In October 2001 I spent eight days in Xavier Retreat House for my annual retreat.  On previous occasions I have done my annual retreat in Xavier Retreat House, have had some holidays there and lived there for two years from 1959 to 1961.  In this article I wish to share with Xavier House retreatants some of the glories of the house and Cheung Chau itself.  I refer to the bird life of the island.  The article is divided into three parts.  The first part will detail the birds I saw or heard on my retreat this year.  The second part will tell of the birds I have seen or heard on other occasions and the third part will list the additional birds one “should “ be able to see based on information in “The Avifauna of Hong Kong” (Hong Kong Bird Watching Society Hong Kong 2001).

Before sharing with you the birds I have so much enjoyed I make three points.  (1) From my observation there is some variation in the bird life of Cheung Chau according to the different times of the year.  (2) Not all the birds I mention were seen or heard around the retreat house.  To the best of my ability I will indicate where I saw or heard them.  (3) The English names of the birds have been taken from “Birds of Hong Kong” by Clive Viney and Karen Philips (4th Ed. 1988 Government Printer).  This is because I am more familiar with this book.  Where there is a difference I will give in brackets the names used in “The Avifauna of Hong Kong.”

Part 1    October 2004

                
On the first day of my retreat (18/10) I saw a pair of Magpies (Common Magpie) 喜鵲 on the roof of the Jesuit community house.  On that day too, as on every other day I saw some Black Kites 麻鷹 soaring and circling effortlessly above the retreat house.  These birds can be seen in many places over Hong Kong.  They are especially eye-catching over the harbour.  On a walk to Sai Wan I saw a party of Black-Faced Laughing Thrushes (Masked Laughing Thrush) 七姊妹, some Magpie Robins (Oriental Magpie Robin) 豬屎渣 and, of course, some Tree Sparrows (Eurasian tree Sparrow) 麻雀.  All these three can certainly be seen or heard around the retreat house.

               During the retreat I regularly saw Spotted Doves 珠頸斑鳩 around the house.  As they fly off you can see their two white tail feathers and you will hear the sharp crack of their wings.

                    Next day I saw a member of the Warbler family in the big hibiscus bush beside the community house but I couldn’t make out which warbler it was.  All around the house and the island one can see the Chinese Bulbul 白頭翁 and I didn’t fail to see one during my retreat.  One afternoon over near Naam Tam I saw the very handsome Violet Whistling Thrush (Blue Whistling Thrush) 紫嘯鶇.  It fans its tail continuously and is usually seen near steep, rocky stream beds.  A few minutes later I saw two sizable flocks of Spotted Munias (Scaly Breasted Munias) 斑文雀 near the Salesian Retreat House and then near Kwun Yam Wan a White Wagtail 白鹡鸰.

                            Practically every day I heard the Hwameis 畫眉 singing on the slope going down to the sea in front of the house.  Hwameis have a striking white line over their eyes.  Coming near the end of my retreat I saw a Greater Coucal 大毛雞 and two Drongos 黑捲尾 near the path down to Baak Tso Wan.  Later I saw another Greater Coucal in the trees around the retreat house.  The Greater Coucal lays its eggs in other birds’ nests.  I am sure it has a good reason for doing so.

               One evening when I was on the roof of the retreat house I hear the familiar call of Jungle Crow (Large-billed Crow) 大咀烏鴉 and then saw it flying over towards Lutheran Village.

                 To my great delight I saw some Blue Magpies 藍喜鵲 in the trees in front of the main door on the last day of my retreat.  Their arrival was heralded by quite a lot of excitement among the other birds.  The Blue Magpie is a beautiful bird but it has a very unmusical call.  Shortly after I heard and saw a Black-Necked Starling (Black Collared Starling) 黑領椋鳥 in the same trees.

               Finally on a return visit to Cheung Chau on November 6th I saw two Reef Egrets (Pacific Reef Egret) 白鷺 on a dolphin or mooring post in the harbour.  I had previously seen a Reef Egret quite frequently on rocks of Baak Tso Waan.

