FUN

Hello people, it's me again :D. Its been long since I last updated my time in the HKDCS.  The past few months have been great, I have learnt a lot of things from the guys from being on-effort, to learning new acoustic tracking techniques.  You can never ask for a better working environment than in the HKDCS.  Anyway, besides all the serious work we normally do on our working days, last month we managed to gather around on a saturday for a day of great fun.

We organised us a cycling plus picnic day.  We cycled from Tung Chung to the Disney Inspiration Lake, which was a 2-hour ride.  And then we settled at the Inspiration Lake for lunch.  We, like any other day of work, met up in Tung Chung MTR station, and as always, Viena was late xD.  Before heading to the bike rental, we went to get us some snacks for the picnic from the supermarket.  Once we all got our bikes, we took a group photo and started our day of cycling.  The scenery along the cycling path was fascinating, and it was an easy ride until we reached Sunny Bay, in which we had to cycle up a steep road.  It was terribly rough especially after 1.5 hour of cycling.  Some of us had no choice but to hop off the bike and push, while the rest were so much stronger and biked all the way up the road.  Once we reached the peak, everything became effortless and we arrived in Inspiration Lake in no time.

We set up a perfect spot for lunch overlooking the lake, Karen prepared lunch for everyone, there were bolognese spaghetti, and chicken wings.  Although I could not taste the chicken wings, but I could tell they were good, just like the spaghetti.  While everyone was away getting drinks, I witnessed something totally ludicrous, Viena and Yuki rolling on the grass like 5 year-old children.  Apart from eating, we also played board games together.  When the sun started to set, it marked the end of our fun day, so we began cycling back to Tung Chung, remember I mentioned about the scenery on the way to Sunny Bay? With the scene of the sun setting, the scenery along the cycling path was 10-times prettier, it was breathtaking.

After returning our bikes to the bike rental, we left Tung Chung for a tummy-filling dinner in Mongkok.  At the end of the day, it was generally an enjoyable day, it was a day where we got to know each other better.  Anyway, I guess this is where I should end the story :D I will see you guys next time.

Not the end yet!

For the past three months, my time with HKDCS has been very fruitful. I am fortunate to join the team, meeting wonderful people and gaining new experiences every day. For those who are looking into the field of cetacean research and marine conservation, this internship is certainly a great opportunity to explore your interest and most of all, you won’t regret it!

One might think that research work is always boring, however, this is not the case when it comes to the research done in here. Since we cannot predict what sightings we can get during the surveys, I always look forward to what I will experience each day. Among all field surveys, I particularly like to spend my time with the dolphins and finless porpoises at sea. It is never tiring to see them especially when you can recognize a few through photo identification. Just weeks ago, I was able to get a picture of the mother and calf pair near Lung Kwu Chau using the 7D camera. My photography skills were better this time and I was able to capture the moment when the calf peeped out of the water. It was really cute indeed!

Apart from conducting field research, I was glad to be involved in other related works such as data analysis, the DRT show, school talks and many more. Recently, I have spent a lot more time working on the SROI project. We did several questionnaire surveys already and most went well. Regarding the issue on the third runway project proposal, the supporting and opposing voices were both strong. Through the process of setting up objectives, creating questionnaires and conducting interviews, I learned that the work of conservation involves good communication and the collaboration between researchers and other parties such as the general public. It is a difficult job but I believe every change starts with a small step.

All in all, this internship was really memorable and the experiences I had will certainly last for a lifetime. It has inspired me to explore further in the field of cetacean research and was useful to help me plan my future career. Also, the staff members were extremely helpful and it was my pleasure to work with them. Though my internship period has ended but at the same time it has turned a new page in my life. In the coming months, I am glad to continue to work at HKCRP (as one of the staff this time J) and surely there will be more exciting events waiting for me ahead.  

I got to say bye now. All the best to future interns!

Tiffany =)

The DRT show and more...

