A review of my HK birding life 7 - Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata

Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata

Lanceolated Warbler is a widespread, Least Concern species and common passage migrant in Hong Kong. Its skulking behavior during migration and in wintering ground make us difficult to observe well. However, the birddom always give you surprise, by letting us to watch a friendly lancy in the heart of HK.

A review of my HK birding life 6 - Ijima's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus ijimae

Ijima's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus ijimae

This little bird is one of my favorite East Asian birds. It only breeds in some isolated islands of Japan and has a poorly known migration route. Because of this, it is suggested to be a Vulnerable species. We tried several times on Po Toi for getting good photos, but still failed. So, We needa go to Miyakejima to try again and also the endemic birds there.

A review of my HK birding life 5 - Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola

Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola

Like the rustic bunting, Yellow-breasted Buntings are facing the same fate, but their situation is even worse. They were once used to be a very common bunting, breeding across the whole Eurasia and even to Hokkaido, but now, they are undergoing a 90% population decline mainly due to over-exploitation, especially hunted for food in China, and hence, they are now listed as Endangered species in the IUCN red list. In the last five year, we have tried to take as many good photos as we can, but we still haven't seen a male in full-breeding plumage. Though, this non-breeding male can  always remind us of the importance of protection before they are totally extinct.

A review of my HK birding life 4 - Rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica

Rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica

Rustic Bunting is used to be a widespread and common species, like tree sparrow.But now this bird is facing rapid population decline in both Europe and Asia mainly due to hunting and habitat change, so it is upgraded to a Vulnerable species according to the IUCN red list. Although we have recorded this species in HK for many times, we still could not stop our love and took more decent shots.

A review of my HK birding life 3 - Relict Gull Larus relictus

Relict Gull Larus relictus

This vulnerable gull is called a relict because it was long treated as a subspecies or hybrid of Mediterranean gull, until 1970s, it was known to be a distinct monotypic species. This is a classical example of how new species discovery can be easily overlooked. This rare gull only breeds in Northern China, Mongolia and Central Asia while the wintering ground is still incompletely understood. There are occasional records in Hong Kong, which I have missed several times, but finally, we were lucky to tick an immature bird few years ago.

A review of my HK birding life 2 - Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana

Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana

Another endangered species, which was used to be a regular winter visitor in Hong Kong. Similar to Siberian Crane, it is also threatened by habitat destruction. Five years ago, one bird came to Mai Po again, surprisingly in summer, and stayed for whole winter, so everyone could make an easy twitch.

A review of my HK birding life 1 - Siberian Crane Leucogeranus leucogeranus

Siberian Crane Leucogeranus leucogeranus

The most rarest crane in East Asia, formerly placed in genus Grus but now is more generally accepted as its own monotypic genus Leucogeranus. Nearly 90% of its global population winters in Poyang Lake, however, they are facing great stress due to habitat change and hence clarified as an Critically Endangered species in the IUCN Red List. There are two records in HK. And we were very lucky to get a shot of the long-wintering adult with its juvenile, which only stayed for 2-3 days in Mai Po.