Sometimes when we are rushing back to the city from a hike before sunset, we will bump into a few people wearing camouflage clothes and pacing in the woods. The next second you will discover them holding a camera with a lens the length of an arm. If you saw this scene outside of the countryside, it’s easy to misunderstand that they are waiting for some celebrities. But these people are usually a group of birdwatchers waiting for birds to return to their nests. Other people tiptoe past them to avoid making noises and disturbing them.
Birdwatching Makes Her a Little Different
On a warm morning in autumn, we met with Alice, a bird enthusiast, at Hong Kong Park. It was early but Alice arrived before the scheduled time and stayed at the upper areas of the Park to observe. She was dressed in subdued colours, carried a backpack and held a pair of black binoculars. As we strolled around Hong Kong Park she kept whispering to us that there were different species of birds, and reminded us to pay attention to the chirping. Her tone was gentle and her passion was obvious.
Alice may have just finished the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) but has been birdwatching for 7 years. For most girls that age, their perceptions are often still influenced by their families, but Alice told us that her family and friends are not interested in birdwatching and nature. “Sometimes after looking for birds from 7am to 6pm, I feel very tired when I return home. I just want to sleep but my family does not understand what I have been doing!”
Her family also often mistaken that birdwatching requires expensive equipment and abundant knowledge about nature. “Birdwatching is an affordable activity, photography is what makes it expensive but the most important criteria in birdwatching is the concentration which is something everyone can do,” she explained. For Alice, this is her experience: she started her birdwatching journey after participating in a primary school birdwatching competition.
When Alice was living in a village house in Sheung Shui, she was close to nature but did not think about observing the surrounding wildlife. She simply thought that the scenery of birds often flying by outside the windows was beautiful. The birdwatching competition in primary school opened up another world for her. She visited Hong Kong Park and started to look for birds under the guidance of the volunteers. She tried to identify the species and listen to their sounds. Although she did not receive any ranking in her first year of competing, the school discovered her potential and encouraged her to participate again. The next year, she won the birdwatching competition. With binoculars in her hands, the bird guide book that she regularly flips at home are gifts from her primary school principal.
Open Your Eyes during Hectic Days
Within her birdwatching experience, the most profound one did not happen in the country park but at Fanling MTR Station when she spotted a Java sparrow. Most people were wearing earphones and walking past quickly on the street but with one glance, Alice found this endangered species.
In recent years, since Alice moved to a public housing estate in Tin Shui Wai, and due to preparing for her DSE, she has lost a lot of birdwatching time. Her life became more similar to the busy life of ordinary Hong Kong people; however, she pivoted to observing birds on roads. Birds like black-collared starling and little egret are the buddies she met on the way to school. While her peers mostly watch KOLs’ make-up or style videos on YouTube, she searches for bird calls on YouTube and tries to memorise them. Alice is unique because of birdwatching.
People always say that Hong Kong is just a concrete forest with nothing. But as long as we use our ears, eyes and heart open to observe our surroundings, the most precious things in life are often just next to us. Why not put down your mobile phone in the next moment, look for the unique city soundtrack in between noises, and perhaps you can see another side to Hong Kong.
*A special thanks to the Hiking Wind Fire Magazine (風火山林雜誌) for the assistance of this interview.