Press Releases

The Hong Kong Wetland Park is holding its annual winter highlight event, the Bird Watching Festival, from today (November 18) until March 2015.

With "Home for Birds" as the theme this year, the Festival will introduce the interesting daily habits and living environment of birds in the Wetland Park.

Most birds only build a nest for laying eggs and raising chicks during the breeding season. They make use of both natural and artificial materials available in the surrounding area to build their nests in an intricate and creative way. Visitors to the Festival's thematic exhibition will be able to see a variety of bird nests built at various nesting sites including in tree canopies, reeds, muddy shores, tree cavities, eaves and even power boxes. This demonstrates how birds adapt to living with humans as well as their magnificent craftsmanship in nest architecture.

Another Festival attraction is the Flyway Print Exchange Exhibition. Located on the world's largest flyway, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, Hong Kong is visited by hundreds of thousands of migratory birds every year. To raise public awareness of bird conservation along the Flyway, 20 artists from nine countries along the Flyway have created original prints with various printmaking techniques, which are to be showcased in roving exhibitions in the regions along the Flyway. In Hong Kong, these artworks will be displayed exclusively at the Wetland Park during the Festival.

Visitors who enjoy bird watching can also take part in the Experiencing Waterbird Survey and gain hands-on experience in the ecological monitoring of birds. Participants who have completed the Survey's training workshop will be invited to join the Wetland Park's professional waterbird surveyors for the International Black-faced Spoonbill Census 2015, which is a global bird conservation programme.

In addition, the Wetland Park will organise a range of activities including guided tours, orienteering games, public lectures, nature-in-art classes, binocular-making classes and more, helping visitors to learn more about the birds during the Festival.

Located next to the Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site, the Wetland Park is an ideal place for bird watching. The Park has diversified habitats, including mudflats, freshwater marshes, ponds, streams, wet farmlands, reedbeds, mangroves and woodlands, which provide a suitable living environment for more than 240 bird species, accounting for over 45 per cent of the species recorded in Hong Kong.

For details of the event, please visit the website of the Wetland Park (www.wetlandpark.gov.hk).

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