Category Wildlife
Tired and perhaps injured Red-footed Booby rescued on Cheung Chau
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…
Jezebel butterflies seem super abundant in Hong Kong during early 2024
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…
Autumn Skywatching for Birds of Prey and More in Hong Kong
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…
Biodiversity of Hong Kong including the Hong Kong Geopark
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…
Birds of Pui O on Lantau, Hong Kong
Film of Mai Po Marshes – Hong Kong’s wetland superstar
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…
Where have all the Hong Kong Barn Swallows gone?
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…
Birdwatching in Hong Kong gives insights into wonders of nature
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…
Watching Hong Kong mammals
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…
Birds of Deep Bay including Mai Po photos
Birding and Conservation at Fung Lok Wai Fishponds Near Mai Po
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…
Hong Kong’s first Scaly-sided Merganser
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…
Rare Turtles, Paradise Fish and Abundant Ants in Hong Kong Countryside
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…
Hong Kong is Home to a Rich Biodiversity
Urban Birds in Hong Kong inc Ho Man Tin Hotspot
Seabirds of Hong Kong: Sea Swallows, Pirates, and Ocean Wanderers
Birds of Shui Hau on Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Birds of Lion Head Mountain and Ngong Ping on Lantau, Hong Kong
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…
Spring Migration of Grey-faced Buzzards and Chinese Sparrowhawks in Hong Kong
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…
Threats and changes to Hong Kong insect populations
Birdwatching Close to Home – in Your Hong Kong Local Patch
Era of the Pig – Boom Times for Hong Kong’s Wild Boar
Spectacular Swallowtails, Flying Tigers and Archdukes Arriving – Hong Kong Butterflies
Hong Kong’s Enigmatic Porpoises: Finless, and Almost Friendless
Endangered Hong Kong Birds, on Flights to Oblivion
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…
Death in Stanley – Hong Kong’s Last South China Tiger
Hong Kong’s Magnificent Six Wildlife Species – Ambassadors for the Wild
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,…
HK Wildlife Photos by Martin Williams
Red Tides n Sea Sparkle n the Mad Megalopolis
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…
Birding in Hong Kong’s Deep Bay During Spring
Deep Bay in northwest Hong Kong is a wetland of international importance, a magnet for migratory waterbirds.
Birdwatching in Hong Kong is a great pastime
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…
Hong Kong’s Mysterious Migratory Butterflies
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”.…
Deadliest Hong Kong Animals
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…
Watching and Photographing Black Kites in Hong Kong
Black Kites are among the territory’s most familiar birds.
Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve – including bird flocks and global rarities
At Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve you can enjoy impressive wildlife spectacles.
Dangerous Snakes in Hong Kong
Lantau feral cattle and water buffalo
Hong Kong Wetland Park Weird but not Wonderful; Ecotourism with Minimal Eco
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,…
Rat Snakes wrestling
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…
Top Ten Hong Kong birds
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…
No Bird Flu Just Enjoyable Visit to Mai Po
Despite all the brouhaha, there is no H5N1 at Mai Po.