Comments on Mai Po bird tours

[DocMartin]

In association with WWF Hong Kong, I occasionally guide people on private tours round Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve.

Just received this email from one of two ladies I took to the reserve recently – helps show that Hong Kong has a wonderful variety to offer visitors, from city shopping to birding at an internationally important wetland:

Quote:

Martin, sorry I haven’t gotten this to you more promptly, but I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your guide services on 10/25!

It was great to meet you and talk with you as we walked the Mai Po Marshes. I’m still amazed at how many birds we saw in those few hours! The highlight, of course, was the rare and endangered Black-faced Spoonbills! I never dreamed we would have the possibility of seeing them until we contacted you.

We also saw another 20 life birds–species that were completely new to us! In addition to the birds, we also saw the Javan Mongoose and some Mudskippers. While birds are our main focus, it’s always a treat to see other kinds of wildlife as well! So on all counts, Janet and I consider the trip to have been a huge success! Thanks for working the timing out with us.

As short as the time to bird was, we would have missed a great opportunity to see all these things had we not gotten to Mai Po. And while we did not see many birds at the Forest Reserve, it was great to have the opportunity to see the rain forest habitat in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong offered us a truly unique opportunity. We went sight-seeing at Victoria’s peak and shopping at Stanley Market with our tour group–Alumni Holidays International–in the morning, and then broke away for some eco-tourism in the afternoon! Where else in the world could one have such spectacular views of the city skyline in the morning and yet stand looking at Black-faced Spoonbills in the afternoon? It was a rare opportunity and a highlight of our trip. Thank you again, so much, for making it possible for us!

Warmest Regards,
Connie

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