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The feeders on the balcony have given me the opportunity to get very close to the Red Whiskered Bulblus. Although the Red Whiskered Bulblus are as common as sparrows in Hong Kong, I find them not only fascinating but also full of personality.
The colours of the adults may not be very bright but still quite pretty.
The juveniles may be plain by comparison but they make it up by being extremely cute.
The annual arrival of migrating birds has begun in the Mai Po Nature Reserve.
The wintering birds such as cormorants, egrets and herons are plenty.
The precious Black-faced Spoonbills, an endangered species whose population is under 3000 world wide, are always welcome visitors to Hong Kong.
This Oriental Stork, another endangered species (a population of a couple of thousand) , has been in Mai Po since the summer according to a fellow HK blogger’s report (http://johnjemi.blogspot.hk/2012/07/oriental-stork-at-mai-po.html).
The appearance of the Oriental Stork is similar to the European White Stork but larger with a black bill. Here it is with a Grey Heron to indicate its relative size.
This bird feels at home in the reserve and certainly doesn’t want to share with anyone else.
The Grey herons, on the other hand, are keeping a close eye on the fish in the mangroves.
A patient hunting Chinese Pond Heron caught my eye on the mudflat.
Suddenly it picked up something from the mud. At first I thought it was a mudskipper.
When the heron had trouble pulling it out, I realized it was something more exciting than a mudskipper.
In fact, it was a snake!
While the heron may have been pleased with its catch, the snake, on the other hand, wasn’t prepared to give up its life without a fight.
It managed to get away from the heron a couple of times.
However, the heron wasn’t going to let its catch go easily either. Then, unexpectedly, the snake became very aggressive.
I thought the snake was going to attack the heron, but all of a sudden it did a runner!
Unfortunately for the tough snake, the heron seemed determined to get its meal.
The snake fought even harder to get away.
Finally, it looked as though the snake had lost its battle.
As soon as the heron tried to swallow it,
astonishingly (to both me and the heron), the snake fought back again and tried once more to flee!
This time, however, the snake’s fate was sealed.
Even inside the heron’s mouth, the struggle didn’t stop. Sadly, it was not the snake’s day.
The heron had its meal at last,
and a well “deserved” rest.
The fight lasted for 6 minutes.
