Hong Kong Part 2 - Mai Po Marshes

A couple of months prior to our holiday I had been looking at birding sites and the overwhelming must visit place was Mai Po Marshes.

This is an internationally important wetland reserve managed by the WWF.

However, unlike our many great reserves, the WWF will not generally allow solo visitors yet only offer guided trips at weekends and holidays. As I was only able to visit on a weekday I applied to visit alone.

This involved numerous forms to be completed as the reserve is in the New Territories and actually overlaps the border with mainland China. For part of the reserve you have to cross a border point and to avoid visas you get a special exemption pass. You also have to be a member of a recognised wildlife organisation such as RSPB if you are not a member of WWF.

In addition, WWF will only allow a maximum of 5 passes a day to be granted.

We were flying at 11.30 in the evening of the 3rd December so I had tried to get a pass for 2nd (failed) so went for the 3rd. 

I got the briefest email back saying it was OK but no paperwork or instructions on what to do or take!

On arrival at our hotel in Hong Kong I asked the guest relations officer to call them for me to double check with my Cantonese being a tad limited!

I was told to get there for 9am (it is not open before) with my passport and would be presented with my pass - cost about £15.

Getting there was fairly straight forward with 3 changes on the Hong Kong underground (MTR) then a taxi from the last station to the reserve.

I arrived to the visitor centre at 8.40 and milled around. at 08.45 a guy came up to me and asked if I was Gary, invited me into the centre through the staff entrance and gave me two passes and a plastic WWF badge on a lanyard. The WWF badge allows access to the reserve but I had to go to another hut further down the track where Chinese border officials would rubber stamp my pass to allow me to access the restricted area. 

The walk to this hut gave me some excellent birds with Long Tailed Shrike and Crested Myna as well as other common birds.

After a glance from the non smiling official I had my stamp and entered the reserve.

Mai Po is massive and I was very aware that I would not see all of it in a day.

It covers a mixture of shrimp farm, marsh, lily covered ponds. mangrove swamp and mudflats.

The weather though dry and mild was very dark so photos were difficult. 

The shrimp farms are at the entrance and gave me decent views of hundreds of Cormorants, Pied Kingfishers, Common Sandpiper, White Wagtail and an array of Herons and Egrets.

The marshes and ponds were stuffed with ducks - all familiar species to us with vast numbers of Shoveler, Pintail, Tufted Duck and Pochard.Yellow Nib Duck and Baurs Pochard were distant local species.

Too fast for my shutter finger were White Fronted Waterhen and familiar Moorhens were all around.

However, it was the massive colonies of Herons and Egrets that took my breath away with literally hundreds in one place. 

A particular species which is internationally threatened is the Black Faced Spoonbill and Mai Po holds the largest gathering anywhere on the planet.

I was fortunate enough to get great views.

I decided to cross a pond via a broadwalk which was particularly beautiful and just as I started I noticed an Olive Backed Pipit skulking in nearby bushes.

Hides were very good quality and there were a number but my time was limited and I was determined to see the mudflats. Sadly, I knew that the tides were not in my favour so everything would be a long way out. This is also the restricted area.

As I approached I could not help notice the massive fence with an unobtrusive gate in between.

The guard seemed unhappy with my camera so I decided against a selfie and was waived through.

This area takes you through mangrove via a floating broadwalk.

It was easy to hear but difficult to spot birds though I did get a a couple of shots of a confiding Dusky Warbler.

The broadwalk leads to a floating hide and looks out over the mudflats. They were vast and reminded me of Snettisham but without a scope, the thousands of waders were simply too far out. My only photo was a Kentish Plover but identified Avocet, Grey Plover, Pacific Golden Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Black Winged Stilt and again numerous herons.

I walked back, said goodbye to the guard and walked back into Hong Kong!

I followed the fence line and saw Azure Winged Magpie and Collared Crow.

The bushes adjacent to the ponds were alive with birds but due to the density and time now being against me I failed to ID many of them!

However, another speciality of the reserve gave me great views with both male and female Daurian Redstart.

Further along I saw two different Prinia. Yellow Bellied were too fast but I did get a decent shot of a Plain Prinia.

I had also added to my list a number of other new birds such as Violet Laughing Thrush, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Striated Heron and Little Grebe.

I could have happily spent another day at this reserve - perhaps the finest I have been to anywhere in the world but it was time to go.

A token stuffed Panda for Jen from the  visitor centre and it was back to the hotel then home.

A marvellous way to finish a great holiday!

