The Story
On March 22, 2018, I photographed this juvenile Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus) near the Mai Po Marshes in Hong Kong’s northwest New Territories. It lives in shallow fresh and salt water wetlands and ponds in China and nearby East Asia. It eats insects, fish and crustaceans and often nests in mixed heronries. IUCN lists the species as Least Concern. The reserve supports globally important numbers of wetland birds, which arrive in winter and during spring and autumn migration. Deep Bay lies between Hong Kong’s Yuen Long District and the city of Shenzhen.
I used a Pentax K-1 and the HD PENTAX-D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6ED DC AW for this one, at 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, −1 EV. Deep Bay faces pollution and development pressure, so protected wetlands like Mai Po matter for the birds that depend on it.
©2018 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus) belongs to the family Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List