Noisy Friarbirds

["Esme Barker & Bruce Ramsay" <>]

Esme and I left for Hong Kong early on the morning of 16 March. Til then the local Noisy Friarbirds were still living up to their name. We returned on 24 March and have not seen or heard a Noisy Friarbird since we got back. It would seem that they moved out of our area (the southern end of Gordon) during the week we were away.

 

Incidentally, although we didn't do any purposeful birding as such while we were in Hong Kong, we nevertheless happened across a number of spots where the birds were readily visible. Although all we saw were the "common" locals eg Crested Myna, Masked Laughingthrush, Red-whiskered and Chinese Bulbuls, Black Kite, Tree Sparrow etc, they were still very appealing to us - and most were "lifers". If anyone is going to Hong Kong and would like to just visit a spot where birds can be readily seen, I would heartily recommend Hong Kong Park, right in the centre of the high-rises in the Central District. Not only is it good for seeing numbers of birds, its also just a very pleasant place to wander around.

 

If ayone is going in the hear future and is planning on visiting the Park, it is worth noting that the walk-through Edward Youde Aviary, which houses a large collection of South Asian birds, is closed indefinitely because of the cases of H5N1 avian influenza which were detected in Hong Kong (not in the Aviary's birds, though) in January and February this year.

 

Bruce