passed through the gate at 17.00, just in time to reclaim my deposit. By now, I was feeling truly exhausted and could hardly bring myself to stop when I saw the now familiar Hong Kong chapter of the Bucket Lens Club. I keep bumping into these guys, purely by accident, but they usually have something worthwhile to see. Today, they were watching young Eurasian Swallows being fed by their tirelessly attentive parents. One hungry fledgling was getting the lions share by flapping out to meet the approaching adult while the others begged helplessly from the branch. Another wore the expression of extreme disapointment if he didn't get fed.

For previous, more sober, posts about Mai Po, directions there and  for other trip reports for Hong Kong, consult the dedicated Asia Page which also includes Bangkok and Singapore.

Species seen; 67

Little Grebe 12, Great Egret 40, Little Egret 30, Cattle Egret 10, Chinese Pond Heron 15, Striated Heron 3, Black-crowned Night Heron 8, Black-faced Spoonbill 18, Spot-billed Duck 2, Garganey 1, Black-eared Kite 4, White-breasted Waterhen 4, Common Moorhen 8, Greater Painted Snipe 2, Black-winged Stilt 40, Pied Avocet 800, Oriental Pratincole 8, Pacific Golden Plover 18, Grey Plover 12, Little Plover 20, Lesser Sandplover 35, Greater Sandplover 140, Black-tailed Godwit 8, Whimbrel 4, Curlew 30, Spotted Redshank 210, Common Redshank 6, Common Greenshank 80, Wood Sandpiper 8, Terek Sandpiper 12, Common Sandpiper 14, Ruddy Turnstone 2, Sanderling 1, Red-necked Stint 1000, Long-toed Stint 3, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 25, Curlew Sandpiper 600, Broad-billed Sandpiper 45, Red-necked Phalarope 1, Gull-billed Tern 6, Caspian Tern 1, Common Tern 1, Spotted Dove 35, Asian Koel 3. Greater Coucal 5, Pied Kingfisher 3, Barn Swallow 400, White Wagtail 3, Red-whiskered Bulbul 3, Light-vented Bulbul 45, Oriental Magpie Robin 12, Yellow-bellied Prinia 8, Plain Prinia 3, Masked Laughing Thrush 10, Great Tit 1, Japanese White-eye 6, Long-tailed Shrike 4, Black Drongo 1, Azure-winged Magpie 15, Eurasian Magpie 4, Collared Crow 14, Crested Myna 6, Black-collared Starling 20, White-shouldered Starling 8, Eurasian Tree Sparrow 40, Nutmeg Mannikin 2.

High Resolution Images from April 2011

High Resolution Images from April 2011

The images in the main blog have been reduced in size to 600 pixels or less across to facilitate quick loading. It goes against all my sensibilities to reduce the resolution, so each month I shall select a few shots that warrant being seen in in hi-res.

These posts may take slightly longer to load, so please be patient.

The links will take you to the original post.

The Atlantic Puffins were certainly the stars of the show when we went to Skomer.

Close to home, a pair of Green Woodpeckers were looking for somewhere to nest.

A lifer singing in blossom has to make it on to the HD page. Blue-winged Warbler

 Other galleries can be found at the dedicated High Resolution page.



Keira Knightly in Mote Park.

Ne’er cast a clout, ‘til May is out.

Don’t be suckered into thinking that summer is here just because the weather has been so good over the past few weeks.

Those expensive, tender plants that the garden centres so happily sell over the bank holiday weekend are still vulnerable to cold nights and although the Swifts have returned, there was a frost on the ground in Mote Park this morning.

Yes, the swifts are back. After their long journey up from Africa, they were feeding hungrily over the inlet on the southern side of the lake. I guess they will replenish their reserves before they start the screeching chases that are so much a part of the birdwatcher’s summer.

I had come to watch the warblers this morning. Whitethroats were seen in abundance and they were singing on their chosen patches of scrub and rough meadow. They flew between vantage points in their territories with a jerky flight, flicking their long tails as they went. This was more as a patrol and to keep an eye on me, the intruder, rather than as a display I suspect. The Whitethroat display flight is an exaggerated, fluttering, stepped descent from about 10m. The crown is raised and the tail spread. All the while, the scratchy song is repeated in short bursts.

By the water, a small patch of reeds held my first Reed Warbler of the year. It was singing its jumbled song, but staying down out of sight. Occasionally, it would fly up into the lake-side bushes to make sure that I wasn’t up to any mischief, but then straight back into the reeds to continue singing. There were plenty of them around, with every stretch of bank claimed by a singing bird.

Reed Buntings were also laying claim to a potential nesting site. They were in the scrub on the bank rather than in the reeds, but the female proved bolder than the male by dropping down to make sure that I didn’t constitute a threat. The wanting hero remained higher in the bush.

Blackcaps were singing lustily this morning despite the cold start. The park has really greened up now and the Hawthorn is in full flower. This meant that the Blackcaps were able to withdraw into the heart of the bush at my approach and not be seen.

Eurasian Jay

Although I heard plenty of Blackcaps, only 2 were seen. The same goes for the Wrens. Their rich, strident call emanated from every patch of growth, but such is the exuberance of spring that they were mostly able to remain concealed. As the summer progresses, I become more and more envious of those with a competent ear who can hear through the foliage.

I am sad to say that the Great Crested Grebes’ nest that I saw on my last visit has come to nothing. One of the birds was feeding in the current that flows beneath the causeway bridge. I waited, hoping that it would come closer. Is it just me or does this picture remind anyone else of a wet Keira Knightly?

