Big Bird Race 1997

The Big Bird Race was once again was a huge success, with HK$1.9 million being raised to fund WWF HK's neverending job of fighting to protect Hong Kong's biodiversity.

It was a tough year for finding birds however, with passerines especially conspicuous by their scarcity. The event was won by the Professionals team, scoring a relatively humble 161 species (more than 20 fewer than the winning total in 1995), who once aga in topped the stakes for funds raised, which is what the event is all about anyway. The Cooper's Crippler bird of the day award was won by the DHL Police team, for an Oriental Scops Owl found at Robin's Nest.

Birdwatching Society Hide

A new angle...

The hide was repositioned during March and now face further north by 30 degrees, allowing many more people to enjoy the birds in good light conditions as they congregate on the mud either side of high tide.

Since the new hide has now been paid for, any donations received by the Society will be placed in the Projects Fund, which will pay for the upcoming checklist of the birds of Hong Kong. This will be written a published initially in English, but there are high hopes for a Chinese language edition.

40th Anniversary AGM

The most notable event of this year's AGM was the retirement of Richard Stott as Chairman (see page XX) and the installation of C.Y. Lam as the new Chairman. The reccomendation to raise subscriptions was approved by the AGM and the following rates will ap ply from 30 September, 1997:

After the formalities of the AGM, Geoff Carey presented a mouth-watering slide show on the birds of Happy Island and the opportunities for photography.

HKBWS Website

The HKBWS, designed and currently under construction by Carrie Ma will go online in either July or August this year.

The site will be bilingual, and will provide a wide variety of information about the Society, birds and birding in Hong Kong. It will also include links to other approprite websites such as WWF (HK), TRAFFIC, OBC, IUCN and Birdlife International. The HKBW S Bulletin will be posted quarterly. The website is expected to grow as more information and ideas become available.

First Day Cover Marks 40th Year

Included with the members' bulletin is a first day cover which is being presented to each member to mark the Society's 40th Anniversary. Due to the huge popularity of philately in the Territory, the society has reserved enough copies to give one to each current member of the society.

The stamps depict three species of migratory birds which pass through Hong Kong each year, Yellow-breasted Bunting, Great Knot and Asiatic Dowitcher, and and were printed from a design submitted by one of our members - Miss Lee Yuk Ying - congratulations !

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Broadening the Society's Role

On Saturday 1 June the Society held a preliminary meeting to discuss ways to increase our involvement in the conservation of birds and their habitats in Hong Kong and China. The suggestions raised at this meeting will become the key areas upon which a new Conservation Subcommittee will focus.

David Melville, Director of WWF HK stated the enormous value of records submitted and collated by the Society in providing data on sensitive species and localities.

He highlighted the growing pressure on lowland wetlands and farmland in the New Territories, much of which is due to disappear under public and private housing schemes and infrastructure projects. He stressed the value to birds of this habitat, citing Ka m Tin (which has been used by seven Red Data species including Imperial Eagle and Grey-headed Lapwing) and Long Valley as examples and remarked that there was scope for habitat creation within the Deep Bay Ramsar site to compensate for lost habitat elsewh ere.

Proposals to protect key areas included organising monthly counts at these sites, and initiating cooperation with botanists, entomologists and other wildlife and conservation groups to develop a full ecological picture of the habitats, so that concrete st eps could be taken to recreate them at a different site should their demise become inevitable.

The preservation or development of breeding habitat for Oriental Skylarks and Savannah Nightjars was raised. The proposal referred to the disappearance of the rough grassland on Tin Shui Wai Reclamation is progressively developed over the next few years. WWF (HK) is currently making recommendations to AFD regarding a plot of land within the Ramsar site.

Improvement of links and relations with key influencers such as the Heung Yee Kuk (the powerful NT landowners association), District Board Members, journalists and legislators was raised as an area where the Society could initiate dialogue and increase un derstanding of conservation and birds.

A wide-scale education programme aimed at schools, would encourage schoolchildren to note birds in the vicinity of their homes or schools. The initial suggestion was to create a simple leaflet depicting some common species of birds, possibly with a compe titive element. It was suggested that this would be a key area of involvement for Chinese-speaking members, who could visit schools to explain the leaflet and generate enthusiasm. A pilot scheme would initially focus on schools in rural areas and New To wns such as Yuen Long, Sai Kung and Sheung Shui.

New Towns developing parks are already making conscious efforts to create conservation areas, which are specially managed to attract wildlife. It was proposed to build on this success by bringing such schemes to the attention of other New Towns who plann ed to create parks.

Beyond Hong Kong the issue of strengthening links with conservation bodies and wildlife reserves in China by members who travel frequently was raised. This is currently happening informally, but it was proposed that the Society play a role as a central p oint of contact. It was also suggested that the Society publications accept articles from Chinese ornithologists. This would play a role in broadening international awareness of Chinese conservation issues due to the number the of overseas members and th e society’s links with other conservation groups worldwide, notably through Birdlife International.

Concern was expressed about the wild bird trade in Hong Kong and China, particularly that widespread trapping of migrant birds must have a significant influence on the numbers of birds wintering and passing through Hong Kong during migration. TRAFFIC is already fully occupied with monitoring and publishing information on this clearly harmful trade.

Members who are keen to become actively involved in conservation, or who have either comments on these issues or would like to suggest additional topics which the society might address should contact C.Y. Lam.

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