It seems I somewhat need to eat my words when it comes to yesterday’s post. Although it does indeed continue to be a cold week, the birds were out in force today. And with them came more than one surprise, never before caught by HKBWS…
The first surprise was this gorgeous Japanese Robin! These are usually just sighted a few times each year, so it was quite a surprise to have one turn up in the nets! These moult just like the other Robins (Adult SC, juveniles Sp), so all we have to do is look for a moult limit in the GCs. This was present here, with 5 juvenile GCs, and 5 postjuvenile!
Next up in our nets was yet another first for HKBWS, in the form of a gorgeous Rufous-faced Warbler! This is one of the smallest birds we have, with a wing of just 45 millimetres! Unfortunately, we do not have much information on how to age these little guys, but the individual above appeared to show a uniform wing and tail, with no visible moult limits. A fascinating little bird!
From the tiny to the large, next we were greeted by a White’s Thrush! This is one of our largest Thrush species, and a gorgeous winter visitor! Again, it moults just like other Thrushes, Robins, Chats etc. so we are again looking for moult limits. However, this individual showed no limits in the wing, and all feathers were nice, broad, and unbleached- suggesting an adult!
The day wore on, and we ended with one of our most underrated LBJs- the Manchurian Bush Warbler. As previously mentioned, these are rather tricky to age, but thankfully the individual above showed a very brown, juvenile-type iris.
A lovely day, and our last ringing blog post of the year. Thanks for sticking with us, and we are looking forward to showing you all the exciting finds in 2023!
Daily Totals
| Species | Original | Recapture |
| Asian Stubtail | 1 | 0 |
| Chestnut Bulbul | 2 | 2 |
| Grey-backed Thrush | 3 | 0 |
| Huet’s Fulvetta | 0 | 2 |
| Manchurian Bush Warbler | 1 | 0 |
| Pallas’s Leaf Warbler | 1 | 2 |
| Red-flanked Bluetail | 2 | 4 |
| Silver-eared Mesia | 0 | 1 |
| White’s Thrush | 1 | 0 |
| Yellow-browed Warbler | 1 | 1 |
| Japanese Robin | 1 | 0 |
| Rufous-faced Warbler | 1 | 0 |
*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.*
