Wild About Hong Kong - hiking, wildlife, conservation and more
Wild About Hong Kong - hiking, wildlife, conservation and more
Telford Gardens, a private housing estate in Kowloon Bay, East Kowloon, has become an unlikely hotspot for migratory birds, notably for seeing some normally secretive wetland species such as Locustella warblers and rails. Unless you arrived here when there are…
I had a whatsapp message from Nick Florent this afternoon, a bird on the beach, on Cheung Chau; there was a photo too – a red-footed booby! This seabird is rare in Hong Kong, and even then seen pretty much…
I’ve seen various social media posts and even a couple of media articles about large numbers of Red-base Jezebels Delias pasithoe in Hong Kong recently. It seems people especially notice them during cold spells, when many of these butterflies are…
While we’ve known for some years that Grey-faced Buzzard and Chinese Sparrowhawk can pass Hong Kong in good numbers on some spring days – evidently after being deflected by easterly winds while migrating from Luzon towards southeast China (Spring Migration…
Introduction: Biodiversity Depleted yet Rich Lying just south of the Tropic of Cancer, and with a sub-tropical climate – summers are hot and humid, winters tend towards temperate – Hong Kong has a mostly tropical flora and fauna. Though there…
Here’s a film I made about Mai Po, using footage James Reynolds and I shot for the reserve, in English, Cantonese and Mandarin versions: Mai Po Marshes – Hong Kong’s Wetland Superstar, English narration by Sharon Kwok 米埔，香港著名的濕地巨星 – 廣東話…
I live on Cheung Chau, a small island in southwest Hong Kong – and became very used to it hosting many nesting pairs of Barn Swallows, which start arriving around mid-February, and stay till late summer. Been this way since…
While human life has lately been muted in Hong Kong during springtime, local birdlife remains vibrant, offering a chance to enjoy some of the wonders and mysteries of the natural world, right outside your home. Notably, Hong Kong is a…
With increasing reports of wild boars – including the large male dubbed “Pigzilla” on the Peak, a couple of hikers [March 2018] mistaking a leopard cat for a tiger, and an upturn in local porcupine photos appearing online, this seems…
Though Mai Po Marshes is at the heart of Hong Kong’s internationally important Deep Bay wetland, there are other important sites in the area – including the fishponds at Fung Lok Wai. These have been in the news at times…
From edge of Tai Lam Chung Reservoir in northwest New Territories, Hong Kong on 24 January 2023; trip to see what in birding world is a MEGA – a Scaly-sided Merganser, found by John Chow, who confirmed identity after quick…
Take a hike through the Hong Kong countryside and, chances are, you will enjoy some wonderful scenery – maybe rugged hills and coastal headlands, streams cascading through wooded ravines, old villages set amidst abandoned rice paddies; yet there will be…
A condensed story of “wild” Hong Kong, from around 18,000 years ago, at the peak of the last ice age. to the present.
Including the advent of a new birdwatching hotspot in the city – thanks to habitat, location, and pioneering observations by John Chow.
Three species of terns nest in Hong Kong; the other seabirds are all visitors to Hong Kong waters, including a smattering of vagrants
Shui Hau on Lantau, Hong Kong, can be rewarding for birdlife - including a good variety of shorebirds in spring.
In spring 2022, thanks to birding naturalist Paul Aston, I helped discover that the hills near Ngong Ping on Lantau island are good places for observing migrating birds of prey – especially Grey-faced Buzzards and Chinese Sparrowhawks, along with seeing…
Hong Kong is usually a poor place for seeing migrating birds of prey; on many days, you might be hard-pressed to see even one passing over. But on some days – and perhaps not every year, two species can be…
While there's no apocalypse now in Hong Kong's insect world, threats and changes are cause for concern - including for us humans
Many birdwatchers have a place or two near home which they watch regularly – a place known in birdwatching terms as a "local patch".
Several factors have led to a marked increase in the numbers of wild boars seen on the city fringes, and even in some urban areas.
Hong Kong is home to 23 species of swallowtails, among an impressive tally of around 245 butterfly species, and watching and photographing these and other eyecatching butterflies can readily enhance outdoor outings.
Growing to just 1.8 metres in length, finless porpoises are shy, and hard to see even in their home ranges within southern Hong Kong waters.
Like canaries in a coal mine, endangered species are signs of danger facing planet earth, our life support system Perhaps for many people, learning of endangered species involves wildlife that lives “out there” somewhere – like giant pandas in bamboo…
Hong Kong's last tiger was shot in Stanley, in 1942; prior to which this now extinct sub-species had become an occasional visitor to the territory.
Set on the coast of sub-tropical south China, Hong Kong is home to a wealth of wildlife, which is all the more astonishing for a place known mainly as a metropolis. With freshwater wetlands, hill forests and streams on hills,…
The end of November 2014 saw areas of inshore waters across Hong Kong and east Shenzhen turn improbably colourful thanks to extensive red tides. Night-time scenes were even more arresting, as seawater stirred by ferries or thrown stones flashed blue-green…
Deep Bay in northwest Hong Kong is a wetland of international importance, a magnet for migratory waterbirds.
You don’t need much equipment to start birdwatching. A pair of binoculars and a field guide will get you started on finding the wealth of species in Hong Kong. Do you watch wildlife, such as birds, butterflies, dragonflies, mammals, fish…
On 31 December 2011, researchers trapping butterflies at Deep Water Bay on Hong Kong Island found a Chestnut Tiger with writing on its wings. Someone had used a fine marker pen to add numbers, letters and characters including a code: “YSK541”.…
A quick look at animals with venom, killer teeth and blades. Table of Contents Giant Centipede Blue-ringed Octopus Bamboo Snake Domestic Dogs Rats with Fleas with Plague Chickens with Bird Flu Mosquitoes with Diseases Cobras Sharks Homo sapiens Giant Centipede…
Black Kites are among the territory’s most familiar birds.
At Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve you can enjoy impressive wildlife spectacles.
A review of the DANGEROUS SNAKES in Hong Kong.
They might seem odd "wildlife", yet Lantau's cattle and water buffalo now roam free, and are part of the ecosystem.
Hong Kong Wetland Park is a curious place – with little wetland, excess dryland and an outsize visitor centre with exhibition areas like scifi scenes. I headed to the Hong Kong Wetland Park a few days ago – in 2008,…
On Cheung Chau one afternoon, saw two big Rat Snakes wrestling. Also known as a “dance”, this is combat between two male snakes, fighting over breeding rights They rear up, push against each other, twist and push – in this…
Here’s a definitive list of the top ten Hong Kong birds.(Well, ok, this is subjective; but ten top species for sure.) Criteria include global status, appearance, relationship to Hong Kong – perhaps readily seen and familiar, maybe rare worldwide but…
Despite all the brouhaha, there is no H5N1 at Mai Po.