Phuket, Thailand

After a 3.5 hour flight from Hong Kong we arrived late in the evening to our hotel, Indigo Pearl.

It is always difficult arriving late as you do not get any perspective but although it was 2am before we got to bed I was up at 6.30 for my first mornings birding. I spent an hour and half every morning birding and has one afternoon too.

The first thing that struck me was that the hotel was in lush and established grounds and backs on to Na Yang beach. The beach is one of three consecutive beaches that make up the Sirinath National Park. Basically, this was created to protect the breeding turtles that nest here every year. There were two entrances to the park within a 10 minute walk of the hotel.

Easily the most common bird was the Common Myna which was literally everywhere, It has a fantastic array of calls which made it difficult for using calls as a form of ID. On at least a dozen occasions I heard a new call and searched high and low for the bird only to find it was a Common Myna!

The main lawn outside our room held a massive tree and this was full of birds most mornings.

Most were Yellow Vented Bulbuls and Spotted Dove but a juvenile Black Naped Oriole and male Koel were regularly seen too.

On the ground a pair of Peaceful Doves visited most mornings and an Indian Roller had a regular perch near the roof of the nearby bar..

Other than the hotel grounds I devoted my first three mornings to walking along the beach road towards the North and the main entrance to the National Park.

It was a great setting and even Jen walked with me once as it passed local shops!

Scrub land just before the park entrance gave me my first Brown Shrike and Large Billed Crow.

At the entrance to the Park there was a small stream which provided two Kingfishers - Common and White Throated.

Three other species were seen here but not photographed. Ashy Minivet, Pied Fantail and a sadly fast moving White Fronted Waterhen.

Flying above were two types of Swift - House and Asian Palm.

The only raptor regularly seen was Brahiminy Kite.

After 3 days I was seeing the same birds every time so decided to walk south of the hotel. This was surprisingly good in that there is a substation of the National Park (not mentioned in any of the bird blogs and information I read before I visited.

It was prettier and less busy and the beach was empty. A larger stream wound its way through and emptied out on the beach. Opposite the river there was a large area of scrub though frustratingly, you could not get to it so all birding was done looking across from the river.

My first morning gave two new birds - the first was straightforward to ID and gave great views - Black Capped Kingfisher.

The second flitted about near the trees and wagged its tail up and down. I was pleased but not surprised to find that this was a Forest Wagtail!

The only wader seen on the whole of my Thailand jaunt was Common Sandpiper.

I enjoyed looking across the scrub though all birds were too far away to get great views with just binos.

I did manage to get record shots of Tiger Shrike, Streak Eared Bulbul and the pretty bright yellow of the Common Iora.

Nearby wires allowed me brief views of both Barn Swallow and Pacific Swallow which is similar but does not have the black ring around the neck.

High above I also noticed a strange hirundine which had no tail!

This turned out to be a Brown Backed Needletail but was just too fast for me and, as you will realise by now, catching birds in flight is not one of my photographic strengths!

The river was an excellent source of Egret with Cattle, Little, Great, Intermediate and Pacific Reef all seen.

Little Herons were another addition and a flying Yellow Bittern was super - easily identified by its striking black bordered wings.

On our second to last day I hired a taxi to visit the other end of the National Park. I left at 2pm and the 30 minute journey only cost £12 return including the driver waiting there for 2.5 hours while I birded!

I was not expecting to add many birds to my list but did get Black Drongo in a matter of seconds.

Nearby but in terrible light was a much greyer version which turned out to be Ashy Drongo.

The scenery was similar to the southern end of the park but there was a lovely walk on a small path through woods. Traversing this wood was large pylons and wires and  two new birds were perching high above on these. They were so high that photos were difficult but I did manage to get the locally known Dollarbird or Broad Billed Roller and Chestnut Headed Bee-Eater.

Magpie Robins were everywhere by the visitor hut and Greater Coucal were hidden in the trees.

A number of additions but without photos were added with Ruby Cheeked and Brown Throated Sunbird, Rufous Fronted Babbler, Oriental White Eye, Red Junglefowl and Yellow Bellied Prinia.

A brief glimpse and quickly taken snap of Common Tailorbird was soon added too.

Perhaps the best bird in terms of rarity though was yet another Bulbul in Red Eyed.

Naturally, the name gives away the big ID feature but these Bulbuls are only found in this area of Thailand and are rarely seen so I was pleased to get two half decent photos.

Overall I think I got a decent list of 51 species though in retrospect I would have visited a couple of other places had i realised how cheap the taxi were.

Back to Hong Kong!