Spring seems to already be well on the way this morning, with the warm creeping in even before the sun. We set up the nets to the call of the Koels and the buzzing of mosquitos, ready for the dawn to break.

It ended up being a fairly calm morning, with our first bird being a gorgeous adult female Little Bunting! It is not super common for us to catch this species in Spring, so it was a nice surprise! We can tell this bird is adult from the uniform, dark and dense wing, and broad (albeit a little worn) tail feathers. Furthermore, due to the lack of black in the brown and ear coverts, this must be an adult female!

Next up was a very special little bird- a Fork-tailed Sunbird! These beautiful little birds are also quite uncommon to catch, and little is known about their moult strategies. There is a high chance these adults and juveniles carry out Summer Complete moults, and, as this bird showed a uniform wing and tail, we can conclude that this bird had undertaken a complete moult. Therefore, based on the plumage, there is no way to distinguish the age groups. Thus, we aged it as a 2nd calendar year or older.

Finally, we had a wonderful recapture! This Dusky Warbler was originally ringed in December 2021, making it at least in its 4th calendar year! We can see from the wing and tail that it has uniform broad, dense and nice quality feathers, all of adult type. A lovely morning!

Daily Totals

*Please note that all wild birds, their nests, and eggs are highly protected (under Wild Animals Protection Ordinate, Cap. 170) in Hong Kong. It is an offence to wilfully disturb, take, remove, or injure wild birds or their nests/eggs. The actions described here were undertaken by trained professionals holding the necessary licenses and permits issued by the AFCD.*