The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society

This is our first time joining ReThink HK and our Deputy Director, Ms Ming Chuan Woo will be speaking in "Climate Resilient Cities: Integrating Nature-based Solutions in Urban Planning" together with other fantastic panelists. As an environmental NGO dedicated in bird and nature conservation with engagement of local stakeholders and the public, we are excited to share our views on: 💚 Benefits to human well-being and climate resilience of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) 💚 Opportunities in implementing NbS in Hong Kong’s current urban landscape 💚 Role of different stakeholders for successful NbS implementation Come along and join us at #RethinkHK2024 to learn more! https://lnkd.in/gwzYySuP

[Chatty Nighttime Singer 🎤🎶] Are there chickens crowing at night instead of at dawn? In fact, except for Owls and Nightjars, there are other interesting birds that also call at night in Hong Kong – Slaty-legged Crake (𝑅𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠). Slaty-legged Crake is mainly a common summer visitor to Hong Kong’s woodlands and shrublands. During spring and summer, you can hear them singing “Ow Ow…Ow Ow…” persistently through the night. The song is loud and repetitive, sometimes lasting the entire night without pause. Despite this, they are pretty elusive, making them even trickier to spot than owls. During migration periods, Slaty-legged Crake may make brief stops in Hong Kong for refueling. At times, they have been spotted in urban parks, frantically searching for food and paying little attention to the people around them. Hmm... Do they ever really need to sleep?🤔 This project is funded by #LantauConservationFund #香港觀鳥會 #HKBWS #鳥類保育 #自然保育 #可持續大嶼

[Thanks for Coming Rain or Shine ☔👫🏻] The HKBWS New Territories Flag Day was successfully held today! Although the weather was not as expected, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of our volunteers. We are truly grateful to our 300 flag-selling volunteers and all the kind donors, which allowed us to achieve our goal of having a flag day on streets. What was even more remarkable was that we had the opportunity to connect with many companions in the community. Every heartwarming "keep it up" made us feel the warmth and drove us to continue our bird conservation work. All funds raised will be used to support our bird and habitat conservation work. Missed the flag day but wanna collect the stickers of endangered birds featured on the flag sheet? From now until August 31st, you can donate online anytime and anywhere to get your gold flag 👉🏻 bit.ly/3LSigZD ──── Join us as a Guardian of Endangered Species 🔗 bit.ly/3XTOBqa Public fundraising license number: FD/R036/2024 #香港觀鳥會 #HKBWS #鳥類保育 #Birdconservation #賣旗 #Flagday

[Support HKBWS Flag Day! 🚩🙌🏻] Tomorrow (21/8) is HKBWS Flag Day in the New Territories! Our volunteers will be ready at 7:00 AM in various areas in the New Territories to raise funds to protect endangered bird species in Hong Kong. All donations will be used to support our bird and habitat conservation work. Let’s protect endangered birds and purchase a flag tomorrow! Wanna collect the stickers of endangered birds featured on the flag sheet? Donate now to get your gold flag 👉🏻 bit.ly/3LSigZD ──── Join us as a Guardian of Endangered Species 🔗 bit.ly/3XTOBqa Public fundraising license number: FD/R036/2024

We are currently one of the 4 IUCN members in the city and it was an invaluable opportunity to connect with IUCN representative! 🙌🏻

[Jarring nightjar] The greatest distance in the world is when something is right in front of you, yet you can’t see it—that’s the nightjar! The nightjar has perfect camouflage, which blends seamlessly with the environment when they rest on tree branches or the ground during daytime, making them difficult to spot by humans and predators. Like owls, nightjars are nocturnal birds. There are two recorded species of nightjars in Hong Kong: the Savanna Nightjar (𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑔𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠) and the Grey Nightjar (𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑔𝑢𝑠 𝑗𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑎). In Hong Kong, the Savanna Nightjar is a common resident bird, primarily found in open country. On the other hand, the Grey Nightjar is an uncommon migratory and summer visitor, mainly found in closed-canopy shrublands. Despite their seemingly small beak, when opened, they reveal a surprisingly wide gape, aiding them in catching airborne insects while flying. Although some of the New World species are called “nighthawks”, they are not raptors, instead swifts are more closely related to them taxonomically. Although they have an invisible cloak, they cannot escape the “gaze” of our passive acoustic monitoring equipment. Earlier this February, we successfully recorded the distinctive and repetitive "tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk…” calls of the Grey Nightjar on Lantau Island. Whether they are merely passing through during migration or staying here throughout the summer for breeding remains to be further explored! ⭐ Fun fact: The “jar” in the word “nightjar” refers to the “jarring” sound made by the European Nightjar (𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑔𝑢𝑠 𝑒𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑎𝑒𝑢𝑠)! This project is funded by #LantauConservationFund #香港觀鳥會 #HKBWS #鳥類保育 #自然保育 #可持續大嶼

