Wild Corner

Any sightings of civets, mongooses, ferret badgers, leopard cats, barking deer, pangolins and porcupines – live or dead - should be reported. Rare birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, or unusual behaviour by common species, are also of interest, as are rare or interesting invertebrates and plants. If you think it is interesting, our readers probably will! Please give dates, times and localities as accurately as possible.

MAMMALS

On 6 April at approximately 3 p.m. David Gallacher and Maria Salas ( HKU ) saw a Mongoose ( Herpestes sp. ) crossing the road located behind Mai Po Nature Reserve.

In June of this year, Ben Ridley found a dead ( very dead, judging from the photograph!) Ferret Badger on the footpath down from Lantau Peak near the Tung Chung Road. On 7 September, he found fresh droppings of a Barking Deer and a Civet along a small trail through tall shrubland north of Sunset Peak.

On 14 June, a Javan Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) was seen by Yu Yat Tung in the Lok Ma Chau fishpond area near the cross border bridge.

On August 18^th, Paul Leader found a dead Javan Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) at Mai Po.

Ed Glenwright sighted a "fully grown" Wild Boar ( sex indeterminable) crossing Sha Tin Heights Road ( off Tai Po Road) near Tai Wai at 8:30 p.m. on 22 August.

At approximately 11 a.m. on 6 September, Maria Salas (HKU) saw a Mongoose ( Herpestes sp ) crossing the road inside the close boundary area of Mai Po.

On 8 October, Richard Corlett (HKU) found a dead Ferret Badger near the summit of Violet Hill on Hong Kong Island.

At 12:15 p.m. on 17 October, Captain Wong (KFBG) and Wong Lun Fai saw a Javan Mongoose ( Herpestes javanicus) at Long Valley (very close the main entrance that birdwatchers usually start their birding). At 4:15 p.m. of the same day, another one was seen at the rocky outcrop at the Mai Po Nature Reserve.

In the late afternoon of November 11, Richard Corlett (HKU) saw a large Barking Deer in an old Lophostemon plantation near the Kap Lung forest trail in Tai Lam Country Park. It hid in a clump of shrubs and made loud alarm calls for several minutes.

Paul Leader and Mike Leven reported a recent population of at least 200 feral Water Buffaloes at Kam Tin, including 31 calves.

Cheung Sze Man (HKU) had three sightings of Mongoose (Herpestes sp.) on 25^th November at about 10:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. at three different locations on the road to the Education Centre in Mai Po. Since the three locations are quite near each another, it is not certain whether these were the same individual.

Nic Gilbert saw a dead Mongoose (Herpestes sp.) smaller but similar to Herpestes urva besides Pat Sin Leng Nature Trail above Plover Cove Reservoir.

Richard Corlett (HKU) reported seeing Porcupine droppings (containing only wood and bark fragments) on a path north of Ngau Liu in Tai Lam Country Park on 26th November.

Bosco Chan saw a relatively young Rhesus macaque at the well-wooded entrance of Wong Chuk Yeung village above Fo Tan on 30 December 2000. A villager said a troop of over 10 macaques regularly visit this village.

BIRDS

Tom Dahmer and Kwok Hon Kai saw a male Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis) in Ta Sha Lok on 5 September. They also reported seeing a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) at the same location on the same date.

Richard Corlett (HKU) has noticed a large increase in the abundance of the introduced Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush (Garrulax pectoralis) over the last 5 years, both on Hong Kong Island and in the central New Territories.

Captain Wong (KFBG) saw a Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta) eating a Ficus fruit at Tai Ho, Lantau Island, at about 11a.m. on 15 October. The tree was a Ficus sp. with fruits and leaves resembling those of Ficus microcarpa, but without the air roots.

Captain Wong (KFBG) saw an Asian Brown Flycatcher ( Muscicapa dauurica ) holding a black fruit on a Ficus microcarpa in Kowloon Park on 16 September. The tree was fruiting then and was also visited by Bulbuls and White-eyes.

Kwok Hon Kai saw a juvenile and 2 adult White-bellied Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) in Kau Sai Chau, Port Shelter, on 18 October. They hawked at a flock of approximately 40 Night Herons.

Kwok Hon Kai reported seeing an adult Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) in Kau Sai Chau on 10 November.

Kwok Hon Kai saw a Chestnut Bittern ( Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) in Pui O taro marsh (which was quite wet then), Lantau Island, on 1 November.

