HKBWS BBS 香 港 觀 鳥 會 新 聞 組 (http://www.hkbws.org.hk/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl)
Special Topics 特別主題 >> Goodbye Penfold 告別彭福 >> Birding Penfold Park
(Message started by: Betty on Apr 19th, 2004, 10:23pm)

Title: Birding Penfold Park
Post by Betty on Apr 19th, 2004, 10:23pm
Here's my personal birding list of Penfold Park, Shatin from 9th Nov. 03 to 18th April, 04. May be helpful for those who want to visit this park.

There's a conserved Egretry in the centre of the park, where you can see :
Chinese Pond Heron
Grey Heron
Night Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Common Sandpiper
Common Kingfisher
White Breasted Kingfisher
White Breasted Waterhen

Some migrants, visitors & others :
Fantail Snipe ( seen 18/4)
Brown Shrike (18/4)
Masked Bunting (male & female 15/4)
Red Throated Pipit (18/4)
Red Turtle Dove (18/4)
Blacked-tailed Hawfinch (1/4)
Crested Goshawk (4/4)
Siberian Stonechat (male & female 18/4)
House Swift (18/4)
Barn Swallow (18/4)
Blue Mapie (18/4)
Eurasian Hoopoe
Russet Sparrow ( usually there at 9:00 )
Collared Crow (18/4)
Rose Ringed Parakeet (always there)
Red billed Starling
Grey Starling
White Shouldered Starling ( a flock of 20+ 7/4)
Daurian Redstart
Richard's Pipit ( usually there)
Olive-backed Pipit
Rufous-backed Shrike
Blackbird
Blue Rock-Thrush

And of course our common birds:
White -backed Munia
Spotted Munia
White Wagtail
Dusky Warbler
Crested Bulbul
Chin. Bulbul
Black-eared Kite
Tree Sparrow
Crested Myna
Black-necked Starling
Spotted Dove
Mapie
Mapie Robin
Japanese White Eye
Black- faced Laughing Thrush
Common Tailorbird
Koel

Opening Hours :
9:00 am to 30 min. before sunset except:
Mon which are not public holidays.
Days when there is horse race
Days when there is a night race , will close at 4:00 p.m. (Often on Wed)

Best time for birding here :
9:00 am. - 12:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Don't go on Sun & holidays afternoon, too many people.
But it is super quiet on weekdays with only a few residents. You will feel as if in a private garden watching Pipits, Starlings, Wagtails feeding freely on grassland. Egrets & Herons flying home to their pond.

Tips on how to approach birds in such an open area of over 100,000 sq.ft of lawn :

Do not go straight forward to your bird, instead take a route to go to their back, make use of the bushes & rocks there to hide. Then bush by bush, rock by rock , approach them.

Or sit on a bench by the side of the pond. Soon Egrets will come down to drink and you may be lucky to see the beautiful Kingefisher fly over your head and land on a branch in front of you.

As I am a new birder, may have missed a lot in my list.
Hope I can complete a better annual record of Penfold by year end :)

Betty

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by Merlin on Apr 20th, 2004, 5:47pm
Very useful to me! I'll go there to explore.
Thanks! :)

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by me_domchan on Apr 20th, 2004, 8:12pm

on 04/19/04 at 22:23:43, Betty wrote:
Do not go straight forward to your bird, instead take a route to go to their back, make use of the bushes & rocks there to hide. Then bush by bush, rock by rock , approach them.


Thanks a lot
This sounds like maneuvering during a combat!   :o

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by Betty on Apr 20th, 2004, 9:52pm
Hi Merlin,
Usually Sat is horse race day. :(
You can check w/Penfold. Tel: 29666764 or 29666435

Hi me-domchan,
"manoeuvring a combat"  Yeah,  Penfold Park is quite different . ;)
Ah, is that I once met you in Tsim Bei Tsui on 22 Feb. ?
You got your swallow in flight ? ;D

Betty :)

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by me_domchan on Apr 20th, 2004, 9:58pm

on 04/20/04 at 21:52:33, Betty wrote:
Hi me-domchan,
"manoeuvring a combat"  Yeah,  Penfold Park is quite different . ;)
Ah, is that I once met you in Tsim Bei Tsui on 22 Feb. ?
You got your swallow in flight ? ;D

Betty :)

Hi Betty,
I am afraid that is not me. I was in Mai Po Village on that day.  
;D

I am a newbie too  :-X
Looking forward to meeting you in the field someday as I just got my MP permit
;D

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by Betty on Apr 20th, 2004, 10:23pm
Hi Merlin,
I add the dates to certain birds that I recently saw.
Betty


Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by Owen on Apr 20th, 2004, 11:26pm
Thanks.. this Sat is not a Racing day.  I should try to take myself away from MPNR and explore somewhere new..

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by Betty on Apr 21st, 2004, 3:02pm
Some More Information :)
Transportation :
1. ) KCR Fo Tan Station Exit C , a path between block 1 & block 2 of Jubliee Garden
is a short cut to the park.abt 8 min walk.
2.) KCR Shatin Station by Taxi to Penfold abt HK$20+
3.) drive yr own car, free public car park at the entrance.

Betty

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by Betty on Apr 21st, 2004, 3:26pm
Yes, opens this Sat but close this Sun.
Today nothing new except 3 egret chicks in the Egretry.
A no. of Swifts skim over the water in a pond near the bird cage.  ::)

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by cywong on Apr 24th, 2004, 11:17pm
Hi Betty,

Thank you very much for sharing your birding experience.

cywong

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by Betty on Apr 29th, 2004, 3:05pm
a flock of 18 Grey Wagtails feeding on grassland , though a common bird but is the first of my record in Penfold since Nov. :D

a group of 20 cattle egrets "marching" on the lawn. :)

Betty

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by gjcarey on Apr 29th, 2004, 3:56pm
Betty

I think you'll find that the 'Grey Wagtails' were actually Yellow Wagtails. Grey Wagtails don't occur in flocks and it is rather late in the spring for so many. Also, there are many Yellow Wagtails of the subspecies simillima passing through just at the moment.

Geoff

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by Betty on Apr 29th, 2004, 10:43pm
Geoff,

Thanks for correction & the information.
I only saw Yellow Wagtail once so I better go Penfold tomorrow & see if there're still there.

Betty

Title: Re: Birding Penfold Park
Post by Betty on Apr 30th, 2004, 4:12pm
I cannot find the Yellow Wagtails today.
Cattle Egrets only 2 on the lawn.

Betty



HKBWS BBS 香 港 觀 鳥 會 新 聞 組 » Powered by YaBB!
YaBB 2000-2002,
Xnull. All Rights Reserved.