A superb image of the unique Spoon-billed Sandpiper taken by Michael McKee.
- Arguably the best shorebird show on Earth
- Involving about 10,000 birds of over 30 species, which pass through during the spring, virtually all in full summer plumage, and which are often visible at close range from several hides
- Possibly including Spoon-billed Sandpiper, as well as Asian Dowitcher, Spotted Greenshank and Great Knot
- Also present around Deep Bay and elsewhere are some of Asia’s and the world’s other most spectacular birds including Red-billed Blue Magpie, Black-capped Kingfisher, Fork-tailed Sunbird and, possibly, Greater Spotted, Eastern Imperial and White-bellied Sea Eagles
- As well as some of Asia’s and the world’s most spectacular localized birds including Black-faced Spoonbill, Saunders’s Gull and, possibly, Chinese Egret
- Plus ‘pink’ Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins
- Central Hong Kong, one side of a steep island covered with skyscrapers, may seem like a set from a science fiction film, what looks like a future Earth where all wildlife is extinct, but just forty minutes away by road in and around Deep Bay there is something else that looks like science fiction – the Siberian shorebird express, which passes during the spring, and, on a good day in April, is arguably the most spectacular shorebird show on the Earth of today. The sheer variety and concentration of species, most of which are in their glorious breeding summer plumage, is staggering, and among the thousands of birds, of 30 species or so, there might just be a few rarities such as Asian Dowitchers, Spotted Greenshanks and even a Spoon-billed Sandpiper or two, one of the quirkiest and rarest shorebirds on this planet. It has a spoon-shaped beak, unique amongst the numerous shorebirds, which it uses to sweep from side to side through water and mud in search of crustaceans, and is so rare the world population is estimated at just 120-200 pairs. Hides in Mai Po Nature Reserve at the edge of the mangroves around Deep Bay offer the chance to see the shorebird show from the front row, right next to the stage, on which the star occasionally appears, usually close enough to clearly see its amazing beak.
- Obtaining permits to visit Mai Po is a bureaucratic nightmare so going on an organised tour can save a lot of hassle. Otherwise visit World Wildlife Fund Hong Kong.
- The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is so rare that there is a special ‘Saving Spoony’ campaign run by several organisations including BirdLife International. It is certainly rarer in Hong Kong than it used to be and by no means should visitors expect to see one.
- China is a huge country, the third largest in the world, with a birdlist of over 1400, and there are several other great birding destinations. Also in southeastern China it is possible to see Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Nov-Mar, mostly November and March), Chinese Crested Tern (mostly mid-May to August) and White-faced Plover (Apr-May at least) on the Minjiang Estuary near Fuzhou, White-eared Night-heron at Jiulianshan and Cabot’s Tragopan at Wuyishan; the rare Black-crested and Hoolock Gibbons, as well as Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkey and Phayre’s Leaf Monkey occur in Yunnan, the most bird-rich province in China; there are many spectacular birds in Sichuan, a province best visited in May and sometimes combined with neighbouring Tibet where it is possible to see several rare mammals and birds, notably Tibetan Wild Ass and Tibetan Sandgrouse, especially in June and July; in Central China there is a good chance of seeing Golden Snub-nosed Monkey and birds such as Asian Crested Ibis; during the northern winter Hooded, Siberian and White-naped Cranes, as well as Oriental Stork, occur at Poyang Hu, a huge inland lake in Eastern China, with the rare Scaly-sided Merganser on the nearby Xin River; falls of passage migrant birds can be spectacular in Hong Kong but they are nothing compared to those which occur at Beidaihe and Happy Island on the northeast coast a few hours from Beijing, where in spring (mostly in May) and autumn (mostly in September) there are, at times, numerous birds; finally, if arriving in China or departing China via Beijing it may be worth visiting the nearby Bai He River for a chance of Ibisbill.
Best Birds and other wildlife in Hong Kong
Birds
The birds listed here are usually present during the northern spring.
Specialities
Chinese Egret, Black-faced Spoonbill, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Spotted (Nordmann's) Greenshank, Asian Dowitcher, Saunders’s Gull and Fork-tailed Sunbird.
Also a chance of Greater Painted-snipe.
Others
Falcated Duck, Chinese and Indian (Burmese) Spot-billed Ducks, Chinese Francolin, Intermediate Egret, Pacific Reef-egret, Black-crowned Night-heron,
Chinese Pond-herons, Eurasian (Great) and Yellow Bitterns, Eurasian Spoonbill, Crested Serpent-eagle, Greater Spotted and Eastern Imperial Eagles,
White-bellied Sea-eagle, White-breasted Waterhen, Pacific Golden, Greater
and Lesser (Mongolian) Sandplovers, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Far Eastern Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Broad-billed, Curlew,
Marsh, Sharp-tailed and Terek Sandpipers, Grey-tailed Tattler, Great Knot, Long-toed and Red-necked Stints, Red-necked Phalarope, Oriental Pratincole,
various gulls, Caspian, Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged (Black) Terns, Western (Asian) Koel, Greater Coucal, Pacific (Fork-tailed) Swift,
Black-capped, Pied and White-breasted (Smyrna) Kingfishers, Great Barbet, Grey-chinned and Scarlet Minivets, Long-tailed Shrike, Red-billed Blue Magpie,
Collared Crow, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Chestnut and Light-vented (Chinese) Bulbuls, bush and leaf warblers, Plain and Chinese (Yellow-bellied) Prinias, Common
Tailorbird, Siberian Rubythroat, Oriental Magpie-robin, Blue Rock-thrush (including philippensis), Blue Whistling-thrush, Black-throated,
White-browed and Masked (Black-faced) Laughingthrushes, Chinese Hwamei, Black-collared Starling, Crested Myna, Greyish-crowned (Orange-bellied) Leafbird,
Fire-breasted and Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers, Olive-backed and Red-throated Pipits, and Scaly-breasted (Spotted) Munia.
