The Magic Roundabout (3 Viewers)

[MKinHK]

Another good day for the 400th post on the Magic Roundabout . . . again started quietly, until a Wryneck on the Eastern Tangle stayed around just long enough be seen through a mess of branches, and my first Sakhalin/Pale-legged Leaf Warblerof the autumn 'pink'-ed and then showed, again through the branches, on the Eastern Tangle. An unidentified flycatcher irritatingly zipped back across the road to the core area from the treetops right above me.

This seemed a somewhat poor return given the overnight rain and persistent cloud, but a female Blue Rock Thrush perched on a street light turned out to be the first of five birds that also included at least one powder-blue first winter male pandoo and a much scalier first winter philippensis.

Other new birds for the quarter included a Plain Prinia, and a long overdue Brown Shrike.

I also had my first ever sighting of two White-throated Kingfishers together, while other decent birds included a Black-Naped Oriole that flew up and away northwards, four Cattle Egrets and four Red Turtle Doves, and one of the two Chinese Pond Herons had clearly become overcome by delusions of grandeur, and was posing with its neck stretched up like a bittern.

Finally, an Asian Brown Flycatcher was in the line of tree along the western edge of the course.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Dong Bei]

Mike, interesting to see both ssp of Blue Rock Thrush at the same place. Totally agree with your comments about Chinese Pond Heron.
Tom

 

[Owen Krout]

Marvelous shot of the Shrike, Mike. Pond Heron would probably have had me scratching my head wondering, "What is that?"

 

[MKinHK]

Thanks Owen. It was still around today, along with a terrific range of species that included three new patch ticks and six more for the quarter!

It went something like this:

A juvenile Dark-sided Flycatcher and a Asian Brown Flycatcher, plus the first of two Wrynecks were on the Roundabout proper, followed by a terrific spell along the palm-edged buffer along the western edge of the golf course that delivered a first Plaintive Cuckoo (146), a two second flash of a Black-capped Kingfisher (147), a White-throated Kingfisher, plus an Oriental Reed Warbler, an Arctic Warbler, the Brown Shrike, another Asian Brown Flycatcher and the second Wryneck - all in ten minutes!

As I emerged onto the golf course a mixed flock of House Swifts and Barn Swallows were thermalling, a Red Turtle Dove was on the path on the edge of the course, four Cattle Egrets were patrolling the rough and both Black-winged Stilt and a Wood Sandpiper were on the long pond, and three Little Ringed Plovers skittered across the rainwater puddles on the round pond. Yellow Wagtails were down to a dozen birds, and shared the shorter turf with a couple of Richard's Pipits and a second Yellow-breasted Bunting of the autumn. A Black Drongo that fluxed from the northern fringe was the icing on a very fat and juicy lunchtime cake!

Fast forward to 6pm. It had been so good in the morning that I went back to the golf course to see what else I could dig out in the last light of the day. I was not disappointed. A dozen White-shouldered Starlings were in one of the isolated trees, and despite my best scouring failed to reveal a much hoped-for Chestnut-eared or Daurian Starling in their midst. A couple of Zitting Cisticolas popped up from the grass, the pandoo Blue Rock Thrush as did a Swintail Snipe, and a second Wood Sandpiper had joined the first on the Long Pond, where I was also delighted to find my first Common Snipe (148) for the patch - long-billed and with regulation white trailing edges to the secondaries - bringing me within striking distance of the magical 150.

For the sake of completeness the resident birds included Black-collared Starling and Common Myna, a Black Kite, leucopsis White Wagtail, Magpie Robin, Chinese and Crested Bulbuls, Tree Sparrow, Scaly-breasted Munia and Long-tailed Shrike, Little and Great Egrets, Black-crowned Night Heron, Grey Heron and Spotted Dove.

I somewhat regret not having my camera today, but I'm sure I wouldn't have seen so many species - or set a new record of 42, comfortably exceeding the 39 seen on 10 Jan 2015 - if I'd had it.

Cheers
Mike

 

[GusHawk]

Days like those are great aren't they? Nice finds, and I wonder what that 150th bird for The Magic Roundabout will be!

 

[MKinHK]

Yes indeed Gus!

