mai po (1 Viewer)

[exley]

hi

just moved to hong kong- already seen some nice winter birds and forest birds. Am keen to check out Mai Po. i have been looking into permits and it seems i might have left it quite late to catch the april migration. from what i gather- to get a mai po permit takes 3- 4 weeks and one must be either a member of the hong kong birdwatching society or the wwf, (or both)- which also takes 2 weeks (everything seems contingent on the other.) does anyone know if the WWF is enough for the permit, since i would want that anyway to get access to the frontier closed area. also nice to support WWF

anyone know of timing- how ,long this stuff takes-
wwf membership, maipo permit, FCA permit, if WWF is enough, and if the FCA is worth it- is the rest of mai po enough and do you get to use the facilities/hides etc without being a WWF member- also, a general idea on migration timing would be great

thanks a lot

exley

 

[MKinHK]

Hi Exley

It is a time-consuming process, but as a HK resident you can get a permit for a year so although you might be pushed for time this spring it is ceratinly worth it in the longer term.

HKBWS membership is not contingent on HKBWS membership. You just have to apply, pay and wait for the process to be completed.

Email or call the HKBWS office, and they will tell you how long it will take.

WWF memership is not contingent on HKBWS membership. You just need to apply, pay and wait for the process to be completed.

Application for an annual Mai Po permit can be done either through WWF or directly from the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation. For this you will need proof of membership of HKBWS and WWF. This may take several working days to process. The best way to do this is to email Mr Wong Che-Lok at [email protected] , who issues the permits.

You may also be interested to know that HKBWS has visits to Mai Po scheduled for 9th and 30th March and 20th April, which will give you the opportunity to visit the reserve and to meet some other birders and benefit from an experienced guide.

Yu can book for these via the HKBWS website here: http://www.hkbws.org.hk/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=19.

Membership makes this cheaper and raises your priority in the event of a highly subscribed outing.

This website, and especially the BBS has lots of other info about birding in HK, and although its a bit complex it is well worth registering (which is free).

Hope this helps

Mike