Blue flash
It's early morning, and Dilla Antoni is leading me along a clifftop path at Raffles Bali. She indicates movement in the foliage. "That's a sooty-headed bulbul," she says, pointing to a wee bird with a grey crest. Dilla has identified 25 species of birds on the property's 23 hectares of manicured gardens and verdant hillsides to create the Wings of the Wild walk. It's quiet at one of her surefire spots to see a kingfisher, so we head to the beach. Immediately, a white heron flies out across the bay, closely followed by a black one. "I can hear them," Dilla tells me, as we search through our monoculars. Then not one, not two, but three collared kingfishers, with their iridescent blue bodies and white collar, gather in the far trees, proving that, when it comes to birdwatching, patience certainly is a virtue. raffles.com
Tall order
It begins with a sharp call. Then they flap their wings and hop into the air. This is the courtship dance of the red-crowned crane. The most unusual aspect of observing these birds, also known as the tancho crane, is they are performing on snow. This is the second rarest crane in the world. In summer, they inhabit wetlands across East Asia; in winter, they head to the northeastern China and Russia.
Except for a resident population on Hokkaido. Last century, there were only 30 cranes here, but farmers began feeding them in winter. Now, Hokkaido is home to nearly a thousand. To see their show at its best, head to one of three places on Hokkaido - Tsurui Village in the Kushiro Wetlands, Akan International Crane Center and the Kushiro City Tancho Crane Nature Park - in January and February. visit-hokkaido.jp
Here's the bill
Hornbills are found in tropical areas across the globe, but one of the best spots to see them is Thailand's Khao Yai National Park. The lush canopy here is home to four species of hornbill. Austen's brown hornbill might be the rarest, but it's also, well, brown.
The smallest is the wreathed hornbill, with the male sporting a yellow pouch on its throat. You're likely to see an oriental pied hornbill, the most populous species, but the one that gets twitchers excited is the great hornbill, with its impressive yellow casque and beak, red eyes (for the males), and daffodil-hued stripe across their wings, revealed when the bird is in flight. Just 130 kilometres from Bangkok, this is an accessible birdwatching experience, best enjoyed between November and February when it's cooler. khaoyainationalpark.com
Urban respite
In Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui district, Kowloon Park is a peaceful escape from the traffic and crowds. Bird Lake is home to about 130 greater and lesser flamingos in all their musk-stick pink glory. For birdwatchers, the different areas of the 13-hectare park, an important habitat in the urban jungle, are home to an impressive selection of bird species.
Sit in the Chinese Garden and look up into the foliage of the bigger trees, especially the ancient Chinese banyans, and you might be lucky enough to spot a crested goshawk. Also flitting around here and the Sculpture Walk might be a couple of introduced, but still beautiful, species, Alexandrine and rose-ringed parakeets. In winter, the park also hosts a lot of migratory species, like thrushes, flycatchers and warblers. lcsd.gov.hk/en/parks/kp/