[Meet the Eagle-Owl hatchlings!] We have exciting news to announce from our night bird survey on Lantau Island - the birth of Eurasian Eagle-Owl chicks! 🤩 In a night survey a few months ago on Lantau Island, researchers heard the distant call of Eurasian Eagle-Owl 𝐵𝑢𝑏𝑜 𝑏𝑢𝑏𝑜 from a cliff. Apart from the typical deep “hoo-uh” call echoing from the cliff, there were also short, piercing cries from the Eurasian Eagle-Owl chicks. The following day, the researchers observed the same location and discovered a pair of adorable Eurasian Eagle-Owl chicks perched on the rocks of the cliff! Eurasian Eagle-Owl are rare resident birds in Hong Kong, preferring roost on rocky hillsides where trees are sparsely distributed, where some of them nest in a scrape on a cliff ledge. Based on past records, Eurasian Eagle-Owl chicks in Hong Kong have been primarily observed in March, indicating that their breeding season mainly occurs during late winter to early spring. We hope these chicks grow up healthily and thrive! Note: If you come across a bird nest or a nestling, remember the "Three No's": No interference, no harm, no removal 🚫 This project is funded by #LantauConservationFund #香港觀鳥會 #HKBWS #鳥類保育 #Birdconservation #自然保育 #可持續大嶼

[✨Bird Guardian Rewards] HKBWS is honored to invite Taiwanese artist "Birds'" to illustrate the endangered bird species in Hong Kong and produce them as donation rewards. All donations will be used to support our bird and habitat conservation work. For just HK$100, you can help protect endangered species! Donate now to receive Bird Guardian set as a rewards 👉🏻 https://shorturl.at/DVKYp ⭐ Chick Donate HK$100 or more to receive one gold flag. ⭐ Juvenile Donate HK$500 or more to receive a zipper bag featuring the Eastern Imperial Eagle, a masking tape of endangered birds, and one gold flag. ⭐ Adult Donate HK$800 or more to receive a tote bag featuring the Baer's Pochard, a zipper bag featuring the Eastern Imperial Eagle, a masking tape of endangered birds, and one gold flag. ⭐ Fundraising Ambassador Raise HK$1,500 or more to receive an exclusive Yellow-breasted Bunting reward package. ──── Join now to become a Bird Guardian! 🔗 http://bit.ly/3XTOBqa Public Subscription Permit No. FD/R036/2024 #香港觀鳥會 #HKBWS #鳥類保育 #Birdconservation #賣旗 #Flagday

[Flag Day] Bird Guardians, Assemble! 🦹🏻 We are excited to announce that HKBWS will organize the first Flag Day on streets in the New Territories on 21 August 2024 (Wed)! 🔥 The theme of the Flag Day is "Bird Guardians, Assemble!" and we sincerely invite everyone to join us in raising funds to protect endangered bird species in Hong Kong. All donations will be used to support our bird and habitat conservation work. In recent years, endangered bird species in Hong Kong have faced challenges such as habitat loss, posing significant threats to their survival and pushing them towards the risk of extinction. Your support is important to us to carry on our work to safeguard Hong Kong's birds and their habitats through education, scientific research, habitat management, and advocacy for conservation policies. Your donations can prevent the extinction of endangered species and protect them from further endangerment! Join us now as a Bird Guardian 👉🏻 http://bit.ly/3XTOBqa 1️⃣ Purchase Gold Flag and Bird Guardian sets 2️⃣ Set up an online Flag Bag Become a Fundraising Ambassador to fundraise from your friends and family anytime  3️⃣ Become a Flag Day volunteer Individuals and organizations are welcome to register as Flag Day volunteers. A flag sheet featuring endangered bird species and a certificate will be given upon completion of the Flag Day. Donate now 👉🏻 https://bit.ly/3LSigZD Register as volunteer now 👉🏻 https://lnkd.in/g5EtGz2k Public Subscription Permit No. FD/R036/2024 #香港觀鳥會 #HKBWS #鳥類保育 #Birdconservation

[📣 Hong Kong's First Record] Javan Pond Heron in Shui Hau! Last month, our researchers discovered an extremely rare bird species, the Javan Pond Heron (𝐴𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑜𝑙𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑠𝑎), in the rice fields at Shui Hau on Lantau Island. If accepted by the Records Committee, this would be the first record of this species in Hong Kong and the South China region! Despite the severe weather conditions under Signal No. 3 on that day, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of our researchers. Ultimately, they unexpectedly spotted a Javan Pond Heron adorned with a golden crown in the rice fields of Shui Hau. These rice fields were restored through the collaborative efforts of the HKBWS and local villagers, creating a freshwater wetland that serves as a habitat for various bird species. Javan Pond Heron is a resident bird in Southeast Asia and does not exhibit obvious migratory behavior, although there have been records of vagrant individuals in some East Asian islands such as Taiwan, Ishigaki Island, and Okinawa. The Javan Pond Heron closely resembles the commonly seen Chinese Pond Heron (𝐴𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑜𝑙𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑠), and accurate differentiation is possible only when the former is in breeding plumage. The Javan Pond Heron has a golden-yellow head and two elongated pale plumes on the nape, while the Chinese Pond Heron has a brick-red head and nape plumes. Rice fields serve as the primary habitat for the Javan Pond Heron, and this discovery demonstrates the collaboration between the HKBWS and the villagers of Shui Hau in their efforts to cultivate and restore the rice fields, creating an opportunity for Hong Kong to welcome a new bird species. Despite the challenging weather conditions on that day, we are grateful to have shared the experience of observing this rare and beautiful Javan Pond Heron with the villagers, and to witness the success of habitat management efforts! *This project is funded by Lantau Conservation Fund #香港觀鳥會 #HKBWS #鳥類保育 #Birdconservation #自然保育 #可持續大嶼