Hi,

It’s time for me to recall some exciting events happened in the past weeks. First of all, I was so happy to take part in the Diving and Resort Travel Expo, held on the 13^th to 15^th December at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. The HKDCS was able to set up a booth this year, so other than selling books related to nature and marine animals, we were able to educate the public specifically on Chinese white dolphins and finless porpoises. It was exciting to know that many people were actually interested to learn more about these marine creatures and the ways to protect them. 

 Fascinating art piece from Shark Savers

Other than helping at the booth, we also took the opportunity to conduct a questionnaire survey for the SROI project I mentioned before.  Among the visitors, many of them were divers and conservationists, so we were fortunate to get lots of valuable opinions. The expo was really an eye opener for me because I wanted to learn diving for a long time. There was so much information about diving courses and beautiful diving locations worldwide. Surely, I will recommend anyone who likes diving to visit this expo!!

Our booth ~ Good job everyone :)

Apart from the DRT show, we were also busy working on the SROI project. We conducted a few questionnaire surveys and have interviewed Hong Kong residents and foreign tourists. Through their participation in the questionnaires, we wanted to know their views on the proposed Hong Kong airport’s third runway project and experiences with dolphin-watching tours. I was glad to conduct the surveys as they helped to raise public awareness about the threats posed on Chinese white dolphins.We are halfway through the project now, so hopefully it will turn out well!

Tiff :)

G' Day :D!

      Hello hello, so this is my first ever blog entry since I've joined the HKDCS family.  Where do I begin!?  I'll start by introducing myself I guess.  My name is Cherie, I study Zoology in Australia, I applied this internship programme because I didn't want to waste my holiday doing nothing, plus being able to work a job that is within my discipline would be a great opportunity for me to experience what it is like when I graduate.  

      Now that I have been working for roughly three weeks, I am finding myself fitting in quite well, everyone has been more than helpful to me, I have learnt so much since.  For example, scanning dolphins and porpoises with a pair of binoculars, filling in survey effort data sheets, working with other staff as a team.  Most of these skills are not difficult to get a hand on, it may sound cliche, but in my opinion, this is the best job in the world.  It's a day of work, staying on board on a fairly large yacht, scanning for dolphins without having the slightest chance of getting wet and dirty, seeing dolphins occasionally for free while others have to pay hundreds of dollars to see, getting the chance to admire the fascinating landscape of Hong Kong during dawn and dusk and learning knowledges in which no other job can offer.  However, I cannot say the same for land-based survey, it is less comfy than working on a boat of course.  Most of the stations are pretty remote, so you actually have to walk a couple of kilometres to get there, with equipments weighting a few stones.  Lucky for me, it is winter at the moment, and I am a pretty strong girl, but I bet I won't be saying the same if I work during the summer period.

     Apart from the usual boat survey and land-based survey, last week I also had the chance to help at the Hong Kong Diving Resort Travel expo, it was a day of great fun.  Besides giving out questionnaires and educating the public about the resident cetaceans of Hong Kong, I also had the chance to walk around and getting good bargains for diving gears. :D

Well, I guess I will stop here for now, I will keep you guys updated very soon.

Days in Shum Wat =)

Finally, I was able to visit Shum Wat twice! It is one of the important stations for land-based survey, so I was hoping to go there for a long time. The station in Shum Wat was far away from the bus terminal and took us about 45 minutes of walk to the survey site. On our way to the hiking trail, I was able to enjoy the rural scenery of Tai O, especially for the stilt houses inside the village. Since I don’t usually come here, I felt like I was going for an outing more than work =)

Tai O village and wala wala boats

Stilt houses

On my first time to Shum Wat, the wind was pretty strong and we got a record of Beaufort 4-5. Although it was quite difficult to do the scans, we were able to spot two dolphins appearing about 300 m away from the shore. They were swimming towards the Shum Wat Bay but we lost track of them shortly afterwards. I think it was one of the closest encounters I ever had when doing land-based surveys; I could even see their skin patterns clearly through the binoculars! As for the second time, the weather was very hazy and since the dolphins were spotted far away, we failed to track all of the groups. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my time there. Apart from the dolphins, I have noticed the construction area of the HKZM Bridge has been expanding ever since. The structure of the main bridge could be clearly identified now and there were more construction boats stationing in the area. Knowing that the Chinese white dolphins also live in the waters near Shum Wat, I hope we can still see them around after the bridge was built.

