All birds identified and recorded
I found and identified a total of 115 different species of birds during my first birding year, from November 2022 until July 2023
I will be highlighting some special finds with a short description paired with a photo; unique and outstanding bird behaviour will also be pointed out
List:
1 Eurasian tree sparrow
2 Rock dove
3 Spotted dove
4 Crested myna
5 Black-collared starling
6 Swinhoe's white eye
7 Red-billed starling
8 Fork-tailed sunbird (Vibrant colours)
9 Eurasian nuthatch
10 Scarlet minivet
11 Yellow-browed warbler
12 Red-whiskered bulbul
13 Chinese bulbul
14 Black kite
15 Daurian redstart
16 Oriental magpie robin
17 Eurasian magpie
18 Collared crow (IUCN: Vulnerable)
19 Large-billed crow
20 Chinese blackbird
21 White wagtail
22 Northern shoveler
23 Pied avocet
24 Black winged stilt
25 Common sandpiper
26 Chinese pond heron
27 Little egret
28 Intermediate egret
29 Great egret
30 Gray heron
31 Black-crowned night heron
32 Common cormorant
33 Common greenshank
34 Siberian stonechat
35 Plain prinia
36 Common moorhen
37 White-breasted waterhen
38 Dusky warbler
39 Cinereous tit
40 Gray backed thrush
41 Black-faced bunting
42 Yellow-fronted canary
43 Common kingfisher (Bird of the year!)
44 Black-faced spoonbill (IUCN: Endangered)
45 Northern pintail
46 Azure-winged magpie
47 Eurasian wigeon
48 Blue rock thrush
49 Pacific reef heron
50 Oriental turtle dove
51 Verditer flycatcher (Vibrant colours)
52 Striated yuhina
53 Common tailorbird
54 Common redshank
55 White-throated kingfisher (Vibrant colours)
56 Olive-backed pipit
57 Scaly-breasted munia
58 Asian brown flycatcher
59 Barn swallow
60 Eastern yellow wagtail
61 Eurasian teal
62 Gray plover
63 Masked laughingthrush
64 Little grebe
65 Eurasian coot
66 Black-capped kingfisher (IUCN: Vulnerable)
67 Black-headed gull
68 Yellow-crested cockatoo (IUCN: Critically endangered)
69 Red-flanked bluetail
70 Red-billed blue magpie (Vibrant colours)
71 Ashy drongo
72 Oriental stork (IUCN: Endangered)
73 Eastern buzzard
74 Eurasian sparrowhawk
75 Osprey
76 Wood sandpiper
77 Green sandpiper
78 Marsh sandpiper
79 Gray-capped greenfinch
80 Pied kingfisher (Exciting find)
81 Cattle egret
82 Eastern imperial eagle
83 Little ringed plover
84 Eastern marsh harrier
85 Eurasian curlew
86 Little bunting
87 Pallas's gull (IUCN: Vulnerable)
88 Chestnut bulbul
89 Garganey
90 Purple heron
91 Tufted duck
92 Asian koel
93 White-shouldered starling
94 Greater coucal
95 Common snipe (Exciting find)
96 Yellow-bellied prinia
97 Gray-faced buzzard
98 Ashy minivet
99 Ferruginous flycatcher
100 Blue & white flycatcher (Vibrant colours)
101 Lesser frigatebird (Exciting find)
102 Red-necked phalarope
103 Common myna
104 Red-throated pipit
105 Chinese hwamei
106 Chinese grosbeak
107 Long-tailed shrike
108 Northern goshawk
109 Brambling
110 Aleutian tern
111 Eurasian collared dove
112 Narcissus flycatcher (Exciting find)
113 Mugimaki flycatcher (Vibrant colours)
114 Red-necked stint
115 Ruddy turnstone
12. Red-whiskered bulbul — One of the most common birds in Hong Kong, found in both urban and rural spaces. Nicknamed ‘Pikachu’ by some birders as its red cheeks resemble that of the Pokemon Pikachu. A bold bird that is used to human presence, usually allows people to approach within 1 or 2 meters before flying off.
