06/12/2009: Bandar PERDA & Kubang Semang (Penang)

I decided to hunt for more Aquila Eagles at the same locality taking into consideration the success of yesterday's search. At the paddy fields in Bandar PERDA, I was faced with the same dilemma as yesterday - the Greater Spotted Eagle was resting on a distance pylon with no way to reduce the distance.

While scanning the other pylons in the vicinity, I spotted a migratory Peregrine Falcon using the pylons as a place to rest as well.

Large-billed Crows are facing stiff competition from the highly successful House Crows here in Penang and I feel that their numbers are greatly reduced. This rather confiding individual was foraging at the edge of the paddy fields and I took full advantage of the situation to obtain more images of this species into my collection.

The Brown Shrikes were tame as usual like this lovely lady...

I decided to spend more time at Kubang Semang this morning as this is where I saw the Imperial Eagle yesterday. As it was still a little to early for the eagles to hunt, I concentrated my attention to a mixed flock of Black-winged Stilts and Grey-headed Lapwings. The stilts were rather confiding as usual...

And much to my delight, so were the lapwings this morning...

One of the fields had quite a number of foraging waders. I tried my luck to see if by chance the Temminck's Stint was around but the only stints here were the Long-toed Stints.

There were a couple of Curlew Sandpipers in the vicinity as well...

Snipes are notoriously difficult to identify and this shy individual was no exception. I can only guess it is a Common Snipe...

I came across a few Black Drongos hawking for insects just above the paddy fields. The low angle provided me with a good opportunity to obtain their images.

As the morning sun rose higher, I spotted a couple of Black Kites circling in the sky above. I took it as my cue to start my search for the eagles and true enough, I could make the shape of 2 large raptors circling at a far distance. I put my poor car through the "rally regime" again to reduce the distance and fired away my camera. One of the raptors turned out to be a juvenile Imperial Eagle and is most probably the same bird I saw here yesterday.

Unfortunately, it turned and soared away from me after a short while. The remaining raptor was a juvenile Greater Spotted Eagle and it, on the other hand, remained to provide me with a very good show indeed. Merry Christmas to you too!