Had I not scored so well yesterday I would have been pretty blown away with today's birds. In the end the only new species for the quarter was a my third ever Grey Wagtail here, but the Black-capped Kingfisher showed a bit better along the buffer area, and a flock of eight Richard's Pipits flying low over the carpark was unusual.

Arctic Warblers and Zitting Cisticolas had risen to three - all on the Roundabout proper - along with a solitary Asian Brown Flycatcher, and the rest were hangers-on. The best of these were the Black-winged Stilt and one of the Wood Sandpipers, the Brown Shrike and three Red Turtle Doves, the same number of taivana Yellow Wagtails (I'm hoping for a Citrine),and a solitary male White-shouldered Starling was on a lamp post as I headed back.

I also picked up a couple of resident species that could have boosted yesterday's total - a Common Tailorbird and a Sooty-headed Bulbul, and the long-staying Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler in the long grass in the NW corner.

I also had a good view of an adult Chinese Skink on the grassy verge, but my camera decided to stream up, so no pic.

Cheers
Mike

 

[thirudevaram]

A star-studded day at the Roundabout.

 

[MKinHK]

As I would be away for the last four days of what has been an excellent month of autumn passage I went back to the Magic Roundabout on Sunday morning. In addition to being the final visit of the quarter it was also the last visit of my third reporting year (which runs from 1 October to 30 September) at the Roundabout.

The morning visit and the absence of the usual need to bird during the typically less productive midday heat meant that I could spend as long as I wanted in the cooler early morning hours.

It started well, with a Peregrine barreling west over the coach park. So steadily was it flying I even considered the possibility of a migrating Amur Falcon, albeit a rather early one, but the overall size and bulk of this, albeit a slimmer male bird, was just too distinctive.

Detouring round the taxi driver doing Tai Chi on the grassy verge in nothing but a pair of shorts that looked as tired as their occupier, I was pleased to find half a dozen White-shouldered Starlings exploring one of the twisty seed acacias on the Core Area for insects, as well as an a couple of Asian Brown Flycatchers chasing each other around the woods and an Arctic Warbler.

The Tangles were empty of all but the usual bulbuls and Magpie Robins, but a scolding call prompted me to check out a row of trees I rarely visit. I was rewarded with a Hair-crested Drongo that was amusing itself by bothering a group of Crested Mynas and Crested Bulbuls. The miscreant showed again on the Northern Edge, where I also added two more Asian Brown Flycatchers.

Moving on, another White-shouldered Starling flew up from the northwest corner of the golf course and ,as I headed down the grassy verge, I was pleased to flush my first Lanceolated Warbler of the autumn, which dived through the fence, then a Brown Shrike, and some fifty metres on, three different Pallas’ s Grasshopper Warblers, only one of which showed much of a hint of contrasting rufous on the rump. A fourth individual that flew out of one of the tussocks on the golf course unaccountably landed in plain sight on the short grass and even posed for a couple of photos before more typically de-materialising as I walked over to check it out. A Yellow-browed Warbler, looking distinctively dainty after all the Arctic Warblers I’ve been seeing this autumn, was also my first of the autumn.

As I came to the larger trees a very dark-looking flycatcher with a contrasting white belly flew up and hid itself in the foliage. I have been fooled in the past by recently washed bulbuls and Magpie Robins, but as it flipped again I was delighted to have wonderful views of a beautiful, long-awaited, Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (149), complete with a large blue eyering, black head and breast and just a hint of a maroon wash to the wings. In the past I’ve wondered whether some of the darker-looking Asian Paradise Flycatchers I’ve seen might have been Japanese, but having seen this morning’s bird, there’s no doubt the others were Asian Paras.

The golf course was a real pleasure, starting with just my second Stejneger’s Stonechat of the autumn and two of the four Red Turtle Doves that have been in residence for a couple of weeks now. A group of eight Richard’s Pipits and five or six taivana Yellow Wagtails were on the short turf, and a couple of Zitting Cisticolas were again in the taller grass by the edge of the long pond. Six Cattle Egrets also seemed to enjoy the rougher grass over the short-cropped fairways, and a Black Drongo swooped past, flared its tail in the drongo version of a handbrake turn, and swooped away.

