What?? (I hear you say!)

In the UK the 18th & 19th September (Friday & Saturday) is the selected date(s) for National Moth Night - an annual event that has been run since 1999.  In Hong Kong, there has been a "mirror" event most years, though generally not advertised due to the locations that have been used in the past.

This year I'll be running light traps at relatively easily accessed sites on Lantau and in Sai Kung. An added bonus is the presence of Prof. LI Hou Hun, one of the most prominent microlepidopterists in Asia and a leading authority on Gelechioidea. He, plus a couple of his students, are undertaking a two week field visit to Hong Kong, to further study the Microlepidoptera fauna in Hong Kong, following a visit in April 2007.

When:  18th & 19th September 2008

Where:
18th - Wong Lung Hang Road, Lantau Island.  If I can't get the WSD gate key, then close to Tung Chung! If I can get the WSD gate key, then at the end of the road. Meet at the Shan Ha barrier at around 6:30pm.
19th - Ping Tun, Tai Mong Tsai, Sai Kung  西貢, 大網仔, 坪墩. Meet at the end of the WSD road (taxis will go there, the nearest bus stop is on Tai Mong Tsai Road by Forest Hill Villa and Outward Bounds school - at the junction of Yan Yee Road and Tai Mong Tsai Road). Start at around 6:45pm.

Please reply to this thread if you intend to come, and send me a p.m. with contact details (name and mobile phone no.) and your expected arrival time if you can't make the schedule meet time.

If you are interested and have time, there will be other field recording sessions between Tuesday 15th and Thursday 24th September. Please p.m. me if you would like to attend.

The tentative schedule is as follows (each event should be underway at, or shortly after dusk):
Tuesday 15th - Tai Lam Country Park
Wed. 16th - Sha Lo Tung
Friday 18th - Wong Lung Hang, Lantau Island
Sat. 19th - Tai Mong Tsai, Sai Kung  西貢, 大網仔, 坪墩
Mon. 21st - Upper Nam Chung Valley
Wed. 23rd - Tai Mo Shan (700m elevation lookout)
Thur. 24th - Tai Lam Wu, Ho Chung, Sai Kung

DISCLAIMER
Please note that in the event of thunderstorms or typhoons, these events are liable to cancellation at short notice. If you wish to attend, but the weather appears to be unstable, please contact me by SMS on the afternoon / evening of the event to confirm if the event is still being held. Your attendance at any of these events is entirely at your own risk.

cheers,

Roger.

[ Last edited by  hkmoths at 2009-9-19 15:06 ]

Go Go Go!!!!!!!

x2.......

I will go at Sat, 19th - Ping Tun, Tai Mong Tsai, Sai Kung.

Please meet at the car park by the restaurant about 100m before the WSD barrier at 6:15 pm if you are going to be at the start of the event. If not, we'll probably have dinner there at around 7:30pm to 8:30pm whilst the moth traps are (hopefully) filling up with moths. It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the barrier to the moth recording site at the end of Wong Lung Hang Road.

A late finish, probably around 1:00 am is anticipated, weather permitting, though you don't have to stay this late if you are catching public transport back home.

Please refer to the map for the locations mentioned.

If you intend to drive, please let me know and I'll see if car-pooling / lifts can be arranged, as there is very limited parking available.

cheers,  Roger.

Please meet at the Shek Hang public car park at 6:15pm to be present at the start.

The moth traps will be located at the start of a footpath to Pak Tam Chung the end of Ping Tun road, and about 150m further along the same path in the forest. The recording will start at around 6:30pm.

If you are late, please proceed along the WSD road (narrow road, drive with extreme caution) to Ping Tun. There is space for about 4 cars, so please park at Shek Hang and car-pool for the last section, or walk the last section (takes about 15 minutes).

Mobile phone reception in the valley is poor or non-existant in places (especially Shek Hang car park). There are no refreshment facilities nearby, so please make sure you bring enough to drink and a snack!

Please refer to the map attached for your reference.

cheers,  Roger.

[ Last edited by  hkmoths at 2009-9-19 15:06 ]

How about 15th & 16th??

Count me in tentatively for the Sat, 19th (Ping Tun, Tai Mong Tsai, Sai Kung). Will drive be driving and can pick up to 4 people from Sai Kung Town Centre (near the bus or minibus terminus), but will confirm nearer to the date.

Moderator's note (18-09-2009):
PLEASE P.M. Bicolor a.s.a.p. if you need a lift from Sai Kung.
Anyone travelling from HK Island and need a lift? If so, please P.M. hkmoths by lunchtime on Saturday 19th.

[ Last edited by  hkmoths at 2009-9-18 13:12 ]

15th - Tai Lam Country Park.
Weather forecast is not good, I'd rate only 25% chance of going ahead. Though the winds will drop during the evening, there is a high chance of persistent heavy rain, which is not good for recording moths in!
Meet at Shek Kong catchment road, off Route Twisk, at 18:15 IF the event is still on.  Will confirm at 16:00 on 15th.

16th - Sha Lo Tung
Please meet at the end of Sha Lo Tung Road at 18:30. The moth traps will be placed a few hundred metres further along the track towards Cheung Uk Tsuen (the abandoned village). If the weather is still poor, then the traps will be set close to the rain shelter at the end of Sha Lo Tung Road.

Then I thnk I would not go for 15th as it is too far for me to walk into the site.
I will attend the 16th night but maybe as late as 20:30.

still too wet & windy, with no prospect of significantly better weather by this evening.

The Sha Lo Tung event on the 16th will go ahead as planned as there is adequate rain cover and a better forecast.

cheers,  Roger.

Mao will join at 18/9 & 19/9.

I will join at 18/9

Me & my friend might join Ping Tung, Tai Mong Tsai moth survey; Sat 19th Sept.

Thanks

I will join the one on 18/9

I want to join tomorrow and today (may be) moth night. ^^

Will be going for tomorrow's event at Ping Tun, Tai Mong Tsai. I will be driving and can pick up to 4 people from Sai Kung Town Centre. Please PM me if you would like a lift from there. I will leave from Sai Kung Town Centre by 5:30 p.m. to allow for some time in case of traffic jam (which always happens on weekends in Sai Kung! ).

preliminary results from Wong Lung Hang, 18th September.

At least 209 moth species. Quite a few micros still to be counted, so could be in excess of 250 species seen.

One new mantid to HK & Guangdong.

more later......

How about the up coming nights?

The moth survey on Monday will start at around 18:30.
There is room for four or five cars at the car park. Closest public transport is the green minibus to  Luk Keng (56K) from Fanling MTR, alight at the junction of Nam Chung Road.
Finish time is likely to be somewhere around 23:00.
Please refer to the map for the location details.

Mobile phone reception is poor / non-existant at the recording site.

[ Last edited by  hkmoths at 2009-9-20 11:13 ]