Across the forgotten walls of a Hong Kong island, a flock of bird murals rises
HONG KONG (AP) — They perch gently on concrete ledges. They nestle in the peeling stucco. Sometimes they fly over the roof of a stone house.
A herd has landed in Wang Tong village, a peaceful corner of Lantau Island, southwest of Hong Kong. But this flock is unlike any other: its birds are made of paint.
They exist on murals designed with a broader purpose: not only to draw attention to forgotten places, but also to tell the story of the extraordinary journeys that birds take.
Dominic Johnson-Hill, who imagined the flock, was captivated by his ornithologist neighbor’s account of the Amur falcon, a bird that travels from Manchuria, stops at Lantau, then continues its migration through Myanmar, India and Madagascar to South Africa.
“I just thought these birds lived on the island,” Johnson-Hill recalled. “But that’s not the case. They’re visiting guests.”
This sense of wonder became the seed of what became the Flock Project. Johnson-Hill looked at the abandoned house next to hers and imagined a blue magpie with a red beak painted on the wall. “They seemed to have a place there,” he said.
To bring this vision to life, Johnson-Hill looked for someone who could paint birds not only accurately, but also with soul. He met British artist Rob Aspire, known as “The Birdman” for his intricate and expressive bird murals.
One bird led to another. A year later, Johnson-Hill invited Aspire back and commissioned seven more murals.
Each bird was chosen for its ecological presence, its visual harmony or its symbolic resonance with the place. A kingfisher watches over a stream where fishing is no longer allowed. A Swinhoe’s white eyes blend into the walls near the trees where its bright, fluted call still echoes.
All of the murals are painted on abandoned houses except one. At the summit of Sunset Peak, 868 meters (nearly 3,000 feet) above sea level, a long-tailed shrike perches naturally on the roof of a 90-year-old stone house, watching the mountains unfold below.
The aim is to gradually bring out more of Hong Kong’s native and migratory birds, nestling them in forgotten corners of the island as if they had always lived there.
The murals attract hundreds of people, many of whom come from the concrete heart of Hong Kong. They travel the paths and alleys of the quiet corners of Lantau. On weekends, some bring chalk and draw arrows, turning village trails into treasure maps for the next bird hunter. Sometimes noticing beauty is the first step toward wanting to protect it.
Johnson-Hill has created an online map for visitors and is planning the next phase. What comes next depends on what reveals itself: an abandoned house brought to his attention or the conditions that make another bird possible.
Birds migrate. They disappear. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don’t. People are the same. The villages are empty, but the walls remain – with a painted bird or the memory of one.
