(This blog follows on from Part 1, about a bird walk with a birding expert David Diskin, from yesterday June 14th). So why do I call David Diskin the "bird whisperer"?
Another bird I had never seen in TaiPoKau before, the lovely male Scarlet Minivet.
David has a huge knowledge of bird calls, but it is his astonishing ability to hear and place these calls and to spot even the smallest and difficult to see species that makes a tour with him so interesting and fulfilling. His ability to know their habits and get us in the right place (and his patience) means that we got to see lots of birds in their territory, like this tiny little Pygmy-wren babbler. It took us a fair while to see this tiny bird, and even longer to get a half decent photo, below, as they scrabble about in the dense undergrowth.
The Yellow-cheeked tit was another lovely bird to find, along with the Blue-winged Minla
David also found the attractive Mountain Tailor bird, on the left and the Scarlet-backed flowerpecker.
And lastly we also found the very pretty brown-breasted flycatcher in its breeding territory.
So, after a great morning walk, we found dozens of bird species, and over ten that I had never seen before in my life. In just a few hours I was able to record and take photographs of birds that were a joy to behold and watch. Thank you David.
David Diskin is a Hong Kong based writer, photographer and birdwatcher.
He leads birdwatching and nature tours for Walk hong Kong: http://www.walkhongkong.com
He is the author of Mai Po: The Seasons. A lovely coffee table book.
He has also written and published the excellent Hong Kong Nature Walks Books:
1/. The New Territories (2011)
2/. Kowloon, Hong Kong & Outlying Islands (2012)
which you can (and should) buy from his website https://www.birdinghongkong.com/hong-kong-nature-walks.html