Mai Po Reserve

While up at the hostel on Mt. Davis, we met a woman who had just visited the Mai Po Reserve. What is that you ask? It turns out that one of the major flyways for migratory birds in Asia goes through Hong Kong, and the World Wildlife Fund has worked with the government to protect it. We had never heard of it, but I happened to have my old WWF T-shirt with me, so I pulled it out and we went to visit the reserve. (Their website is http://www.wwf.org.hk/eng/maipo/)

The area is a wetland bordering the bay, a great marshland of mangroves and sand flats. It is set up to handle tens of thousands of visitors each year, with the people confined to specific walkways and boardwalks. Then, to watch the birds, you enter into one of several blinds -- camouflaged sheds with little windows --stationed throughout the reserve.

Mai Po draws three types of visitors: very serious international birdwatchers, tour groups, and school children on field trips. The serious birdwatchers had a small fortune invested in very sophisticated cameras and sat silently in the blinds, while the groups mostly walked through the reserve. Due to the size of the reserve, it takes about an hour to cross just one side, so the full loop is several hours long plus whatever time you spend in the blinds.

Supposedly this is a peak time for bird migration, but we didn't see any big flocks. On the other hand, the Greater Egret and Lesser Egret were present. They are magnificent, all white birds with their beaks and legs colored either yellow or black. We also saw a large number of herons roosting in a tree, which was quite spectacular. The main attraction on the day we visited was the tidal flat, since the tide was reasonably high. Unfortunately, we figured that out after we had strolled through most of the reserve for a few hours, so caught just the tail end of the high tide. But all-in-all, we had a nice relaxing day.