We arrived to the site today with cooler weather, thanks to the incoming rain and winds. As much as the refuge from the warm weather was much appreciated, it did leave us worried about our chances of being able to set up the nets…
Thankfully the bad weather subsided just in time for us to set up the nets…
…and led to a lovely surprised in the form of a 2nd calendar year or older White-shoulder Starling! This is the first of this species I’ve seen in the hand, and what a gorgeous bird it was! This individual showed all fresh feathers in the wing and tail, suggesting that a Complete moult was undertaken. Therefore, we aged this bird as a 2nd calendar year or older
Next up was a bird we seem to catch a lot of here (but will never get sick of)- a beautiful male Emerald Dove! These are little doves that enjoy sticking to the ground and foraging among the leaves (hence the messy feathers). Their moult strategies are not so well known, but we could see that this individual had one very old tail feather. However, without being able to be certain if this feather is adult or juvenile (quite hard to tell now, so late in the season) it is safest for us to age this bird as a 2nd calendar year or older. However, by the striking white eyebrow and blue-grey cap, we can determine that this is a male bird.
Other lovely highlights of the day included this gorgeous 2nd calendar year male Siberian Rubythroat. Like previously mentioned, this species only has one moult a year in Summer, Complete for adults and partial for juveniles. As this little boy showed moult limits in his Greater Coverts, we could determine this is a 2nd calendar year male!
And of course we had to give a mention to another beautiful (non-bird) highlight, which was the little glow worms all over the place, lighting up the evening! Until next time!
Daily Totals
| Species | Original | Recapture |
| Common Emerald Dove | 1 | 0 |
| Common Tailorbird | 2 | 0 |
| Red-whiskered Bulbul | 2 | 0 |
| Siberian Rubythroat | 1 | 0 |
| White-shouldered Starling | 1 | 0 |
| Grand Total | 7 | 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.*