                                  Shum Wat station, with the HKZM bridge construction site at far

                                                              

                                          Our little friend basking in the sun

Tiff =)

                                                                                                      

Busy weeks

Hi !

The weather is turning cool now which is just perfect for field research! In the past weeks, I had more opportunities to conduct boat surveys, especially for those near South Lantau and Lamma Island. These areas are popular to get sightings of the finless porpoise and fortunately we are starting to see them around. At times, the sea conditions in those areas are pretty rough due to the strong tides and we even got records of Beaufort 5. I think it was the strongest Beaufort I have experienced so far and luckily no one in our survey team got sick. As for the Chinese white dolphins, they were mostly spotted near Sha Chau, Lung Kwu Chau and West Lantau these days. We also got some sightings in South Lantau which are not so common at this time of the month. I wonder if the construction of the HKMZ bridge is a possible reason for this.

Other than doing surveys, I got the chance to visit the office more often. I learned how to process the survey data and was able to help out in a mini project conducted by the HKDCS. Due to the Hong Kong International Airport’s third runway proposal, it is expected that the habitat of the Chinese white dolphins will be greatly disturbed and may result in a drop of dolphin numbers. The project is basically a simplified Social Return on Investment (SROI) assessment of the economic impacts that the decline of dolphin population has on the dolphin watch industry. We decided to collect our data through questionnaires and interviews, so there will be lots to prepare in the coming weeks! I can’t wait to know the results of the project, especially on how Hong Kong citizens and tourists value our Chinese white dolphins. Hopefully, it will be something encouraging!

Please stay tuned for more updates...

Beautiful sunset in Tung Chung

 with the HKMZ bridge's construction site at the horizon  

Tiffany ^_^

Memorable events

Hi, it’s me again J. A lot has been happening lately, so I will briefly update the progress of my internship. From being a newbie to a more capable intern, I have gained a lot more experience with the land and boat surveys. One of my favorite surveys is the land-based research conducted in Fan Lau. It is a great location to see dolphins as they can be found surfacing very near to the shore. On that day, we had two teams working together for the theodolite tracking and dolphin dive times. Since there were more people on work rotation, each of us took turns doing the scans and operating the computer. At other times, I tried to do the boat counts and learned how to fill in the dive time sheets. Though there were fewer sightings than expected, nevertheless, it was fun for me to take part in different roles during the survey and I had a great time learning.

Other than the work in Fan Lau, one thing that excites me is that I am starting to get my own sightings now. It is always enjoyable whenever I see the dolphins, especially when I can recognize a few. Another highlight of the month was that I was able to see the finless porpoise finally!! Thanks to one of our staff members, we got two sightings right away during my boat survey in South Lantau. Unlike the Chinese white dolphins, the finless porpoise are more sensitive and challenging to spot. Having to see them really made my day and hopefully, there will be more to come!

As for last week, we had a farewell dinner for Anke and other beloved staff members who will be leaving us. We had a memorable time working together and it was my pleasure to meet them. Everyone enjoyed themselves at the table and we also celebrated the birthdays of two staff members. Though we were all stuffed by the end of the dinner but still we managed to finish off two birthday cakes. Way to go everyone! It was nice to see how the staff here cared about each other and the passion they have for their work. After all, other than the great learning experience I had in here, what I can truly feel was that interning with HKDCS not only brings you good food… but also friendship =)

That’s all for now! I look forward to what will come next.

                                                           Our survey team in Fan Lau!

Cheers,

Tiffany