Hong Kong Garden Birds

Slaty-breasted Rail looking for tasty meals in a park at Kowloon, Hong Kong

MCO in Malaysia is now into third (and pray it will be final) phase. Working from home with tight deadlines and attending meetings via Skype videoconference, occupied me from Mondays to Fridays. Slides had to be done, reports to be commented on were aplenty and some of the working days end at almost midnight, for me. I am not looking forward to the traffic jams when MCO is lifted, but I must admit that physical meetings are the BEST way to get our points across and for matters to be resolved promptly and correctly. Just as I could squeeze in some birdwatching moments before MCO started, I needed some time to recollect wonderful memories from birdwatching trips, particularly those overseas trips which will no doubt be impacted by c-19 for many years to come. Flashback to 2018 when I had the chance to birdwatch with my friend Julianna from Sarawak in......Kowloon, Hong Kong. Imagine us running into a Slaty-breasted Rail in Hutchison Park (Hung Hom area) which had grown accustomed to humans, as noticeably demonstrated by a group of photographers who had gathered at the edge of the grassy mound to "compete" for the best shots of the Rail. Some of the garden birds seen in Park, were.... 

Red-whiskered Bulbul. Reminded me of our Yellow-vented Bulbuls which are common in Malaysia.

Instead of the yellow vent, the Red-whiskered bulbul has a red vent and a red "whisker" just below its eye and a very spiffy-looking black crest and head with a white cheek. Its black crest reminding me so much of the other bulbul in Malaysia that has a distictive Black Crest:) 

The Black-Collared Starling was calling away in its perched position in which it could only be spotted at a certain angle. Initially its back was facing us (as pictured below) so we walked around a corner of the park and finally caught a good (partial) view of this Starling (as in picture above), although its tail and underparts were still hidden by leaves.

A juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron in the middle of a park was enjoying its "sunbath" that morning. 

Common Kingfisher with its striking blue plumage, was perched just above a pond.

The Blue Magpie with its long white-tipped tail feathers, kept us fully occupied and we gazed at this pair with wonder, marveling at the colours of its white, black and blue plumage, its bright orange beak and silvery-white crown.    

Blue magpie enjoying its morning dip in the shallow waters of a pond.......

either cleaning its beak or drinking or "gargling"?......

Shaking off water after a good dip, the Blue Magpie perches on branch of a Weeping Willow tree.

Blue Magpie's tail feathers are a sight to behold!

Blue Magpie stares at its "opponent's" watery image. Many art objects such as vases, paintings, screens etc. feature this member of the Corvidae family known for its noisy and gregarious behaviour and its intelligence. Information board on Hutchison Park imprinted in sleek metal, with corresponding info in Braille for the disabled. My last trip to Hong Kong to visit my younger sister and brother-in-law, when he was stationed for work there can be read HERE and HERE.  

Birds of Hong Kong are further described by a professional bird guide's website which can be read HERE Coming up is the post on birds of the Mai Po Wetlands!