Also a chance of Dalmatian Pelican, Chinese Goshawk, Grey-headed Lapwing, Pintail and Swinhoe’s Snipes, Aleutian Tern, Chestnut-winged, Large Hawk, Indian and Plaintive Cuckoos, Collared Scops-owl, Asian Barred Owlet, Savanna Nightjar, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Black-naped Oriole, Chinese Penduline-tit, Asian Stubtail, Asian and Japanese Paradise-flycatchers, Forest Wagtail, flycatchers including Blue-and-white, Green-backed (Elisa's), Hainan Blue, Mugimaki and Narcissus, Red-flanked Bluetail, thrushes including Eye-browed, Grey-backed, Japanese (Grey), Pale and White’s, Red-billed (Silky), White-cheeked (Grey) and White-shouldered (Chinese) Starlings, Chinese (Yellow-billed) Grosbeak, and Black-faced, Chestnut, Chestnut-eared, Tristram’s and Yellow-breasted Buntings.
Mammals
Indo-Pacific Humpback (Chinese White) Dolphin, Finless Porpoise and Dog-faced Fruit Bat.
Invertebrates
There are over 200 species of butterfly including Common and Golden Birdwings, and over 100 species of
dragonfly.
Best Sites for Birds and other wildlife in Hong Kong
Black-capped Kingfisher by Tom Tams. Hong Kong has some other spectacular birds apart from shorebirds.
- Mai Po NR, Deep Bay Where the shorebird show takes place. Also many egrets, herons, other waterbirds and raptors, as well as passage migrant passerines.
- Tai Po Kau Secondary forest but still one of the best of several small places for resident and migrating woodland birds, especially Hainan Blue-flycatcher.
- Po Toi An island which is one of the best places for passage migrant passerines.
- Boat trips in search of dolphins For details see
Hong Kong Dolphinwatch.
For more information on the best birding sites in Hong Kong see the excellent Hong Kong Bird Watching Society website.
Best Times for Birds and other wildlife in Hong Kong
The peak time for shorebirds, including Spoon-billed Sandpiper, is April and the best views can usually be obtained during the periods of highest spring tides. Timing at Mai Po is crucial. Out on the mud flats shorebirds may be little more than distant specks at low tide but during the best spring high tides they can be incredibly close. The weather in April is usually warm, humid and showery with temperatures ranging between 20°C and 24°C.
Recommended Bird Books etc. for Hong Kong
The Birds of Hong Kong and South China by C Viney, K Phillipps and L C Ying. Hong Kong Government Information Services, 2005 (Eighth Edition).
Birds of South-East Asia by C Robson. Helm, 2014 (Second Edition).
Birds of South-East Asia Concise Edition by C Robson. Helm, 2015.
Birds of East Asia by M Brazil. Helm/PUP, 2009.
Bradt Travel Guide: Chinese Wildlife by M Walters. Bradt, 2008.
A Guide to the Mammals of China by A Smith, Yan Xie et al. PUP, 2008.
The Mammals of China by Sheng Helin et al. China Forestry Publishing House, 1999.
Apps etc.
Birds of Hong Kong.
Where to watch birds in Asia by N Wheatley. Helm, 1996.
Don’t know which country/countries/regions to visit in Asia? Then it may be worth considering taking a look at this book, written by this website’s author. It is many years old of course but it still provides a starting point, an overview and a guiding light to the best birds and the best places to look for them in the region, and could save hours of searching for similar information on the internet. However, it is important to check more up-to-date sources for sites which have been opened up, sites and species which have been discovered, lodges that have been built etc. since the book was published.
Birding and Wildlife Trip Reports for Hong Kong
Many trip reports, some for Hong Kong, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Hong Kong. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Hong Kong' below.
- The best website for trip reports is CloudBirders
- but these are also worth a look
- Birdtours
- Fatbirder
- Jon Hornbuckle
- Mammal Watching
Local bird and wildlife guides in Hong Kong/China
The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.
- China Bird Tour
- China based birding tour company since 1999 specializing in providing local arrangements for worldwide birding companies and individual birders within China, including all hot spots.
- Hong Kong Bird Watching Society
Accommodation for birders in Hong Kong
Some Organized Tours for birds and other wildlife to Hong Kong
There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.
While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.
