ajohn

There seems to be very few egrets breeding in HK this year, potentially a cause for some concern!
Of the sites I see regularly, Mai Po village egretry has no birds, numbers at Tung Shing Lei are very low and Mai Po Car Park also seems to have fewer birds than usual.

It is still early in the season for Chinese Pond Heron and Cattle Egret, but Little Egret should by now be at peak numbers.

I wonder if this is the result of low rainfall this spring? Hopefully it is just a temporary effect and numbers will recover later in the year.

ajohn

I think weather is probably the best explanation for the sudden, dramatic change in egret numbers this year, especially since it seems to be affecting egrets throughout the territory (which wouldn't be the case for land use changes or disturbance). According to the Observatory website, we have so far received just 47% of the normal rainfall for this time of year.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the timing and success of egret breeding (especially for Cattle Egret) was related to the onset of summer rain, so it may be that egrets will breed later than usual this year (when/if the rains finally arrive!)

For terns, I think the low numbers in the last 2 years may be related to heavy rain early in the breeding season, possibly causing lower survival of chicks. Although any suggestion of sustained decline should be taken seriously.

ajohn

It appears that the roosting birds have also abandoned A Chau as a site - I was there yesterday evening and saw 5 Grey Herons but no cormorants or egrets.

Has anybody else noticed this, and does anyone know where the birds have gone?