The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Last night we had a fantastic time at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, with a buffet, betting and WINNING! Well, we won some, but when we did, it sure was exciting. Highlights included a tremendous come back from Easy Gold to create wins for Jeff and me and to overtake Amanda's leading horses. Also Diamond Rainbow put on a good showing and raked in the HK$40 for Amanda!





Two nights ago I had my first hot pot experience with Amanda and a couple of friends. With a bowl of boiling broth at the center of the table we ordered an array of raw meats, seafood and vegetables to be briefly boiled and eaten. It's a great way to eat a meal, I think, though we did come out feeling like we had just experienced some sort of weird sauna/spa having had the steam flowing toward our faces for a couple of hours.






And the Minivet again, falling.

Tai Po Kau

Yesterday Amanda and I went up to Tai Po Kau Park in hot pursuit of any bird. We meant to go to the nature reserve in the area, but didn't even realize we were in the wrong spot until we were leaving cause it was so birdy. There were one million Red-whiskered Bulbuls and all these:

Great looks at Fork-tailed Sunbirds




They hover a bit like hummingbirds


Japanese White-eye


Hwamei


Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, insane look in its eye


Ashy Drongo (we also saw two other species of Drongo!)




Great Tit




Yellow-cheeked Tit


Magpie Robin


Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike


Spotted Turtle Dove


And the Bird Of The Day, the Grey-chinned Minivet, this one's a male, and the female was just as stunning but with yellow in place of orange