The trees along the eastern edge, which I don’t usually have time to explore, produced my sixth and final new bird for the quarter – a couple of Dusky Warblers takking away in the undergrowth. I also saw and heard a couple of Yellow-bellied Prinias and two of juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons that have been loafing here for the last few weeks.

The ponds were a little quieter. The Black-winged Stilt contingent had increased to two birds, but the only other waders were a Common Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover. A nice final run of birds as I headed out included an Oriental Reed Warbler that dived into a lantana, but was too curious to stay hidden, four flyover Barn Swallows, my handsome old friend the leucopsis x alboides White Wagtail, single Little and Great Egrets and a Chinese Pond Heron flying over, two Brown Shrikes squabbling in the trees in the centre of the fairway, where they disturbed the pandoo Blue Rock Thrush, and the well established pair of White-throated Kingfishers.

Stop press:
I turn my back for one minute and two different birders find a Styan’s Grasshopper Warbler (also photographed) and a possible examinandus Arctic Warbler on Monday. Both of these are quality birds of the type I’ve done everything o earn in the last few weeks, and then not one but two Johnny-come-latelies swoop in and grip me in the most disgraceful and exasperating manner!

I finished the quarter with an impressive 75 species – my second-highest score behind the 82 I managed back in Oct-Dec 2014, and an average for the year of 64.5 species per quarter – comfortably more that the 58 from last year and 45.25 of my first year. The good score is in part attributable to having access to a golfer-free and much less disturbed golf course since the end of August, where before I had to peer into it from the viaduct at the northwest corner. Having said that, many of the quality birds have come from the western verge, which is outside the boundary fence.

Highlights of a year that, except for a disappointing Spring (April – June) has been birdy without producing a significant rarity include:

• the Hoopoe I found injured and brought up to my office to recover, and which happily is now well on the way to recovery at Kadoorie Farm’s excellent Wild Animal Rescue Centre.
• The mini passages of Daurian Starlings in late August/early September (including the earliest ever autumn record for Hong Kong), and falls of Blue Rock Thrushes and Pallas’s Grasshopper Warblers later this month
• The completely unexpected discovery of a Great Crested Grebe in the bay near the filling station in March
• The steady flow of additions to the list included Buff-bellied and Pechora Pipits, Northern Lapwing, Woodcock, Verditer Flycatcher, Red-billed Blue Magpie, and Fork-tailed Sunbird
• Three record-breaking days – 10 January: 39 species, 25 September: 40 species and 27 September: 43 species
• The sudden and welcome appearance of Chinese Skinks, where previously all herps have been conspicuous by their absence. I also had three Asian Painted Frogs calling at the golf course after rain earlier in the week.

The obvious targets for the next quarter are:

• to bring the patch list over 150. It’s worth remembering that that the current total of 149 includes a number of distinct races – three Yellow and four White wagtails and two Blue Rock Thrushes) and species which are generally unidentifiable in the field (Sakhalin/Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, the Arctic Warbler complex, and Swinhoe’s/Pintail Snipe),
• to see 50-species in a day.
• finding a few more Class A rarities!

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

Here's a link to a couple of Koel Ko's fine shots of the Styan's Grasshopper Warbler at the Roundabout earlier this week.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10101452917763320&set=ms.c.eJwzNDA0MDQxNbI0NDc3MzY2MtAzRBIxsTA2NQAAfP0G~%3BQ~-~-.bps.a.10100370254848480.2587934.36909513&type=3&theater

Cheers
Mike

 

[Jos Stratford]

Here's a link to a couple of Koel Ko's fine shots of the Styan's Grasshopper Warbler at the Roundabout earlier this week.

Your roundabout is a bit more overgrown than the standard roundabout in this neck of the woods :-O

 

[MKinHK]

Indeed it is Jos, and no complaints from me on that score!

Still trying to get over the gripping I got from being away I've been round the Roundabout three times in the last two days during a protracted period of rain following the typhoon that went through over the weekend.

Actually its been pretty good, with another 40 species day yesterday and not far short of that today, but . . . that Styan's will niggle for a long time to come! Grumble over.

