Second Visit to 企嶺下 (Kei Ling Ha) @ Sai Kung, Hong Kong

What a chaotic and abnormal weather in Hong Kong this week (21 - 27 Aug). We started the week with two extremely hot days but a drastic change of weather on Wednesday due to the  devastating T10 typhoon Hato inflicted severe damages and inconveniences to some places. Three days later on 27 Aug, while some places are still grappling  with repair and maintenance work,  we had to face with another T8 typhoon Pakhar - moving towards south China coast and about 150 - 200 km at its closest distance away from HK. Again, the path of Pakhar brought strong winds and heavy thunderstorms, turning a normally vibrant Sunday morning in this activity-filled city into a standstill.    
No outing with my usual hiking group so I  could complete this blogpost on a butterfly-hunting trip to Kei Ling Ha last month (1 July) with my usual group of butterfly enthusiasts.

After a long bus journey from Shatin MTR station (Bus 299), we alighted at the Kei Ling Ha San Wai  and walked towards a coastal village. My first shot of the morning was a mating shield bug - what a difference between the size of a male and a female.

Unlike my last visit last year, Kei Ling Ha was rather quiet this year. For a long  period of time we were actually just strolling along a coastal track without seeing any "worthwhile" species. 

We decided to walk twoards Kei Ling Ha Lo Wei. Along the way near a public toilet,  a Yellow Rajah (Charaxes marmax marmax) was seen puddling on the ground. 

While focusing on shooting this guy, I received a call from my friend  asking me to go forward to a bridge area. Indeed there were a lot more butterfly activities there. 

There were at least two pristine Commanders (Moduza procris procris) loitering around the area. Once they settling down, we quickly queued up  to snap some shots.

This guy also liked to perch on a metal railing - it did that a few times otherwise I would not have a chance to snap this shot. 

Common Hedge Blue (Acytolepis puspa gisca) is a very common lycaenid which is often ignored by many of us if we have another species to go after. 

The Bamboo Tree Brown (Lethe europa beroe) is another common butterfly that I have started to leave it alone unless it looks "suspicious" to me.

散紋盛蛺蝶 (Symbrenthia lilaea lunica ) is also a very common butterfly in Hong Kong.  Though a beautiful butterfly, I don't see many butterfly photographers here chasing after it.  

I have seen the Courtesan (Euripus nyctelius) a few times in HK. I broke away from the group which was perfecting their shots on the Commander, I found this guy on a roadside about 100m away. 

I had an instinctive shot of its uppersides when it puddled on the ground.

I was alerted to this critter hiding underneath a big leaf - I guess it is a nymph of a katydid.

A praying mantis was nearby looking out for its preys. 

Critters at the Aberdeen Country Park in Hong Kong (Part 1)

Abderdeen Country Park is the nearest country park from where I am putting up in the southern part of Hong Kong island.  I visited the park quite a number of times. 

The Parantica aglea is a permannet resident of the park. The purplish blue Ageratum conyzoides flowers near the entrance to the park always provide photographers good shooting opportunities.

Ideopsis similis is another common species in the park.

The Common Tiger (Danus genutia) visited the park occasionally.

The Common Jester (Symbrenthia lilaea lunica) is common during late spring and summer times. The best occasion to photograph them is when they were feeding on wild flowers.

Last year (2016), this shade-loving butterfly Faunis eumeus was abundant in the months between March and May. However, it wasn't the case this year - yes, the number has been quite pathetic so far.

The skipper Tagiades litigiosus likes to zip around before it settled on a bird-droppings.

You could see that the wing shape of  Asticopterusm jama  is rather different from many other butterflies. It is a common skipper that could be found in many country parks. 

There is a trail designed mainly for students. Along this trail, we could find quite a number of critters. The Palm Bob (Suastus gremius gremius) is a skipper.

A dry-season form of a Mycalesis species.

Apart from butterflies, I encountered some other cirtters. This orange robber fly was found resting on a dustbin along the Lower Reserver Trail.

I will continue to feature other flora and fauna found in Aberdeen Country Park.