Crake in Hung Hom

On Tuesday, the photos of a Slaty-legged Crake have been circulated on a Facebook page. A friend kindly tipped the location of this bird. I consider rails and crakes interesting because of their appearance and behaviour. Many species of rails and crakes look alike, with a rounded body, long toes and bands on the underpart. They walk tactfully in the understory vegetation.

On Thursday, I have to attend a meeting in Tiu Keng Leng to finalize the sensor installation for my study. After that, my girlfriend and I met in Kwun Tong for lunch. It is a fairly busy day. But my camera and lens had been left in the office. To get the gear, I have to spend a lot of time on transport.

With some planning, the shortest route was devised. From Kwun Tong to North Point, the ferry is the most direct route. From North Point Pier to HKU campus, MTR is the best choice. From HKU to Central Pier, taking bus is faster than taking MTR. Crossing the harbour again, it is better to take the ferry. The final journey is from Tsim Sha Tsui to Hung Hom. I caught the bus to at the last moment. There was an element of luck. It took less than an hour to go to Hung Hom from HKU.  

It was so friendly that it walked towards the photographers.

It sometimes stood with an upright position.

I love this picture as it reflects the behaviour of the bird.

Two spotted doves were around.

Not many photographers were in the park. According some of them, the Crake was easy to photograph, so many have left after feeling satisfied. The Slaty-legged Crake was calm in front of the lens. It is not afraid of people at still. There was a turf for it to forage. The nearby bushes provide shelter to it. An ultra-long lens is not useful for this bird because it actively approaches the observers exceeding the minimum focus distance.

I spent many hours on transport today. An interesting thought came to my mind. In terms of the distance traveled in one's life, birds simply outcompete human. When the Slaty-legged Crake could have traveled thousands and thousands of miles in its life on its wings, how can a person brag about the distance traveled on his feet?