Things started well with a Brown Shrike, and a White-shoulderd Starling on the Grassy Verge, swiftly followed by a second Brown Shrike, a juvenile male Black-naped Oriole, an Oriental Reed Warbler, a Wryneck, a couple of Asian Brown Flycatchers and a Chinese Pond Heron on the Core Area. The Western Tangle produced my first Dollarbird and the landmark 150th species for the patch.

I also had an Arctic Warbler that behaved very oddly, coming right down to ground level to check me out and grotting around in the bushes below waist height - much as Sakhalin Pale-legged Leaf Warblers typically do. There was not much on the Northern Tangle except for another Asian Brown Flycatcher, but the golf course immediately delivered the long-staying Black-capped Kingfisher, the pandoo Blue Rock Thrush, 25 Black Drongos, the same tight flock of eight or nine Richard's Pipits and a looser gaggle of taivanaYellow Wagtails.

Waders included the two Black-winged Stilts, a couple of LRPs and at least one Swintail Snipe , while ardeids included single Cattle and Little Egrets, and three Black-crowned Night Herons. My personal highlight was the flock of 20 Red Turtle Doves I flushed from the far side of the round pond, where I also found 20-odd White-shouldered Starlings and my first Kestrel of the autumn.

I had to walk round the patch again later that afternoon as I had dropped my staff ID. Naturally I went the wrong way and having again gone past the golf course and added a Dusky Warbler and the alboides x leucopsis White Wagtail it was not until I'd got all the way back to the Grassy Patch - abut three minutes from the other end of the circuit - that I found it.

Today was rather similar, although the Wryneck and Oriental Reed Warbler were on the Grassy Verge and my first Asian (now remained Amur) Paradise Flycatcher and three noisily calling Asian Brown Flycatchers were on the Core Area.

The low-flying Arctic Warbler was again on the Western Tangle (and I managed a couple of record shots of the underparts) , as was the Dollarbird, although I did not see it until walking back along the walkway from the golf course - and again from the window of my office. Two Asian Brown Flycatchers on the Northern Edge and another from the walkway where it overlooked the golf course brought the total to a patch record of six birds.

None of the 25 Barn Swallows over the golf course were Red-rumped, but there were still plenty of Black Drongos, an exact count of 20 Red Turtle Doves was again a delight, and one of the Black-winged Stilts helpfully took wing as I scanned the course.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

Another two-day posting, but for the excellent reason that yesterday I found and today photographed a MIDDENDORFF"S GRASSHOPPER WARBLER (151)!

For the die hards who've followed the thread for while this is up there with the Naumann's Thrush in terms of rarity, if not the Gray's Grasshopper Warbler. But since I had no photo of the Gray's and my submission is still pending the Records Committee's pleasure, this absolutely proves that a bird in the cam is worth two (or - given the likelihood of acceptance of the Gray's as a Hong Kong first - 202 ) in the bush.

Having trogged round the main roundabout and picked up a Hair-crested Drongo and the Asian Paradise Flycatcher on the the Core Area and the Dollarbird from my office window above the Tangles, and a Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler which perched long enough for a decent look if no pic on the Western Tangle it was already a pretty good session. Once again there were two Asian Brown Flycatchers on the Northern Edge, and prospects improved further when I flushed a Black-browed Reed Warbler and a couple more Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers from the grassy corridor along the western edge of the golf course. I also knocked up an Oriental Reed Warbler that first flew along the palm trees and then up high into a tree inside the golf course boundary.

The next bird to come up I also expected to be an Oriental Reed Warbler, but when it flipped up and perched just a couple of feet above the ground and spent a good minute staring at me, I was surprised to see a rather heavier and shorter-tailed warbler, with a uniform crown above a strong surpercilium, broad and rather indistinct streaks on the back, a shorter bill with a dark-tipped yellow lower mandible, a pale throat above yellow-washed underparts with some wreaking on the sides of the breast and throat, and obvious fleshy-orange feet.

The bill was definitely shorter than Koel Ko's Styan's Grasshopper Warbler from last week and it lacked the bulk and size of Gray's and Sakhalin Grasshopper Warblers. Unfortunately it moved off just as I was about to grab a shot, but while on the branch it adopted a somewhat hunched head-down-tail-up pose as it checked me out like I was the first person it had seen.

