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Why so few seabirds? http://lamma.com.hk/forum-OK/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=7507 |
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Author: | Marc Antony [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:13 am ] |
Post subject: | Why so few seabirds? |
Why are there no seagulls on Lamma, or cormorants, frigates, pelicans - or even in most parts of HK? We went out to the Nine Pins islands on Saturday - the only birds we saw were a few black kites and a couple of reef egrets. Similar islands around the UK would be teeming with birdlife. |
Author: | Alan [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:48 am ] |
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Fishing boats scoop up every little fish around here, so the food chain has probably collapsed. I swim at HSY almost every day, I might see a fish once a month. (The mesh of the shark net would keep out only the largest ones, though it might deter smaller ones I guess.) |
Author: | Marc Antony [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:35 pm ] |
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Author: | Lamma-Gung [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:34 pm ] |
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Author: | Alan [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:40 pm ] |
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I noticed when travelling in Thailand that there were very few birds in the countryside. Hunters with rifles were common. We probably don't have any of that here, but I suspect over the border a lot of bird hunting goes on. The only birds that survived would keep a very low profile. Also there a lot of pesticides used, which kills bugs and kills the birds who eat bugs too. |
Author: | zep [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 7:12 pm ] |
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Sea gulls prefer a temperate climate (or colder) - most of the seagull-like birds in Hong Kong waters are terns, which are slimmer, and dive into the water to catch fish. There are quite a few breeding here, but mainly in the north-east in Mirs Bay. And there are thousands of cormorants (and some large gulls like herring gulls, vega gulls and black-headed gulls) in Deep Bay - a visit to Mai Po in winter can be a spectacular sight. There are even the occasional pelicans and storks and of course the famous black-faced spoonbills, representing a sizeable chunk of the world’s population of this endangered bird. In addition Maipo has thousands of migrating waders - I was once lucky enough to see a flock af around 800 avocets. That's the place to go if you want to see large flocks of such species. In spite of over-fishing, there are still fish in the sea - I’ve been swimming at Hung Shing Yeh about ten times in the last month and on nearly every occasion I see small groups of fish jumping out of the water, presumably being chased by a larger predator. I even caught one with my hands near the shark net. There is often a reef egret walking along the top of the shark barrier, and they are frequently seen spearing a fish and swallowing it. And there are reasonable numbers of little egrets and black-capped night herons around Lamma - they too seem to make a living out of what they can find. |
Author: | Marc Antony [ Tue Oct 20, 2009 11:30 am ] |
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