Part 2   

                                        I was surprised not to have seen any Crested Mynahs 八哥 or Crested Bulbuls (Red-Whiskered Bulbuls) 高雞冠 during my retreat.  Normally they are very common around the retreat house.  Between March and June you should hear the Koel 噪鵲 uttering his ascending call.  Koels are rather shy and difficult to see.  During the summer you are also likely to hear and sometimes see the Indian Cuckoo 四聲杜鵑.  It seems to call out again and again “One More Bottle”.  One night some years ago an Indian Cuckoo seemed to spend the whole night volleying his call around the echoing walls of the retreat house.  Other birds I regularly saw around the retreat house were White Eyes (Japanese White Eye) 相思 and Long-tailed Tailor-birds (Common Tailor-birds) 裁縫鳥.

   One day several years ago I had a wonderful view from the high path above Kun Yam Wan of a Kestrel 紅隼 beneath me hovering for several minutes looking for some prey on the hill slope.  Not surprisingly I have seen some Common Sandpipers 磯鷸 in various places around the coast.  Below the Salesian Retreat House some years ago I saw a Blue Rock Thrush 籃磯鶇.  Two years ago when Xavier Retreat House was closed for renovation I did my retreat in the Salesian Retreat House.  One night to my complete surprise I found what I am pretty sure a Banded Rail crouched on a concrete path.  It seemed to have been mesmerized by a very bright light.  It allowed me to pick it up and stroke its beautiful feathers.  It walked off quite calmly when I put it back on its feet.

               Over near the Garden of Remembrance on the upper road to Sai Wan there used to be a rather swampy patch of ground.  One day I saw a White-Breasted Waterhen 水雞 coming out of the reedy grass.  It gave me a great thrill to see it.  I doubt if there is any around now.  In that same general area on a small flat piece of land near Lutheran Village I saw a pair of Lesser Coucals 小毛雞.  They seemed to be performing some kind of an elaborate mating dance.

    It is amusing to note that Fr Leung’s efforts to keep some goldfish in the little pond in the centre of the retreat house were thwarted by a Kingfisher 釣魚郎 which on one occasion before his very eyes dived down from the roof to catch one of the fish.  I have seen White-Breasted Kingfishers (White-Throated Kingfisher) 白胸魚郎 in various places around the island coast.

Part 3

               I will be very brief in this part.  There are some more birds you “should” be able to see or hear in Cheung Chau or even around the retreat house.  I just don’t recall having seen either Swallows (Barn Swallow) 燕子or House Swifts (Little Swifts) 小白腰雨燕 on the island.  They must certainly be there.  You may have the luck to see the magnificent White-Bellied Sea-Eagle 白腹海雕 from the ferry between Lantao and Cheung Chau.  I have regularly seen one over Cape Collinson.  Finally, I may be only dreaming but I think I saw a Pied Kingfisher 斑魚狗 between the harbour and Sai Wan.  Maybe I just wanted to see one!

               I am sure there are other birds in Cheung Chau that I haven’t seen or heard.  I hope as you enjoy God’s gifts to you in the retreat house you will thank Him for the wonderful birds He has given us.

Summary

I believe you should be able to see or hear the following birds without leaving the retreat house in the course of a year.

Magpies 喜鵲
Blue Kites 麻鷹
Black-Faced Laughing Thrushes 七姊妹
Magpie Robins 豬屎渣
Tree Sparrows 麻雀
Spotted Doves 珠頸斑鳩
Chinese Bulbuls 白頭翁
Hwameis 畫眉
Greater Coucals 毛雞
Jungle Crows 大咀烏鴉
Blue Magpies 藍喜鵲
Black-Necked Starlings 黑領椋鳥
Crested Blubul 高雞冠
Crested Mynahs 八哥
Koels 噪鵲
Indian Cuckoos 四聲杜鵑
White Eyes 相思
Long-tailed Tailor-Birds 裁縫鳥
Yellow Bellied Wren-Warblers 黃眉柳鶯.