This morning when I came back the Dollarbird was on one of the streetlights on the roundabout and the photographers that had been in the Core Area the day before were still there so I carried straight on round to the Tangles where a Black-browed Reed Warbler showed briefly on the Western Tangle while a third Asian Brown Flycatcher, an Arctic Warbler and a Yellow-browed Warbler were on the Northern Edge. Going down the grassy corridor four different Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers came out of the grass, and a bit further down the Middendorff's popped its head out of the grass to take a look at me, then once again popped up onto an exposed branch a couple of feet off the ground to check me out, and the trusty SX50 did the rest.

Other birds seen over the last couple of days include a female Stejneger's Stonechat, a cristatus Brown Shrike, five Red-throated Pipits on the golf course with the Black Drongos, Yellow Wagtails and Richard's Pipits, plus a couple of Zitting Cisticolas in the longer grass. It seems that the Black-winged Stilts and Red Turtle Doves had moved on, probably scared away by the grass cutters.


Cheers
Mike

 

[thirudevaram]

Groppers are flocking the HKIA. Fantastic stuff, Mike.

 

[Dong Bei]

Mike, Congrats on the Middendorff! A bird that I've never seen or tried to spell! Well done.
Tom

 

[MKinHK]

. . . and they just keep coming Dev.

The first cold front of the year came through on Saturday and continued into Sunday, and although I couldn't get out the Middendorff's was seen by a couple of people along with a good mix of other birds. A message also went out confirming that the Middendorff's is just the third HK record, with both of the two accepted previous records being trapped, so it really is a blocker of monstrous proportions proportions!

I faithfully trogged round the whole patch again at lunchtime today, picking up a Black-browed Reed Warbler in a hedge near the telecom mast in the limousine park, a Black Drongo and the first two of six Asian Brown Flycatchers on the Grassy Patch. I had only Dusky and Yellow-browed Warblers on the Core Area before putting up a flock of at least 22 Chinese Pond Herons from the trees above the Tangles, plus an Arctic Warbler on the Northern Edge.

The Grassy Corridor produced a well-seen Lancy, plus a couple of speedily scuttling Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers, and two Oriental Reed Warblers, but no Middendorff's. However, I did, to my delight, find the Grey Nightjar (152), which another birder had reported that morning, in the larger trees at the far end, along with a Wryneck and my first Greenish Warbler and Red-throated Flycatcher of the autumn.

The golf course was looking rather bare, as the mowers finally got to the far end, but there were the usual numbers of Black Drongos in the fairway trees along with a Dollarbird, which had moved from the Roundabout, a couple of Brown Shrikes and a White-throated Kingfisher that now looks to be well-set. The turf wash shared by the same tight flocks of nine Richard's Pipits and six Red-throated Pipits, but the number of taivana Yellow Wagtails had dropped to eight or ten birds.

Four more Oriental Reed Warblers were enjoying the pampas grass in the NE corner, which also held a fine male White-shouldered Starling and the first of at least 25 Red Turtle Doves (a new high count) hurtled out of the long grass along the same edge. The next bird to come up from here was another patch tick - a lovely Pheasant-tailed Jacana (153) that was hunkered down in the tall grass next to the Round Pond, and I walked over to get a pic a bunting that popped up from the rough sat long enough for me to confirm it as a fine male Chestnut-eared Bunting (154) and my third patch tick of what had become yet another terrific day in an autumn that just will not quit!

And to prove that it wouldn't I also added a Swintail Snipe, two philippensis Blue Rock Thrushes and a final Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler as I head back to the office.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Owen Krout]

Great shot of the Brown Shrike, Mike! Pheasant-tailed Jacana was a nifty catch also.

 

[MKinHK]

More quality today Owen, if not all of it was seen by me. The Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler apparently showed very well this morning for a select few amongst an excellent selection of migrants. These included airport goodies such as Black-winged Cuckooshrike and Greater Coucal (both second airport records), Daurian Starling and, even worse, a patch first Yellow-legged Buttonquail that I could not find later on the Core Area. Two birders (Dave Diskin and Chris Campion racked up 46 species between them this morning!