16. Oriental magpie-robin — Another extremely common bird found in Hong Kong. It can be even bolder than the Red-whiskered bulbul, and can often be seen approaching people willingly out of curiosity or for food. Male ones have a dark, black head while females have a lighter coloured gray head.
Bird of the year - Common kingfisher (alcedo atthis)
43. Common kingfisher — ever since the bird’s vibrant colours caught my eye on HK Wetland Park’s bird introduction page, it’s been my favourite bird. A missed encounter with this species at wetland park during my very first few months of birding didn’t frustrate me, however motivated me to search even harder for this gorgeous bird. Finally, after a month of chasing this bird at potential sites, I found it at the fishponds in Nam Sang Wai. The timid individual allowed only a few seconds of view but I managed to capture a few shots through a thick bush, I have never felt such immense joy and satisfaction. This bird got me into this art of wildlife photography and I admire it every single time I see it, I can’t possibly get enough of this bird!
The above kingfisher was seen at Long Valley, its seemingly duller coat of feathers reveal its identity as a juvenile. A kingfisher rarely gives birders prolonged views at such close range, this was probably because this kingfisher is a juvenile with less experience with human interaction hence making it more bold than usual. Kingfishers like to perch at ledges above beside water, as it dives to catch fish for food. The average size of a common kingfisher would be only about the length of your middle finger, and it would bob its head up and down while perched to gauge the angle fishes are at underwater. The fact that this tiny bird is capable of understanding physics and even catch prey under the influence of refraction is what makes this bird special to me.
The following photos are all adult common kingfishers, for your reference:
Exciting finds
Narcissus flycatcher — (most exciting find)
112. Narcissus flycatcher — the holy grail of migrating flycatchers in Hong Kong, it is highly sought after by birders during flycatcher migration months. After laying eyes on this bird through various online blog posts, I can understand the craze around this bird. Its vibrant golden feathers attract immediate attention and I couldn’t help but gawk at its natural beauty after seeing it.
During the late spring months, this bird has been at the top of my bird list. I spent weeks exploring different locations such as Ho Man Tin and Po Toi island to no avail, I was always either too late or too early for this bird. It was as if the bird was intentionally evading me, just like the common kingfisher. However, I was lucky enough to be blessed with both the male and female narcissus flycatchers on a camping trip to Po Toi island with my father. The pair of birds showed up on the last day of our trip in the woods by the helipad, and I was blessed with a few minutes with the gorgeous pair, rewarding all the hard work and sweat I put into searching for the bird.
See more of this bird below:
Common snipe
95. Common snipe — known for its long beak and funny walk, the family of snipes has been one of my favourites. The painted snipe was especially eye-catching to me, its colours are irresistible for every birder. I commenced the search for the painted snipe in late spring, mostly at Long Valley and nearby crop fields. However, on the morning of the 11th of March, I caught the movement of this individual in a shallow crop field at Long Valley. My heart leapt out of my chest and I crouched low to capture this shot of the common snipe. Not quite the painted snipe that I was after, but this bird is an amazing substitute and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Decided to go off my day feeling blessed and grateful instead of frustration.
Pied kingfisher
80. Pied kingfisher — one of the rarer kingfishers that can be found in Hong Kong. FYI the common kingfisher, white-throated kingfisher, black-capped kingfisher and pied kingfisher can all be found in Hong Kong. As the common kingfisher is my favourite bird, all species in the kingfisher family are very sought after for me, with the pied kingfisher being at the top of the list. This species is known for its timidness, it darts off immediately after seeing people. It is also extremely elusive, making it one of the hardest birds to find locally.
I located this particular individual in Ho Sheung Heung after it flew over me on my way over there. It is one of the larger kingfishers in the family, about twice the size of the common kingfisher. Seeing it perched on a treetop from a distance reminds me of the boundaries one should have with nature, wildlife especially, respect goes both ways and as our equals, animals deserve ever single bit of our respect. Although this shot isn’t the best, its really meaningful to me as it embodies my respect for nature and passion for nature photography.
