Waterfowl Count 17 September 2000
Summary Report

The September 2000 waterfowl count occurred on 17th, and all sites within the Ramsar Site were surveyed. Outside the Ramsar Site, Tin Shui Wai, Nam Sang Wai and Chau Tau were not covered (the first and last of these are now very restricted in terms of available habitat due to development), nor was San Tin.

A total of 4945 waterbirds were recorded in the Deep Bay area, of which 3580 occurred in the Ramsar Site. Table 1 provides a comparison of selected counts for September in the years 1998-2000.

From Table 1 it can be seen that the total number of waterfowl in the Ramsar Site is slightly higher than was recorded in 1999, and somewhat lower than that in 1998. This is broadly similar to the pattern noted during other waterfowl counts this summer, and indicates that the data being collected is broadly representative of actual waterbird numbers.

The only species count of interest is perhaps that of Grey Heron, of which 101 were recorded in the Deep Bay area. This is the highest count of this species in September. With regard to the ardeid species that regularly breed in Hong Kong, Table 2 compares totals for each with those of the past two years.

The three counts for September are very similar in terms of the total number of ardeids, all lying between 900 and 952. Cattle Egret numbers are the lowest, though as this is a migratory species, such variation is to be expected. Chinese Pond Heron numbers are relatively the highest this year, a welcome development, and one that it is hoped will continue, as numbers of this species were relatively low during much of the 1990s.