Year of the Chinese Sparrowhawk

2022 has been a good year for spring passage of both Grey-faced Buzzard and Chinese Sparrowhawk, with large numbers passing over outlying islands such as Po Toi and Lantau. Even so, I was not expecting to see either hawk in the local park at Kowloon Tsai. Yet on April 7 a Grey-faced Buzzard was soaring overhead on its way north. Today it was the turn of the Chinese Sparrowhawk. The reason I noticed it is worth recording. I was photographing an Asian Koel for the sake of the City Nature Challenge when it emitted an unusual alarm call - more of an alarm shriek, in fact. At that moment a hawk flew past, showing black wing tips suggestive of a Chinese Sparrowhawk. It then perched just long enough to allow itself to be photographed before moving on. The photos show the distinctive red 'cere' resembling a wax seal above the beak.

由使用者 stephenmatthews 在 2022年05月01日 11:05 所貼文