Tai Po Kau 

Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve lies to the east of Tai Mo Shan Country Park. It has been designated as a “special area” since 1977, with numerous special plants that attract less common butterflies. Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve is a traditional hotspot for bird watching. More and more people have come for butterfly watching in recent years. It’s an ideal place where you can combine bird watching and butterfly watching in one shot.

Transportation
KMB Bus No. 72: Cheung Sha Wan ─ Tai Wo
KMB Bus No. 72A: Tai Wai MTR Station ─ Tai Po Industrial Estate
KMB Bus No. 73A: Yu Chui Court ─ Cho Yuen
KMB Bus No. 74A: Kwung Tong Ferry Pier ─ Tai Wo
Minibus No. 28k: Tai Po MTR Station ─ Shatin
Estimated time for the full route: 1.5 hours
No vehicles are allowed to enter the Nature Reserve area at the entrance of Chung Tsai Yuen without permission.
Tai Po Kau
Point 1

Spider Tree at the roadside is food plant for the larvae of Great Orange Tip (Hebomoia glaucippe). Nectar of Billygoat-weed are favoured by various butterflies such as Pale Grass Blue (Pseudozizeeria maha), Transparent 6-line Blue (Nacaduba kurava) and Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea).

Great Orange Tip

Great Orange Tip

Pale Grass Blue

Pale Grass Blue

Spider Tree

Spider Tree

Billygoat-weed

Billygoat-weed

Point 2

Move forward and pass through the dam and the creek. The ground is often wet due to the overflow of the river. Butterflies include Glassy Bluebottle (Graphium cloanthus) and Common Mapwing (Cyrestis thyodamas) are attracted to the water. Butterflies are relatively stable when they are sucking water, so it is a good time to watch them closely.

In addition, one can often find Blue Admiral (Kaniska canace) here. They have eye-catching blue strips on their wings, allowing them to be easily identified even at a distance.

Glassy Bluebottle

Glassy Bluebottle

Common Mapwing

Common Mapwing

Blue Admiral

Blue Admiral

Point 3

Just outside the Outdoor Study Centre is an area that was originally a fruit garden. It has become a butterfly garden after being abandoned. The leaves of the Mandarin and Lemon tree here are the food of Swallowtail caterpillars, so many female butterflies come here to find suitable places for laying eggs whilst the males come to find their partners. Common Mormon (Papilio polytes) and Red Helen (Papilio helenus) are frequent visitors.

The path at the left side of the fruit garden, which heads to another side of the Outdoor Study Centre, is a hotspot for seeing Browns, Fauns and Duffers. You may also find the scarce Common Duffer (Discophora sondaica).

Common Mormon

Common Mormon

Mandarin

Mandarin

Common Duffer

Common Duffer

Point 4

A pond sits in the centre of the Outdoor Study Centre, where many butterflies enjoy sunbathing here. Indian Red Admiral (Vanessa indica) and Peacock Pansy (Junonia almana) are among them.

Red Admiral

Red Admiral

Peacock Pansy

Peacock Pansy

Point 5

Next to the pond is an area packed with Pagoda Flower, which blooms throughout the year and supplies plentiful nectar for butterflies. Stop by for a while, you will spot Lemon Emigrant (Catopsilia pomona), Great Mormon (Papilio memnon) and Red-base Jezebel (Delias pasithoe).

Lemon Emigrant

Lemon Emigrant

Great Mormon

Great Mormon

Pagoda Flower

Pagoda Flower

Point 6

At the entrance to the path stand several Common Red-stem Fig. The ripen fruits fallen on the ground are target of butterflies which love juices of rotten fruits. In general Nymphs are difficult to observe. When they are sipping fruit juice, however, they are less alert and may be more closely approached. Here you will also find Common Archduke (Lexias pardalis) and White-edged Blue Baron (Euthalia phemius).

Common Archduke

Common Archduke

Common Red-stem Fig

Common Red-stem Fig

Point 7

You now get to the essence of butterfly watching! This is the bamboo garden at the far end of the Outdoor Study Centre. There are two legally protected plants here: India Birthwort and Illigera. They are the food source for caterpillars of Common Birdwing (Troides Helena), Golden Birdwing (Troides aeacus), Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae) and White Dragontail (Lamproptera curius). All the adults of these species have their own characteristics. Common Birdwing and Golden Birdwing have eye-catching golden patches on their wings whilst White Dragontail has special transparent wings. Common Birdwing and Golden Birdwing are the only legally protected insects in Hong Kong. They are rarely seen butterflies, so try your luck here!

Common Birdwing

Common Birdwing

Common Rose

Common Rose

India Birthwort

India Birthwort