Jonathmartinez

Just a thought concerning the two recent sightings of Greylag Goose and Ferruginous Duck recently.
Both of them are known to breed quite far away from Hong Kong and with a migration period starting much later in season than august. I guess that a post breeding dispersion would not bring these birds that far away from their breeding site that for both species may well be a few thousand kilometers away from HK. They may well find attractive site before they reach HK.

So that,  I have another theory to expose concerning the date of appearance of these two birds and it seems to be the case as well for the previous sighting of Greylag Goose in HK : august coincide with the end of the post breeding moult wich is full indeed including all primaries. People who usually keep these kind of birds for ornaments in small pool and whom usually cut the primaries of their birds to avoid them to escape may easily loose some birds at this time of the year if they do not cut again the newly growth primaries before they're fully growth.... Then to me at this time of the year they're is greater chance that these birds have escape from a private pool not far from there instead of deciding to migrate a few months earlier than usual.
Birds keep in large enough pool may not show more damage than a bird living in the wild in my opinion and some birds may stay shy with human.

I suggest to try to feed them with bred, this is usually the good test in Europe...

Happy to hear comments of other concerning this theory...

All the best,

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

Concerning the Greylag Goose, another point that disturb me, is how rare they are in South East China. Having spend several winter watching geese at Dong Ting Lake, to memory I've only seen once a flock of 30 Greylag Goose in deep winter. It seems to be the same case for Poyang Lake...It is the very same case for Ferruginous Pochard, even more rare...

To me there is another option that would fit better these weird time of occurence of rare anatidaes in the region. It is recent chinese law enforcment concerning wild birds and various animals in market of big city in Guangdong province. Many markets has been recently dismantle with thousands of birds from various origin seized.
I mention of various origin because some of these birds were obviously coming from some western remote province, another obvious fact was the presence of a large variety of drake, including many species very rare in the region like Red-crested Pochard, Baikal Teal, Scaup...and Ferruginous Duck. Some of the shop were having hundreed of them for sales... It takes me a very long time until I found the evidence of the origin of these birds that were looking in too good condition to have been caught in the wild using trap or poison....In a market in Jiangmen city I came throught a cage full of hybride Pintail x Falcated Duck... I then understood that most of these drake were raised and then sold in the market under the label "wild" bird that definitly affect the final retail price....and none of these were wearing any rings as it will have increase their ressemblance with barnyard drake and affect the final selling price as mention before...

From this statement, then I will give two other theories :
1- recent report from Forestry dpt mentionned that during a recent campaign in 2013 they seized 57 000 wild birds...wich I suppose has been released and i suspect without paying to much attention if the place of release was within each species range...I will try to enquire concerning this... Then ironically, the possibility that hugge amount of these raised drakes finally become wild in Guangdong is a hight possibility...
2- the place were these drake were raised remain unclear, but it is very likely that some of these has been raised in Guangdong as it's where the main market stand and could have escape from such place after having moulted to finally ended at Mai Po...

For the Goose, I've seen only once geese in illegal market, a Lesser White-fronted Goose together with a Greater-fronted Goose wich both were looking in very bad condition and for wich the origin is very likely one of the Yangtse reservoir...But what I've seen is only the top of the iceberg of illegal trading of wild birds in Guangdong and the possibility that a Greylag Goose that would have been caught in western province and then released from one of these illegal market and never find the way back to its breeding region and finally ended roaming in Guangdong province is another hight possibility especially if it turn back every year at the same time at Mai Po...we could said that it has been "truck assisted"(I don't know wich category it implies)...and would explain why it is especially so shy, having allready escape to hotpot and other atrocities of chinese gastronomy...then I also can only agree that the bred test is useless for that one...

All the best,

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

Hi John,

I never mentionned 57 000 ducks, I written birds, of wich a part of them could be have been duck.
This was for a single campaign, but I know that the identification dpt from The South China Endangered Animals Institute is sollicitades regurarly to ID birds that has been seized indeed birds are seized and released all the year round.

"Why do we not see similar summer records with the other species you mention (Red-crested Pochard, Baikal Teal, Scaup)?"
1st HK Red-crested Pochard turn up in HK in march 2013, just after big campaign and market crack down in Guangdong following the story of the poisoned stork in Tianjin and various reportage concerning bird market around Guangzhou. We notice rare birds, but do not common species....Does necessary all of them ended at Mai Po.

What would be the behaviour of a Red-crested Pochard or a Ferruginous that has been raised since several generation and then released in the wild? My guess is that they would stay at a not too far distance from where they have been released.
Short distance movment of birds at this time of the year can be easily explained as they usually have stayed at a place to complete their mould with a period during wich they can't fly.We can easily imagine that some place they will have choosen for moult could have changed due to heavy rain...., then once moult is complete the bird has to moove to find more suitable habitat...


"Finally, why do these birds not show any sign of damage to plumage or bare parts?"
As said if raised in small pool then why should they show any more damage than a wild bird...Since these bird just complete a full body moult, it is very unlikely to find any feather damage...

To conclude, in my opinion all this recent event with illegal market and better law enforcement concerning poaching, as well as increase of demand concerning waterfowl for delicacies has a better chance to explain the occurence at various time of the year of different species known to breed at several thousand kilometer away of HK, rather than by an hypothetical unknown behavior. Even I agree that every hypothesis has to be kept in mind...

If you would see a Chinese Pangolin swimming accross Deep Bay, you would have immediatly the same reaction as I does for these birds...(just joking)...

All the best,

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

Some friends just mentionned to me this park :
http://www.nanshabirdpark.com/birds.asp?cid=53

It is in Nansha, just along the pearl river near Guangzhou.
All the birds are raised in open ponds, most of them wearing no rings and it seems that they don't cut primaries according to the information I received, so that many birds fly freely in the park....

I will try to get the entire list of species they raised.

Hopefully the Black-crowned Cranes are ringed, it will avoid any discussion concerning their origin in case one turn up in HK:-)( just joking again)

And if I can one more, I go for Bar-headed Geese for the next addition to HK list:-)

All the best,

Jonathan