Thursday 10 February 2011

05/02/2011: Bukit Wang (Kedah)

I finally found the time to some birding in the midst of celebrating the Chinese New Year. In my younger years, I would have plans like social functions, visiting of friends and families or even dating lined up for every single day of the New Year. Anyway those days are long gone and nowadays, I will usually have a couple of days to visit my feathered friends and spend some quality time with them instead. Anyway, Choo Eng, Kheng Hong and Hakim were my companions for the day as we headed up north to the forests of Bukit Wang.

We were delighted to come across the resident pair of Wallace’s Haw-eagles that Choo Eng and I discovered nesting last season. They were resting in the canopy level of a tree and at this distance the birds know that we are no threat to them. Fortunately for us, the foliage was rather sparse and we could observe these striking raptors with relative ease.

The juvenile from last season was in great condition too and still keeping itself close to the parent birds.

We spend quite a period of time with the family as this species is rather scarce and before the discovery of the nest, I have had only a handful of encounters. Hopefully, we would be expecting another successful season soon.

The resident Bat Hawks were also seen resting in one of their regular haunts. Typical of raptors, the male is slightly smaller than his mate.

A Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker offers a glimpse of the colourful birdlife that are regularly encountered at this locality but unfortunately not photographed often enough.

1 comment:

Hawkeyes a.k.a Kiah said...

Excellent field report. Have not been there, maybe can join you all on your next trip.