kscheng

I joined the Elementary Bird Watching Course organized by the Crested Bulbul Club.  The Sunday February 12th we went to the Kowloon Park to practise watching birds.  It was a solid session.  We encountered and discovered twenty species.  When we came to the pond area I had an astonishing moment.  I saw a flock of twenty-odd black-crowned night herons resting on the castor-oil trees.  What a  magnificent view.  Immediately I knew I need to record this picture.

In a not-that-foggy morning I went back to the Kowloon Park with my camera and a 300mm lens and a two-times tele-converter.  I went up to the viewing cone, unfolded my tripod and mounted the equipment.  Under the live view mode I carefully examined the herons on the castor-oil trees.  I put three herons on the lower third.  Later a fourth heron joined in but only with its back facing the camera.  Under the lens I saw the two narrow elongated nape feather of the heron on the right hand corner.  I waited until all three herons pointed their beak towards seven o'clock direction and pressed the shutter.     

The Kowloon Park, only a fifteen-minute walking distance from Jordan and Tsimshatsui communal centre, is a city of the Black-crowned Night Herons.

我參加了雀躍薈的觀鳥基礎班並於二月份第二個星期天到九龍公園學習觀鳥，當天過程很充實，我們碰到和發現了二十種鳥類。到達池塘範圍時，我對眼前景觀感到驚訝，在數株菎麻樹上站立了一群約二十來隻夜鷺，多震撼的景象呀，馬上我知道要記錄這畫面。

在一個不太大霧的早上，我帶了照相機和一個300毫米鏡頭連兩倍增倍鏡重回九龍公園，走上觀景圈，豎起腳架索上器材，在顯景屏裡觀察菎麻樹上的夜鷺，我把三隻夜鷺排放在下方，其後來了第四隻夜鷺，但在鏡頭前只顯現背部，在鏡頭下我看到右下角夜鷺的兩條細長飾羽，等待到三隻夜鷺的喙全朝著七點鐘方向我按下快門。

九龍公園，跟佐敦和尖沙咀鬧市只是十五分鐘步行距離，卻是夜鷺之都。

[ Last edited by kscheng at 25/02/2012 23:07 ]

Sze

Stanely,

謝謝你報讀"雀躍薈"及相片分享。

正如你所說的，九龍公園可能是市區中每多野生夜鷺生活的地方。
這裡可飽覽不同年紀的夜鷺，著實是初學者觀鳥的好地方，也正因如此觀鳥班的首堂戶外實習地方便選擇在此。
根據我個人的觀察這群夜鷺部分在夜間是會飛往鄰近的天星碼頭及海運大廈碼頭覓食，牠們每隻會盤據一枝碼頭木樁作為地盤，等待獵物的出現。有興趣的話，你可試試晚上9時後去看看牠們。

題外話，你說的菎麻樹是否指蓖麻 Ricinus communis 大戟科（http://www.hkwildlife.net/viewthread.php?tid=7917），如是，蓖麻通常只是灌木，而不太會長得這麼高。而且以相中的樹木的葉形及果實的形態，並不太像蓖麻，反而有點像楓香 Liquidambar formosana 金縷梅科（http://www.hkwildlife.net/viewthread.php?tid=26）。如有錯誤的，請大家多多指教。

[ Last edited by Sze at 20/02/2012 18:03 ]

kscheng

思姐，

謝謝提點。

在照片裡我看到果實為球形蒴果、帶軟刺，單葉互生葉序，掌狀葉具裂片，辨認為菎麻樹，我將再到九龍公園池塘旁查看樹幹。