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Dear Friends,
The Mai Po Nature Reserve is one of the six most important wetlands reserves of China. To visit Mai Po Nature Reserve you need a permit of the WWF Hong Kong and by entering the reserve you need an official permission of the Department of Agriculture and Fishery of Hong Kong.
When we visit the nature reserve, we were the only two visitors that morning. It's really great to walk around in this fantastic nature conservation.
Although lots of birds immigrated after the winter you can see many waterfowls who are local, many butterflies, insects, dragonflies and small watercreatures like fiddler crabs and mudskippers.
It is a great experience to visit Mai Po Nature Reserve. Also the many Gei Wai in this area are very interesting. A Gei Wai is a small pond where fishermen are farming shrimps. On special weekends you can go with the fishermen to a Gei Wai and harvest shrimps by your self.
More information about the Mai Po Nature Reserve - a project of and protected by World Wildlife Fund Hong Kong - is provided by the Hong Kong Touristboard and WWF Hong Kong. Thanks a lot for the provided information
Mai Po - WWF Hong Kong -Overview -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© Loretta Luk / WWF Hong Kong
The wetlands around the Mai Po Marshes and Inner Deep Bay in the northwestern corner of Hong Kong, have been known as a haven for migratory birds for decades. Mai Po was first recognized as a protected area in 1976, when it was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. In 1984, WWF Hong Kong began to take active management of the Reserve for environmental education and conservation. In 1995, 1,500 ha of wetlands around Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay were formally designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Gei Wai --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© WWF Hong Kong
In Asia, people living in coastal areas have many hundreds of years of experience producing shrimps using ponds located adjacent to bays or estuaries. In Hong Kong, knowledge of how to do this did not arrive until the mid-1940's, when a wave of immigrants from China came into the Hong Kong SAR. These ponds were known as gei wai (literally meaning a pond enclosed by a bund) and were mainly for shrimp
production but fish, oysters, algae and brackish water sedges were also harvested.
Each of the Mai Po gei wai covers an area of approximately 10 ha and are now recognised as good examples of how coastal wetlands can be managed sustainably, i.e. so that they can be of benefit to local communities, with minimal adverse impact to the environment. This is because traditional gei wai shrimp production relies on the natural productivity in the adjacent bay. At Mai Po, the ponds are stocked by flushing in young shrimps from Deep Bay in autumn, and the shrimps feed on naturally occurring organic matter, e.g. dead mangrove leaves, on the bottom of the pond. As a result, fishermen protected the stands of mangroves inside the pond as a source of food for the shrimps and fish. The shrimp of main commercial importance is Metapenaeus ensis (gei wai shrimp) but fish, such as Mugil cephalus (Grey mullet) are also present.
The original managers of Mai Po, the gei wai shrimp pond operators, used to completely drain down their gei wai to harvest the fish inside the pond when the shrimp-harvesting season has ended. This starts from early winter.
When the
gei wai is drained, the areas of shallow water or exposed mud on the pond floor provide feeding and roosting habitats for hundreds of fish-eating birds, particularly herons, egrets and the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill. Since this traditional form of gei wai management adds to the ecological value of the area, WWF Hong Kong has continued to drain down the gei wai on a rotational basis. One gei wai is drained every two weeks from November to March, in order to provide feeding habitat for the migratory waterbirds that are passing through, or winter in Deep Bay.
In order to provide the best views for visitors of the many waterbirds in the draining gei wai, a net-screen will be placed across the Closed Area Fence Road end of the gei wai when they are drained, so that visitors can see the impressive numbers of herons, egrets and Black-faced Spoonbills feeding and roosting in the draining po.
Migratory Birds --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© Neil Fifer
In recent years, over 60,000 waterbirds have wintered in and around the Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site, including endangered species such as Saunders' Gull and a quarter of the
world's population of the Black-faced Spoonbill. During the Spring and Autumn migrations, some 20,000 to 30,000 waders regularly use the Mai Po mudflats as a site to rest and refuel before they continue their long journey.
The highlight at these times, is the chance of seeing rare birds such as the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Spotted Greenshank, Asiatic Dowitcher and Grey-tailed Tattler. Spectacular flocks of birds such as Pied Avocet wheeling around are also a major draw for visitors.
In addition to the birds, the Reserve has many other features of importance. The heart of the reserve is made up of 24 traditionally operated shrimp ponds (locally called gei wai), which are now the only such ponds in Hong Kong, and possibly in southern China. This unique system of shrimp production is increasingly seen as a great way to use wetlands sustainably because the shrimp production relies on the natural productivity of Deep Bay. The ponds are stocked by allowing water and naturally occurring young shrimps from Deep Bay into the gei wai at high tide. The shrimps then feed on detritus and plankton inside the ponds.
The stand of inter-tidal mangroves fringing Mai Po and Deep Bay is
the sixth largest in China, and the reedbed stands are one of the largest in Guangdong Province.
The East Asian - Australasian Flyway (EAAF) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The shorebirds at Mai Po travel along the East Asian - Australasian Flyway, which extends from within the Arctic Circle, through Southeast Asia to Australia and New Zealand. Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay lie at the mid-point of this migration route, serving as an important feeding "stop-over" site for the hardy travellers. WWF manages Mai Po, one of the sites under this flyway, to ensure it continues to be a haven for these annual migratory visitors by offering feeding opportunities and a variety of habitats to appeal to species with different needs.
Over 33 key sites from 11 countries have joined the East Asian - Australasian Shorebird Site Network.
Hong Kong Tourist Board Bird lovers and people who enjoy walking the great outdoors should head for the Mai Po marshes in the north-western New Territories, the resting and feeding place for more than 300 species of migrating birds.
The Mai Po Wetlands, which include the marshes and the mudflats of
Inner Deep Bay, have been listed as a Ramsar wetland since September 1995 and have a total area of about 1,500 hectares.
In view of its significance, the Hong Kong Government declared Mai Po a "Site of Special Scientific Interest" in 1976. To ensure that the area was managed properly, the World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong (WWFHK) was entrusted with the responsibility in 1984 and currently manages the 3 -380-hectare Mai Po Nature Reserve.
The best time for bird watching is in the spring and the autumn when more than 300 species of birds have been recorded in the area, many of them rarely seen anywhere outside the region. The migrant birds forage in the vicinity of Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay Wetlands, feeding on fish, shrimps and crabs among the mangroves.
During the winter months, the wetland is home to some 20,000 to 30,000 migratory water birds, including the rare and endangered Black-faced Spoonbill. The area also houses such wildlife as otters, butterflies, leopard cats and other mammals.
After our visit we took a taxi and the KCR and went back to Kowloon.
Here we have tea and a special
dim sum tasting as a late lunch.
We hope you enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for more travel adventures and travelexperiences.
From Hong Kong with love.
Monkey and Bear.
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Monkey and Bear
Studio 21
Mai Po Nature Reserve.
xiaojay Hi Jacqueline and Adrian, How are you? Are you in the hotel room looking at the rainy sky wondering when shall we go out? ^ _ ^ I got visitor too but we can not go to anywhere in such weather. It's good to see your mail acturally I've not been to MaiPo by myself. You see I've reached 2 new agreements on Friday, one is for 6 months period. I'm very happy. Next week my duty is 10am -7pm and I'll be off on Wednesday. Please let me know how is the convenient way that you can show me the pictures modified system. As we are not allowed to appear in the hotel in casual look, so shall we meet in Macdonald and have breakfast together? I don't want to occupy too much of your time. You really should see as many places as you can. Let's discuss it next week. Have a good rest and cheers. Joyce with love