Another hot, slow day began with one of our friends from yesterday; a Blue-winged Minla!

Okay, not exactly the same individual as yesterday, but, similar to yesterday’s bird, there appeared to be no moult limits in the wing. The same can be seen in the tail- therefore, we can only age this bird as a 2nd calendar year or older.

Next up we had a gorgeous Swinhoe’s White-eye! Those these are some of our most common residents, knowledge on how to age them is lacking. This is in part due to the fact that in Hong Kong, White-eyes breed year round. This makes for a complex moult strategy, but most likely adults and juveniles both carry out complete moults. Therefore, in Spring, we can only age these birds as 2nd calendar year or older.

The afternoon proved to be even more warm and humid than the morning, but we continued our efforts with little reward. However, we were at last blessed with a large and understandably grumpy Black-throated Laughingthrush! This is arguably one of our most characteristic residents, that can be found jumping along the edges of country paths in small groups, singing and calling loudly.

Sadly, due to its charismatic calls and imitating songs, this species is frequently a target for cage birds, causing its population to decline and become extinct in some areas of the world.

This makes our data collection even more important, to estimate changes in population sizes and demographics among other things. This individual appeared to show an adult-type iris, a uniform wing, and a heavily worn (most likely due to parasites), growing tail. Therefore, we aged it as a 2nd calendar year or older.

Finally, we caught two more wonderful surprises: Bay Woodpeckers! Our first individual was a 1st calendar year bird, and one of our first juveniles born this year! We can compare the iris of this individual above to the adult-type iris seen below. Both birds show moult limits in their flight feathers but, especially in the tail, we can see how the adult-type feathers (below) are less worn than the juvenile-type seen above.

The 2nd individual was an adult male, which can be seen by the adult-type iris, while the red in the back of the neck identifies this bird as a male. However, the other amazing thing about this bird is that it was a recapture! The ring number tells us that this bird was originally ringed in March 2019, as a 2nd calendar year bird or older. This means that this bird is actually at least 6 years old! A great day!

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 willfully 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.*