I will leave you with that thought and wander back up stream along the River Len. A movement behind me caught my eye as I crossed the river. A Green Woodpecker flew onto the Alder tree, right beside the potential nesting hole described last month. The bird darted around the trunk and I withdrew to a comfy spot beyond the bridge to see if it would come around the front to the hole. It didn’t, but I have not ruled out a nest yet. Simon was in the park as usual and had been seeing a lot of butterflies today.

As a parting shot a pair of Grey Wagtails showed well on the Len, right by the gate that leads out to the lay-by at the lowest part of Willington Street.

Bird seen; 40

Great Crested Grebe 7, Great Cormorant 4, Grey Heron 4, Mute Swan 8, Greylag Goose 2, Canada Goose 25, Mallard 20, Tufted Duck 4, Eurasian Sparrowhawk 2, Common Moorhen 8, Common Coot 12, Common Sandpiper 4, Lesser Black-backed Gull 2, Black-headed Gull 50, Stock Dove 3, Common Wood Pigeon 40, Common Swift 4, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Green Woodpecker 1, Grey Wagtail 2, Northern Wren 4, Dunnock 4, Song Thrush 2, Common Blackbird 12, European Robin 3, Eurasian Reed Warbler 8, Willow warbler 1, Common Chiff Chaff 1, Blackcap 2, Common Whitethroat 18, Long-tailed Tit 5, Great Tit 8, Blue Tit 4, Eurasian Jay 3, Eurasian Magpie 15, Eurasian Jackdaw 2, Carrion Crow 40, Common Starling 35, Chaffinch 4, Reed Bunting 2.

Other posts for Mote Park can be found by consulting the UK page at this link.
For a more frequent commentary, may I commend you to Mote Park, A Patchwork.

Mount Auburn Cemetery, Boston, April 2011

Having already been to Washinton DC as part of this itinerary, I became a little confused and told my wife that I was going to Mount Vernon. Angry and betrayed, she demanded to know "who's Vernon?"

The day was led by a misconception at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston. I found a couple of Blue-winged Warblers singing in a flowering pear tree at the junction of Halcyon Ave and Fountain Ave. The other birders in the cemetery were very excited to see them and a constant procession passed the tree asking about them. My plan was to stop with them until the sun came out, which it threatened to do on a couple of occasions, so while I waited, I appointed myself Chief Blue-winged Warbler pointer outer.

 The people who came to see them were invariably thrilled and or delighted, with many commenting that they had not seen them for a few years, or indeed like me, ever. So I was left with the impression that they were scarce and sought after, leading me to put up a twitchy type post to draw attention to them. Corey put me on to a website called e-bird which is a wonderful tool for judging the status of a bird in any given location and it would appear that Blue-winged Warblers, though not noted every day, are not as uncommon as I had thought. What is a day worth if you learn nothing? Even realising a mistake is a step forward.

I had seen something in Virginia a couple of days before that could have been a Blue-winged Warbler and as I watched these undeniable ones in the pear tree, I realised that it must have been. I had not seen the bird well enough at Great Falls Park, but now that I was getting well acquainted with them, I was happy to take it retrospectively. But how come I have been warbler watching for 15 years and not seen one?

Mount Auburn Cemetery has more to offer than just Blue-winged Warblers. The first birds seen this morning were a pair of Red-tailed Hawks which have a nest close to Auburn Lake, but my next stop was to be at the Great Horned Owls’ nest. Two owlets are growing fast in the nest, 5 metres up a Locust tree off Hawthorn Path. One of the adults was able to keep an eye on them from the shade of a nearby Spruce tree. I have taken it on trust that this is the male.

I had left the warblers as the sun was showing no further signs of coming out, but, cussed ball of gas that it is, as soon as I turned my back, it found a patch of clear sky. Hoping that it might last, I headed back to the warblers, passing an Eastern Chipmunk pining on its master’s grave.

By the time I got back, the light had gone again. These little warblers are so entrancing, it would have been wonderful to catch them in the blossom in good light.

Other warblers visiting the pear tree and the surrounding area included Yellow, Yellow-rumped and an accommodating Black and White Warbler.

I had covered very little ground today as most of the time was spent waiting for some good light, but a number of birds passed by while I was there. A Scarlet Tanager stopped in the top of a thinly leafed tree, a Gray Catbird peeped out from behind a low-growing evergreen bush and a Baltimore Oriole flashed through. Blue Jays are very common and one sat beautifully in a gap in a flowering Forsythia.

Birds seen; 30

Double-crested Cormorant 1, Canada Goose 4, Mallard 4, Osprey 1, Red-tailed Hawk 2, Mourning Dove 2, Great Horned Owl 3, Downy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 2, Eastern Kingbird 3, Gray Catbird 1, American Robin 50, Black-capped Chickadee 4, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, Blue Jay 20, American Crow 2, Common Starling 2, House Sparrow 6, American Goldfinch 1, Blue-winged Warbler 2, Yellow Warbler 3, Yellow-rumped Warbler 14, Black and White Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 1, Scarlet Tanager 1, Chipping Sparrow 6, White-throated Sparrow 15, Northern Cardinal 8, Common Grackle 40, Baltimore Oriole 1.

Chipping Sparrow

Mount Auburn is 580 beautiful acres of mature trees, lawns and lakes, but primarily it is a functioning cemetery, so discretion and respect should be a priority.

There is a Boston Metro station on the Red Line called Harvard Square. From here, bus numbers 71 and 73 take less than 10 minutes to reach the cemetery gates on Mount Auburn St. (Google Earth ref; 42 22 30.83N 71 8 40.91W). The buses run approximately twice within 30 minutes.

The cemetery gates officially open around 08.00, but an early visitor will often find them open much earlier. Just inside the gate to the right is a small building that holds information about the cemetery and there is a board there that details recent interesting sightings.

 Blue-winged Warblers, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Boston, BOS