This past Saturday, the 2nd, my sister and I embarked on another expedition to Mai Po for some productive birding. Our goal was to log as many species as possible, and also to seek out an elusive kingfisher. The weather was overcast, chilly and rainy, but nevertheless after a commuting all the way there from our home near Stanley, we arrived at Mai Po and immediately began scanning the marshes and trees for avian activity. Today we got to explore the famous mudflats of Mai Po, where, during the winter months over 60,000 migratory shorebirds gather! It’s a place I’d never been to before. In total our expedition lasted 3 hours, covered nearly 6 miles (10km) and yielded 5 lifers. I think we succeeded with both our birding goals, with 38 species logged, my personal best bird count so far in one area at one time, and also two kingfisher species!

We got off to a late start at around 3pm because of the extremely long commute via public transportation (3 MTR lines, a minibus and a cab to get out there), and also the fact that both of us had to eat lunch. Almost as soon as my permit was validated by the guard station outside the reserve, I spotted 13 Black-Faced Spoonbills in a nearby pond! Despite the fact that cold rain was pouring over us, my sister and I couldn’t help celebrating seeing so many of these endangered waders in one area. Our day was certainly off to a great start!

Last time we didn’t see a kingfisher, one of our target species. However, this time luck was truly on our side because basically right after seeing the spoonbills, I noticed a medium-sized, black-and-white speckled bird hovering over a marshy pond. Once it perched on a nearby tree, I instantly recognized it as an elusive Pied Kingfisher, a lifer for me and my first kingfisher at Mai Po! It only stayed within view for a few seconds, but it nevertheless proved a great encounter.

As we walked down the main path toward the Tower Hide, a bird hide that yielded a bunch of sightings last time, we saw probably 3 or 4 White-Breasted Waterhens. Otherwise we mostly just saw the usual barrage of Hong Kong songbirds along with some egrets, stilts and herons. We were almost at the Tower Hide when my sharp-eyed sister spotted not one but two bunting species as we strolled along! Buntings can be pretty elusive so seeing two species in one place was awesome. We saw Black-Faced Buntings and Little Buntings, respectively.

From the tower hide, we didn’t see that much when compared to last time, though the waders we did see were pretty cool. Some notable finds included a few Gray Herons, a green-faced Great Egret and a Cattle Egret. We stayed for probably 15 minutes before again heading off, though we could’ve stayed longer. As we walked along the main path we saw tons of Chinese Pond Herons and flocks of Little Egrets.

Today, despite the biting rain and chilly breeze, I was determined to find the path I’d heard about that led to Mai Po’s world-famous mudflats, a place where during winter up to 60,000 migratory shorebirds gather and during the autumn and winter serves as a stopping point for endangered and rare migrants like Dalmatian Pelicans and Spoon-Billed Sandpipers. I knew the path was somewhere along the perimeter road that encircles Mai Po. We headed off from the Tower Hide onto a side track that cut through the reserve in a straight line toward the perimeter road. Along the way we saw a very shy Greater Coucal.

By the time we reached the perimeter road at around 4pm, I had logged over 20 species and prospects of a 30+ species day were looking pretty high. It took a little time to locate the door for the boardwalk to the mudflats, but as soon as I did we headed onwards. The boardwalk was actually floating on top of a river channel that flowed through the dense mangrove forest, something I’d never seen before! It was pretty surreal to be walking atop this strange wooden structure, about a half mile in length, that was kept afloat through the usage of large, hollowed-out oil barrels. My sister hurried ahead of me and we walked until the floating part of the boardwalk ended at a junction where two terrestrial boardwalks replaced the floating one. We veered right, as I had read that the best views of the mudflats were here. It was another 10 minute walk along the second boardwalk through the scenic, yet slightly eerie mangrove forest until we arrived at the mudflats.

The only views of the mudflats were through a mudflat bird hide, which, like most of the other hides at Mai Po, contained an information board with illustrations of common birds, small wood-latched windows that could be opened when observing birds, and benches for sitting. Upon unlatching the wooden windows, I was shocked to see the landscape that lay in front of me. Vast mudflats and brown intertidal waters, probably five or ten miles in width, speckled with waders and gulls of all kinds and the towering skyscrapers of Shenzhen glistening in the distance. It was a landscape like none other that I’d ever seen in Hong Kong. The Chinese border, marked with a red flag, was practically a stone’s throw away! I took all it in quite fast and immediately began to observe the birds around me.

Nearby us a Little Egret and a Chinese Pond Heron stalked the mud for prey, both of whom I took no time in photographing. A little farther in the distance, I spied some Pied Avocets, Common Greenshanks, Black Kites and several Marsh Sandpipers, the second lifer of the day for me. My sister found some Black-Headed Gulls, another lifer, taking a siesta a few hundred yards away. I spotted another Black-Faced Gull soaring nearby. Before we left the mudflat hide, I spotted a lone Greater Sand Plover, my fourth and final lifer of the day, about the same distance away as the resting gulls. The mudflat hide was undoubtedly fruitful for both of us in terms of lifers and bird count, and I’ll be sure to head here next time on a nicer day!

By the time we got back to the perimeter road, it was 5 o’clock and dusk was setting in fast. On the way back, we both set about searching for additional types of birds to top our previous log of 32 species. We were already close to beating it with all the additional species from the mudflats, but I wanted to crush that number. As we walked, we observed some waterfowl in the ponds alongside the perimeter road; Little Grebes, Northern Shovelers, Common Pintails and Eurasian Wigeons, respectively. We added on some common songbirds like Azure-Winged Magpies as time went on. We also nabbed two crow species, including the endangered Collared Crow as well as some Large-Billed Crows. Oddly enough, the cormorants that were in such abundance last time we visited two weeks ago had all migrated away. Upon exiting the reserve proper, we headed back to the guard station up the road a bit to try and find a second species of kingfisher. Along the way we saw a bunch of swifts and swallows, a White Wagtail and a Stejneger’s Stonechat. We also saw a lone Eurasian Moorhen.

Our luck that had arisen at the beginning of our expedition had returned, and none other than a bright turquoise Common Kingfisher made an appearance, just as we were leaving! Though it was too fast to photograph, it was still a cool encounter and a great way to end the day. We departed Mai Po at 6pm with 38 species and 4 lifers logged, as well as over 6 miles walked! Next time I’ll be sure to come on a nicer day as the nonstop cold rain was quite unpleasant. However, it was still excellent birding and goes to show just how good of a place Mai Po is for birders and birds alike!

Species Recorded: (38 total including 4 lifers)

Pied Kingfisher (Lifer)

Black-Headed Gull (Lifer)

Marsh Sandpiper (Lifer)

Greater Sand Plover  (Lifer)

House Swift

Barn Swallow

Greater Coucal

Stejneger’s Stonechat

White Wagtail

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Chinese Bulbul

Red-Whiskered Bulbul

Eurasian Moorhen

White-Breasted Waterhen

Common Kingfisher

Cattle Egret

Great Egret

Little Egret

Gray Heron

Chinese Pond Heron

Common Pintail

Eurasian Wigeon

Northern Shoveller

Black Kite

Collared Crow

Large-Billed Crow

Masked Laughingthrush

Azure-Winged Magpie

Spotted Dove

Little Bunting

Little Grebe

Black-Faced Bunting

Common Greenshank

Black-Faced Spoonbill

Black-Winged Stilt

Pied Avocet

Oriental Magpie-Robin