Hong Kong
18th Apr 2026 - 26th Apr 2026
Off a redeye flight and straight to Harbour Runners Saturday morning run. Immediate lifer as the city sparrows are of the Eurasian Tree variety. Saw a Black Kite soaring, which turned into a common sight throughout the trip. Also spotted some Great Egret around the harbour.
Kowloon Park was adjacent to my hotel, and an afternoon walk yielded a first look at more common city birds: Black-collared Starling, Oriental Magpie-Robin, and the delightful Red-whiskered Bulbul. The park is home to a flock of Black-crowned Night Heron and, though captive, an incredible stand of flamingos.
Sunday I crossed the harbour to Hong Kong Island, starting at Hong Kong Park and working my way up through the Zoological Gardens, Old Peak Road, all the way to Victoria Peak. This was more a running adventure but still got great looks at Red-billed Blue-Magpie and Blue Whistling-Thrush.
Wandered around aimlessly in the afternoon, and stumbled across some Masked Laughingthrush scratching around in some leaves in King's Park Recreation Ground.
Work during the week left little times for birds, though I incidentally picked up Light-vented Bulbul and Asian Koel (finally, after days of hearing its call.)
Jodie joined me during the week, but our plans to visit Mai Po Wetlands on Friday was foiled by extensive rain. We went to the museum of art and the space centre instead.
Saturday we did a half-day tour. Our excellent guide Matthew first took us to Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve where forest birds abounded: minivets, babblers, flowerpeckers, and more. We saw four of the five bulbuls in the area, missing only Black Bulbul. From there we went to Long Valley wetlands where Black-winged Stilts (including some chicks!) ran amok alongside White-breasted Waterhen, Little Grebe, and Chinese Pond Heron. We got both Common Snipe and Pin-tailed Snipe but dipped on Greater Painted-Snipe (admittedly we were late in the season.)
In the afternoon we went to Kowloon Park – again for me, first time for Jodie – and found the Alexandrine Parakeet population, as well as some Masked Laughingthrush I'd missed the first time.
On Sunday we revisited Hong Kong Island more slowly. The tower in the Tai Chi Garden in Hong Kong Park placed us in the canopy, and from there we got fantastic views of Asian Koel, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Swinhoe's Silvereye, and our final lifer for the trip: Yellow-crested Cockatoo. (Yes they look exactly the same as their Sulphur-crested counterpart ... just more yellow.)