Rice Transplanting Activity

CA and The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society have co-organised 3 rice transplanting activities on 24th April, 1st May and 16th May. Nearly 80 volunteers were recruited to plant rice seedlings in the paddy fields of Long Valley. The transplanting work delayed this year as the rice seedlings were not strong enough due to the unstable weather. Volunteers picked the seedlings from the seedbed and bent themselves to plant the seedlings in the paddy fields. We would like to thank for the effort from all the volunteers. Let’s wish for a good harvest!

 
 
There were secondary students joining our activity. This experience definitely enhanced their understandings on wetlands and agriculture in Hong Kong.
See how orderly the rice seedlings were planted in this paddy field!
 
 

Summer frogs, croak!

“Croak…croak…croak…” The mating season of frogs begins again in the summer!

Don’t think that any frog will croak, usually only male will do so in the mating season to attract female. When I harvest vegetables at night I saw a small frog was carried on the back of a larger one. Maybe to your surprise, the smaller one is actually the male. The male would climb on the female’s back but they are not really mating. Male and female are only ejaculating their sperms and ova for external fertilisation. They love to give the “loving hugs” in our pools for washing vegetables. If predators (like snakes) attack them in the middle of this “romantic” moment, the female will flee with the male on her back!

There are 10 species of frogs recorded in Long Valley. That makes up 42% of the total number of amphibians in Hong Kong and is highly bio-diverse. However, we farmers found that the number of frogs dropped quite a lot in this decade, maybe owing to the use of pesticides. I heard from the CA fellows that this year is the International Year of Biodiversity of the United Nations. As a farmer in Long Valley, I certainly support eco-farming that applied no chemical pesticides in order to safeguard the important habitat of these little frogs.
 
 
Spectacled Toad (Bufo melanostictus) [Photo by : Teresa Ma]
 
 
Günther's Frog (Rana guentheri), the photo at right bottom corner is its tadpole.
[Photo by : Teresa Ma]
 

Spotted Narrow-mouthed Frog (Kalophrynus interlineatus)
 
 
Asiatic Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra pulchra)
 
 
Paddy Frog (Fejervarya limnochari)
 
 
Painted Chorus Frog (Microhyla butleri) [Photo by : Teresa Ma]
 
 
Brown Tree Frog  (Polypedates megacephalus), the smaller one is male while the larger one is female. The frothy mass beneath them are the ova. [Photo by : Teresa Ma]
 
 
Marbled Pigmy Frog (Microhyla pulchra), they have vocal sacs to amplify their croak, the sacs will swell when filled with air. [Photo by : Teresa Ma]
 
 
 Ornate Pigmy Frog (Microhyla ornate) [Photo by : Teresa Ma]
 
 
Chinese Bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus chinensis). In the past people always went “bullfrog spotting” with torches in the fields at night, but they seldom do it now as the quantity of Chinese Bullfrog has slumped. Even if it hasn’t, we don’t encourage people to access private farmland and disturb the wildlife living there. [Photo by : Teresa Ma]
 
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