Located on the northwestern corner of Hong Kong, Mai Po Nature Reserve is among Asia’s finest locations for wetland biodiversity. It features fishponds, gei wai (traditional shrimp ponds), mudflats, mangroves, etc. Its mangrove forest is China’s sixth largest. What is more, the 2,700 hectare wetland is a renowned haven for migratory birds.
I went to visit Mai Po last Saturday (17 Nov 2012), much impressed with its mangrove. Its mangrove forest at Hong Kong’s border with Shenzhen is big, green and impressive.
The bird watching part was most amazing. November is not the best season to watch birds here – it is not cold enough for birds to migrate. Despite this, there is still a lot of bird watching to do. With professional binocular lens, I could watch so vividly birds gracefully stand, move across the sky and in a group. For the first time I began to understand why there are “birdwatchers” on this earth . Birds are immensely beautiful to watch.
You can only visit Mai Po by joining a tour. The manager of the Reserve, WWF-Hong Kong, organizes year-round public guided tours to Mai Po. Check out here.