Anyway . . . enough of other people's birds. Starting late I had a terrific start with three Oriental Reed Warblers, a Brown Shrike, a male Black-naped Oriole, an Asian Brown Flycatcher, a Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler and four Lanceolated Warblers, a Hair crested Drongo, Dusky, Yellow-browed and Sakhalin/Pale-legged Leaf Warblers on the Grassy Patch and Core Area alone! I also had a new high count of at least 22 Chinese Pond Herons, plus a dozen Black-crowned Night Herons emerged from roosts on the Core area and Tangles.

The Western Tangle was also buzzing - four more Oriental Reed Warblers and a Black-browed Reed Warbler emerged from the undergrowth in just a few minutes, but the Northern Edge was quiet, offering one more Asian Brown Flycatcher and anther Yellow-browed Warbler and a philippensis Blue Roch Thrush that posed nicely.

As I walked over to the golf course the alboides x leucopsis White Wagtail flew over with a leucopsis in tow, and a whole new swarm of Lanceolated Warblers - at least four, plus another Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler and four more Oriental Reed Warblers lurched out of the grass. There were also a couple more Asian Brown Flycatchers, a Wryneck, one more each of Dusky and Yellow-browed Warblers. I also had a Hair-crested Drongo, but sadly no cuckooshrikes and certainly not the dozen Black-naped Orioles seen this morning. There was no time for the golf course itself, but I did see three or four Stejneger's Stonechats and the usual Black Drongos, Red Turtle Doves, Richard's Pipits and Yellow Wagtails, plus a fine ocularis White Wagtail on my way back.

Hoping to find the Jacana again (I didn't) I snatched a swift 20 minutes at the end of the day, adding the Dollarbird, a Common Kingfisher, a high count of six Stejneger's Stonechats, two Barn Swallows, seven Cattle Egrets, six LRPs and a Common Sandpiper, plus six Grey Herons, and a dozen each of Great and Little Egret. There were also a good number of large insectivorous bats, but I have no idea what species.

Adding the birds I saw but others didn't to the total the Roundabout hosted an impressive 54 species (including the three White Wagtail races)

Cheers
Mike

 

[Gretchen]

Wow, sounds like you're really having fun there these days! Seems you've developed a new birding hotspot!

 

[thirudevaram]

Wow, sounds like you're really having fun there these days! Seems you've developed a new birding hotspot!

You bet! 5 Groppers patch is definitely a super hotspot.

 

[MKinHK]

The Magic Roundabout's moment in the sun is becoming something of a two-edged sword as no less than five species have been added in the last three days that I've never seen - well four I've never seen, and one I've never seen alive.

There have now been three different reports of Yellow-legged Buttonquail, a Slaty-legged Crake was picked uninjured and taken to Kadoorie Farm for rehab, a Watercock was by the golf course this morning (the only previous record was of a bird found dead in October 2012), an Oriental Cuckoo was there yesterday, an Amur Falcon flew over the course yesterday morning. Had no-one else been here I'd be none the wiser, but a good part of me is feeling rather gripped (ya buggers!)

None of the above were around at lunchtime today, although all things considered it was still a pretty good day with some decent counts of a few species:

8 Oriental Reed Warblers - including one grasshopping on the Grassy Patch
10 Dusky Warblers
5 Lanceolated Warblers - one showed nicely on the Western Tangle
8 Asian Brown Flycatchers
5 Red-rumped Swallows - my first since October 2015

Other good birds included the lingering Dollarbird and pandoo Blue Rock Thrush on the golf course and why I think is a lugens Black-backed Wagtail - although it showed remarkably little white in the primaries - a nice catch after the altogether paler ocularis White Wagtail I had earlier in the week.

Other bits and pieces included ten Red Turtle Doves, a male White-shouldered Starling, a Cattle Egret, five Stejneger's Stonechats, two Hair-crested Drongos, five LRPS, the numbers of Richard's and Red-throated Pipits and taivana Yellow Wagtails, and the female Kestrel.There were again good numbers of Chinese Pond Herons including several actively feeding in the newly cut grass. I also had my first Sooty-headed Bulbul for a few days.

Cheers
Mike