Kwok Hon Kai saw an Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) and a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) in Lok Ma Chau on 12 November.

On 21 and 22 September, Lee Kwok Shing and Michael Lau saw five species of flycatchers: Asian Brown ( Muscicapa dauurica ), Grey-streaked ( Muscicapa Griseisticta ), Sooty ( Muscicapa sibirica ), Verditer ( Eumyias thalassina ) and Yellow-rumped ( Ficedula zanthopygia ), feeding on the fruits of a large Trema cannabina shrub behind a village in the Da Ming Shan Nature Reserve area in Guangxi. Japanese White-eyes (Zosterops japonica) also joined the feast.

FISH

New record for Hong Kong. The Indo - Pacific tarpon, Megalops cyprinoides (Broussonet, 1782). Specimen taken by Mark Sigson, Sept 8, 2000, in Nim Shue Wan Bay ( Discovery Bay Marina Area ). Mark notified Yvonne Sadovy he had seen schools of this species of about 10-20 fish individuals, each about 1-2 ft long.

AMPHIBIANS/REPTILES

Yu Yat Tung sighted a Reeves’ Terrapin (Chinemys reevesii) in Long Valley near Tsung Pak Long Village on 15 August.

On 6 September David Gallacher and Maria Salas (HKU) found a run-over snake (possibly a Checkered Keelback Xenochrophis piscator) on the road inside the close boundary area of Mai Po.

A freshly dead Mock Viper (Psammodynastes pulverulentus) was seen by Cheung Sze Man (HKU) on 14 September in a stream leading to Shing Mun Reservoir. Its total length was over 30 cm and it was lying on a boulder on the stream bank.

On the night of 11 October, Cheung Sze Man (HKU) saw two light phase juveniles of Hong Kong Newt (Paramesotriton hongkongensis) walking under the water on the edge of a deep pool in Tai Po Kau. These newts are seldom recorded in Tai Po Kau. (photo by Michael Lau)

At 11 a.m. on September 11th, Cheung Sze Man ( HKU ) saw a Green Cascade Frog ( Rana livida ) in the catchwater leading to Tai Tam Reservoir. They are normally nocturnal but appeared in daytime in this case. (photo by Michael Lau)

Cheung Sze Man ( HKU ) saw a juvenile Common Rat Snake (Ptyas mucosus) in the catchwater leading to the Tai Tam Reservoir at 11 a.m. on 11 September.

Cheung Sze Man ( HKU ) sighted a Chinese Bullfrog ( Rana rugulosa ) on 17 September in the lotus pond of a temple in Fanling. Wild populations of this bullfrog are uncommon in Hong Kong nowadays , although there is suitable habitat available nearby. Possibly people released this one for religious purposes. (photo by Cheung Sze Man)

A juvenile Chinese Cobra ( Naja atra) was spotted in the catchwater area in Shek Kong by Cheung Sze Man (HKU) on 28 September.

Nick Gilbert found a dead Large - spotted Cat Snake ( Boiga multomaculata ) on the road near Discovery Bay Reservoir, Lantau Island, on 1 October. The creature was approximately 70cm in length. It was a recent kill and still beautiful.

Cheung Ming saw a turtle surface next to the SWIMS Boston Whaler off Wong Chuk Kok, east Lamma on 24 October. It is suspected to be a Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), the most common marine turtle in Hong Kong waters.

Bosco Chan ( HKU ) saw a Hong Kong Cascade Frog (Amolops hongkongensis) in Hau Tong Kai, Hoi Ha Road at approx. 10:30 p.m. on 25 October. It is apparently the first sighting of this locally protected species from the Sai Kung Peninsula. (photo by Michael Lau)

A Common Wolf Snake ( Lycodon aulicus ) measuring 12cm total length was collected in a storeroom on the first floor of Queen Mary Hospital, HK Island on 17 November. The dead snake was subsequently handed over to Bosco Chan (HKU).

On 25^th November, Cheung Sze Man (HKU) saw a 5-feet long Chinese Cobra ( Naja atra ) on the Mai Po Rotary Nature Trail. Its body was body covered by soil and litter and it escaped into a ground burrow. Possibly it woke up during the warm spell of weather.

PLANTS

Ng Sai Chit reports that the horribly spiny Hateful Mimosa ( Mimosa diplotricha ) is growing scattered in abandoned fields and pathsides at Lok Ma Chau. AFCD have attempted to eliminate the large population at Ting Kok by spraying with herbicide.

P.23-25