Hi Simon:
Haven’t heard re influx of birds of prey during the cold spell; though on Cheung Chau did see couple of Common Buzzards, which not too common on the island.
Just posted this to HK Birdwatching Soc forum:
Last Friday – shortly before the long cold spell at last ended – walked Chi Ma Wan to Pui O. Plenty of thrushes, red-tailed robins, bluetails. But only four Yellow-browed Warblers (no Pallas’s Leaf) – one of these in saplings above a ditch w water, the other three foraging at ground level in small patch of Pui O marsh.
During cold spell, I also saw Great Tits foraging on ground (a pair in woods on Cheung Chau memorable to me). So, surely desperate times, even for some of birds typically with us in winter.
S China Morning Post has had some more reports on winter storm damage in China; inc one village where woman reported hearing bamboo cracking “like firecrackers” under weight of ice and snow; another village had all fruit trees wrecked. Today, there’s mention of “great losses to the forestry resources in the southern part of China” (cost at 57.3b yuan); “the destruction would also alter the local ecology … About 30,000 nationally protected wild animals were killed or injured”
Latter seems an odd statistic, as China is wont to produce.
But again, must wonder re scale of destruction to birdlife, inc some restricted range species.